Ivana Da cruz

• MSc, PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Federal University of Santa Maria

Bisphenol A (BPA) may adversely affect human health by inducing oxidative stress and irreversible damage to cells. Bioactive compounds found in some functional foods, individually or in combination, can attenuate the negative effects of BPA exposure; an example is the multi-supplement containing guarana (Gua), selenium (Se), and L-carnitine (LC) —G...

Background Some studies have suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction and a superoxide imbalance could increase susceptibility to chronic stressful events, contributing to the establishment of chronic inflammation and the development of mood disorders. The mitochondrial superoxide imbalance induced by some molecules, such as rotenone, could be evol...

The MnSOD Ala16Val single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has shown to be associated to risk factors of several metabolic and vascular diseases. However, little is known about interaction between MnSOD Ala16Val SNP in stroke, a frequent neurologic disease that involves clinic manifestations such as motor deficits and spasticity. In this sense, we dec...

Objective: To verify the relationship between micronuclei lesions and health in an elderly community. Methods: A cross-sectional observational investigation was performed on a sample of 168 elderly. The blood sample was collected for a micronuclei assay and to assess oxidative and antioxidant biomarkers, such as plasma lipid peroxidation (using thi...

Background: Previous studies have suggested that guarana (Paullinia cupana) and açai (Euterpe oleracea) have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and proliferative properties, indicating their potential therapeutic action in wound healing. We produced a conjugated guarana-açai (GA) extract and tested its healing action on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) su...

Moringa stenopetala is often consumed as food and used in folkloric medicine for the management of several diseases. Purpose: This study was set up in order to assess the effect of aqueous extract of Moringa stenopetala on cell viability and oxidative stress biomarkers in BV-2 microglial cells. Aqueous extracts of M. stenopetala were prepared, lyop...

The Murine Sepsis Score (MSS) is used to assess the severity of sepsis in rats and mice based on observational characteristics. The quantitative variables of glycemia, body weight, and temperature are predictors of severity in experimental models of sepsis. Therefore, our study sought to adapt the MSS with the same variables to indicate earlier the...

Purpose: To investigate the effects of antioxidant supplementation with açaí extract on the discomfort with chronic tinnitus and the relationship with the levels of anxiety and oxidative metabolism, not excluding the overlap of diseases. Methods: Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. 30 individuals participated, with an average of 50.5...

Cancer is an important cause of lethality, and melanoma is associated with less than 10% of survival. The traditional treatment includes the use of vinblastine, and it is associated with side effects. Curcumin is extracted from Curcuma longa rhizomes, and studied in many diseases, producing a variety of effects. We investigated the role of various...

Tamoxifen (TMX) is used as adjuvant therapy for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer cases due to its affinity and inhibitory effects. However, about 30% of cases show drug resistance, resulting in recurrence and metastasis, the leading causes of death. A literature review can help to elucidate the main cellular processes involved in TMX...

Background: The inflammatory theory of depression has been tested from epidemiological and experimental investigations. Some studies have suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction superoxide imbalance could increase the susceptibility to chronic stressful events, contributing to the establishment of chronic inflammation and the development of mood d...

Introduction: Major depressive disorder is associated with chronic inflammation and deficient production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation has an anti-inflammatory effect and has been proven effective in restoring non-depressive behavior. This study investigated whether BMMC transplant...

Although efforts have been made to improve the pharmacological treatment of depression, approximately one-third of patients with depression do not respond to conventional therapy using antidepressants. Other potential non-pharmacological therapies have been studied in the last years, including the use of mesenchymal stem cell therapies to treat dep...

Nutraceuticals have been the focus of numerous research in recent years and accumulating data support their use for promoting some health benefits. Several nutraceuticals have been widely studied as supplements due to their functional properties ameliorating symptoms associated with neurological disorders, such as oxidative stress and chronic infla...

Background: Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart), a Brazilian fruit, is considered a "superfruit" due its energetic properties and bioactive compounds. The açai's anti-inflammatory effects could attenuate the undesirable metabolic and pro-inflammatory side effects triggered by some antipsychotic drugs, such as Olanzapine (OLZ). It is possible to infer tha...

