Chemical composition and analgesic activity of the leaves and branches of Marlierea tomentosa Camb.

This paper describes the isolation of five phytoconstituents from Marlierea tomentosa. The triterpenes α-amyrin (1) and β-amyrin (2), and the flavonoids quercitrin (3) and isoquercetin (4), were isolated from the leaves. The branches afforded the triterpene arjunolic acid (5). The antinociceptive activity of crude extract, fractions and compound 5 were tested using the writhing and formalin tests in mice. The crude extract, some fractions, particularly dichloromethane and butanol (leaves), ethyl acetate (branches) and arjunolic acid (5) (81.2% inhibition) were more active against the writhing test than the two reference drugs, acetylsalicylic acid and indomethacin.

CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTIFUNGAL, ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL, AND CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF Talinum paniculatum

SUMMARY In this study, the bioactivity of Talinum paniculatum was evaluated, a plant widely used in folk medicine. The extract from the T. paniculatum leaves (LE) was obtained by percolation with ethanol-water and then subjecting it to liquid-liquid partitions, yielding hexane (HX), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), butanol (BuOH), and aqueous (Aq) fractions. Screening for antimicrobial activity of the LE and its fractions was evaluated in vitro through broth microdilution method, against thirteen pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms, and the antimycobacterial activity was performed through agar diffusion assay. The cytotoxic concentrations (CC90) for LE, HX, and EtOAc were obtained on BHK-21 cells by using MTT reduction assay. The LE showed activity against Serratia marcescens and Staphylococcus aureus, with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values of 250 and 500 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, HX demonstrated outstanding activity against Micrococcus luteus and Candida albicans with a MIC of 31.2 µg/mL in both cases. The MIC for EtOAc also was 31.2 µg/mL against Escherichia coli. Conversely, BuOH and Aq were inactive against all tested microorganisms and LE proved inactive against Mycobacterium tuberculosisand Mycobacterium bovisas well. Campesterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol were the proposed structures as main compounds present in the EF and HX/EtOAc fractions, evidenced by mass spectrometry. Therefore, LE, HX, and EtOAc from T. paniculatumshowed potential as possible sources of antimicrobial compounds, mainly HX, for presenting low toxicity on BHK-21 cells with excellent Selectivity Index (SI = CC90/MIC) of 17.72 against C. albicans.

Tityus stigmurus (Thorell, 1876) (Scorpiones; Buthidae): response to chemical control and understanding of scorpionism among the population

In this study, the events following application of the insecticideDemand 2.5 concentrated solution (CS) in the field, to control Tityus stigmurus, were investigated. Data on attitudes and practices relating to scorpionism were collected using a questionnaire. During the months of May to July 2005, 69 premises were monitored on different days following insecticide treatment, focusing on scorpion frequency and mortality. According to the results, 42% of the premises showed scorpion incidence, with an average of three specimens per house. The highest incidence was recorded during the first week following the treatment. Only 7% of the specimens were found dead. Most (72%) of the population showed knowledge about prevention and control measures. Despite this, 100% of the premises presented breeding sites, mainly in debris (79.7%). These results indicate that the scorpion control method used by health agents during this investigation was not efficient, and the results suggest that the method may have had a dispersive effect on these animals.

Chemical composition and antifungal activity of essential oil from Eucalyptus smithii against dermatophytes

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: In this study, we evaluated the chemical composition of a commercial sample of essential oil from Eucalyptus smithii R.T. Baker and its antifungal activity against Microsporum canis ATCC 32903, Microsporum gypseum ATCC 14683, Trichophyton mentagrophytes ATCC 9533, T. mentagrophytes ATCC 11480, T. mentagrophytes ATCC 11481, and Trichophyton rubrum CCT 5507. METHODS: Morphological changes in these fungi after treatment with the oil were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antifungal activity of the oil was determined on the basis of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values. RESULTS: The compound 1,8-cineole was found to be the predominant component (72.2%) of the essential oil. The MIC values of the oil ranged from 62.5μg·mL−1 to >1,000μg·mL−1, and the MFC values of the oil ranged from 125μg·mL−1 to >1,000μg·mL−1. SEM analysis showed physical damage and morphological alterations in the fungi exposed to this oil. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the potential of Eucalyptus smithii essential oil as a natural therapeutic agent for the treatment of dermatophytosis.

