Entomofauna visitante das flores de Cassia spectabilis (L.) D C. (Leguminosae)

Realizaram-se estudos sobre sistemas de reprodução de Cassia spectabilis (L.) D C. (Leguminosae) observando-se a diversidade, freqüência e constância dos insetos visitantes em diferentes horários. Também testou-se a influência dos fatores ambientais em relação às visitas. Os resultados de polinização manual sugerem que C. spectabilis é autocompatível, porém, a xenogamia é o sistema de reprodução predominante. As inflorescências foram visitadas por uma grande quantidade de insetos, havendo predominância de abelhas. O horário de maior ocorrência dos insetos nas flores de C. spectabilis foi das 8 às 14 h e de menor ocorrência entre 7 e 8 h e das 17 às 18 h. Quanto ao comportamento dos insetos em relação à flor de C. spectabilis, observou-se que Xylocopa frontalis Olivier, X. suspecta Camargo & Moure, Bombus morio Swederus e Centris scopipes Friese possuem comportamento e morfologia adequados aos polinizadores legítimos; C. similis F., Oxaea flavescens Klug e Epicharis rustica flava Cockerell foram considerados polinizadores ocasionais. Pseudaugochloropsis graminea (F.), Tetragonisca angustula Latreille e A. mellifera L. foram considerados pilhadores. A polinização por vibração é o método usado pelas abelhas para coleta de pólen.

Método de colheita e superação de dormência na qualidade fisiológica de sementes de Cassia ferruginea

The harvesting method of fruits of tree species should be adequate to obtain seeds of maximum physiological quality. When present, the dormancy of Cassia ferruginea seeds is due to seed coat impermeability to water. This research work viewed to find the best methods both for the harvesting and for the breaking of dormancy of seeds of that species. The experiment was conducted during two years. In the first, fruits shed from the mother plant and laying on the ground were picked and their seeds submitted to the following treatments: 1. control, 2. mechanical scarification of the seeds with sandpaper no. 220, 3. hot water for 5 minutes (initial and final temperatures of 82 and 69 degrees C, respectively), 4. hot water for 15 minutes (initial and final temperatures of 82 and 51 degrees C, respectively), 5. chemical scarification with H2SO4 (95%) for 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 minutes. In the second year, seeds were submitted to treatments 2, 3, and 4 whereas acid scarification was applied for 30, 45, and 60 minutes. The results showed that seeds picked from the ground and those taken directly from the mother plant differ in their response to the dormancy breaking procedure. The results also showed that the seeds picked from the ground are better than those harvested directly from the plant and that, when dormant, the best results are attained when seeds are either submitted to mechanical scarification or chemical scarification with sulfuric acid for periods between 30 and 60 minutes.

Toxicidade de sementes de fedegoso (Cassia occidentalis L.) para frangos de corte

Foram realizados três ensaios com o objetivo de se determinar o nível de toxicidade da contaminação de sementes de Cassia occidentalis na alimentação de frangos de corte. Nos dois primeiros ensaios foram utilizadas 640 aves de 1 dia de idade. Os níveis de adição da semente no primeiro ensaio foram, 0; 2; 4 e 6%, obtendo-se 5,77; 84,62; 100 e 100% de mortalidade, respectivamente. No segundo ensaio, os níveis utilizados foram 0; 0,5; 1 e 2%, obtendo-se 0; 3,29; 15,73 e 89,47% de mortalidade, respectivamente. No terceiro ensaio, utilizou-se 960 aves de 3 dias de idade. Adicionou-se a ração inicial (4-31 dias de idade) e final (32-52 dias) sementes moídas de fedegoso aos níveis de 0; 0,1; 0,2; 0,3; 0,4 e 0,5%. O peso médio final das aves foi 2,01; 1,95; 1,95; 1,90; 1,77 e 1,58 kg, respectivamente, observando-se diferença significativa (P < 0,05%) em relação ao controle para 0,3; 0,4 e 0,5% de adição. Os valores médios de consumo (4,33; 4,32; 4,32; 4,28; 4,08 e 3,80 kg, respectivamente) e da conversão alimentar (2,15; 2,21; 2,22; 2,25; 2,31 e 2,41, respectivamente) foram significativamente diferentes (P < 0,05%) para 0,4 e 0,5% de adição das sementes em relação ao grupo controle. O aspecto histológico de órgãos e tecidos das aves que receberam C.occidentalis, sacrificadas no término das fases inicial e final, foi característico de um processo degenerativo observado no coração, fígado, pâncreas, rins, músculo estriado esquelético e intestinos. Os percentuais de mortalidade foram 2,77; 2,08; 2,08; 0,69; 0,69 e 0%, respectivamente.

Métodos para estimativa da area foliar de plantas daninhas: 4 , Cassia tora L.