Eye diseases have a negative impact on the eyesight quality of the world population. The age-related macular degeneration (AMD) draws special attention since it is a chronic disorder characterized by oxidative and inflammatory damage to the retinal epithelial pigment, which triggers progressive vision loss. In the Brazilian Amazon, Astrocaryum acul...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by a chronic hyperglycemia state, increased oxidative stress parameters, and inflammatory processes. Aims To evaluate the effect of caffeic acid (CA) on ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzymatic activity and expression of the A2A...

The exposure to environmental stressors, such as organophosphate (OP) pesticides, has been associated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is the worldwide most used OP pesticide and one of the most hazardous pesticides as it can cross the blood-brain barrier. Since studies evaluating the effects of CPF on brain im...

In this chapter the following topics will be addressed: (1) actions of the cholinergic system in the nervous system, commenting on acetylcholine metabolism and acetylcholinesterase metabolism; (2) acetylcholinesterase inhibitors as subtitle in this topic: pharmacological characterization of pyridostigmine bromide, mechanism of action, and therapeut...

Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with chronic inflammatory states. There is evidence to support the design of novel supplements based on guarana (G) (Paullinia cupana), selenium (S), and L-carnitine (C), the use of which, potentially attenuates neuro oxi-inflammatory conditions. Therefore, this study analyzed the cytotoxic and redox effect...

Chronic psycho‐environmental stress can induce neurological dysfunction due to an increase in cortisol levels. It is possible that some food supplements could attenuate its negative impact, such as avocado oil (AO), which is rich in fatty acids with beneficial effects on the brain. This hypothesis was tested by an in vitro model using undifferentia...

Aluminum (Al) is ubiquitously present in the environment and known to be a neurotoxin for humans. The trivalent free Al anion (Al3+) can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), accumulate in the brain, and elicit harmful effects to the central nervous system (CNS) cells. Thus, evidence has suggested that Al increases the risk of developing neurodegene...

Background Prostate cancer is the most common visceral neoplasia in men and frequently present chemotherapy resistance. In this context, lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus (D.C.) Stapf) has been studied, since it presents many important biological activities, such as anticancer. Objective: We investigated the antitumor effect of lemongrass and in chem...

Introduction: Depression and psychological stress have high prevalence and incidence rates, affecting the individual welfare and increasing the risks for non-infectious chronic diseases. Studies have shown relations between inflammation and oxidative stress. In genetics, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), inside the superoxide dismutase gene...

Introdução: Doença de Parkinson (DP) é resultado da associação entre fatores genéticos e ambientais e da combinação desses fatores com o envelhecimento, ocasionando disfunções mitocôndrias e de membrana celular culminando com o estresse oxidativo e inflamação crônica. Compostos bioativos com capacidade antioxidante e anti-inflamatória podem reduzir...

Introdução: O envelhecimento cutâneo, é um fenômeno fisiológico gradativo que envolve degradação do colágeno, estresse oxidativo e inflamação, esses aspectos somados ao fato de muitos idosos terem dificuldade de movimentação ou serem portadores de outras doenças como o diabetes, favorecem o aparecimento de lesões de pele de difícil cicatrização, as...

Introdução: Os antidepressivos tricíclicos (AT) são considerados padrão ouro de eficácia terapêutica frente a depressões graves, inclusive para idosos acima de 80 anos. Entretanto, os ATs apresentam maiores efeitos colaterais se comparados a outras classes, devido ao mecanismo de ação via bloqueio de recaptura de monoaminas, principalmente norepine...

Os fibroblastos compõem as principais células da pele, sendo responsáveis pelo processo de cicatrização de lesões. O estresse oxidativo, causado pela produção excessiva de Espécies Reativas de Oxigênio (EROs), é responsável por agravar o processo de envelhecimento celular, prejudicando as funções de proliferação e cicatrização dos fibroblastos, con...

O envelhecimento é um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares, sendo a aterosclerose um exemplo destas patologias, a qual se caracteriza pelo acumulo de gordura, especialmente lipoproteínas de baixa densidade (LDL), nas artérias. Sabendo que o acumulo e a oxidação do LDL por espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROs) fazem parte...

