Clara Grosso

Polytechnic Institute of Porto | IPP · GRAQ - Grupo de Reacção de Análises Químicas

Marine biodiversity has acquired greater significance across the world, and it is increasingly being utilized as a source of natural products. Considering that marine resources comprise a wide range of intriguing antioxidant molecules and other appealing biotechnological compounds, they are drawing the interest of industry sectors such as foods, ph...

Shrimp processing generates substantial waste, which is rich in valuable components such as polysaccharides, proteins, carotenoids, and fatty acids. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the valorization of shrimp waste, mainly shrimp shells, focusing on extraction methods, bioactivities, and potential applications of these bioactive com...

Olive leaves are consumed as an extract or as a whole herbal powder with several potential therapeutic benefits attributed to polyphenols, tocopherol's isomers, and flavonoids, among others. This study assessed the potential variance in the functional features presented by olive leaves from three different Portuguese cultivars-Cobrançosa, Madural,...

Over the years, foodborne pathogens have caused countess health problems and massive financial losses. Therefore, an essential goal for the food industry is to prevent food contamination and the related foodborne illnesses as microbial contamination of food items during their acquiring and distribution processes is still a hygienic issue. Moreover,...

This review summarizes the recent findings on the development of different types of single and multitarget nanoparticles for disease detection and drug delivery to the brain, focusing on promising active principles encapsulated and nanoparticle surface modification and functionalization. Functionalized nanoparticles have emerged as promising tools...

The escalating global problem of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microorganisms necessitates the exploration of effective alternatives to combat multi-resistance. Consumer demand for organic products has stimulated research on natural-origin matrices, such as plants, to develop antimicrobial additives. Camellia japonica flowers have demonstr...

Phytochemical-rich antioxidant extracts were obtained from Ascophyllum nodosum (AN) using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Critical extraction factors such as time, pressure, and ethanol concentration were optimized by response surface methodology with a circumscribed central composite design. Under the optimal MAE conditions (3 min, 10.4 bar,...

The brain′s sensitivity to oxidative stress and neuronal cell death requires effective pharmacotherapy approaches. Current pharmacological therapies are frequently ineffective and display negative side effects. Bioactive chemicals found in plants may provide a potential alternative due to their antioxidant and neuroprotective properties and can be...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is well-known among neurodegenerative diseases for the decline of cognitive functions, making overall daily tasks difficult or impossible. The disease prevails as the most common form of dementia and remains without a well-defined etiology. Being considered a disease of multifactorial origin, current targeted treatments hav...

Fucoxanthin (Fx) has been proven to exert numerous biological properties, which makes it an interesting molecule with diverse industrial applications. In this study, the kinetic behavior of Fx was studied to optimize three variables: time (t-3 min to 7 days), temperature (T-5 to 85 °C), and concentration of ethanol in water (S-50 to 100%, v/v), in...

This study employs a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate consumers’ perceptions and acceptance of Moringa oleifera Lam. beverages, examining sensory attributes, chemical composition, and bioactivities. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analyses revealed significant chemovariation in phenolic composition...

Neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases are increasingly affecting individuals' quality of life, thus increasing their cost to social and health systems. These diseases have overlapping mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, protein aggregation, neuroinflammation, neurotransmission impairment, mitochondrial dysfunction, and excitotoxicity. C...

Global production of exotic fruits has been growing steadily over the past decade and expanded beyond the originating countries. The consumption of exotic and new fruits, such as kiwano, has increased due to their beneficial properties for human health. However, these fruits are scarcely studied in terms of chemical safety. As there are no studies...

The production and consumption of shrimp species create massive amounts of shrimp bio-waste. In this study, shrimp shell waste from Palaemon serratus and Palaemon varians from the Portuguese coast was characterized. Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the obtained values were between 4.7 and 10.4 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g dry weight (dw) f...

Marine macroalgae are rich in bioactive compounds that can be applied in several fields, mainly food, cosmetics, and medicine. The health-promoting effects of bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, polysaccharides, carotenoids, proteins, and fatty acids, have been increasingly explored, especially regarding their antioxidant activity and improve...

The aim of this work was the extraction of phenolic compounds from several agro-food industry by-products and the determination of their antioxidant activity (AA). The highest extraction yields obtained were for the pineapple core, oat concentrate, and mango peel. The post-distillation residue of labdanum stems and leaves and spent coffee grounds w...