O trabalho analisa as possibilidades das estimativas das áreas (9) de folíolos do ápice, meio e base de folhas de Cassia tora L., através das equações lineares (Y = A + BX ) e (Y = BX), geométricas ou potenciais (Y= A XB ) e exponenciais (Y = ABX ). O valor de X e tomado das medidas lineares do folíolo, a saber: comprimento da nervura principal (C) , largura máxima perpendicular à nervura principal (L) ou o produto C.L. A análise de 360 folíolos mostra que as áreas podem ser estimadas de maneira proporcional ao retângulo C x L. Os coeficientes de correção foram 0,6711 para os foliolos do ápice, 0,7404 para as medianas e 0,7759 para as da base. Houve diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os coeficientes, não sendo possível estabelecer-se um único coeficiente para os três folíolos.

Lipoperoxidation and cyclooxygenase enzyme inhibitory piperidine alkaloids from Cassia spectabilis green fruits

Phytochernical work in the search for bioactive metabolites from the methanolic extract of Senna spectabilis green fruits led to the isolation of a new piperidine alkaloid, (+)-3-O-feruloylcassine (1), in addition to the known (-)-spectaline (2) and (-)-3-O-acetylspectaline (3). The isolates were submitted to in vitro evaluation of lipoperoxidation (LPO) and cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and -2) inhibitory properties and showed moderate antioxidant activities (40-70%) at 100 ppm when compared to commercial standards BHT and vitamin E and moderate inhibition of COX-1 (ca. 40%) and marginal inhibition of COX-2 enzymes (< 10%) at 100 ppm when compared to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) aspirin, rofecoxib, and celecoxib, respectively.

Further bioactive piperidine alkaloids from the flowers and green fruits of Cassia spectabilis

The flowers of Cassia spectabilis yielded three new piperidine alkaloids, (-)-3-O-acetylspectaline (1), (-)-7-hydroxyspectaline (2), and iso-6-spectaline (3), together with the known (-)-spectaline (4). The green fruits of this plant were also investigated, resulting in the isolation of 1 and 4. Their structures were elucidated using a combination of multidimensional NMR and MS techniques, and relative stereochemistries were established by NOESY correlations and analysis of coupling constants. The DNA-damaging activity of these compounds was evaluated using a mutant yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, assay.

Cadinane sesquiterpenoids of Phomopsis cassiae, an endophytic fungus associated with Cassia spectabilis (Leguminosae)

Five cadinane sesquiterpenes derivatives were isolated by bioassay-guided fractionation from Phomopis cassiae, an endophytic fungus isolated from Cassia spectabilis. The structures of the two diastereoisomeric 3,9,12-trihydroxycalamenenes (1, 2); 3,12-dihydroxycalamenene (3); 3,12-dihydroxycadalene (4) and 3,11,12-trihydroxycadalene (5) were established on the basis of analyses of ID and 2D NMR and HRTOFMS experiments. Antifungal activity of the isolates was evaluated against Cladosporium sphaerospermum and Cladosporium cladosporioides, revealing 5 as the most active compound. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BIOACTIVE AND OTHER PIPERIDINE ALKALOIDS FROM CASSIA-LEPTOPHYLLA

Four new piperidine alkaloids, leptophyllin A (4), 3-acetylleptophyllin A (5), leptophyllin B (8), and (-)-spectaline (1), and 3 known piperidine alkaloids, (-)-spectalinine (2), canavaline (3), and iso-6-canavaline (7), were isolated by a bioassay-guided fractionation of a leaf extract of Cassia leptophylla. The alkaloids 1 - 3 were active in a mechanism-based DNA-modifying yeast assay and 2 was moderately active in Vero monkey and Chinese hamster ovary cell cytotoxicity assays.

Antinociceptive profile of (-)-spectaline: A piperidine alkaloid from Cassia leptophylla

The antinociceptive activity of (-)-spectaline (1), a piperidine alkaloid isolated from Cassia leptophylla Vog. (Leguminosae), was investigated. We have also studied the acute oral toxicity of 1 in mice and it did not show any signals of toxicity in doses lower than 400 mumol/kg. The antinociceptive effect of 1 was evaluated on chemical (acetic acid, formalin and capsaicin) and thermal (hot plate and tail flick) pain models in mice, using classical standard drugs. Dipyrone ID50 = 14.68 mumol/kg (4.8 mg/kg), in-domethacin ID50 = 0.78 mumol/kg (0.28 mg/kg) and (-)-spectaline ID50 = 48.49 mumol/kg (15.75 mg/kg), all produced a significant inhibition of acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing in mice. (-)-Spectaline was inactive in the hyperalgesic model of formalin and did not show any central analgesic activity (hot plate and tail flick models). In the capsaicin-induced neurogenic pain model, (-)-spectaline presented an important inhibitory effect with an ID50 = 20.81 mug/paw and dipyrone ID50 = 19.89 mug/ paw. The ensemble of results permitted us to identify 1 as an antinociceptive compound. The mechanism underlying this antinociceptive effect of 1 remains unknown, but the results suggest that such an effect could be related to pathways associated to vanilloid receptor systems.

