Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Triclosan (TCS) is used in many health care products as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial and disinfectant agent; however, it is currently considered an emerging pollutant. The present study aimed to develop an analytical HPLC method coupled to a Diode Array Detector for the TCS determination in toothpaste. Method development involved the optimization of separation and sample preparation. For chromatographic separation optimization, different RP columns and aqueous mobile phases were addressed. The optimized chromatographic separation was achieved in around 3 minutes using a Symmetry C18 column at 30 °C, 0.6 mL/min flow-rate, and 225 nm wavelength detection. For toothpaste sample preparation optimization a response surface methodology using a Box-Behnken fractional factorial design was chosen. The sample treatment consisted of leaching 0.2 g sample by sonication for 7 minutes using 2 mL of MeOH. According to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH, 1996/2005) and European Commission Decision 200/657/EC guidelines, the developed method was validated. The developed analytical method was found fast, economic, linear, sensitive, precise, and robust and allowed to quantify TCS in different healthcare products.

Argemone mexicana L. is a weed; used as a medicinal plant. The biological activity of this plant against pathogens such as viruses, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and pests in the crop; such property is associated with compounds such as flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, and alkaloids present in this plant. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of methanolic extract of A. mexicana as an insecticide on Bactericera cockerelli. A total of 13 metabolites identified by Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry; revealed six with reported biological activity; the compound identified as a [1,3]Benzodioxolo[5,6-e][2]benzazecin-14(6H)-one,5,7,8,15-tetrahydro-3,4-dimethoxy-6-methyl- is the second most abundant and is a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid. Mortality observed at 48 h was 83.6 and 83.9 % dependent on the high doses of 20 and 30 mg/mL, while at 72 h, an increase in mortality up to 97.2 % at concentrations of 8-30 mg/mL occurred. The mean lethal concentration was 7.63 mg/mL and a CL95 of 107.98 mg/mL. The analysis of the methanolic extract of A. mexicana leaves revealed that it can potentially cause mortality in B. cockerelli nymphs as a plant-derived insecticide.

Plants traditionally used for their antiviral activity could be an alternative against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the efficacy of 10 bioactive plant compounds commonly used in Mexico against COVID-19 was evaluated by molecular docking with two online servers: COVID-19 Docking Server and DockThor. Remdesivir was used as a control. The results showed that Cypellocarpin B, Cypellocarpin C, Luteolin 7-glucoside and Syringetin glucopyranoside showed the highest affinity towards viral proteins Mpro and RdRp respect to Remdesivir. Comparison of molecular docking servers showed differences in the docking motors and proteins available on each server. The use of bioactive compounds represents an alternative for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

Dextran is a homopolysaccharide of glucose, formed in sugarcane juice during post-harvest and is responsible for the low yields of evaporation and crystallization in the sugar industry. The enzymatic saccharification of dextran has been noted for its satisfactory yields; However, this enzymatic process requires an adequate selection of the enzyme and its concentration, as well as the control of the environmental conditions of the biocatalysis. The objective of the present investigation was to optimize the process of enzymatic hydrolysis of dextran from sugarcane juice using the response surface methodology. A central composite rotational design with three independent factors of five levels was used: enzyme concentration, reaction time and temperature, and as a response variable: reducing dextran concentration. The commercial enzyme Dextranfree Xe was used which was kinetically characterized. The experiment consisted of two stages, first a simulated cane juice medium was used to determine the optimal conditions and these were then applied to the real sugar cane juice. The optimal environmental conditions for dextran hydrolysis in the simulated cane juice turned out to be: enzyme concentration 224 ppm, reaction time 32 minutes and reaction temperature 36 °C, to achieve 70% dextran reduction. Finally, the optimized conditions were validated by applying them to the sugarcane juice, obtaining a reduction of 69.2% in dextran concentration; concluding that said method was effective.

This research analyzed the dynamics of the pattern of comparative advantages for a group of three alcoholic beverages (mezcal, tequila, and rum) that Mexico exported to the United States market. Secondary information on exports was used to construct the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage Index to show the distilled products' comparative advantage and productive competitiveness of these three distilled products. The results showed that Mexico has international competitiveness for mezcal and tequila, the value of the comparative advantage index was greater than zero in the period 1994-2020, and it also has an increasing trend in the long term. In contrast, rum showed a negative (non-competitive) value in the comparative advantage indexfrmmn 2005-2020. It is concluded that mezcal and tequila are competitive in the international market, while rum has lost that competitiveness. The tequila industry is increasingly consolidated and better promoted in international markets.

