Browsing by Author "Oliveira, Jorge M.A."
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- Metabolic profiling and biological capacity of Pieris brassicae fed with kale (Brassica oleracea L. Var. Acephala).Publication . Fernandes, Fátima; Ferreres, Frederico; Oliveira, Jorge M.A.; Valentão, Patrícia; Pereira, J.A.; Seabra, Rosa M.; Andrade, Paula B.Vegetables of the Brassica group are the most commonly grown and consumed worldwide. Food plants with apparent cancer and cardiovascular di sease-preventing properties include several varieties of Brassica oleraceae. The majority of the herbivorous insect species are specialized feeders, for which the behavioral decision to accept a plant as food or oviposition substrate is mainly related with sensory information. Pieris insects (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) are specialist herbivores of cruciferous plants.
- Metabolic profiling and biological capacity of Pieris brassicae fed with kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala).Publication . Ferreres, Frederico; Fernandes, Fátima; Oliveira, Jorge M.A.; Valentão, Patrícia; Pereira, J.A.; Andrade, Paula B.Phenolic and organic acid profiles of aqueous extracts from Pieris brassicae material and the host kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) leaves were determined by HPLC/UV–DAD/MSn-ESI and HPLC–UV, respectively. The identified phenolics included acylated and nonacylated flavonoid glycosides, hydroxycinnamic acyl gentiobiosides, and sulphate phenolics. Kale exhibited the highest content (11 g/kg lyophilized extract), while no phenolics were identified in the butterflies or exuviae. Nine different organic acids were characterized in the materials, with kale showing the highest amount (112 g/kg lyophilized extract). With the exception of the exuviae extract, the rest were screened for bioactivity. Using spectrophotometric microassays, all exhibited antiradical capacity against DPPH and NO in a concentrationdependent way, whereas only kale and excrement extracts were active against superoxide. All displayed activity on intestinal smooth muscle, albeit with distinct relaxation–contraction profiles. Larvae and butterfly extracts were more efficacious for intestinal relaxation than was kale extract, whereas excrement extract evoked only contractions, thus evidencing their different compositions. Collectively, these results show that P. brassicae sequesters and metabolizes kale’s phenolic compounds. Moreover, the extract’s bioactivities suggest that they may constitute an interesting source of bioactive compounds whose complex chemical structures preclude either synthesis or isolation.