Avaliação da atividade antimalárica e citotóxica de plantas medicinais dos Biomas Caatinga e Amazônico

Resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to the usual antimalarials, as well as their adverse effects and high cost, has led to the search of new drugs against malaria. Several of these have been developed from medicinal plants based on ethnopharmacology, including the most widely used antimalarials today: quinine and artemisinin. In the present study schizonticide activity of extracts and fractions of a number of medicinal plants from the Caatinga and Amazon biomes were assessed based on ethnopharmacological and chemosystematic information. These included Ximenia americana, Maytenus rigida, Sideroxylon obtusifolium, Stryphnodendro coriaceum, Bowdichia virgiliodes, Schinopis brasiliensis and Picrolemma sprucei, the last, an Amazon species. Antimalarial tests of blood schizonticides were conducted in Swiss mice infected with P. berghei and in vitro against P. falciparum. In vitro cytotoxicity studies were carried out using HeLa, CHO, 3T3, Raw and HEPG2 cell lines. Except for X. americana, all species exhibited in vivo or in vitro antimalarial activity, inhibiting parasitic growth by up to 79%. Extracts exhibited moderate toxicity with dosedependent kinetics. In this sense, ethnopharmacological and chemosystematic approaches were shown to be useful and promising tools in the search of new drugs. These findings represent a significant contribution to scientific knowledge of the antimalarial potential of Brazilian flora, thereby opening perspectives for the development of new antimalarials

Caracterização socio-econômico-cultural de raizeiros e procedimentos pós-colheita de plantas medicinais comercializadas em Maceió, AL

ARAUJO, Afranio Cesar de et al. Caracterização socio-econômico-cultural de raizeiros e procedimentos pós-colheita de plantas medicinais comercializadas em Maceió, AL. Rev. Bras. Pl. Med, Botucatu, v. 11, n. 01, p.81-91, 2009. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 04 out. 2010.

Manutenção da Heterozigosidade em populações de plantas autógamas

Neste trabalho objetivou-se verificar, teoricamente , a possibilidade de manutenção de heterozigotos, em populações de plantas autógamas, na presença e na ausência de seleção dependente de frequência (SDF). Considerou-se apenas um loco com dois alelos. Utilizou-se a dedução algébrica de formulas referentes a alguns modelos de populações e um programa para simular a sucessão das gerações em uma calculadora científica avançada. Comparou-se os resultados do modelo com os dados obtidos experimentalmente por Allard e Workman (1963) e por Harding, Allard e Smeltzer (1966). Os coeficientes de determinação foram 0,9653 e 0,9166 para a primeira e a segunda comparação, respectivamente. Estes coeficientes indicam que o modelo D representa de modo bastante fidedigno as variações observadas em populações experimentais de plantas predominantemente autógamas

Efeitos da microgravidade em plantas de cana-de-açúcar

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a plant from Poaceae family that has an impressive ability to accumulate sucrose in the stalk, making it a significant component of the economy of many countries. About 100 countries produce sugarcane in an area of 22 million hectares worldwide. For this reason, many studies have been done using sugarcane as a plant model in order to improve production. A change in gravity may be one kind of abiotic stress, since it generates rapid responses after stimulation. In this work we decided to investigate the possible morphophysiological, biochemical and molecular changes resulting from microgravity. Here, we present the contributions of an experiment where sugarcane plants were submitted to microgravity flight using a vehicle VSB-30, a sounding rocket developed by Aeronautics and Space Institute teams, in cooperation with the German Space Agency. Sugarcane plants with 10 days older were submitted to a period of six minutes of microgravity using the VSB-30 rocket. The morphophysiological analyses of roots and leaves showed that plants submitted to the flight showed changes in the conduction tissues, irregular pattern of arrangement of vascular bundles and thickening of the cell walls, among other anatomical changes that indicate that the morphology of the plants was substantially influenced by gravitational stimulation, besides the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide, an important signaling molecule in stress conditions. We carried out RNA extraction and sequencing using Illumina platform. Plants subjected to microgravity also showed changes in enzyme activity. It was observed an increased in superoxide dismutase activity in leaves and a decreased in its activity in roots as well as for ascorbate peroxidase activity. Thus, it was concluded that the changes in gravity were perceived by plants, and that microgravity environment triggered changes associated with a reactive oxygen specie signaling process. This work has helped the understanding of how the gravity affects the structural organization of the plants, by comparing the anatomy of plants subjected to microgravity and plants grown in 1g gravity

