Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología

Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease affect millions of people worldwide. The available treatments against these parasitic diseases are limited and display multiple undesired effects. The brown alga belonging to the genus Gongolaria has been previously reported as a source of compounds with different biological activities. In a recent study from our group, Gongolaria abies-marine was proven to present antiamebic activity. Hence, this brown alga could be a promising source of interesting molecules for the development of new antiprotozoal drugs. In this study, four meroterpenoids were isolated and purified from a dichloromethane/ethyl acetate crude extract through a bioguided fractionation process targeting kinetoplastids. Moreover, the in vitro activity and toxicity were evaluated, and the induction of programmed cell death was checked in the most active and less toxic compounds, namely gongolarone B (2), 6Z-1′-methoxyamentadione (3) and 1′-methoxyamentadione (4). These meroterpenoids triggered mitochondrial malfunction, oxidative stress, chromatin condensation and alterations of the tubulin network. Furthermore, a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image analysis showed that meroterpenoids (2–4) induced the formation of autophagy vacuoles and ER and Golgi complex disorganization. The obtained results demonstrated that the mechanisms of action at the cellular level of these compounds were able to induce autophagy as well as an apoptosis-like process in the treated parasites.

The number of craft breweries and the volume of craft beer produced globally is growing exponentially. However, little is known about their differences with mainstream beers regarding mycotoxin profile, pesticide and pollutant residues and elemental composition. Given that beer is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide, it is important to shed light on its toxicological profile. In this study, samples of 23 craft beers and 19 mainstream Spanish beers were collected to perform a comparative analysis including 8 mycotoxins, 225 pesticide residues and 50 POPs, and 50 elements. Mycotoxins were not detected in craft beers, while 100% of mainstream beers presented at least one mycotoxin. In contrast, craft beers contained higher average pesticide residues than their mainstream counterparts, although significant differences were only found in Mepiquat and Metrafenone content. No persistent organic pollutants were detected in any sample. The elemental composition presented differences between the two groups both in the concentration of elements and their hierarchy. In conclusion, the toxicological profile of all beers was safe and is unlikely to constitute a hazard to consumer health. Craft beers present significant differences from their mainstream counterparts in all the dimensions explored.

En este tutorial se muestra con el ejemplo de los éteres propargílicos vinílicos, bloques sintéticos multifuncionales, como es posible instrumentalizar la reactividad emergente de la combinación de sus grupos funcionales para el diseño y desarrollo de procesos dominó (cascada) ramificados para la generación de complejidad molecular orientada a la diversidad.