Débora Caramelo

• Degree in Biochemistry; MSc in Biochemistry
• PhD Student at University of Lisbon

In ancient times, the shoots of certain species within the Cytisus genus were used as animal feed. Cytisus striatus is a plentiful and widespread shrub that has long been utilized as a soil fertilizer in the Iberian Peninsula. The flowers of this shrub have traditionally been employed for medicinal purposes. However, the nutritional value of yellow...

Cytisus spp. is present throughout the Portuguese territory. Although most of these species are considered native in Portugal, at least one species has already been reported as invasive in other parts of the world. Different measures of control have been investigated, and the application of herbicides is the most commonly used. This review gathers...

The demand for natural-based products for industrial applications is increasing sharply and therefore the search for new alternatives to the plants traditionally used is growing. These alternative plants can be an important source of bioactive compounds under a circular economy approach. Considering the potential future use of new plant products by...

Many species of the so-called exotic plants coexist with native species in a balanced way, but others thrive very quickly and escape human control, becoming harmful—these are called invasive alien species. In addition to overcoming geographic barriers, these species can defeat biotic and abiotic barriers, maintaining stable populations. Ailanthus a...

Featured Application This study will allow the producers of Arbutus unedo spirit to improve their products’ diversity and offer aged Arbutus unedo spirit with the required analytical and sensory characteristics. Abstract Arbutus unedo spirit is a valuable product in Mediterranean countries. This spirit is usually marketed in Portugal without wood...

Salvia divinorum is a plant of the genus Salvia that belongs to the family of mint Lamiaceae which grows mainly in Oaxaca - Mexico in very humid environments and rich soils. S. divinorum is usually known as “Ska Pastora” or “Ska Maria Pastora”, having more common names among the youth community as “magic mint”, “Diviner’s Sage”, “Sally D” or “Purpl...

The goal of the present work was the development of a method to determine beta-carbolines, i.e., tetrahydroharmine, harmine, and harmaline, together with N,N-dimethyltryptamine present in five different commercial tea extracts [Banisteriopsis caapi, Psychotria viridis, Peganum harmala, Mimosa tenuiflora and DC AB (commercial name)] which are used t...

In the last two decades, without a doubt, liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has gained more relevance in the toxicology field, slowly and steadily replacing gas chromatography. However, both instrumental techniques complement each other in routine laboratory analysis, and the development of mass spectrometry systems such as high-re...

The potential use of ketamine as therapeutic drugs is still unknown. In fact, it is a fast-acting agent with sedative, amnesic and analgesic properties that has been widely used in clinical practice for the induction of anesthesia. Recently, its derivative esketamine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in USA for use in the treatment-r...

The present work describes the optimization and validation of an analytical method for the determination of six antipsychotic drugs (chlorpromazine, levomepromazine, cyamemazine, clozapine, haloperidol, and quetiapine) in oral fluid samples after solvent extraction from dried saliva spots, by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry....

The abuse of psychotropic substances is a well-known phenomenon, and many of them are usually associated with ancestral traditions and home remedies. This is the case of Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), a tropical tree used to improve work performance and to withstand great heat. According to several published studies, the main reasons for kratom consu...

Although the medicinal properties of Cannabis species have been known for centuries, the interest on its main active secondary metabolites as therapeutic alternatives for several pathologies has grown in recent years. This potential use has been a revolution worldwide concerning public health, production, use and sale of cannabis, and has led inclu...