To meet the consumer demand for functional drinks with bioactive compounds, this study aimed to evaluate the addition of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LP299V, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus acidophilus in mate tea. The viability of the probiotic bacteria, microbiological and physicochemical characteristics, the in vitro resistanc...

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), or risk factors for CVD, such as diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, are the leading cause of death worldwide. Therefore, the use of agricultural by-products as a source of functional ingredients, particularly those from crop plants, has received significant interest. For example, the banana (Musa spp.)...

Due to the increase in life expectancy, promoting active aging is a crucial challenge for the XXI century. Therefore, searching for new neuroprotective drugs is urgent, and marine macroalgae are considered excellent sources of structurally diverse bioactive molecules with recognized pharmaceutical and biomedical potential. Aiming to contribute to f...

Acorns are one of the most promising natural resources to be considered nationally and internationally due to their nutritional benefits. Thus, their valorization is an essential factor of sustainability nowadays. Therefore, this project aims to characterize acorns by analyzing their chemical composition and bioactivity toward cardiovascular diseas...

The increasing demand for nutraceuticals in the circular economy era has driven the research toward studying bioactive compounds from renewable underexploited resources. in this regard, the exploration of brown algae has shown significant growth and maintains a great promise for the future. One possible explanation could be that brown algae are ric...

Since ancestor times, honey has been used to promote human health due to its medicinal, and nutritious properties, mainly due to bioactive compounds present, such as phenolic compounds. The emergence of COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, led to the pursuit of solutions for the treatment of symptoms and/or disease. Honey has proven to be effe...

This study aimed the optimization of antioxidant activity, total phenolic compounds (TPC) and total carotenoids of Horned Melon fruit submitted to maceration extraction, using ethanol as solvent. Optimization was performed by Box–Behnken design on three levels and three variables: extraction temperature (25 °C, 55 °C, and 85 °C), extraction time (0...

Currently, there is no known cure for neurodegenerative disease. However, the available therapies aim to manage some of the symptoms of the disease. Human neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of illnesses characterized by progressive loss of neuronal cells and nervous system dysfunction related to several mechanisms such as protein...

Neuroprotection is a need that remains unmet in treating chronic neurodegenerative disorders, despite decades of extensive research. To find new neuroprotective compounds, extracts of Himanthalia elongata (L.) S.F.Gray and of Eisenia bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell were obtained through subcritical water extraction applying a four-step temperature gra...

Ethnopharmacological relevance Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, but its treatment options remain few and ineffective. To find new therapeutic strategies, natural products have gained interest due to their neuroprotective potential, being able to target different pathological hallmarks associated with this disorder. Several p...

Seaweeds represent a rich source of biologically active compounds with several applications, especially in the food, cosmetics, and medical fields. The beneficial effects of marine compounds on health have been increasingly explored, making them an excellent choice for the design of functional foods. When studying marine compounds, several aspects...

The objective of this work was to optimize subcritical water extraction (SWE) conditions of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity from vineyard pruning residues. For that, a central composite design (CCD) was conducted to investigate the influence of temperature (123–307 °C) and time (14–56 min). The optimal extraction conditions were 33 min...

Salicornia ramosissima J.Woods is an edible halophyte, widely distributed in the Portuguese salt marsh that has been under valorized. The aim of this study is to expand the knowledge regarding S. ramosissima bioactive composition and safety, highlighting its potential use as nutraceutical ingredient. Therefore, extracts obtained by conventional (CE...

Mental health and active aging are two of the main concerns in the 21st century. To search for new neuroprotective compounds, extracts of Codium tomentosum Stackhouse and Fucus vesiculosus L. were obtained through multi-step (four step) subcritical water extraction using a temperature gradient. The safety assessment of the extracts was performed by...

The biggest obstacle to the treatment of diseases that affect the central nervous system (CNS) is the passage of drugs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a physical barrier that regulates the entry of substances into the brain and ensures the homeostasis of the CNS. This review summarizes current research on lipid-based nanoparticles for the nan...

-Pitch communication- Algae are one of the most important richness provided by oceans. This bioresource has numerous applications, being traditionally used as fertilizer, food source or in traditional medicine, among others. Recently, macroalgae extracts have been successfully associated with powerful biological activities such as antioxidant, ant...