Consumo dos frutos de Davilla rugosa (Dilleniaceae) por aves numa área de cerrado em São Carlos, Estado de São Paulo

Fruits have been considered an important feeding resource used not only by frugivorous birds, but also by omnivore and some insectivore species. In the present paper we are reporting the behavior of birds consuming fruits of Davilla rugosa (Dilleniaceae). Handling behavior and visits frequency were analyzed in order to infer about the potential ornithochoric seed dispersal. Focal observations were carried out from October to December 1999 in a cerrado fragment located in São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil (21°58′S, 47°52′W). In 60 h of field work we recorded 241 visits of 13 passerine bird species consuming the fruits. The mean number of visits per hour and the standard deviation were 4.01 ± 4.88. All of the species were considered potential seed dispersers, since no pulp mashers or seed predators were observed. No temporal difference in visit frequency was found when all of the species were analyzed together or when they were individually considered. Generalist species were responsible for 68.5% of the visits, followed by frugivorous (22.82%) and insectivorous (8.71%). The main potential seed dispersers were Elaenia spp. (Tyrannidae), Tangara cayana (Emberizidae), Empidonomus varius (Tyrannidae), Turdus leucomelas (Muscicapidae) and Vireo chivi (Vireonidae). The high visit frequency observed suggests that D. rugosa fruits may be an important feeding resource for birds in the cerrado ecosystem, in the manner that this plant can be considered in management plans which intent to maintain or rescue bird communities.

New bioactive metabolites produced by Phomopsis cassiae, an endophytic fungus in Cassia spectabilis

Two new metabolites, ethyl 2,4-dihydroxy-5,6-dimethylbenzoate (1) and phomopsilactone (2) were isolated from Phomopsis cassiae, an endophytic fungus in Cassia spectabilis. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR, MS and IR spectral data. Compounds 1 and 2 displayed strong antifungal activity against the phytopatogenic fungi Cladosporium cladosporioides and C. sphaerospermum, as well as cytotoxicity against human cervical tumor cell line (HeLa), in in vitro assays. ©2005 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.

Aspectos químicos, biológicos e etnofarmacológicos do gênero Cassia

Species of Cassia are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world, and have been extensively investigated chemically and pharmacologically.They are known to be a rich source of phenolic derivatives, most of them with important biological and pharmacological properties. Some Asian, African and Indian tribes use these species as a laxative, purgative, antimicrobial, antipyretic, antiviral and anti-inflammatory agent. Among a number of other classes of secondary metabolites, such as anthracene derivatives, antraquinones, steroids and stilbenoids, biologically active piperidine alkaloids are an especially important bioactive class of compounds that showed to be restricted to a small group of Cassia species. In this paper we present an overview of the chemical, biological and ethnopharmacological data on Cassia piblished in the literature.

Hepatoencephalopathy syndrome due to Cassia occidentalis (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae) seed ingestion in horses

Cassia occidentalis is a bush from the Leguminosae family, subfamily Caesalpinoideae, and is a toxic plant of veterinary interest due to the occasional contamination of animal rations. This report describes the clinical and histopathological findings of an outbreak of C.occidentalis poisoning in horses. Twenty mares were poisoned after consuming ground corn contaminated with 8% of C.occidentalis seeds. Of the 20 animals affected, 12 died: 8 mares were found dead, 2 died 6h after the onset of clinical signs compatible with hepatic encephalopathy and the 2 other animals were subjected to euthanasia 12h after the onset of the clinical signs. The remaining 8 mares presented with mild depression and decreased appetite, but improved with treatment and no clinical sequelae were observed. In 6 animals that underwent a necropsy, an enhanced hepatic lobular pattern was noted and within the large intestine, a large number of seeds were consistently observed. Hepatocellular pericentrolobular necrosis and cerebral oedema were the main histological findings. In one mare, there was mild multifocal semimembranosus rhabdomyocytic necrosis and haemorrhage. Seeds collected from intestinal contents and sifted from the culpable feedstuff were planted. Examination of the leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of the resultant plants identified C.occidentalis. Horses poisoned by C.occidentalis seeds demonstrate clinical signs associated with hepatoencephalopathy and frequently die suddenly. Lesions primarily involve the liver and secondarily, the central nervous system. Cassia occidentalis poisoning should be considered a differential diagnosis in horses with hepatoencephalopathy and special caution should be taken with horse rations to avoid contamination with seeds of this toxic plant. © 2012 EVJ Ltd.