The present work attempted to generate information related to the characteristics of coffee growers in Puebla, the climatic conditions experienced and the activities that they already carry out to confront them. There were applied interviews in the macro-regions of the state where coffee is produced, descriptive statistic was generated and general recommendations were designed likely to be applied from a forced field analysis. The 84% of the producers are coffee growers by inheritance. Arabica and Costa Rica, followed by Robusta and Marsellesa are the most used varieties.  The 46% of producers report detrimental effects by extreme weather events. To counter effects of climate change different techniques are used such as live barriers, mowing and cleaning, among others. The most affected region by climate effects is the Sierra Nororiental. Sierra Norte presents a higher number of strategies to deal with it, as well as innovation activities different from those presented in the rest of the regions. All the macro-regions have begun to replace varieties with those that affect the traditional production model. Finally, 20 synergistic actions at producer, farm and landscape level are recommended in order to strengthen the coffee growing   in Puebla.

Anona (Annona reticulata L.) is produced in outfield conditions or in backyard orchards. Its structural organs, mainly leaves, root, stem bark, seeds and pulp contain phytochemical compounds, such as tannins, alkaloids, phenols, glycosides, terpenes, flavonoids and steroids, these compounds have pharmacological, antihelmintic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycemic, antioxidant and cytotoxic properties for several types of cancer. The pulp contains sugars, vitamins and minerals, having potential for the development of new food products with functional or nutraceutical properties.

The economic and social importance of fishing at a global level is based on the production of food and the generation of employment. Although cooperatives have become a successful business model, fishing cooperatives in Mexico face various problems. The use of sustainability indicators is useful to identify areas of opportunity. One of these is the ecological footprint from which the corporate ecological footprint was derived, which measures the environmental impact in surface units. The objective of this work is to calculate the footprint of a fishing cooperative, to identify areas of opportunity in environmental improvement through the evaluation and analysis of the footprint, to generate strategies. The calculation was made through the Composite Method in Financial Accounts. A gross footprint of 299.24 global hectares was found, as well as 688.96 tons of carbon dioxide. The areas of opportunity are the reduction of the category of materials, and the reduction of both the land use of forest resources and the forest ecosystem, both with a greater footprint impact. Future implementation of footprint monitoring is recommended in order to estimate annual reductions.

  For every 10 liters of milk, approximately one kilogram ofcheese is obtained, and the rest is whey; the whey is richin proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals and is usuallydiscarded, causing contamination problems due to its high content of organic matter. Whey from a cheese manufacturer in Tlaxcala was ultra-filtered, obtaining a concentrated whey with 7.79 % proteins; the latter was then spray-dried, obtaining concentrated whey powder with 47 % protein; both products comply with the minimum protein indicated in the CXS 289-1995 standard (11 %), so they can be directly marketed or used for reprocessing. The average yield of Oaxaca cheese adding between 5 and 8 % of concentrated whey was 11.33 %, and with no concentrated whey was 11.41 %; in both cases, the consistency of the cheese was similar between them. It was also found that by adding 0.5 % concentrated whey powder to the cheese-making process, the yield increased by 4.16 % compared to the use of 1 % milk powder. By ultra-filtering the whey and drying the resulting fractions, products obtained that can be marketed by the company, in addition to being used in the production of Oaxaca cheese, which implies an economic benefit for the company. In addition to the environmental advantages due to the decrease in contamination due to the disposal of whey.  

Medicinal plants are an inexhaustible source of molecules with several biological activities. The main objective of this research was the evaluation of the antimitotic and genotoxic effect by the Allium cepa test of the methanolic extract of the leaves of Peganum harmala, a spontaneous plant from the arid zones of Algeria (Timzerth, Laghouat). Different concentrations (1, 4, 10, and 16 mg∙mL-1) of the extract, as well as two standards (colchicine and quercetin) at 1 mg∙mL-1 concentration were tested. Mitotic index (MI), limit value for cytotoxicity (LVC), phase index (PI), and aberration indexes (AI) were calculated, and different aberrations were identified in treated meristematic onion cells. Statistical analyses by ANOVA and Newman-Keuls test were performed. The results confirmed our previous findings that the methanolic extract has an anti-mitotic effect similar to that of the standards. The increase in extract concentrations was accompanied by a decrease in the various indexes calculated. The extracts blocked mitosis in prophase which was predominantly present, and caused increase in abnormalities, represented by dominant rates of agglutinations, chromosomal fragmentations and binuclear cells. confirmed that the effect was independent of concentrations, though to varying degrees.