Kiwano (Cucumis metuliferusKiwano E. Meyer ex Naudin) is a neglected crop from the Cucurbitaceae family with recognized nutritional and medicinal properties, especially in African countries. This review describes the recent findings regarding the nutritional and phytochemical composition of kiwano, supporting the pharmacological properties of this...

This study gives new insights to understand the type of interactions between Ginkgo biloba L. and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, two Chinese medicinal plants with well documented neuroprotective effects, on three targets in Alzheimer’s disease (AD): acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholnesterase (BuChE) inhibition and hydrogen peroxide scave...

Industrial food production generally leads to the generation of several “lateral” products, apart from the main target product, which are commonly classified as wastes and discarded, or redirected to low-value applications such as feed. However, these “lateral” products can be regarded as alternative rich sources of high-valuable compounds. This ch...

Given their therapeutic activity, natural products have been used in traditional medicines throughout the centuries. The growing interest of the scientific community in phytopharmaceuticals, and more recently in marine products, has resulted in a significant number of research efforts towards understanding their effect in the treatment of neurodege...

The management of crop-pests relies largely on conventional insecticides. Farmers around the world use pesticides as an insurance policy against the possibility of a devastating crop loss from pests and diseases. Conversely, the use of insecticides has several drawbacks for agriculture, such as decrease in pollinator population and terrestrial poll...

Background : Multi-target drugs have gained significant recognition for the treatment of multifactorial diseases such as depression. Under a screening study of multi-potent medicinal plants with claimed antidepressant-like activity, the phenolic-rich Annona muricata aqueous extract (AE) emerged as a moderate monoamine oxidase A (hMAO-A) inhibitor a...

In this work we evaluated methanolic extracts from different parts (leaves, seeds, fruit peel and pulp) of Chamaerops humilis L. for antioxidant activity and the ability to inhibit enzymes linked with neurodegenerative diseases: acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and tyrosinase (TYR). The total content of phenolics, flavonoid...

Plants belonging to the genus Salvia (Lamiaceae) are known to have a wide range of biological properties. In this work, extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides Brot. were evaluated to investigate their chemical composition, toxicity, bioactivity, and stability under in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. The composition of the...

Despite the wide use of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to combat several diseases, the antidiabetic and anti-cholinesterase activity of Spanish EVOO have not been assessed. In order to evaluate which compounds are responsible for these activities of five Spanish EVOOs, in addition to flavonoids, we investigated for the first time the effect of the c...

A green mi­crowave-as­sisted ex­trac­tion of high value-added com­pounds from ex­otic fruits’ peels was op­ti­mized by Box-Behnken de­sign us­ing 3 fac­tors: solid/ sol­vent ra­tio, X1, tem­per­a­ture, X2, and ex­trac­tion time, X3. By us­ing Der­ringer’s de­sir­abil­ity func­tion, op­ti­mum ex­trac­tion yields are ob­tained with X1 = 1/ 149.95 g/...

The antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties of methanolic extracts from four aromatic plants used in traditional medicine and food [Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi subsp. nepeta, Helichrysum italicum subsp. picardii Franco, Mentha spicata L. and Origanum vulgare subsp. virens (Hoffmanns. & Link) Bonnier & Layens] were evaluated. The extract from O...

The central nervous system (CNS) is a mythical target for drug delivery. There is an ongoing debate over the brain accessibility of flavonoids, a group of plant-derived secondary metabolites widely known by their multifarious bioactivities achieved by distinct mechanisms. Recently, their applicability in the management of neurologic and psychiatric...

This is the first study about the influence of the maturation stage and of extraction processes on the phenolic content, radical scavenging properties and inhibition of cholinesterases by leaves and fruits (whole fruit, seeds and pericarp) of Myrtus communis. Ten phenolic compounds were identified by HPLC–DAD in six different plant materials, namel...

Quercus species have a plethora of applications, either in wine and wood industries, in human and animal nutrition or in human health. In order to improve the knowledge on this genus, the aim of the present study was to correlate, for the first time, the phenolic composition of different Quercus ilex L. vegetal tissues (leaves in two maturation sta...

Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karst. has a wide geographic distribution and was employed in traditional medicine as astringent, anti-rheumatic and to treat fever. T. aphylla leaves and stems extracts were studied from both chemical and biological points of view to assess the antidiabetic, anti-cholinesterase and antioxidant potential of this species. The HP...

