A novel arginine-rich chitosan (CS) derivates mimicked cell penetration peptides; N-Arginine chitosan (N-Arg-CS) was prepared by two reaction methods involving activated L-arginine and the amine group on the chitosan. FTIR spectra showed that arginine was chemically coupled with CS. Elemental analysis estimated that the degrees of substitution (DS) of arginine in CS were 6%, 31.3% and 61.5%, re...

Increasing evidence suggests that `aromas have distinctive effects on the allocation of attention in space: Arousing olfactory fragrances (e.g., peppermint) are supposed to induce a more focused state, and calming olfactory fragrances (e.g., lavender) a broader attentional state. Here, we investigate whether odors have similar effects on the allocation of attention in time. Participants perform...

The ability of odours to cue vivid and emotionally intense memories is well known. However the majority of research has focused on the extent to which odours can act as environmental cues to memory, where odours are presented alongside the stimuli to be remembered, rather than the extent to which pre-existing associations between odour and odour related stimuli might influence memory. Here, par...

Despite recent advances in food production technology, food-borne diseases (FBD) remain a challenging public health concern. In several countries, including Brazil, Clostridium perfringens is among the five main causative agents of food-borne diseases. The present study determines antimicrobial activities of essential oils of six condiments commonly used in Brazil, viz., Ocimum basilicum L. (ba...

Two independent pathways operate in plants for the synthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate, the central intermediates in the biosynthesis of all isoprenoids. The mevalonate pathway is present in the cytosol, whereas the recently discovered mevalonate-independent pathway is localized to plastids. We have used isolated peppermint (Mentha piperita) oil gland secretory ce...

The chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from 10 commonly consumed herbs: Citrus aurantium, C. limon, Lavandula angustifolia, Matricaria chamomilla, Mentha piperita, M. spicata, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris and Salvia officinalis have been determined. The antibacterial activity of these oils and their main components; i.e. camphor, carvacrol, ...

Prosthetic medical device-associated infections are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality rates. Novel improved materials and surfaces exhibiting inappropriate conditions for microbial development are urgently required in the medical environment. This study reveals the benefit of using natural Mentha piperita essential oil, combined with a 5 nm core/shell nanosystem-improved surfa...