Potencial larvicida de extratos de plantas regionais no controle de larvas de Aedes aegypti

Dengue, amongst the virus illnesses one can get by vectorial transmission, is the one that causes more impact in the morbidity and mortality of world s population. The resistance to the insecticides has caused difficulties to control of vector insect (Aedes aegypti) and has stimulated a search for vegetables with larvicidal activity. The biodiversity of Caatinga is barely known and it is potential of use even less. Some plants of this biome are commercialized in free fairs northeast of Brazil, because of its phytotherapics properties. The vegetables in this study had been selected by means of a questionnaire applied between grass salesmen and natives of the Serido region from Rio Grande do Norte state; culicids eggs had been acquired with traps and placed in container with water for the larva birth. Thirty larvae had been used in each group (a group control and five experimental groups), with four repetitions four times. The vegetables had been submitted to the processes of decoction, infusion and maceration in the standard concentration of 100g of the vegetable of study in 1l of H2O and analyzed after ½, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 hours for verification of the average lethal dose (LD50) from the groups with thirty larva. The LD50 was analyzed in different concentrations (50g/l, 100g/l, 150g/l, 200g/l e 300g/l) of Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart. 48 extracts of rind, leaf and stem of the seven vegetal species: Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart., Mimosa verrucosa Benth, Mimosa hostilis (Mart.) Benth., Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão, Ximenia americana L, Bumelia sartorum Mart Zizyphus joazeiro Mart, had been analyzed. The extracts proceeding from the three methods were submitted to the freezedrying, to evaluate and to quantify substances extracted in each process. The results had shown that Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart. and Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão are the species that are more distinguished as larvicidal after 24 hours of experiment, in all used processes of extraction in the assays. The Zizyphus joazeiro Mart species has not shown larvicidal activity in none of the assays. In relation to the extraction method, the decoction was the most efficient method in the mortality tax of the A. aegypti larvae

Atividade antimalárica de plantas medicinais da biorregião do Araripe-CE em modelo murino - Plasmodium berghei

Malaria, also popularly known as maleita , intermittent fever, paludism, impaludism, third fever or fourth fever, is an acute infectious febrile disease, which, in human beings, is caused by four species: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. Malaria, one of the main infectious diseases in the world, is the most important parasitoses, with 250 million annual cases and more than 1 million deaths per year, mainly in children younger than live years of age. The prophylactic and therapeutic arsenal against malaria is quite restricted, since all the antimalarials currently in use have some limitation. Many plant species belonging to several families have been tested in vivo, using the murine experimental model Plasmodium berghei or in vitro against P. falciparum, and this search has been directed toward plants with antithermal, antimalarial or antiinflammatory properties used in popular Brazilian bolk medicine. Studies assessing the biological activity of medicinal plant essential oils have revealed activities of interest, such as insecticidal, spasmolytic and antiplasmodic action. It has also been scientifically established that around 60% of essential oils have antifungal properties and that 35% exhibit antibacterial properties. In our investigation, essential oils were obtained from the species Vanillosmopsis arborea, Lippia sidoides and Croton zethneri which are found in the bioregion of Araripe-Ceará. The chemical composition of these essential oils was partially characterized and the presence of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The acute toxicity of these oils was assessed in healthy mice at different doses applied on a single day and on four consecutive days, and in vitro cytotoxicity in HeLa and Raw cell lines was determined at different concentrations. The in vivo tests obtained lethal dose values of 7,1 mg/Kg (doses administered on a single day) and 1,8 mg/Kg (doses administered over four days) for 50% of the animals. In the in vitro tests, the inhibitory concentration for 50% of cell growth in Hela cell lines was 588 μg/mL (essential oil from C. zethneri after 48 h), from 340-555 μg/mL (essential oil from L. sidoides, after 24 and 48 h). The essential oil from V. arborea showed no cytotoxicity and none of the essential oils were cytotoxic in Raw cell lines. These data suggest a moderate toxicity in the essential XVIII oils under study, a finding that does not impede their testing in in vivo antimalarial assays. Was shown the antimalarial activity of the essential oils in mice infected with P. berghei was assessed. The three species showed antimalarial activity from 36%-57% for the essential oil from the stem of V. arborea; from 32%-82% for the essential oil from the leaves of L. sidoides and from 40%-70% of reduction for the essential oil from the leaves of C. zethneri. This is the first study showing evidence of antimalarial activity with these species from northeast Brazil. Further studies to isolate the active ingredients of these oils are needed to determine if a single active ingredient accounts for the antimalarial activity or if a complex integration of all the compounds present occurs, a situation reflected in their biological activity

