Ethnobotanical study of the sages used in traditional Valencian medicine and as essential oil: characterization of an endemic Salvia and its contribution to local development

Seven wild and cultivated Salvia species and two Phlomis species, used traditionally in Valencian medicine to treat a variety of external and internal ailments, were studied. New ethnobotanical data are provided, obtained from semistructured interviews with 34 people in the Valencian area. A seasonal characterization of the essential oil of a wild sage, Salvia blancoana Webb & Heldr. subsp. mariolensis Figuerola, by GC-FID and GC-MS was carried out as a means to ensure quality control of endemic traditional species such as this one, which has been commercialized by local industries. A comparison with the essential oil of Salvia lavandulifolia Vahl subsp.lavandulifolia allowed inclusion of the wild sage within the commercial 'Spanish sage' oil.

Impregnación en CO2 supercrítico de diferentes sustratos poliméricos, como alternativa a los tratamientos textiles, comúnmente empleados en el Mediterráneo

En el siguiente trabajo se realiza la impregnación de diferentes sustratos poliméricos con agentes biocidas y con un colorante textil, comúnmente empleados en los procesos de acabados textiles. En este estudio se realiza la selección del colorante Disperse Red 167 (DR167), mediante la comparación de solubilidad en CO2 supercrítico (scCO2) entre varios colorantes dispersos. Los agentes biocidas seleccionados han sido; esencia de clavo (eugenol) y aceite esencial de orégano. Se ha realizado la impregnación de diferentes sustratos poliméricos; poliéster (PES), polipropileno (PP), y algodón (CO), en diferentes condiciones. En total se realizaron impregnaciones utilizando diez concentraciones relativas del DR167. El objetivo principal es determinar las condiciones óptimas de procesado para cada sustrato. Para determinar el rendimiento de la tintura en scCO2 se han representado los diagramas cromáticos de las muestras tintadas en diferentes condiciones. Las muestras de PES son las que presentan mayor rendimiento de color, sabiendo que esta es la única fibra que presenta afinidad con el DR167. Para determinar el efecto de inhibición de las bacterias se han realizado ensayos de actividad antimicrobiana y actividad fungicida. Puede indicarse que sí se observó cierta actividad inhibitoria frente algunos microorganismos, como Staphylococcus aureus, mientras que no se observó una actividad inhibitoria importante frente a otros como Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Stratigraphic and geochemical study of the organic-rich black shales in the Tarcău Nappe of the Moldavidian Domain (Carpathian Chain, Romania)

An integrated stratigraphic analysis has been made of the Tarcău Nappe (Moldavidian Domain, Eastern Romanian Carpathians), coupled with a geochemical study of organic-rich beds. Two Main Sequence Boundaries (Early Oligocene and near to the Oligocene–Aquitanian boundary, respectively) divide the sedimentary record into three depositional sequences. The sedimentation occurred in the central area of a basin supplied by different and opposite sources. The high amount of siliciclastics at the beginning of the Miocene marks the activation of the “foredeep stage”. The successions studied are younger than previously thought and they more accurately date the deformation of the different Miocene phases affecting the Moldavidian Basin. The intervals with black shales identified are related to two main separate anoxic episodes with an age not older than Late Rupelian and not before Late Chattian. The most important organic-rich beds correspond to the Lower Menilites, Bituminous Marls and Lower Dysodilic Shales Members (Interval 2). These constitute a good potential source rock for petroleum, with homogeneous Type II oil-prone organic matter, highly lipidic and thermally immature. The deposition of black shales has been interpreted as occurring within a deep, periodically isolated and tectonically controlled basin.