Chemical composition and acaricidal activity of the leaf and fruit essential oils of Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand (Burseraceae)

Essential oils from leaves and fruits of Protiumheptaphyllum collected in Tamandaré beach Pernambuco/Brazil were analysed by GC/MS and tested for toxicity and repellent effect against the two spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae). The major constituent identified in the fruits was alpha-terpinene (47.6 %) whereas oil from leaf contained mainly sesquiterpenes such as 9-epi-caryophyllene (21.4 %), trans-isolongifolanone (10.7 %) and 14-hydroxi-9-epi-caryophyllene (16.7 %). The fruit oil was found to be more effective against the mite when compared to the leaf oil. Both showed mortality properties and oviposition deterrence in higher concentration (10 µl.l-1 air), but only the essential oil from fruits induced repellence on T. urticae.

Chemical composition and antiprotozoal activities of Colombian Lippia spp essential oils and their major components

The chemical composition and biological activities of 19 essential oils and seven of their major components were tested against free and intracellular forms of Leishmania chagasi and Trypanosoma cruzi parasites as well as Vero and THP-1 mammalian cell lines. The essential oils were obtained from different species of Lippia, a widely distributed genus of Colombian plants. They were extracted by microwave radiation-assisted hydro-distillation and characterised by GC-FID and GC-MS. The major components were geranial, neral, limonene, nerol, carvacrol, p-cymene, γ-terpinene, carvone and thymol. The essential oil of Lippia alba exhibited the highest activity against T. cruzi epimastigotes and intracellular amastigotes with an IC50 of 5.5 μg/mL and 12.2 μg/mL, respectively. The essential oil of Lippia origanoides had an IC50 of 4.4 μg/mL in L. chagasi promastigotes and exhibited no toxicity in mammalian cells. Thymol (IC50 3.2 ± 0.4 μg/mL) and S-carvone (IC50 6.1 ± 2.2 μg/mL), two of the major components of the active essential oils, were active on intracellular amastigotes of T. cruziinfected Vero cells, with a selective index greater than 10. None of the essential oils or major components tested in this study was active on amastigotes of L. chagasi infected THP-1 cells.

Chemical characterization and infrared spectroscopy of soil organic matter from two southern brazilian soils

Soil organic matter from the surface horizon of two Brazilian soils (a Latosol and a Chernosol), in bulk samples (in situ SOM) and in HF-treated samples (SOM), was characterized by elemental analyses, diffuse reflectance (DRIFT) and transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (T-FTIR). Humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA) and humin (HU) isolated from the SOM were characterized additionally by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS). After sample oxidation and alkaline treatment, the DRIFT technique proved to be more informative for the detection of "in situ SOM" and of residual organic matter than T-FTIR. The higher hydrophobicity index (HI) and H/C ratio obtained in the Chernosol samples indicate a stronger aliphatic character of the organic matter in this soil than the Latosol. In the latter, a pronounced HI decrease was observed after the removal of humic substances (HS). The weaker aliphatic character, the higher O/C ratio, and the T-FTIR spectrum obtained for the HU fraction in the Latosol suggest the occurrence of surface coordination of carboxylate ions. The Chernosol HU fraction was also oxygenated to a relatively high extent, but presented a stronger hydrophobic character in comparison with the Latosol HU. These differences in the chemical and functional group composition suggest a higher organic matter protection in the Latosol. After the HF treatment, decreases in the FA proportion and the A350/A550 ratio were observed. A possible loss of FA and condensation of organic molecules due to the highly acid medium should not be neglected.

Spatial variability of the chemical, physical and biological properties in lowland cultivated with irrigated rice

In the areas where irrigated rice is grown in the south of Brazil, few studies have been carried out to investigate the spatial variability structure of soil properties and to establish new forms of soil management as well as determine soil corrective and fertilizer applications. In this sense, this study had the objective of evaluating the spatial variability of chemical, physical and biological soil properties in a lowland area under irrigated rice cultivation in the conventional till system. For this purpose, a 10 x 10 m grid of 100 points was established, in an experimental field of the Embrapa Clima Temperado, in the County of Capão do Leão, State of Rio Grande do Sul. The spatial variability structure was evaluated by geostatistical tools and the number of subsamples required to represent each soil property in future studies was calculated using classical statistics. Results showed that the spatial variability structure of sand, silt, SMP index, cation exchange capacity (pH 7.0), Al3+ and total N properties could be detected by geostatistical analysis. A pure nugget effect was observed for the nutrients K, S and B, as well as macroporosity, mean weighted diameter of aggregates, and soil water storage. The cross validation procedure, based on linear regression and the determination coefficient, was more efficient to evaluate the quality of the adjusted mathematical model than the degree of spatial dependence. It was also concluded that the combination of classical with geostatistics can in many cases simplify the soil sampling process without losing information quality.