Despite almost 60 years of intensive research, depression still constitutes a huge economic and social burden worldwide. The reasons which led to this scenario as well as the strategies to overcome it are pointed out by several researchers from different fields of neuroscience and psychiatry: (1) low bioavailability and inefficacy of the current an...

The estimated global cost of mental health conditions, including depressive disorders, was US$2.5 trillion in 2010. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression, 10–40 % of them not improving their condition with the current drug therapies, thus contributing to the increased burde...

"Pedra hume caá" is the common name of five species of Myrcia genus used as traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In this study, different extracts from Myrcia salicifolia, Myrcia sphaerocarpa, and Myrcia speciosa were investigated for the first time, to identify their phenolic compounds (being 3-O-rhamnoside derivatives of m...

Marine ecosystems cover more than 70% of the globe’s surface. These habitats are occupied by a great diversity of marine organisms that produce highly structural diverse metabolites as a defense mechanism. In the last decades, these metabolites have been extracted and isolated in order to test them in different bioassays and assess their potential...

Many herbal teas demonstrate significantly better pharmacological effects when employed in combination rather than when used alone. In this study, four species used for depression (Trichilia catigua, Annona muricata, Cereus grandiflorus and Hyssopus officinalis), as well as their binary mixtures, were screened as MAO-A inhibitors for the first time...

Marine invertebrates produce a plethora of bioactive compounds, which serve as inspiration for marine biotechnology, particularly in drug discovery programs and biomaterials development. This review aims to summarize the potential of drugs derived from marine invertebrates in the field of neuroscience. Therefore, some examples of neuroprotective dr...

Resumen Se investigaron cuatro infusiones contra monoamino oxidasa A (MAO-A), una enzima implicada en la patogénesis de la depresión, y se ha caracterizado su perfil fenólico por HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn y HPLC-DAD. Con la excepción de la de Jasminum grandiflorum L., las infusiones investigadas mostraron efectos benéficos promisorios. Abstract Four herbal...

Iberian-American Fruits Rich in Bioactive Phytochemicals for Nutrition and Health

Introduction: Cochlospermum angolensis Welw. bark is a medicinal plant consumed for the treatment of hepatic diseases and for the prophylaxis of malaria. Nevertheless, there are few studies concerning its chemical composition and biological potential. Objective: Since phenolic compounds are described as powerful anti-oxidants and neuroprotective...

Neurodegenerative, neurological and psychiatric diseases are a group of pathologies with huge social and economic impacts. Since brain disorders continue to be pathological conditions for which corrective surgery cannot be widely used, treatments are based on drugs that only alleviate the symptoms. Despite all efforts in finding more efficient ther...

Depression is a mental disease causing large personal and socio-economic problems, and new improved drugs are therefore needed. Selective monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitors are potential anti-depressants, but discovering new MAO-A inhibitors from natural sources by bioassay-guided approaches are a lengthy and time-consuming process. New analyti...

The chemical profiles of bioactive essential oil and extracts obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), respectively, from Lavandula viridis were compared. The SFE was performed at 40 °C and at extraction pressures of 12 or 18 MPa in two different separators. Evaluation of the essential oil and SFE extracts by GC–...

Essential oil and extracts from the aerial parts of Thymus lotocephalus were obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) in two different collectors, respectively. SFE was conducted at 40°C and a working pressure of 12 or 18MPa. The chemical profiles were determined using GC-FID and GC–IT–MS. Oxygen-containing monote...

Seaweeds are a renewable marine resource recognized as a rich provider of valuable compounds. Since they live in a competitive environment, marine algae developed different strategies to survive, including the biosynthesis of a variety of compounds from different metabolic pathways. Indeed, more than 15000 metabolites were already determined, belon...

Spergularia rubra is distributed all over the world, being its infusion used as diuretic. In spite of its large use, the antidiabetic, anti-cholinesterase and antioxidant activities of this species have not been assessed and its chemical composition is scarcely known. In the work herein a hydromethanolic extract was studied. Thirty-six phenolic com...

The intense phytochemical study of terrestrial ecosystems, in the past decades, resulted in the identification and characterization of several new bioactive compounds. However, along the years, the scientific community became motivated to change its route of investigation into aquatic systems, which are known to possess a rich and unexplored biodiv...

Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. (Brassicaceae) is a wild herb with high nutritional value that can be eaten raw or cooked. A metabolomic study was performed with different extracts of its aerial parts that were tested concerning their antiradical, acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and antibacterial activities. Phenolic compounds were identified a...

The use of mass spectrometry (MS) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) as working tool for the study of the C-glycosyl flavones acylated with aliphatic and aromatic acids has allowed the tentative characterization of these compounds in Spergularia rubra and the establishment of the position of the acylation on the sugar moiety of the C-glycosylati...

The volatiles from Coriandrum sativum L., Satureja montana L., Santolina chamaecyparissus L., and Thymus vulgaris L. were isolated by hydrodistillation (essential oil) and supercritical fluid extraction (volatile oil). Their effect on seed germination and root and shoot growth of the surviving seedlings of four crops ( Zea mays L., Triticum durum L...

Capsella bursa-pastoris (Cruciferae) leaves and roots have been used as an edible vegetable in some countries. Moreover, this species is applied in traditional medicine, as anti-bleeding, anticancer and wound-healing agents and to treat diabetes and fever. Phenolics, namely flavonoids, are well known bioactive compounds. Thus, the plant aerial part...

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of the volatile oil from Thymus vulgaris L. aerial flowering parts was performed under different conditions of pressure, temperature, mean particle size and CO(2) flow rate and the correspondent yield and composition were compared with those of the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation (HD). Both the oils...

The modelling of the experimental data of the extraction of the volatile oil from six aromatic plants (coriander, fennel, savoury, winter savoury, cotton lavender and thyme) was performed using five mathematical models, based on differential mass balances. In all cases the extraction was internal diffusion controlled and the internal mass transfer...

Winter savory Satureja montana is a medicinal herb used in traditional gastronomy for seasoning meats and salads. This study reports a comparison between conventional (hydrodistillation, HD, and Soxhlet extraction, SE) and alternative (supercritical fluid extraction, SFE) extraction methods to assess the best option to obtain bioactive compounds. T...

The antioxidant activities of the volatile and the nonvolatile fractions from Satureja montana obtained by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and by conventional techniques, hydrodistillation (HD) and soxhlet extraction (SE), were compared. A good agreement between DPPH and rancimat methods was obtained showing that the extracts were able to scav...

The essential oils of Tornabenea annua, Tornabenea insularis and Tornabenea tenuissima herbarium or in vivo fruits, collected in Fogo, Santiago, Santo Antão, São Nicolau and São Vicente Islands, from Cape Verde archipelago, or from plants grown in Lisbon, Portugal, were isolated by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC and GC–MS. The yellowish oils...

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of the volatile oil from Santolina chamaecyparissus L. flower heads was performed under different conditions of pressure, temperature, mean particle size and CO2 flow rate. This oil was compared with the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation (HD). The SFE volatile and essential oils were analysed by GC and...

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of the volatile oil from Santolina chamaecyparissus L. flower heads was performed under different conditions of pressure, temperature, mean particle size and CO(2) flow rate. This oil was compared with the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation (HD). The SFE volatile and essential oils were analysed by GC a...

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of the volatile oil from Satureja montana L. was performed under different conditions of pressure (90 and 100 bar), temperature (40 and 50 degrees C), mean particle sizes (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm) and CO(2) flow rate (0.8, 1.1 and 1.3 kg/h) to understand the influence of these parameters on the composition and yield...

Supercritical CO2 fluid extraction of the volatile oil from Italian coriander seeds was carried out under different conditions of temperature (40 and 50 °C), pressure (90, 100 and 150 bar), mean particle size (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm) and CO2 flow rate (0.79, 1.10 and 1.56kg/h) in order to evaluate their influence on the yield and composition of the vo...

Supercritical CO2 fluid extraction of the volatile oil from Italian coriander seeds was carried out under different conditions of temperature (40 and 50 °C), pressure (90, 100 and 150 bar), mean particle size (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm) and CO2 flow rate (0.79, 1.10 and 1.56kg/h) in order to evaluate their influence on the yield and composition of the vo...

Tornabenea is a small Apiaceae genus that is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands. Its species differentiation is based just on a few macromorphological characters: leaf shape, number and shape of umbel bracts and mericarp ribs. These characters vary within each species and show high plasticity. Thus, in recent taxonomic data of the genus, there are d...