A new species of Potamotrygonocestus Brooks & Thorson, 1976 (Eucestoda : Tetraphyllidea) from Plesiotrygon iwamae Rosa, Castello & Thorson (Mylliobatoidea : Potamotrygonidae) and a redescription of Potamotrygonocestus chaoi Marques, Brooks & Araujo, 2003

Potamotrygonocestus Brooks & Thorson, 1976 is currently represented by six recognised species of tetraphyllidean cestodes inhabiting Neotropical freshwater stingrays. Potamotrygonid stingrays examined to date have included only a single specimen of Plesiotrygon iwamae. Only one species of tetraphyllidean, Potamotrygonocestus chaoi Marques, Brooks & Araujo, 2003, has been described from this host, and this description was based on limited material. New efforts to document the diversity in this host species resulted in the collection of eight additional specimens of P. iwamae, one of these from the upper Rio Solimoes, at Sao Paulo de Olivenca Amazonas during September, 2003, and seven from the Baia do Marajo, Para, during November, 2003. The specimen from the upper Solimoees was found to be infected with P. chaoi. Voucher material from this stingray was used for the redescription of this cestode, which is characterized by strobila 8.78-22.83 mm long and a great number of proglottides, 58-93; the new material provided strobilar length and proglottis counts for complete worms. Potamotrygonocestus marajoara n. sp. is the second species of this genus reported from Plesiotrygon iwamae, although it appears to be restricted to the lower Amazon. This new species resembles P. chaoi in possessing filitriches and blade-like spinitriches on the scolex, cephalic peduncle and cirrus, but differs from other species of the genus in the number of testes, which is 44 on average per proglottis, and by having apical sucker measuring 95-175 mu m in length. Additional data on the distribution and morphology of the microtriches and a detailed description of the female reproductive system are also provided in this study.

Schistosoma mansoni: In vitro schistosomicidal activity of piplartine

Schistosomiasis is one of the world`s greatly neglected tropical diseases, and its control is largely dependent on a single drug, praziquantel. Here, we report the in vitro effect of piplartine, an amide isolated from Piper tuberculatum (Piperaceae), on Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. A piplartine concentration of 15.8 mu M reduced the motor activity of worms and caused their death within 24 h in a RPMI 1640 medium. Similarly, the highest sub-lethal concentration of piplartine (6.3 mu M) caused a 75% reduction in egg production in spite of coupling. Additionally, piplartine induced morphological changes on the tegument, and a quantitative analysis carried out by confocal microscopy revealed an extensive tegumental destruction and damage in the tubercles. This damage was dose-dependent in the range of 15.8-630.2 mu M. At doses higher than 157.6 mu M, piplartine induced morphological changes in the oral and ventral sucker regions of the worms. It is the first time that the schistosomicidal activity has been reported for piplartine. Published by Elsevier Inc.