Flebotomíneos (Diptera: Psychodidae) em um sistema agroflorestal da Região Metropolitana de Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

Sandflies stand out as important vectors of leishmaniasis. The females need to ingest blood meals, enabling them to transmit protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which may give rise to visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL), in addition to transmitting other parasites. Leishmaniasis are important infirmities, distributed worldwide, whose infection results from the interaction of reservoir animals, the vector insect, parasitic protozoa and the healthy host. In the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brazil, these insects are important transmitters of VL, which usually presents in the most serious form. It occurs mainly in metropolitan areas, with the dog as its main reservoir and Lutzomyia longipalpis as the vector. ATL is most present in the highland areas of the state. In addition to hematophagia, engaged in by the females, both sexes need to ingest carbohydrates, which are essential to the sand flies energy requirements and may interfere in the development of Leishmania. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and abundance of sand flies in different environments on the farm belonging to the Empresa de Pesquisas Agropecuárias do RN (Institute of Agricultural Research of RN), in the municipality of Parnamirim, in order to relate this occurrence with climatological and biological references and eating habits. Three consecutive monthly collections were carried out with CDC traps in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest, in a residence, on a goat breeding farm and on cashew, dwarf and giant coconut, mango, banana, eucalyptus, acacia and bean plantations. A total of 1241 sandflies from eight species (Lutzomyia evandroi, Lutzomyia longipalpis, Lutzomyia shannoni, Lutzomyia sordellii Lutzomyia walkeri, Lutzomyia wellcomei, Lutzomyia whitmani, and Lutzomyia intermedia) were collected, most in the forest environment. L. longipalpis, the main VL transmitter, was confirmed as a species adapted to anthropic environments, whereas others such as L. wellcomei, the vector of ATL, occurred predominantly in forests. Carbohydrate characterization of the sand flies and plants of the region demonstrated that a number of exotic plants such as hay and eucalyptus may play some role in the adaptation of these species to modified environments. Breeding in laboratory showed a mean biological cycle of 53.5 days from egg to adulthood for L. shannoni and the possibility of diapause behavior in L. wellcomei. This study serves as a source of information that may contribute to the epidemiological vigilance of tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis in the state, given that it analyzes the bioecology of transmitting species, as well as their potential to adapt to new environments

Avaliação da atividade antimalárica de extratos obtidos de algas marinhas no litoral do Rio Grande do Norte