Introdução: A imobilidade durante internações hospitalares pode ter impacto no sistema musculoesquelético favorecendo outras doenças e a síndrome sarcopenica, bem como no sistema emocional dos idosos. Objetivo: Analisar a associação entre imobilidade intra-hospitalar e mortalidade em idosos após 3 anos de seguimento. Método: Trata-se de um estudo q...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of Paullinia cupana (AEG) against ketoprofen side effects, through biochemical, hematological, and histological parameters. AEG showed antioxidant activity in the DPPH• scavenging (IC50 = 17.00 ± 1.00 µg/ml) and HPLC analysis revealed that this extract is constituted by antioxidants (caffei...

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric diseases are responsible for one of the highest burden of morbidity and mortality worldwide. These illnesses include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Individuals affected by these diseases may present mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Additionally, patients also have increased peri...

Quetiapine is an antipsychotic drug that is used to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders. Despite its efficiency and low-toxicity, quetiapine administration has been associated with undesirable side effects such as the development of low-grade inflammatory disorders and neutropenia states. As the liver rapidly metabolizes quetiapine to meta...

Bebidas à base de Camellia sinensis tem sido utilizadas por muitos séculos na medicina tradicional, sendo a infusão preparada com as suas folhas. Um dos produtos à base de C. sinensis amplamente consumido é o chá verde, sendo que seus benefícios vem sendo associados a sua composição química. Por este motivo o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a p...

Superoxide-hydrogen peroxide (S-HP), triggered by Val16Ala-SOD2 human polymorphism, may influence the risk of depression. Therefore, it is plausible that higher basal S-anion levels and chronic inflammatory states associated with the VV-SOD2 genotype can negatively modulate the stress response associated with resilience in various species, from pri...

Objective The Murine Sepsis Score (MSS) is used to assess the severity of sepsis in rats and mice based on observational characteristics. The quantitative variables of blood glucose, body weight and temperature are predictors of severity in experimental models of sepsis. Therefore, our study sought to adapt the MSS with the same variables to indica...

Paullinia cupana Kunth is a compound with therapeutic potential due to the presence of methylxanthines and tannins. In this sense, the precise and safe quantification of these compounds is of fundamental importance. From this, the objective of this work was to develop and validate a stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for the simultaneous determina...

Workers exposed to fuels and paints may present alterations in several parameters. Thus, we assessed potential biomarkers, with the aim of detecting early changes in gasoline station attendants and painters. Blood samples were collected for the analysis of inflammatory and DNA damage markers, besides biochemical, haematological and oxidative stress...

Aging accelerates neurodegeneration, while natural and safe neuroprotective agents, such as Uncaria tomentosa, may help to overcome this problem. This study assessed the effects of U. tomentosa extract treatment on the aging process in the brain of Wistar rats. The spatial memory and learning, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and DNA damage we...

Solanum sessiliflorum is an Amazonian fruit (cubiu) that has been domesticated since pre-Colombian era. It is also used in folk medicine to treat some clinical conditions. This investigation chemically characterized and analyzed the in vitro antioxidant and antitumoral effect of a cubiu pulp/seed hydroalcoholic extract. Cubiu extract was chemically...

Rationale: Inosine is a naturally occurring purine nucleoside formed by adenosine breakdown. This nucleoside is reported to exert potent effects on memory and learning, possibly through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. Objective: The objective is to evaluate the effects of inosine on the behavioral and neurochemical parameters in a...

Background: Chronic noncommunicable diseases such as arterial hypertension have a high impact in the context of public health. Previous studies have shown improvements in blood pressure due to simple lifestyle changes, which were supported by electronic health (eHealth) solutions. Objective: The aim of this study is to develop an eHealth platfor...

