Geison Costa

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana · Department of Chemistry

The antifungal activity of palindromic peptide RWQWRWQWR and its derivatives was evaluated against clinical isolates of Candida albicans and C. auris. Also, Bidens pilosa ethanolic extracts of leaves and stem were evaluated. Furthermore, combinations of peptide, extract, and/or fluconazole (FLC) were evaluated. The cytotoxicity of peptides and extr...

Although the antitumor effect of P. nigrum has been widely studied, research related to its possible immunomodulatory effects is relatively scarce. Here, the antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of an ethanolic extract of P. nigrum were evaluated in the murine models of 4T1 breast cancer and B16-F10 melanoma. In vitro evaluations showed that the...

Thunbergia alata (Black-eyed Susan) is a plant species from East Africa and grows in tropical regions worldwide, including Colombia, being considered an invasive species in some countries. Even though it is used by local communities to treat several illnesses, including malaria, there are few biological and chemical studies on T. alata. Therefore,...

Bamboo species have traditionally been used as building material and potential source of bioactive substances, as they produce a wide variety of phenolic compounds, including flavonoids and cinnamic acid derivatives that are considered biologically active. However, the effects of growth conditions such as location, altitude, climate, and soil on th...

Bidens pilosa L. has been used in different parts of the world mainly to treat diseases associated with immune response disorders, such as autoimmunity, cancer, allergies, and infectious diseases. The medicinal properties of this plant are attributed to its chemical components. Nevertheless, there is little conclusive evidence that describes the im...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Neuronal death is a central process in neurodegenerative diseases and represents a therapeutic challenge for their prevention and treatment. Scutellaria incarnata Vent. roots are used traditionally in Colombia for central nervous system conditions including those affecting cognitive functions, but their chemistry an...

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder mainly characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia, altered lipid profile, oxidative stress, and vascular compromise. Physalis peruviana is a plant used in traditional Colombian medicine for its known activities of glucose regulation. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic activity of the butanol fracti...

The main limits of current antitumor therapies are chemoresistance, relapses, and toxicity that impair patient quality of life. Therefore, the discovery of therapeutic alternatives, such as adjuvants to conventional therapy that modulate the intracellular oxidation state or the immune response, remains a challenge. Owing to traditional medicine, se...

Introducción: para garantizar la respuesta del paciente en leucemias agudas (LA), se han comenzado a utilizar pruebas in vitro con el fin de determinar los perfiles de sensibilidad a la quimioterapia, e incluso de algunos extractos naturales. Estas plataformas de sensibilidad permiten la selección de quimioterapéuticos a utilizar en pacientes y, al...

Due to the increased incidence of fungal infections and the emergence of antifungal resistance mainly by Candida species, the need for safe and effective novel therapies is imperative. Consequently, plants and herbs are a powerful source to combat infections. Here, we evaluated the anti-Candida potential of an ethanolic extract from Piper nigrum. T...

El cáncer es un conjunto de enfermedades caracterizadas por el crecimiento y multiplicación incontrolada de células anormales.

Los flavonoides son un grupo de compuestos polifenólicos producidos en las plantas como metabolitos secundarios.

Los frailejones (subtribu: Espeletiinae), son un exitoso grupo de plantas pertenecientes a la familia Asteraceae que han logrado adaptarse a las condiciones altamente dinámicas y heterogéneas del páramo.

Helicobacter pylori es una bacteria asociada al desarrollo de enfermedades gastrointestinales y cáncer gástrico. La combinación de dos o tres antibióticos es utilizada en la erradicación de la infección, pero debido al aumento de la resistencia...

Un extracto obtenido a partir de Caesalpinia spinosa, viene siendo investigado por varios años en la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, debido a su potencial terapéutico contra el cáncer de mama.

Thunbergia alata (ojo de poeta) es una especie vegetal originaria del este de África. Se encuentra ampliamente cultivada en regiones tropicales del mundo, considerándose como una especie de alto riesgo de invasión en algunos países, incluyendo Colombia.

Piper es un género de especies vegetales perteneciente a la familia piperácea que se encuentra distribuido ampliamente en regiones tropicales y son de gran importancia desde el punto de vista ecológico como económico, con destaque para la especie P. nigrum, la pimienta, mundialmente empleada como especie.

Kalanchoe pinnata, es una planta de gran importancia medicinal, ampliamente utilizada, en la medicina tradicional de América Latina y el sur de África, donde sus hojas y flores se utilizan como antimicrobiano y febrífugo, entre otros.

