Coumarins and phenolic fingerprints of oak and Brazilian woods extracted by sugarcane spirit

A total of 25 sugarcane spirit extracts of six different Brazilian woods and oak, commonly used by cooperage industries for aging cachaca, were analyzed for the presence of 14 phenolic compounds (ellagic acid, gallic acid, vanillin, syringaldehyde, synapaldehyde, coniferaldehyde, vanillic acid, syringic acid, quercetin, trans-resveratrol, catechin, epicatechin, eugenol, and myricetin) and two coumarins (scopoletin and coumarin) by HPLC-DAD-fluorescence and HPLC-ESI-MS(n). Furthermore, an HPLC-DAD chromatographic fingerprint was build-up using chemometric analysis based on the chromatographic elution profiles of the extracts monitored at 280 nm. Major components identified and quantified in Brazilian wood extracts were coumarin, ellagic acid, and catechin, whereas oak extracts shown a major contribution of catechin, vanillic acid, and syringaldehyde. The main difference observed among oak and Brazilian woods remains in the concentration of coumarin, catechin, syringaldehyde, and coniferaldehyde. The chemometric analysis of the quantitative profile of the 14 phenolic compounds and two coumarins in the wood extracts provides a differentiation between the Brazilian wood and oak extracts. The chromatographic fingerprint treated by multivariate analysis revealed significant differences among Brazilian woods themselves and oak, clearly defining six groups of wood extracts: (i) oak extracts, (ii) jatoba extracts, (iii) cabreuva-parda extracts, (iv) amendoim extracts, (v) canela-sassafras extracts and (vi) pequi extracts.

Vertical distribution of benthic invertebrate larvae during an upwelling event along a transect off the tropical Brazilian continental margin

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Anti-hemorrhagic Activity of Four Brazilian Vegetable Species Against Bothrops jararaca Venom

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

New host records of Brazilian pentastomid species

Pentastomida é um táxon de organismos parasitas obrigatórios de sistema respiratório de vertebrados, principalmente répteis. Embora esse táxon seja muito importante para a compreensão da filogenia dos Metazoa, tem recebido pouca atenção. No Brasil, existem poucas coleções que abrigam espécies de pentastomídeos, quais sejam: a Coleção Helmintológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (CHIOC), a Coleção de Invertebrados do Laboratório de Zoologia da Universidade Regional do Cariri (LAZ-URCA) e a Coleção Helmintológica do Laboratório de Parasitologia de Animais Silvestres (LAPAS). O presente trabalho descreve as espécies de pentastomídeos depositados na Coleção Helmintológia do LAPAS. O trato respiratório e as cavidades do corpo dos répteis foram removidos e analisados sob Microscópio Esteroscópico; quando encontrados os pentastomídeos, foram montados slides em meio Hoyer e identificados. Foram identificadas quatro espécies e outras três ficaram identificadas no nível de gênero, tendo sido registrados quatro novos hospedeiros para as espécies de pentastomídeos.

Chromosome evolution in three Brazilian Leptodactylus species (Anura, Leptodactylidae), with phylogenetic considerations

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Comparative gas exchange performance during the wet season of three Brazilian Styrax species under habitat conditions of cerrado vegetation types differing in soil water availability and crown density

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fatty acids and bioactive compounds of the pulps and kernels of Brazilian palm species, guariroba (Syagrus oleraces), jeriva (Syagrus romanzoffiana) and macauba (Acrocomia aculeata)

BACKGROUND: Bioactive compounds are capable of providing health benefits, reducing disease incidence or favoring body functioning. There is a growing search for vegetable oils containing such compounds. This study aimed to characterize the pulp and kernel oils of the Brazilian palm species guariroba (Syagrus oleracea), jeriva (Syagrus romanzoffiana) and macauba (Acrocomia aculeata), aiming at possible uses in several industries.RESULTS: Fatty acid composition, phenolic and carotenoid contents, tocopherol composition were evaluated. The majority of the fatty acids in pulps were oleic and linoleic; macauba pulp contained 526 g kg(-1) of oleic acid. Lauric acid was detected in the kernels of all three species as the major saturated fatty acid, in amounts ranging from 325.8 to 424.3 g kg(-1). The jeriva pulp contained carotenoids and tocopherols on average of 1219 mu g g(-1) and 323.50 mg kg(-1), respectively.CONCLUSION: The pulps contained more unsaturated fatty acids than the kernels, mainly oleic and linoleic. Moreover, the pulps showed higher carotenoid and tocopherol contents. The kernels showed a predominance of saturated fatty acids, especially lauric acid. The fatty acid profiles of the kernels suggest that these oils may be better suited for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries than for use in foods. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