Chemical dispersants and pre-treatments to determine clay in soils with different mineralogy

Knowledge of the soil physical properties, including the clay content, is of utmost importance for agriculture. The behavior of apparently similar soils can differ in intrinsic characteristics determined by different formation processes and nature of the parent material. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of separate or combined pre-treatments, dispersion methods and chemical dispersant agents to determine clay in some soil classes, selected according to their mineralogy. Two Brazilian Oxisols, two Alfisols and one Mollisol with contrasting mineralogy were selected. Different treatments were applied: chemical substances as dispersants (lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and hexametaphosphate); pre-treatment with dithionite, ammonium oxalate, and hydrogen peroxide to eliminate organic matter; and coarse sand as abrasive and ultrasound, to test their mechanical action. The conclusion was drawn that different treatments must be applied to determine clay, in view of the soil mineralogy. Lithium hydroxide was not efficient to disperse low-CEC electropositive soils and very efficient in dispersing high-CEC electronegative soils. The use of coarse sand as an abrasive increased the clay content of all soils and in all treatments in which dispersion occurred, with or without the use of chemical dispersants. The efficiency of coarse sand is not the same for all soil classes.

Influence of organic-mineral fertilization of an oxisol on soil chemical properties and Bracharia brizantha production

The use of organic-mineral fertilizer produced by the manufacturing industry of lysine and threonine amino acids can improve the fertility of tropical soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of different doses of the organic-mineral fertilizer named Ajifer L-14 on chemical properties and on the response with increased production of a forage on a Red Latosol in the northwestern region of São Paulo State, Brazil. A randomized block design was used with seven treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of: T1- control (without application of Ajifer L-14); T2- control (natural vegetation); T3- mineral fertilization according to crop requirements and soil analysis (application of 1.35 kg plot-1 of urea, 2.20 single superphosphate, and 0.51 KCl, corresponding to 60 of N, 40 P2O5 and 30 kg ha-1 of K2O); T4- fertilization with Ajifer L-14 according to the recommendation resulting from the soil chemical analysis (40 L plot-1, corresponding to 60 kg ha-1 N); T5- fertilization with Ajifer L-14, at a rate of 150 % of the recommended values (60 L plot-1, corresponding to 90 kg ha-1 N); T6- fertilization with Ajifer L-14 at a rate of 50 % of the recommended values (20 L plot-1, corresponding to 30 kg ha-1 N); T7- fertilization with Ajifer L-14 at a rate of 125 % of the recommended values (50 L plot-1, corresponding to 75 kg ha-1 N); T8- fertilization with Ajifer L-14 at a rate of 75 % of the recommended values (30 L plot-1, corresponding to 45 kg ha-1 N). The following soil chemical properties were evaluated (layers 0.0-0.1 and 0.1-0.2 m): P, organic matter, pH, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, cation exchange capacity, potential acidity, and base saturation. The application of this organic-mineral fertilizer does not influence the soil chemical properties. Regression analysis indicated a polynomial relationship between the application rates of organic-mineral fertilizer and the production of dry matter and crude protein of Bracharia Brizantha.

Chemical properties and mineralogy of soils with plinthite and petroplinthite in Iranduba (AM), Brazil

Large areas of Plinthosols with ferruginous materials such as plinthite and/or petroplinthite are fairly common in the Brazilian Amazon basin. This work was carried out to investigate the chemical behavior, mineralogical composition and weathering stage of four representative soil profiles with plinthite and petroplinthite, in Iranduba, AM (Central Amazon). Three well-drained soil profiles at high elevations were studied (P1, Plinthic Vetic Ferralsol; P2 and P3, Vetic Endopetric Plinthosol) and a contrasting poorly drained soil (P4 Haplic Plinthosol), located at low elevation. After profile descriptions, soil samples were collected from each horizon, air-dried, sieved (2 mm), and analyzed for particle-size distribution, pH, exchangeable cations (Al3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and Na+), as well as available P and total organic carbon (TOC) content. The minerals present in the clay and sand fractions, as well as in the ferruginous materials were identified by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The weathering stage of these soils was assessed by means of Ki and Kr indexes, and the amounts of free and amorphous Fe and Al oxides by using dithionite citrate bicarbonate (DBC) and ammonium oxalate dissolution procedures, respectively. The results showed that all soils were extremely unfertile, with pH levels ranging between strong and moderate acidity, very low sum of bases and organic matter content, and of available P. The mineralogy of the soil profiles was very similar, mainly of the well-drained soils, with predominance of kaolinite and quartz in the clay and sand fractions, respectively. In the poorly-drained P4, 2:1 clay particles were also observed. These profiles can be considered highly developed according to the Ki index, however, the Ki value of P4 was higher, indicating that this soil was less developed than the others. In summary, these profiles with plinthite and petroplinthite can be characterized as highly developed and infertile soils and are, with exception of P4, well-drained.

