Isabel Cristina Zapata-Vahos

La fresa es uno de los productos más rentables en la categoría de frutas en el entorno colombiano que goza de la aceptación de los consumidores por sus características sensoriales y aporte nutricional. Se cultiva de manera convencional y, en los últimos años, se han propiciado cultivos hidropónicos como una alternativa de mejor calidad para el consumidor. Esta investigación pretendió indagar acerca las características fisicoquímicas y el potencial antioxidante de los frutos comercializados en el mercado de acuerdo con el estado de maduración y el método de producción, convencional o hidropónico. Las pruebas fisicoquímicas comprendieron la medición de pH, de sólidos solubles totales (SST), de peso y de diámetro de los frutos. Para la cuantificación de metabolitos secundarios se realizó el análisis de fenoles totales, así como para determinar la capacidad antioxidante se realizaron las pruebas de FRAP, DPPH y ABTS mediante dos muestreos en frutos provenientes de ambos cultivos en tres estados de madurez de consumo. Las pruebas se realizaron por triplicado. El análisis de fisicoquímicos mostró diferencias estadísticamente significativas para las variables estudiadas. Con relación a los fenoles totales y capacidad antioxidante, se encontró que hay una mayor concentración de los componentes bioactivos en los frutos con mayor grado de maduración independiente del tipo de cultivo de procedencia. Los aportes de compuestos bioactivos como los fenoles contenidos en las fresas presentan un potencial beneficio para la salud por su capacidad antioxidante. Los frutos provenientes del cultivo hidropónico contribuyen a la reducción del impacto ambiental en comparación con otros tipos de cultivos, gracias al bajo uso de sustancias químicas. Esto resulta beneficioso tanto para la salud humana como para el medio ambiente, permitiendo una producción más eficiente y sostenible en términos de recursos.

Microplastics are a threat to ecosystem health, and their impacts and effects are increasingly serious and need to be studied. This study assessed anthropogenic contamination, with emphasis on microplastics, in the water, sediment, and biota (i.e., microcrustaceans, macroinvertebrates, and fish) compartments in a tropical Andean reservoir, Antioquia, Colombia. For this purpose, sampling was carried out at three hydrological periods between 2022 and 2023. The obtained samples were subjected to specific digestion for each environmental compartment and the identified particles were quantified and classified in size, shape, and color. Fourier transform spectrophotometry was used to analyze polymer composition. An ANOVA was used to evaluate statistical differences in particle size and quantity between sampling times for each compartment. Discriminant analysis was used to evaluate the relationship of fish feeding habits with the quantity of particles found in fish. Anthropogenic particles were found in all abiotic and biotic compartments. Blue fibers were predominant in all compartments, with omnivorous fish exhibiting the highest particle concentration. Microplastics comprised 12% of the particles, mainly polypropylene, polyester and polyethylene, the rest were rayon, cellulose and cotton. A conceptual model addressing the dynamics of pollution in Peñol-Guatapé reservoir is proposed, suggesting how anthropogenic particles transfer between environmental compartments and species.

Plants of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae are a source of unique and bioactive alkaloids called Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. The study of their anticancer potential has intensified in recent years. This work aims to locate and characterize the profile of cytotoxic alkaloids biosynthesized and stored in different tissues of Phaedranassa lehmannii Regel using different histochemical methods and chromatographic analysis. The histochemical analysis in the bulbs revealed the presence of alkaloids at the basal edge of the scale-like leaves and bud apical zone. The GC-MS analysis indicated that the bulbs biosynthesize crinane- (9.80 µg/g DW), galanthamine- (8.04 µg/g DW), lycorine- (7.38 µg/g DW), and narciclasine-type (3.75 µg/g DW) alkaloids. The root biosynthesizes alkaloids that are mainly distributed mostly in lycorine- (225.29 µg/g DW) and galanthamine-type (72.35 µg/g DW) alkaloids. The total alkaloids biosynthesized by the root (324.93 µg/g DW) exceeded eleven times the abundance of the alkaloids identified in the bulbs (28.97 µg/g DW). In addition, the total alkaloid fractions exhibited a dose-dependent cytotoxic effect in the evaluated concentrations, with IC₅₀ values of 11.76 ± 0.99 µg/mL and 2.59 ± 0.56 µg/mL against human lung (A549) cancer cells and 8.00 ± 1.35 µg/mL and 18.74 ± 1.99 µg/mL against gastric (AGS) cancer cells. The present study provided evidence to locate and characterize the alkaloids of P. lehmannii grown under nursery conditions as a species producing potential antiproliferative alkaloids.

