Pelvic, perineal, and nervous lesions, which derive principally from pregnancy and childbirth, may lead to pelvic floor dysfunctions, such as organ prolapses and lesions in the nerves and muscles due to muscle expansion and physiology. It is estimated that 70% of women affected by this clinical picture have symptoms that do not respond to the classical treatments with antimuscarinic and anticholinergic drugs. Therefore, resorting to efficient alternatives and less invasive methods is necessary to assist this public health problem that predominantly affects the female population, which is more susceptible to the risk factors. This study aimed to perform an updated and comprehensive literature review focused on the effects of pelvic floor electrical stimulation, considering new perspectives such as a correlation between electric current and site of intervention and other molecular aspects, different from the present reviews that predominantly evaluate urodynamic aspects. For that purpose, PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were used to perform the search, and the Methodi ordinatio method was applied. With well-researched therapeutic effects, electrical stimulation induced promising results in histological, nervous, and molecular evaluations and spinal processes, which showed beneficial results and revealed new perspectives on ways to evoke responses in the lower urinary tract in a non-invasive way. Thus, it is possible to conclude that this type of intervention may be a non-invasive alternative to treat pelvic and perineal dysfunctions.

Lycopene is a carotenoid with potential use in the treatment of chronic illnesses. Here, different formulations of lycopene were studied: lycopene-rich extract from red guava (LEG), purified lycopene from red guava (LPG) and a self-emulsifying drug delivery system loaded with LPG (nanoLPG). The effects of administering orally various doses of LEG to hypercholesterolemic hamsters were evaluated regarding the liver function of the animals. The cytotoxicity of LPG in Vero cells was analyzed by a crystal violet assay and by fluorescence microscopy. In addition, nanoLPG was employed in stability tests. LPG and nanoLPG were tested for their cytotoxic effect on human keratinocytes and antioxidant capacity on cells in an endothelial dysfunction model in an isolated rat aorta. Finally, the effect of different nanoLPG concentrations on the expression of immune-related genes (IL-10, TNF-α, COX-2 and IFN-γ) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) using real-time PCR was also analyzed. Results suggest that LEG, despite not being able to improve blood markers indicative of liver function in hypercholesterolemic hamsters, reduced hepatic degenerative changes. Additionally, LPG did not show cytotoxicity in Vero cells. In relation to nanoLPG, the effects produced by heat stress evaluated by Dynamics Light Scattering (DLS) and visually were loss of color, texture change and phase separation after 15 days without interfering with the droplet size, so the formulation proved to be efficient in stabilizing the encapsulated lycopene. Although LPG and nanoLPG showed moderate toxicity to keratinocytes, which may be related to cell lineage characteristics, both revealed potent antioxidant activity. LPG and nanoLPG showed vasoprotective effects in aortic preparations. The gene expression assay indicates that, although no significant differences were observed in the expression of IL-10 and TNF-α, the PBMCs treated with nanoLPG showed a reduction in transcriptional levels of IFN-γ and an increased expression of COX-2. Thus, the work adds evidence to the safety of the use of lycopene by humans and shows that tested formulations, mainly nanoLPG due to its stability, stand out as promising and biosafe products for the treatment of diseases that have oxidative stress and inflammation in their etiopathology.

Piplartine, also known as piperlongumine, is a natural and biologically active amide alkaloid found in various Piper species within the Piperaceae family. It possesses numerous beneficial properties that can be leveraged in the development of nanotechnological and pharmaceutical products. However, information on the effects of piplartine on mammalian embryonic development is scarce. This study aims to assess the general toxicity and teratogenic potential of piplartine during the embryonic development of mice. Pregnant mice received daily treatments of 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg of piplartine via gavage from the sixth day of gestation (implantation) to the eighteenth. On the eighteenth day, the mice were euthanized, and whole organs, blood samples (for hematological and biochemical analyses), and bone marrow cells (for DNA fragmentation and cell cycle assays) were collected. The uterus was examined for implantation sites and embryo resorptions. Additionally, fetuses were collected to assess for fetal anomalies. Piplartine did not result in maternal or embryo-fetal toxicity, induce fetal anomalies, cause hematological and biochemical alterations, or lead to DNA fragmentation. The oral administration of piplartine is safe and does not exhibit toxicity or teratogenic effects in mice. This finding opens avenues for the development of piplartine-based biotechnological products for therapeutic interventions in disease treatment.

Baru nut oil (Dipteryx alata Vogel) is a lipidic extract from a species endemic to the Cerrado biome, renowned for its antioxidant potential. This study aimed to develop a nanoemulsion containing baru nut oil (BNON) using lecithin and polysorbate 80, and to evaluate its antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity. The physicochemical properties of BNON were characterized, and its cytotoxicity was assessed in human erythrocytes and keratinocytes. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH method and inhibition of AAPH-induced hemolysis. BNON exhibited a droplet size of 530.1 ± 20.48 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.496 ± 0.057, and a zeta potential of −35.7 ± 2.19 mV. Free baru nut oil showed no cytotoxicity to keratinocytes or erythrocytes within the concentration ranges tested (1.0–0.031 mg/mL and 0.8–0.006 mg/mL, respectively). In contrast, BNON displayed cytotoxic effects on keratinocytes and erythrocytes only at the highest tested concentration. Atomic force microscopy analysis of erythrocytes from the hemolysis assay revealed normal morphology for cells treated with free oil at 0.8 mg/mL, whereas cells treated with BNON at the same concentration exhibited a slightly widened concave center. Free oil at 0.8 mg/mL significantly protected erythrocytes from AAPH-induced hemolysis, while BNON did not. However, BNON (5 mg/mL) demonstrated free radical scavenging activity, quantified at 0.0074 mg Trolox equivalents/mg via the DPPH assay. These findings suggest that baru nut oil has potential as an antioxidant product, although further optimization of the nanoformulation is required.

Introduction: The rise of bacterial resistance has driven the search for new therapies, with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) emerging as promising candidates

Introduction: The low financial profitability of the treatment of neglected diseases, such as cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), results in outdated treatments with limited efficacy and high toxicity