Nowadays, natural products have played an important role in drug discovery and development, especially as anticancer agents1,2. In this way, the search for new therapeutic agents that can be used as potential drugs or as base compounds for the development of anticancer agents is still relevantand can be carried out by using modern phytochemical and...

Objectives: The objective of this work was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the aqueous extract, fractions and major compounds, which are isolated and identified from Passiflora edulis f. edulis (purple passion fruit) leaves extract. Methods: For the isolation of the major compounds, reversed-phase chromatography and normal phase co...

The need for new therapeutic approaches to improve the response in acute leukemia (AL), either by directing therapy or with new therapeutic alternatives, has been a research and clinical interest topic. We evaluated whether blasts from AL patients were sensitive ex vivo to the induction chemotherapy and whether the extracts of Petiveria alliacea (A...

Among the different metabolites found in the Passiflora species, flavonoids have been related to some of the therapeutic effects of these plants. In the case of Passiflora ligularis, the presence of these metabolites has been related to a promising hypoglycemic effect. This study aimed to optimize the total flavonoid content of P. ligularis leaf ex...

El presente libro es fruto de la investigación interdisciplinaria entorno a los fines medicinales de las hojas de Passiflora ligularis (granadilla), realizada entre los grupos de investigación Principios Bioactivos de Plantas Medicinales, del Departamento de Farmacia, y Estudio y Aprovechamiento de Productos Naturales Marinos y Frutas de Colombia,...

Quercetin 3-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside (isoquercetin) is one of the most frequent metabolites of the Passiflora ligularis Juss. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the aqueous extract and ethanol fraction from P. ligularis Juss leaves on glycaemia and the mechanism of action of isoquercetin on glucose uptake. In the glucose tol...

Astragalin is a flavonol glycoside with several biological activities, including antidiabetic properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of astragalin on glycaemia and insulin secretion, in vivo, and on calcium influx and insulin secretion in isolated rat pancreatic islets, ex vivo. Astragalin (1 and 10 mg / kg) was admi...

Plants of the Passiflora genus are extensively cultivated in South America, as their edible fruits are widely commercialized. They are also recognized worldwide for their ethnopharmacological uses. Different Pharmacopoeias indicate vitexin as the chemical marker for P. incarnata, the most widely studied Passiflora species worldwide. In the present...

Passiflora species have been widely used in folk medicine as tranquilizers, and previous pharmacological studies have reported sedative activity for P. quadrangularis L., Passifloraceae, leaf extracts. The aim of this work was to contribute to the standardization of P. quadrangularis leaf extract with sedative activity. For this purpose, the extrac...

Physalis peruviana L. (Cape gooseberry) is a plant widely cultivated in the Andean mountain in South America and its calyces are the main by-product of the harvest and commercialization of the fruits. Hypoglycemic activity was evaluated to the hydroethanolic extract and its fractions by glucose tolerance test. Since butanolic fraction exhibited hyp...

The aim of this study was to investigate the sedative activity of the aqueous leaf extract of Passiflora quadrangularis, a species that is widely cultivated and consumed in South America, and to identify its main constituents and elucidate the involvement of the GABAergic pathway in its mechanism of action. The bioguided fractionation of the crude...

The genus Passiflora is popularly used to treat anxiety. Recent studies showed antidepressant-like effects of two varieties of P. edulis (edulis and flavicarpa) in mice. However, the mechanisms of antidepressant actions are still unknown. Here, the effects of P. edulis fo. edulis aqueous extract (AE, 100-300mg/kg, po), and ethyl acetate (AcOEt, 25-...

Physalis peruviana is an exotic fruit highly valued for its bioactive compounds. This work evaluates the effect of some variables of the extraction process of P. peruviana calyces extract (considered waste material) on total phenolic content, rutin content, and in vitro antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained. First, the influence of certain...

Background: Botanical drugs contain plant extracts, which are complex mixtures of compounds. As with conventional drugs, it is necessary to validate their efficacy and safety through preclinical and clinical studies. However, pharmacokinetic studies for active constituents or characteristic markers in botanical drugs are rare. Objective: The obj...

6-Methylcoumarin (6MC) is a semisynthetic coumarin with important in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. In order to continue the pre-clinical characterization of this molecule, in vitro intestinal permeability, plasma profile and tissue distribution after oral administration in rats were studied. The permeability of 6MC was evaluated by...

