Célia was graduated in Food Engineering in 1993 at the High School of Biotechnology of Portuguese Catholic University. In 1997, with the thesis, Rheological characterization of mixed systems xanthan/locust bean gum, Célia completed the M. at Faculty of Sciences of UP. In 2009, Célia obtained the Ph.D in Analytical Chemistry by the Faculty of Pharmacy of UP, with the thesis entitled: Evaluation of the use of renewable miniaturized sensors in the analysis of drugs in various matrices and toxic. Since 2002 she has been teaching as invited Professor and nowadays as Assistant Professor
EDUCATION
Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Escola Superior de Biotecnologia: Porto, PT - Degree in Food Engineer
University of Porto; Faculty of Sciences, PT - Master in Chemistry
University of Porto; Faculty of Pharmacy, PT - PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Insights into the molecular antimicrobial properties of ferulic acid against Helicobacter pylori Luay F Abu-Qatouseh, Mohammad I A Ahmad, Célia G Amorim, Ibrahim S I Al-Adham, Phillip J Collier, et al. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2025 Aim Natural compounds have gained attention as potential alternatives or adjuvants to antibiotics against several pathogens. Ferulic acid, a natural plant product, has demonstrated promising antimicrobial properties against a wide range of microorganisms. This paper aims to characterize the molecular mechanism underlying the potential inhibitory effects of ferulic acid on Helicobacter pylori. Methods and results The impact of ferulic acid on the growth and expression of genes associated with urease enzyme, flagellar and motility, acid stability, toxin production, and quorum sensing in H. pylori using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was investigated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of ferulic acid were 167.7 ± 58.9 µg mL-1 and 250 µg mL-1, respectively. Exposure of H. pylori to 0.1% ferulic acid revealed strong induction of the regulatory genes hup and rpoN transcription factors and fliA flagellar regulatory factor and the cytotoxin genes cagA and vacA. Conclusions Results confirm the potent anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of ferulic acid affecting the expression of genes of its virulence factors, metabolism, and quorum sensing.
Enhanced Extraction and Separation with HPLC-DAD of Phenolic and Flavonoid Antioxidants from Portulaca oleracea L. Leaves Using Tailored Terpenoid-Based NADES: Comparative Assessment of Antiradical and Antimicrobial Activities Tarik Sebbah, Imene Yahla, Edite Cunha, Ali Riazi, Célia G. Amorim, et al. Antioxidants, 2025 This study evaluates Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) for extracting antioxidant compounds from Portulaca oleracea dried leaves, compared to traditional ethanol extraction. NADES were synthesized using terpenoids (menthol and β-citronellol) and organic acids (lactic and capric acid), characterized by favorable viscosity, density, and pH, ensuring liquid stability at ambient temperature. NADES extraction outperformed ethanol, with NADES 1 yielding the highest bioactive contents: 83.66 Eq GA/mg, 786.55 Eq Q/mg, and 0.78 Eq C/mg versus ethanol’s 58.49 Eq GA/mg, 363.23 Eq Q/mg, and 0.44 Eq C/mg. HPLC-DAD analysis identified higher levels of phenolic acids (caffeic and syringic acid) and flavonoids (rutin and quercetin) in NADES extracts, compounds absent in ethanol. Antioxidant potential, assessed via IC50 values, confirmed superior activity for NADES extracts (NADES 1-Ext: IC50 28.10 ± 1.73 µg/µL) compared to ethanol (IC50 1615.97 ± 5.34 µg/µL), and the Trolox method has confirmed extensively this superiority. Additionally, NADES demonstrated improved antimicrobial effects, varying with microorganisms. Despite their high viscosity potentially limiting extraction efficiency, adjusting temperature offers a promising approach to enhance mass transfer. These findings emphasize NADES as a sustainable alternative for bioactive compound extraction, paving the way for optimizing extraction techniques through viscosity reduction strategies.
