**10. Conclusion**

Biomarkers are naturally occurring, ubiquitous and stable complexes that are objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of a certain state. It is used in many scientific fields; medicine, cell biology, exposure assessment, geology and astrobiology.

Due to the variety of geological conditions and ages under which oil was formed, every crude oil exhibits a unique biomarker fingerprint. From the identification point of view, biomarkers are the most important hydrocarbon groups in petroleum because they can be used for chemical fingerprinting which provides unique clues to the identity of source rocks from which petroleum samples are derived and the biological source organisms which generated the organic matter, the environmental conditions that prevailed in the water column and sediment at the time, the thermal history (maturity) of both the rock and the oil, and the degree of microbial biodegradation.

GC-MS is considered the most widely used method for biomarkers detection and identification which is a true combination of its separate parts (gas chromatography, GC and mass spectrometry, MS). The mass spectrometer has long been recognized as the most powerful detector for gas chromatography due to its high sensitivity, specificity and capability to elucidate compound structure. Mass fragmentography provides a satisfactory tool for obtaining specific fingerprints for classes and homologous series of compounds resolved by gas chromatography. The development of more sensitive and selective identification tool for biomarker analysis purpose especially for crude oils containing low concentration biomarkers as weathered and light oils can be considered as one of the most important research points in this field. After separation and identification of biomarkers, principal component analysis PCA, a mathematical procedure, can be used for analyses of chromatograms using a fast and objective procedure with more comprehensive data usage compared to other fingerprinting methods. The discriminative power of PCA was enhanced by deselecting the most uncertain variables or scaling them according to their uncertainty. Chemical analysis of biomarkers generates information of great importance to environmental forensic investigations in terms of determining the source of spilled oil. The patterns of the biomarkers and a set of parameters were used to construct an Egyptian computerized oil spill identification database. This can greatly increase the possibilities for finding the sources of oil pollution by comparing an unknown pollutant sample with any similar oil sample stored in the database. A much stronger connection between a distinct oil spill and its actual source may be established than before.

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**10** 

 *Brazil* 

**Quantification of Antimalarial Quassinoids** 

**Root Infusions of** *Picrolemma sprucei* 

Alaíde S. Barreto3, Antonio C. Siani3 and Adrian M. Pohlit2 *1Department of Chemistry, Amazon Federal University (UFAM), Amazon,* 

*Oswaldo Cruz Institute Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro,* 

**Hook F. by HPLC-UV Analysis** 

Rita C. S. Nunomura1, Ellen C. C. Silva1, Sergio M. Nunomura2, Ana C. F. Amaral3,

*2Coordenation of Research in Natural Products, Amazon National Institute (INPA), Amazon, 3Laboratory of Natural Products, Farmanguinhos,* 

**Neosergeolide and Isobrucein B in Stem and** 

Natural products have been very important to ensure the survival of the man, since the ancient times, especially as remedies to treat different diseases. Today, despite the development of new therapies and new ways of drug development (combinatorial chemistry, ie); natural products continue to play a highly significant role in the drug

Even though fewer drugs have been approved as therapeutical agents lately, nature still inspires the drug development for neglected diseases (malaria, tuberculosis and leishmania) and alternative therapies such as phytotherapy. In both cases, medicinal plants, plants that have been used by the folk medicine for years, are mostly studied. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the importance of phytotherapy and the conservation of medicinal plants that stated "the importance of conservation is recognized by WHO and its Member States and is considered to be an essential feature of national programmes on

The successful use of some medicinal plants by local population for years, in many cases for centuries, in the treatment of diseases or symptoms associated to some diseases is the basis of the development of drugs or other therapeutical products from them. For instance, artemisinin, a very potent antimalarial, including for drug-resistant malaria strains, was isolated from *Artemisia annua* L., a plant from the traditional Chinese medicine used as

On the other hand, there is an increasing interest for medicines from nature. This interest in products of plant origin is due to several reasons as possible side-effects from synthetic

remedy for chills and fever for more than 2000 years (Agtmael *et al*. , 1999).

discovery and development process. (Newman, Cragg, 2007).

traditional medicines" (Akerele, 1991).

**1. Introduction** 