Ilex guayusa Loes (Aquifoliaceae) is native to the Andean Amazon (Colombia, Ecuador, and Perù) commonly known as guayusa. From ancestral times up to today Guayusa has been employed by indigenous and urban communities as a herbal infusion, for the treatment of diabetes, infertility, or venereal diseases. As an antiinflammatory, diuretic or energizin...

Several species of the genus Passiflora are distributed all over South America, and many of these species are used in popular medicine, mainly as sedatives and tranquilizers. This study analyzes the chemical profile of extracts of four Passiflora species used in folk medicine, focusing on the flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins. We employed simple a...

Passiflora edulis Sims, Passifloraceae, has been used in Brazilian traditional folk medicine to the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. P. edulis is commonly known for its economic interests in Brazil. This species exhibits significant variability in the fruit rind color, then two subpopulations has been described (P. edulis fo. flavicarpa O. Deg. (...

In this study, 39 extracts from marine organisms were evaluated as quorum sensing inhibitors, collected in the Colombian Caribbean Sea and the Brazilian Coast including 26 sponges, seven soft corals, five algae and one zooanthid. The results showed that crude extracts from the soft coral Eunicea laciniata, and the sponges Svenzea tubulosa, Ircinia...

In the current study we showed that oral administration of an aqueous extract of Passiflora quadrangularis L., Passifloraceae, pericarp results in a significant prolongation of the sleep duration in mice evaluated in the ethyl ether-induced hypnosis test which indicates sedative effects. Apigenin, the main flavonoid of the extract, induced a simila...

In this study, we applied a gradient High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography (HSCCC) method that allowed, by direct injection of an aqueous crude extract of the leaves of Passiflora bogotensis, the successful isolation of six flavonoids in a single run, with purity of each compound higher than 81%. This separation enabled the isolation of two new...

Resumen Cecropia glaziovii Sneth (Urticaceae) is a common tree from Southeast and South of Brazil, being widely used in traditional medicine to treat heart and respiratory conditions. C-glycosylflavonoids have being described as the major compounds for this genus, however, no seasonality studies of individual flavonoids was conducted for any Cecro...

The present study investigated inhibition of pancreatic lipase and metabolic effects of high caloric diet in rats. The Passiflora nitida hydroethanol leaf extract (PNE) was used in in vitro assays or administered to rats to study dyslipidemia. Inhibition of lipase in vitro was studied by a spectrophotometric assay using orlistat as the positive con...

Passiflora alata Curtis is a Passiflora species occurring predominantly in South America popularly known as sweet passion fruit. Some species of this genus are used in folk medicine due to their tranquilizing properties. Previous studies showed the importance of flavonoid compounds to the CNS activities of several species from this genus. Hence, th...

The species of Passiflora are widely used in folk medicine as mild sedatives and tranquilizers. P. alata and P. quadrangularis are distributed throughout South America, with widespread occurrence in Brazil and Colombia. Due to the difficulty in making a botanical distinction between these species, especially in the absence of flowers and fruits, th...

Cecropia glaziovii Snethl. (Cecropiaceae), commonly known as "embaúba-vermelha", is widely distributed throughout Latin America and has been reported in Brazilian folk medicine to treat cough, asthma, high blood pressure and inflammation. Objective: Investigate the hepatoprotective properties of crude hydroethanolic extract of C. glaziovii as well...

An efficient and reproducible HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of major compounds (chlorogenic acid, isoorientin, orientin and isovitexin) present in the leaves of two Cecropia species, C. glaziovii and C. pachystachya. From the leaves of C. glaziovii and C. pachystachya were isolated the C-glycosylfla...

The Cecropia genus consists of about 60 species distributed throughout Latin America, mostly in Brazil. These species are widely used in traditional medicine to treat cough, asthma, bronchitis, high blood pressure, inflammation, heart disease, and as a diuretic. In recent years, there has been an increase in research on Cecropia species, with sever...

To investigate the in vitro antiherpes effects of the crude aqueous extract obtained from Cecropia glaziovii leaves and their related fractions, the n-butanol fraction (n-BuOH) and the C-glycosylflavonoid-enriched fraction (MeOH(AMB)), and to determine the viral multiplication step(s) upon which this C-glycosylflavonoid-enriched fraction acts. The...

The phenolic content, antioxidant potential, and antimicrobial activity of extracts of different parts of the fruit from Capsicum baccatum L. var. pendulum were investigated. The analysis of phenolic content was performed by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The in vitro antioxidant activity was a...