Effects of pig slurry application on soil physical and chemical properties and glyphosate mobility

Pig slurry applied to soil at different rates may affect soil properties and the mobility of chemical compounds within the soil. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of rates of pig slurry application in agricultural areas on soil physical and chemical properties and on the mobility of glyphosate through the soil profile. The study was carried out in the 12th year of an experiment with pig slurry applied at rates of 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200 m³ ha-1 yr-1 on a Latossolo Vermelho distrófico (Hapludox) soil. In the control, the quantities of P and K removed by harvested grains were replaced in the next crop cycle. Soil physical properties (bulk density, porosity, texture, and saturated hydraulic conductivity) and chemical properties (organic matter, pH, extractable P, and exchangeable K) were measured. Soil solution samples were collected at depths of 20, 40 and 80 cm using suction lysimeters, and glyphosate concentrations were measured over a 60-day period after slurry application. Soil physical and chemical properties were little affected by the pig slurry applications, but soil pH was reduced and P levels increased in the surface layers. In turn, K levels were increased in sub-surface layers. Glyphosate concentrations tended to decrease over time but were not affected by pig slurry application. The concentrations of glyphosate found in different depths show that the pratice of this application in agricultural soils has the potential for contamination of groundwater, especially when the water table is the surface and heavy rains occur immediately after application.

SOIL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND GROWTH OF SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS L.) AS AFFECTED BY THE APPLICATION OF ORGANIC FERTILIZERS AND INOCULATION WITH ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI

The use of organic fertilizers and the inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi in the cultivation of oil crops is essential to reduce production costs and minimize negative impacts on natural resources. A field experiment was conducted in an Argissolo Amarelo (Ultisol) with the aim of evaluating the effects of fertilizer application and inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the growth attributes of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and on soil chemical properties. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, using a randomized block design with three replicates in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of four treatments in regard to application of organic fertilizer (liquid biofertilizer, cow urine, mineral fertilizer, and unfertilized control) and two treatments in regard to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (with and without mycorrhizal fungi). The results showed that the physiological attributes of relative growth rate and leaf weight ratio were positively influenced by fertilization, compared to the control treatment, likely brought about by the supply of nutrients from the fertilizers applied. The growth and productivity attributes were positively affected by mycorrhization.

Organic and Nitrogen Fertilization of Soil under ‘Syrah’ Grapevine: Effects on Soil Chemical Properties and Nitrate Concentration

ABSTRACT Viticulture is an activity of great social and economic importance in the lower-middle region of the São Francisco River valley in northeastern Brazil. In this region, the fertility of soils under vineyards is generally poor. To assess the effects of organic and nitrogen fertilization on chemical properties and nitrate concentrations in an Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo (Typic Plinthustalf), a field experiment was carried out in Petrolina, Pernambuco, on Syrah grapevines. Treatments consisted of two rates of organic fertilizer (0 and 30 m3 ha-1) and five N rates (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 kg ha-1), in a randomized block design arranged in split plots, with five replications. The organic fertilizer levels represented the main plots and the N levels, the subplots. The source of N was urea and the source of organic fertilizer was goat manure. Irrigation was applied through a drip system and N by fertigation. At the end of the third growing season, soil chemical properties were determined and nitrate concentration in the soil solution (extracted by porous cups) was determined. Organic fertilization increased organic matter, pH, EC, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, sum of bases, base saturation, and CEC, but decreased exchangeable Cu concentration in the soil by complexation of Cu in the organic matter. Organic fertilization raised the nitrate concentration in the 0.20-0.40 m soil layer, making it leachable. Nitrate concentration in the soil increased as N rates increased, up to more than 300 mg kg-1 in soil and nearly 800 mg L-1 in the soil solution, becoming prone to leaching losses.

Chemical composition and fatty acid contents in farmed freshwater prawns

The objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition and fatty acid contents of Amazonian and giant river prawns. After four-month farming, with the same diet for both species, palmitic and stearic acids were the main saturated fatty acids. Oleic acid was the main monounsatured fatty acid, and the eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids were the most abundant polyunsaturated acids. Amazonian prawn has higher levels of protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids than those of the giant river prawn, which shows its potential for aquaculture.