Malaria is a major parasitic disease worldwide, accounting for about 500 million cases and causing 2 million to 3 million deaths annually. Four species are responsible for transmitting this disease to humans: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale. The parasite resistance to antimalarial drugs and the usual limitations of the vector control implications are contributing to the spread of the disease. The most of significant advances in the search for new antimalarial drugs is based on natural components, the main ones being currently used antimalarial drugs derived from plants. Research on natural products of marine origin (particularly algae) show that some species possess antiplasmodial activity. Knowing that the coast of Rio Grande do Norte is home to several species of algae, the present study was to evaluate, for the first time, the antimalarial activity of ethanolic extracts of seaweed Spatoglossum schroederi, Gracilaria birdiae and Udotea flabellum against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain tests and in vitro using the murine model (Plasmodium berghei) for evaluation in vivo. These species were ground, macerated with ethanol for 24 hours and the extracts concentrated in rotaevaporador (45 ° C ± 5 ° C). For in vitro tests, the extracts were diluted and tested at concentrations between 100 and 1.56 μg/ml (seven concentrations in triplicate), in order to obtain IC50 of each extract. The cytotoxicity tests with macrophages and BGM were performed using the MTT colorimetric assay. BGM macrophages and cells were distributed in 96 wells per plate (1x 105 to macrophages and 1x104 cells per well for BGM) and incubated for 24h at 37 ° C. The ethanol extracts were diluted and tested at concentrations of 100 to 1,56 μg/ml (seven concentrations in triplicate). After periods of 24 hours of incubation with the extracts, 100 μg of MTT was added to each well, and 3 hours elapsed, the supernatant was removed and added 200 μl of DMSO in each well. The absorbance of each well was obtained by reading on a spectrophotometer at 570 nm filter. To evaluate the acute toxicity in vivo, Swiss mice received a single dose (oral) 2000 mg/kg/animal of each extract tested. The parameters of acute toxicity were observed for 8 days. For in vivo tests, Swiss mice were inoculated with 1x105 erythrocytes infected with P. berghei. The treatment was given first to fourth day after infection with 0.2 ml of the extracts in doses of 1000 and 500 mg//g animal. The negative control group received 0.2 ml of 2% Tween-20, whereas the positive control group received sub-dose of chloroquine (5 mg/kg/animal). The assessment of antimalarial activity was done by suppressing suppressing the parasitemia at 5 and 7 days after infection. The growth inhibition of parasites was determined relative to negative control (% inhibition = parasitaemia in control - parasitemia in sample / parasitemia control x 100), the mortality of animals was monitored daily for 30 days The results showed that algae Spatoglossum schroederi and Udotea flabellum showed antimalarial activity in vitro, with reduced parasitemia of 70.54% and 54, respectively. The extracts of the three algae tested showed moderate to high cytotoxicity. Algae S. schroederi and U. flabellum were active against P. berghei only at doses of 500 mg / kg with reduction ranging from 54.58 to 52.65% for the fifth day and from 32.24 to 47.34% for the seventh day, respectively. No toxicity was observed in vivo at the dose tested, over the 8 days of observation. Although preliminary data, the bioactive components in those possible seaweed may be promising for the development of new anti-malarial drugs

Avaliação das atividades anti-toxoplásmica, antioxidante e antiinflamatória dos monoterpenos timol (lippia sidoides) e estragol (croton zenhtneri)

Toxoplasmosis, a benign disease in normal healthy individuals, can have serious effects in pregnant women and immunocompromised patients. It is a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii (Tg), an obligatory intracellular protozoan. The prophylactic and therapeutic arsenal against this parasite is very restricted. Thus, there is an ongoing search for novel drugs and therapeutic strategies. A promising alternative is a rational approach using medicinal plants. This study aimed to standardize methodologies for assessing the toxicological, antiproliferative, antioxidant, antiinflammatory and anti-Toxoplasma effects of Estragole and Thymol compounds isolated from species of plants (Lippia sidoides and Croton zenhtneri) commonly used in the Cariri region of Ceara State, Brazil. First we evaluated in vivo toxicity and conducted a pathological analysis of mice livers. In vivo antiinflammatory activity was assessed using air pouch and paw edema methods. Cytotoxicity assays were performed and antiproliferative, antioxidant and nitric oxide production analyzed. Anti-Toxoplasma activity was evaluated in a congenital experimental model with varying stages of maternal infection using the ME-49 strain and a non- congenital model by using ME-49 and RH strains. The results suggest low to moderate toxicity for both compounds. Thymol was more toxic in vivo and in vitro, having greater pathological repercussion than Estragole. The compounds were inactive for antiproliferative activity. Thymol showed better antioxidant activity, while Estragole stimulated nitric oxide production in macrophages. Both showed significant antiinflammatory activity. In non-congenital Tg infection, both compounds were active only against the ME49 strain. In congenital infection, Estragole (oral route) improved the newborn weight of infected mothers compared with untreated controls. Subcutaneous administration of the two compounds increased the weight of offspring born to infected mothers compared with untreated controls. We concluded that Estragole and Thymol exhibit important biological and anti-Toxoplasma activities. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism of action of these compounds and other possible activities not investigated in the present study