Aromatic compounds from three Brazilian Lauraceae species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

CYTOGENETICS OF 4 BRAZILIAN HYLA SPECIES (AMPHIBIA-ANURA) AND DESCRIPTION OF A CASE WITH A SUPERNUMERARY CHROMOSOME

The chromosomes of Hyla fuscovaria, H. hayii and II. prasina, with 2n=24, and of Hyla sp. (aff. circumdata), a new species, with 2n=24 and 2n=25, were studied.The karyotypes with 2n=24 in the four species were very similar, with almost no differences in the size and morphology of the chromosomes. The numerical variability found in Hyla sp. (aff. circumdata) is due to the occurrence of a supernumerary chromosome in some specimens. NOR data obtained for the first time in the four species and C banding analysis of H. prasina indicate that such types of banding may be useful to differentiate species with very similar karyotypes, contributing to the understanding of chromosome evolution and the establishment of phylogenetic relationships among Brazilian Hyla species.

Cytogenetics of three Brazilian Goniosoma species: A new record for diploid number in Laniatores (Opiliones, Gonyleptidae, Goniosomatinae)

Currently, 60 species of harvestmen have been karyotyped and all of these are from the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. This work is the first cytogenetic report of three gonyleptid species of the suborder Laniatores: Goniosoina aff. badiuln, G. proxiinuni and G. spelaeum of the Neotropical region, from the southeastern region of Brazil. Conventional Giemsa stain chromosome preparations were obtained from embryonic cells and adult male testes. Embryo mitotic plates of G. aff. badium and G. proximum indicated 88 chromosomes, and mitotic spermatogonial plates of G. spelaeum males revealed intra- and interindividual variation of chromosome number, ranging from 92-109 chromosomes. In the three analyzed species, the mitotic chromosomes were meta- or subinetacentric with no obvious sex chromosomes being identified during mitosis. Prophase I spermatocytes of G. spelaeum also revealed intra- and interindividual bivalent number variation and furthermore indicated the presence of multivalence. The karyotypes of these three Goniosoina species exhibited the largest chromosome pair with a negative heteropycnosis in the distal region of the shortest arrn chromosomes of G. spelaeum submitted to silver impregnation evidenced this negative heteropycnotic region as nucleolus organizer region (NOR). These results, when compared with cytogenetic data of other Laniatores species from the Palearctic region, indicated that a new record for diploid chromosome number probably characterize the genus Goniosoma in the Neotropical region.

Different responses to doxorubicin-induced chromosome aberrations in Brazilian deer species

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Separation of flavonoids and naphthopyrones from four Brazilian Paepalanthus species by droplet countercurrent chromatography

A general procedure was developed for the simultaneous separation of flavonoids and naphthopyrones from the polar extracts of the capitula from Brazilian everlasting plants is described. The ethanolic extracts of several species from the Paepalanthus genus (Eriocaulaceae) were fractionated by droplet countercurrent chromatography followed by column chromatography on pvp and sephadex LH-20. The isolated compounds were identified by spectrometric analysis and comparison with literature data. This approach led to the isolation of 9-O-β-D-glucopyranosylpaepalantine (1), 9-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl (1→6)allopyranosylpaepalantine (2), along with the flavonoids 6-methoxykaempferol (3), 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6-methoxykaempferol (4), patuletin (5), 3-Oβ-D-rutinosylpatuletin (6), 7-O-β-D-glucopyranosylquercetagetin (7), 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-6,3'-dimethoxyflavone (8) and 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-6,3'-dimethoxyflavonol (9).

Chemistry and bioactivity of Raulinoa echinata Cowan, an endemic Brazilian rutaceae species

The hexane extract of the stems of Raulinoa echinata afforded the sesquiterpenes germacrene D (6), 1β,6α-dihydroxy-4-(15)-eudesmene (4) and oplopanone (5); the triterpenes squalene, isomultiflorenol (7), isobauerenol (8) and friedelin (9); the protolimonoids melianone (2) and melianodiol (3); and the pyranocoumarin 3-(1′-1′-dimethylallyl)-lomatin (1), which has not been reported previously as a natural product; together with β-sitosterol. The hexane extract and some of these compounds were assayed in vitro against trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. Brine shrimp lethality and antimicrobial activities of the crude extract and pure compounds were also evaluated.