Plants of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae are a source of unique and bioactive alkaloids called Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. The study of their anticancer potential has intensified in recent years. This work aims to locate and characterize the profile of cytotoxic alkaloids biosynthesized and stored in different tissues of Phaedranassa lehmannii Regel using different histochemical methods and chromatographic analysis. The histochemical analysis in the bulbs revealed the presence of alkaloids at the basal edge of scale-like leaves and bud apical zone. The GC-MS analysis indicated that the bulbs biosynthesize alkaloids distributed in crinine- (9.80 µg/g DW), galanthamine- (8.04 µg/g DW), lycorine- (7.38 µg/g DW) and narciclasine-type (3.75 µg/g DW). The root biosynthesizes alkaloids distributed mostly in lycorine- (225.29 µg/g DW) and galanthamine-type (0.723 µg/g DW) alkaloids. The total alkaloids biosynthesized by the root (324.93 µg/g DW) exceeded eleven times the abundance of the alkaloids identified in the bulbs (28.97 µg/g DW). In addition, the total alkaloids fractions exhibited a cytotoxic effect dose‐dependent in the evaluated concentrations with IC50 values of 11.76 ± 0.99 µg/mL and 2.59 ± 0.56 µg/mL against human lung (A549) cancer cells and 8.00 ± 1.35 µg/mL and 18.74 ± 1.99 µg/mL against gastric (AGS) cancer cells. The present study provided evidence to locate and characterize the alkaloids of P. lehmannii grown under nursery conditions as a species producing potential antiproliferative alkaloids.

El fomento de la salud y bienestar con enfoque biopsicosocial es una preocupación de los gobiernos, cuyas búsquedas se soportan en la formación de profesionales de las Ciencias Sociales y Biomédicas con la intención de conservar la articulación entre el contexto social y el proceso salud-enfermedad para identificar las oportunidades de intervención interdisciplinaria que tienden a la prevención de la enfermedad y la promoción de la salud. Los temas tratados en este libro pueden servir como fundamento teórico para estudiantes y docentes de pregrado y posgrado que tienen interés en profundizar y potenciar sus contenidos con la búsqueda de respuestas a los nuevos retos que se generan por los cambios políticos, económicos, demográficos y epidemiológicos en diferentes entornos.

Honey is a functional food used worldwide and recognized for its multiple health benefits. In the present study, the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of honey produced by two species of bees (Melipona eburnea and Apis mellifera) in two seasons were evaluated. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of honey against three bacterial strains was studied. The quality of honey analyzed by LDA (linear discriminant analysis) showed four clusters mediated by the interaction, the bee species, and the collection season resulting from a multivariate function of discrimination. The physicochemical properties of the honey produced by A. mellifera met the requirements of the Codex Alimentarius, while the M. eburnea honey had moisture values outside the established ranges of the Codex. Antioxidant activity was higher in the honey of A. mellifera, and both kinds of honey showed inhibitory activity against S. typhimurium ATCC 14028 and L. monocytogenes ATCC 9118. E. coli ATCC 25922 showed resistance to the analyzed honey.

Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) has been widely studied for its diversity of compounds for product generation. However, studies describing the chemical and biological characteristics of commercial spearmint materials from different origins are scarce. For this reason, this research aimed to bioprospecting spearmint from three origins: Colombia (Col), Mexico (Mex), and Egypt (Eg). We performed a biological activity analysis, such as FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS, inhibition potential of S. pyogenes, K. pneumoniae, E. coli, P. aeuroginosa, S. aureus, S aureus Methicillin-Resistant, and E. faecalis. Furthermore, we performed chemical assays, such as total polyphenol and rosmarinic acid, and untargeted metabolomics via HPLC-MS/MS. Finally, we developed a causality analysis to integrate biological activities with chemical analyses. We found significant differences between the samples for the total polyphenol and rosmarinic acid contents, FRAP, and inhibition analyses for Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus and E. faecalis. Also, clear metabolic differentiation was observed among the three commercial materials evaluated. These results allow us to propose data-driven uses for the three spearmint materials available in current markets.

Hydroponic technologies have increased the cultivated area under greenhouses covered with UV filter polyethylene film. However, there is a concern about the antioxidant contents of lettuces produced under these systems. In this study, it was compared to the antioxidant contents of green and red leaf lettuces produced in two hydroponic systems in a greenhouse, against the ones produced with the conventional cultivation system by Colombian farmers. The antioxidant analysis revealed significant statistical differences for DPPH and Anthocyanin analyses (P=0) versus all other culture systems. The best results were obtained in the conventional cultivation. Red lettuce obtained the highest value of FRAP (655.3±82.6 mgAAE 100g-1), ABTS (17.8±6.9 mmolTE 100g-1), total phenols (680.2±69.3 mgGAE 100g-1) and anthocyanin (126.2±6.9 mgC3G 100g-1). Green lettuce exhibited the most antioxidant activity of DPPH (20.7±5.6 mmolTE 100g-1). These results suggest a detrimental effect of the greenhouse covered with UV filter polyethylene film in the antioxidant production of lettuce. Finally, red leaf lettuce showed better antioxidant capacity independent of the cultivation system.