Atividade antiplasmódica e toxicológica de plantas medicinais usadas popularmente no Brasil : uma abordagem etnobotânica

Malaria is a disease of global distribution, recognized by governments around the world as a serious public health problem, affecting more than 109 countries and territories and endangering more than 3.3 billion people. The economic costs of this disease are also relevant: the African continent itself has malaria-related costs of about $ 12 billion annually. Nowadays, in addition to chloroquine, Plasmodium falciparum is resistant to many drugs used in the treatment of malaria, such as amodiaquine, mefloquine, quinine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine; resistance of Plasmodium vivax to treatments, although less studied, is also reported. Nature, in general, is responsible for the production of most known organic substances, and the plant kingdom is responsible for the most of the chemical diversity known and reported in the literature. Most medicinal plants commercialized in Brazil, however, are of exotic origin, which makes the search for endemic medicinal plants, besides a patent necessity, a fascinating subject of academic research and development. This study aimed to: (i) verify the antimalarial activity of ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extracts of Boerhavia paniculata Rich. And acetonic extract of Clethra scabra Pers. in Swiss albino mice infected by Plasmodium berghei NK65, (ii) observe possible combined effects between the course of infection by P. berghei NK65 and administration of these extracts in Swiss albino mice, and (iii) conduct a preliminary study of the acute toxicity of these extracts in Swiss albino mice. All extracts notable pharmacological activities - with parasite infections inhibitions ranging from 22% to 54%.These characteristics suggest that the activities are relevant, although comparatively lower than the activity displayed by the positive control group (always above 90%). The general framework of survival analysis demonstrates an overall reduction in survival times for all groups. Necroscopy has not pointed no change in color, shape, size and/or consistency in the evaluated organs - the only exception was the livers of rats submitted to treatment to hydroalcoholic extracts: these organs have been presented in a slightly congestive aspect with mass increasing roughly 28% higher than the other two groups and a p-value of 0.0365. The 250 mg/Kg ethanolic group has been pointed out by the Dunn s post test, as the only class with simultaneous inequalities (p<0.05) between positive and negative control groups. The extracts, notably ethanol extract, have, in fact, a vestigial antimalarial activity, although well below from the ones perceived to chloroquine-treated groups; nevertheless, the survival times of the animals fed with the extracts do not rise by presence of such therapy. Both the toxicopharmacological studies of the synergism between the clinical course of malaria and administration of extracts and the isolated evaluation of toxicity allow us to affirm the absence of toxicity of the extracts at the level of CNS and ANS, as well as their non-influence on food and water consumption patterns, until dosages of 500 mg/Kg. Necroscopic analysis leads us to deduct a possible hepatotoxic effect of hydroalcoholic extract at dosages of 500 mg/Kg, and an innocuous tissue activity of the ethanol extract, in the same dosage. We propose a continuation of the studies of these extracts, with protocol modifications capable of addressing more clearly and objectively their pharmacological and toxicological aspects

Avaliação de parâmetros de estresse oxidativo em plantas de cana-de-açúcar tratadas com peróxico de hidrogênio