Background: Oxidative stress and chronic inflammatory states triggered by a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in superoxide dismutase manganese-dependent gene (Val16Ala-SOD2) have been associated with the risk of developing several chronic, nontransmissible diseases. However, it is still not clear whether the VV-SOD2 genotype that causes higher...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that reduces glutathione (GSH) levels. We aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with grape peel powder (GPP) on the GSH system in a rat model of colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) and to identify the role of grape bioactive fractions, name...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a superoxide-hydrogen peroxide (S-HP) imbalance of the superoxide dismutase manganese dependent (SOD2) gene, generated by paraquat and porphyrin exposure, on the keratinocytes cell line (HaCaT) oxidative metabolism. Paraquat acts increasing superoxide (O 2·−) levels, while porphyrin increas...

Introdução: Células endoteliais sintetizam o óxido nítrico (ON), responsável pelo relaxamento e contração da parede arterial. A disfunção endotelial contribui para um desbalanço na produção de ON, e pode contribuir com o desenvolvimento de vários fatores de risco de doenças cardiovasculares como a hipertensão arterial sistêmica (HAS), que está rela...

Introdução: O envelhecimento celular pode ser explicado pela teoria das espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROS). Essa teoria é baseada no envelhecimento induzido por efeitos deletérios na célula causados pelas EROS, as quais são consideradas um pré-requisito para o processo inflamatório e apoptótico. Dessa forma, o estresse oxidativo teria um papel ce...

Rheumatoid arthritis is a highly debilitating inflammatory autoimmune disease which is characterized by joint destruction. The present study sought to investigate the effect of quercetin in rats with complete Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis. Animals were divided into control/saline, control/quercetin (5 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg, and 50 mg/kg) arthritis/...

Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis (Mart.) Ducke, popularly known as guarana, is one of the most promising plants in Brazilian flora and has attracted considerable interest from the scientific community owing to its numerous therapeutic activities and less side effects. Hence, using nanotechnology is a viable alternative to primarily improve the physic...

Ilex paraguariensis is a plant from South America, used to prepare a tea-like beverage rich in caffeine and polyphenols with antioxidant proprieties. Caffeine consumption is associated with a lower risk of age-associated neuropathologies, besides several extracts that have antioxidant proprieties are known to be neuroprotective, and oxidative stres...

Background and objectives: Many advances have occurred in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, but they are still the main causes of hospitalization and death in older adults. The objective of this study was to verify the benefit of antimicrobial use and its association with the implementation of other therapeutic measure...

Mancozeb (MZ), chlorothalonil (CT), and thiophanate methyl (TM) are pesticides commonly used in agriculture due to their efficacy, low acute toxicity to mammals, and short environmental persistence. Although the toxic effects of these pesticides have been previously reported, studies regarding their influence on the immune system are limited. As su...

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The fruit of Astrocaryum aculeatum G.Mey. (tucumã) is highly consumed by riverside communities in the Amazonian region. These communities have recently been shown to have increased longevity and reduced prevalence of age-related morbidity. Tucumã, which is locally used in their diet and traditional medicine may cont...

Pyridostigmine bromide (PB), an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme inhibitor. Experimental evidence showed that when combined with other drugs or exercise, PB caused extensive neural and/or systemic oxidative stress. However, no studies have been conducted on the genetic influence associated with basal oxidative superoxide-hydrogen peroxide (S-HP)...

The role of caffeinated beverages on efficiency of acute inflammatory responses is not yet fully understood. This study analyzed the effect of five hot water extracts, coffee (CO), black/green tea (BT/GT), yerba mate (YM), and guarana (GU) on inflammatory modulation of non-activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), yeast-activated...

Introduction Stryphnodendron adstringens,commonly known as “barbatimão”, is a Brazilian savannah plant that has been long used in folk medicine due to its wound healing properties. However, there is a lack of integrated analyses of its healing activity based on scientific evidence. Methods The present study provides a literature review based on ar...

Introduction: Nitric oxide is a gaseous radical produced by the nitric oxide endothelial synthase (eNOS) whose most studied physiological action is the vasodilation. However, it also acts in the defense of the organism through the formation of cytotoxic radicals, which can potentiate the inflammatory lesion of the cells. The Glu298Asp is a single...

Dysfunction of basal ganglia neurons is a characteristic of glutaric acidemia type I (GA-I), an autosomal recessive inherited neurometabolic disease characterized by deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) and accumulation of glutaric acid (GA). The affected patients present clinical manifestations such as motor dysfunction and memory impai...

Background: Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has several clinical applications; however, its benefits are not universal. Therefore, combination therapy with LLLT and extracts from the guarana (Paullinia cupana) plant may improve its effectiveness as guarana extracts exhibit anti-aging properties. Objectives: To evaluate the antioxidant, anti-infla...

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a cancer pharmacologically treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), although well tolerated by most patients, some develop toxicity to ATRA, Differentiation Syndrome. The Amazon Biome has several fruits and oil plants rich in micronutrients, particularly carotenoids as the fruit tucumã (Astrocaryum aculeatu...

Açai (Euterpe oleracea, Mart.) is fruit broadly consumed in the world. From its chemical matrix is possible that açai could has some cytotoxic effect against prostate cancer (PCa). To test this hypothesis using an in vitro PCa model DU145 cell. Additionally, potential synergism between açai and docetaxel (DO), a chemotherapic drug used to treat adv...

There is evidence that H2O2 can induce the proliferation, migration, and regeneration of stem cells, as well as that of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). This could be useful to expand the possible uses of ASCs in therapeutic applications. However, the safety profile of H2O2 use in stem cells is not clear yet. Therefore, the present study evaluate...

Hyperlipidemia causes lipotoxicity which prompts an inflammatory response linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Natural compounds have been receiving special attention for its potential to treat diseases, inexpensiveness, and safety. Guarana (Paullinia cupana) has demonstrated notable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which...

Ziprasidone (ZIP) is an effective antipsychotic with low side effects than other second-generation antipsychotics. Despite this, there are reports of adverse events and previous studies associating the use of ZIP the inflammatory response. It is possible to infer that bioactive molecules present in some foods could attenuate peripheral inflammatory...

After publication of our article it came to our attention that it contains a number of errors with regard to the citations. The details are provided below:

The MnSOD Ala16Val single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has shown to be associated to inflammatory pathways and many metabolic disorders, such as obesity and dyslipidemia. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an emergent problem among patients with epilepsy. However, little is known about interaction between MnSOD Ala16Val SNP and metabolic comorbities on...

WHOQOL-Bref is widely used to assess quality of life. The present study estimated the prevalence of elderly people with low quality of life and the association of socio-cultural, economic and health variables. The elderly were classified as low (< 60 points) or regular/good (> 60 points). The elderly (1431) were investigated, most of the elderly we...

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a well-known environmental pollutant associated with neurological and developmental deficits in animals and humans. However, epidemiological data showed that people living in the Amazon region although exposed to MeHg do not present these effects probably due to the protective effect of certain foods. We hypothesized here if...

Background: Inflammation could be a risk factor for the development of depression and change the outcome of this common chronic-recurrent mental disorder. Aims: This study aimed to investigate if bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation is effective in restoring sucrose preference in rats subjected to chronic stress (CS), if it has an...

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is an extremely aggressive cancer presenting low survival and high mortality. The vast majority of patients affected by this disease does not respond or show resistance to the chemotherapeutic drugs, which makes the treatment ineffective. In this sense, the necessity for the development of new agents to assist in CM therapy...

There are several diseases, such as bipolar disorder, for example, where a chronic inflammation related to NLRP3 inflammasome is present. So, it is important to search for new anti-inflammatory agents. Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) is a Brazilian fruit with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the mechanism of açaí anti-inflammato...

The effects of Toxoplasma gondii during embryonic development have not been explored despite the predilection of this parasite for neurons and glial cells. Here, we investigated the activation of the purinergic system and proinflammatory responses during congenital infection by T. gondii. Moreover, neuroprotective and neuromodulatory properties of...

Skin aging is a complex biological process induced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors which is characterized by clinical and cellular changes, especially dermal fibroblasts. It is possible that, some procedures, such as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), could decelerate this process. To test this hypothesis, this study evaluated the in vitro LLLT on...

Background Olanzapine (OLZ) is a second-generation antipsychotic drug used for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Undesirable side effects of OLZ include metabolic alterations associated with chronic oxidative-inflammation events. It is possible that lithium (Li), a mood modulator that exhibits anti...