Browsing by Author "Liberona, Leonel"

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    Phytochemical variation of wild and farmed populations of boldo (Peumus boldus Molina)
    (2023) Fuentes-Barros, Gonzalo; Echeverria, Javier; Mattar, Cesar; Liberona, Leonel; Giordano, Ady; Suarez-Rozas, Cristian; Salas-Norambuena, Julio; Gonzalez-Cooper, Antonia; Cassels, Bruce K.; Castro-Saavedra, Sebastian
    The phytochemical profile of six wild and one cultivated Peumus boldus (boldo) populations from different regions of north-central, central and south-central Chile was studied. In leaves, wood, and bark, alkaloids and phenolics were analyzed by UHPLC-MS-MS and leaf essential oils by GC-MS. In each population, compounds were found to exhibit high variability, but important differences were recorded at the population level. The north-central wild populations showed higher concentrations of alkaloids and polyphenols in leaves and alkaloids in the bark compared to more southern populations. Saplings farmed under different shade conditions contained higher species-characteristic leaf polyphenolic concentrations with increasing light while most alkaloids increased with the shade. When analyzed the following year, higenamine, boldine, isocorydine and Nmethyllaurotetanine increased. The principal components of the leaf essential oils from the wild populations were p-cymene, ascaridole and 1,8-cineole, while in the farmed trees ascaridole was replaced by its precursor & alpha;-terpinene as the second most abundant constituent. Although multiple factors may affect the concentration of secondary metabolites and geographic provenances with its attending differences in sunlight and rainfall has been suggested as one of these, the present work shows that latitude by itself cannot explain differences that have a clear impact on quality from the medicinal standpoint.
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    Rat and hamster species differences in susceptibility to elastase-induced pulmonary emphysema relate to differences in elastase inhibitory capacity
    (AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC, 2007) Borzone, Gisella; Liberona, Leonel; Olmos, Pablo; Saez, Claudia; Meneses, Manuel; Reyes, Tatiana; Moreno, Rodrigo; Lisboa, Carmen
    Syrian Golden hamsters develop severe emphysema after a single intratracheal dose of elastase, whereas Sprague- Dawley rats exhibit mild emphysema with the same dose per kilogram body weight. We hypothesized that the development of severe emphysema is prevented in rats by the high serum level of alpha 1- antitrypsin reported in rats, compared with hamsters, which provides for a high lung elastase inhibitory capacity ( EIC). To explore this possibility, we challenged the antiprotease system of the rats by treating them with three similar weekly doses of elastase. Four months after treatment, we evaluated changes in histology, volume, and elastic properties of rat lungs and compared them with those of hamsters receiving a single dose of elastase. We also measured serum alpha 1- antitrypsin levels and serum and lung EIC in control rats and hamsters. Results showed that, in association with 40% less serum and lung EIC compared with rats ( P < 0.001), hamster lungs had upperlobe bullae formation, severe microscopic emphysema, a fourfold increase in lung volume ( P < 0.01) and a threefold increase in constant k, an index of compliance, of the lung deflation pressurevolume curve ( P < 0.01). In contrast, rats developed mild emphysema, with only 50% increase in volume ( P < 0.05) and 60% increase in constant k ( P < 0.01). In conclusion, two species that differ in serum and lung EIC exhibit significant differences in emphysema development after elastase. Rats with high EIC, despite receiving three doses of elastase, showed significantly less derangement of morphological and physiological parameters than hamsters with low EIC receiving a single dose.
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    Variation of the alkaloid content of Peumus boldus (boldo)
    (2018) Fuentes-Barros, Gonzalo; Castro-Saavedra, Sebastian; Liberona, Leonel; Acevedo-Fuentes, Williams; Tirapegui, Cristian; Mattar, Cesar; Cassels, Bruce K.