The genus Saccharum belongs to Poaceae family. Sugarcane has become important monocultures in Brazil due to their products: ethanol and sugar. The production may change between different regions from Brazil. This difference is related to soil, climatic conditions and temperature that promotes oxidative stress that may induce an early flowering. The aim of this work was to identify the effects of oxidative stress. In order to analyse this, sugarcane plants were submitted to oxidative stress using hydrogen peroxide. After this treatment, the oxidative stress were analyzed Then, the plant responses were analyzed under different approaches, using morphophysiological, biochemical and molecular tools. Thus, sugarcane plants were grown under controlled conditions and until two months they were subjected first to a hydroponics condition for 24 hours in order to acclimation. After this period, these plants were submitted to oxidative stresse using 0 mM, 10 mM, 20 mM and 30 mM hydrogen peroxide during 8 hours. The histomorphometric analysis allowed us to verify that both root and leaf tissues had a structural changes as it was observed by the increased in cell volume, lignin accumulation in cell walls. Besides, this observation suggested that there was a change in redox balance. Also, it was analyzed the activity of the SOD, CAT and APX enzymes. It was observed an increase in the SOD activity in roots and it was also observed a lipid peroxidation in leaves and roots. Then, in order to identify proteins that were differently expressed in this conditions it was used the proteomic tool either by bidimensional gel or by direct sequencing using the Q-TOF EZI. The results obtained with this approach identified more than 3.000 proteins with the score ranging from 100-5000 ions. Some of the proteins identified were: light Harvesting; oxygenevolving; Thioredoxin; Ftsh-like protein Pftf precusor; Luminal-binding protein; 2 cys peroxiredoxin e Lipoxygenase. All these proteins are involved in oxidative stress response, photsynthetic pathways, and some were classified hypothetical proteins and/or unknown (30% of total). Thus, our data allows us to propose that this treatment induced an oxidative stress and the plant in response changed its physiological process, it made changes in tissue, changed the redox response in order to survival to this new condition

Atividade antibacteriana das plantas copaifera duckei dwyer e pseudobombax marginatum e sua interação com a superfície celular bacteriana

A resistência microbiana a antimicrobianos tem favorecido a busca por substâncias bioativas provenientes de plantas usadas na medicina popular, com o intuito de se obter novos fármacos com atividade antimicrobiana. Neste estudo, foi proposta a investigação da atividade antibacteriana do óleo-resina de Copaifera duckei e de diferentes extratos da casca de Pseudobombax marginatum, e seus possíveis mecanismos de ação. O potencial inibitório antibacteriano foi avaliado utilizando-se os métodos de difusão e diluição em ágar, e a bioautografia. O mecanismo de ação foi analisado por microscopia eletrônica, no qual se observou alterações na ultraestrutura bacteriana, e por eletroforese em SDS-PAGE, que determinou ação sobre as proteínas das superfícies celulares. A análise química foi realizada pelas técnicas de Espectrometria de massas acoplada ao Cromatógrafo a gás- EM/CG (C. duckei) e Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência- CLAE (P. marginatum). Entre as bactérias estudadas, B. cereus foi a mais suscetível às plantas em estudo, com concentrações inibitórias mínimas (CIMs) correspondentes a 0,3125 mg/mL para o óleo-resina de copaíba, e 0,5 mg/mL para extrato hidroalcoólico (1:1) e 0,512 mg/mL para a fração butanólica da casca P. marginatum, nos quais pôde-se observar alterações na parede celular do B. cereus, com remoção da camada S, espessamento da parede celular e formação de diversos septos nos centros de divisão celular. A análise química por EM/CG mostrou compostos terpênicos no óleo-resina de C. duckei, tendo como composto majoritário o β-bisaboleno, e a análise por CLAE mostrou a presença de compostos derivados da catequina na casca do P. marginatum. Desta forma, as plantas em estudo mostram um potencial antibacteriano considerável, podendo contribuir tanto na terapia antimicrobiana como na área de alimentos, tendo como um de seus prováveis sítios de ação a parede celular bacteriana

Soroprevalência da infecção pelo Trypanosoma cruzi no município de Caicó, RN, e caracterização genética por RAPD do parasito isolado de humanos e de triatomíneos no semiárido potiguar

Trypanosoma cruzi infection was evaluated in 390 resident individuals in different rural communities of Caicó municipality, State of Rio Grande do Norte (RN). Of 28 investigated communities the soroprevalence of T. cruzi infection was 2.8% in eight rural communities individuals. The epidemiological characteristics of seropositive shown that the age ranged from 22 to 64 years, being significantly raised from 31 years (90.9%). The female gender was predominant and low education degree. Those individuals reported that they never donated blood, but they had direct contact with triatomines bug. The isolation of the parasite was performed by blood culture and xenoculture methods to determine the genetic variability of the samples. Twenty seven T. cruzi isolates were analyzed by RAPD as genetic marker using three random primers (M13-40, gt11-F and L15996). The T. cruzi isolates showed 73.7% of shared bands considering the average obtained with the three primers, and were genetically well correlated. Using this marker it was possible to separate the populations of the parasite in three distinct groups. The first group composed by isolates obtained of triatomines and humans from four different districts (Caicó, Caraúbas, Serra Negra doNorte and Governador Dix-Sept Rosado); the second contained isolates obtained of triatomines of two different species (T. brasiliensis and P. lutzi) captured in Caraúbas and Serra Negra do Norte. The third grouped isolates obtained from humans of Angicos and Caicó municipalities. In different localities of distinct mesoregions, State of RN, a profile genetic well correlated was identified among all isolates and the presence of three distinct groups of the parasite circulating among vertebrate and invertebrate hosts

Crescimento inicial e morfologia foliar em plantas de Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong. E Erythrina velutina Mart. ex Benth, sob estresse hídrico

The Caatinga is the predominant vegetation type in semi-arid region of Brazil, where many inhabitants depend on hunting and gathering for survival, obtaining resources for: food and feed, folk medicine, timber production, etc. It‟s the dry ecosystem with highest population density in the world. The early stages of development are the most critical during the life cycle of a flowering plant and they‟re primordial to its establishment in environments exposed to water stress. Information about adjustments to the growth of the species, correlated with their studies of distribution in Seridó oriental potiguar, are an important ecological and economic standpoint, because they provide subsidies for the development of cultivation techniques, to programs of sustainable use and recovery of degraded areas. This thesis aimed to study the initial growth and foliar morphology in plants like Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong. (tamboril) and Erythrina velutina Mart. ex Benth (mulungu), species of occurrence in the Caatinga, under water stress. After sowing and emergency, the seedlings were exposed to three water regimes: 450 (control), 225 (moderate stress) and 112.5 (severe stress) mm of water slide for 40 days. Seeding occurred in bags of 5 kg and after the establishment of seedlings thinning was carried out leaving a plantlet per bag. At the beginning the waterings occurred daily with distilled water, passing to be on alternate days after thinning. Twenty and forty days after the thinning seedlings collections were held to be done analysis of growth and biomass partition. When compared to the control group, the treatments with water stress showed reduction in the growth of the aerial part, growth of the greater root, number of leaves and leaflets, dry leaf area and total phytomass in both species, but in general, this effect was most marked for E. velutina. Regarding the partition of biomass, there were few changes throughout the experiment. Morphological changes in the leaves as a function of stress were not significant, however, there was a trend, in both species, to produce narrower leaves, that facilitate heat loss to the environment. It has not been possible to establish a positive relationship between inhibition of growth and distribution of species, whereas E. velutina is a species of most common occurrence in Seridó oriental potiguar. In this way, other aspects should be taken into account when studying the adaptation of species the dry environments, such as salinity, presence of heavy metals, wind speed, etc

O papel de interações positivas entre plantas na regeneração de áreas degradadas na caatinga

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico