Levantamento florístico das espécies vasculares da floresta estacional mesófila semidecídua da Estação Ecológica de Paulo de Faria - SP

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

Morfo-anatomia do embrião de leguminosas arbóreas nativas

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

Lianas de uma floresta estacional semidecidual, Município de Paulo de Faria, Norte do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeitos do estresse hídrico sobre o desempenho germinativo da semente de faveira (Clitoria fairchildiana R.A. Howard. - Fabaceae) de diferentes tamanhos

Clitoria fairchildiana R. Howard, vulgamente conhecida como faveira, é uma espécie arbórea utilizada na arborização e recomendada para recuperação de áreas degradada, pois é capaz de atuar como adubo verde. No entanto, há poucos estudos básicos para compreender seus atributos ecológicos e fisiológicos. Desse modo, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo estudar as influências do tamanho da semente e de estresse hídrico sobre a germinação das sementes e vigor de plântulas de faveira. Foram usadas sementes pequenas, médias e grandes, postas para germinar em bandejas, com areia, sob condições de umedecimento de 25%, 50%, 75% e 100% da capacidade de retenção de água. A germinação não é afetada pelo tamanho da semente, mas sim pelo vigor, pois as sementes grandes e médias originam plântulas mais vigorosas. Água em excesso reduziu a porcentagem e a velocidade de germinação ao passo que, falta de água, reduziu o crescimento das plântulas.

Avaliação da atividade anti-séptica de extrato seco de Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville e de preparação cosmética contendo este extrato

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

Aspectos morfológicos de frutos, sementes, germinação e plântulas de Hymenolobium petraeum

Hymenolobium petraeum Ducke é uma espécie arbórea pertencente à família Leguminosae conhecida popularmente por angelim-pedra. Apresenta alto valor comercial, com madeira muito utilizada na construção civil e marcenaria. Este trabalho teve por objetivo descrever morfologicamente o fruto, a semente e as plântulas, assim como, determinar as temperaturas cardeais para a germinação de sementes de angelim-pedra. Foram determinados o comprimento, a largura e a massa fresca de frutos e sementes. Para os testes de germinação foram utilizadas três repetições de 50 sementes, colocadas em placas de Petri e mantidas em germinadores nas temperaturas de 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 e 40°C e fotoperíodo de 12 horas. Os frutos são legumes-samaróides, indeiscentes, oblongos e unicarpelares. As sementes são de coloração castanho-escura, oblongas, estenospérmicas, exalbuminosas e com plúmula inconspícua. A raiz primária é branca e pubescente na região próxima ao colo; a parte aérea das plântulas possui pilosidade branca, protófilos compostos imparipinados e com inserção oposta, epicótilo verde, ereto, cilíndrico e piloso e os metáfilos imparipinados e com inserção alterna-espiralada. A germinação é semi-hipógea criptocotiledonar. Para de sementes de angelim-pedra as temperaturas máximas de germinação estão acima de 35°C e a mínima abaixo de 15°C, enquanto a faixa de temperatura ótima para germinação está entre 25 e 35°C.

cDNA cloning and 1.75 angstrom crystal structure determination of PPL2, an endochitinase and N-acetylglucosamine-binding hemagglutinin from Parkia platycephala seeds

Parkia platycephala lectin 2 was purified from Parkia platycephala (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae) seeds by affinity chromatography and RP-HPLC. Equilibrium sedimentation and MS showed that Parkia platycephala lectin 2 is a nonglycosylated monomeric protein of molecular mass 29 407 +/- 15 Da, which contains six cysteine residues engaged in the formation of three intramolecular disulfide bonds. Parkia platycephala lectin 2 agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes, and this activity was specifically inhibited by N-acetylglucosamine. In addition, Parkia platycephala lectin 2 hydrolyzed beta(1-4) glycosidic bonds linking 2-acetoamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranose units in chitin. The full-lengthamino acid sequence of Parkia platycephala lectin 2, determined by N-terminal sequencing and cDNA cloning, and its three-dimensional structure, established by X-ray crystallography at 1.75 angstrom resolution, showed that Parkia platycephala lectin 2 is homologous to endochitinases of the glycosyl hydrolase family 18, which share the (beta alpha)(8) barrel topology harboring the catalytic residues Asp125, Glu127, and Tyr182.

New selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitors designed from natural piperidine alkaloids

Five new piperidine alkaloids were designed from natural (-)-3-O-acetyl-spectaline and (-)-spectaline that were obtained from the flowers of Senna spectabilis (sin. Cassia spectabilis, Leguminosae). Two semi-synthetic analogues (7 and 9) inhibited rat brain acetylcholinesterase, showing IC50 of 7.32 and 15.1 mu M, and were 21 and 9.5 times less potent against rat brain butyrylcholinesterase, respectively. Compound 9 (1 mg/kg, ip) was fully efficacious in reverting scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice. The two active compounds (7 and 9) did not show overt toxic effects at the doses tested in vivo. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary studies of analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of Caesalpinia ferrea crude extract

The crude aqueous extract of the fruits of Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. (Leguminosae) has been investigated for possible anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. The carrageenan induced rat hind paw edema was significantly inhibited (P < 0.05) by oral administration of 300 mg/kg of this extract. A centrally mediated analgesic effect was not observed, however, there was a dose dependent reduction in the number of total writhes induced by acetic acid.

Phytosociological studies in the morro do diabo forest (Pontal do Paranapanema, SP), Brazil

Results are given of a phytosociological study of a forest located in the Morro do Diabo State Park. in the county of Teodoro Sampaio (22 degrees 31'S, 52 degrees 10'W), Pontal do Paranapanema region, state of São Paulo. The point-centered quarter method, using 300 sampling points, was used establishing 3 trails of 100 sampling points each, 10 m interdistant. All woody vegetation with a breast height diameter of 5 cm or more were samplied. Three distinct ecotopes could be identified in the forest: the lower, thc slope and the peak, which were analised separately.The families that presented the greatest numbers of genera, species and individuals were Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae and Myrtaceae, followed by Rutaceae, Lauraceae, Meliaceae and Moracea. A total of 104 species, 85 genera and 37 families were sampled by the phytosociological survey. The relative sociological position of each plant family or species varied according to ecotope.

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.

In vitro prostate cancer cell growth inhibition by Brazilian plant extracts

In the present study, 1220 plant extracts obtained from 352 plants belonging to 73 families that grow in the Amazon and Atlantic rain forests were screened for cytotoxicity against PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines. Extracts were tested in the single dose of 100 mu g/mL. Activity was observed in 17 aqueous or organic extracts belonging to Annonaceae, Apocynaceae, Araceae, Capparaceae, Commelinaceae, Flacourtiaceae, Lecythiclaceae, Leguminosae, Passifloraceae, Rutaceae, and Violaceae.

Genetic diversity of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville determined by AFLP molecular markers

Bark extracts of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart) Coville a Leguminosae species, well known in Brazil as barbatimao, are popularly used as healing agent. The objective of this work was to determine the genetic diversity of S. adstringens populations and to correlate genetic distances to the production of tannins. S. adstringens accessions from populations found in Cerrado regions in the states of Goias, Minas Gerais and São Paulo were analyzed using the AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) technique. A total of 236 polymorphic bands were scored and higher proportion of genetic diversity was found inter populations (70.9%), rather than intra populations (29.1%). F-ST value was found to be significantly greater than zero (0.2906), demonstrating the complex genetic structure of S. adstringens populations. Accessions collected in Cristalina, GO, showed higher percentage of polymorphic loci (87.3%) and the highest genetic diversity. The lowest genetic variability was detected among accessions from the population growing in Caldas Novas, GO. The genetic distance among populations was estimated using the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA), which grouped populations into 3 clusters. Moreover, chemotypes with tannin concentration above 40% showed higher genetic similarity. AFLP analysis proved to be an efficient gene mapping technique to determine the genetic diversity among remaining populations of S. adstringens. Obtained results may be employed to implement further strategies for the conservation of this medicinal plant. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant Cell Wall Research Related to Evolution and Chemical Defenses

The plant cell wall is composed mainly of polysaccharides some constituted of repeating units of a single sugar, as cellulose or by two or more sugars grouped in repeating oligosaccharide blocks as the galactomannans and xyloglucans. Variations in composition and fine structure of these cell wall polysaccharides have been used as taxonomic markers and in the comprehension of the evolutive process, particularly in the Leguminosae. Partial hydrolysis of these compounds give rise to oligomers, some of which are capable of eliciting the synthesis of defensive substances in plants named phytoalexins. Species which differ in respect to phytoalexin liberation also differ in cell wall composition, particularly in the pectic fraction of the wall. Pectinases (mainly endopolygalacturonases) present in fungi, have been shown to hydrolyze plant cell walls yielding phytoalexin-eliciting oligosaccharides which differ in composition and in eliciting capacity in different species. These differences can be associated with the capacity of a given species to produce phytoalexins. On the other hand, the phytoalexin induction in plants is being used as a method of producing novel bioactive secondary metabolites.

Search for Antifungal and Anticancer Compounds from Native Plant Species of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of several bioactive extracts obtained from Cerrado and Atlantic Forest plant species led to the isolation of potent DNA-damaging piperidine 1-5 and guanidine alkaloids 6-9 from Cassia leptophylla and Pterogyne nitens respectively, two common Leguminosae from Atlantic Forest. By means of biotechnological approach on Maytenus aquifolium, a species from Cerrado, moderate DNA-damaging sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloid 10-11 was isolated. Bioassay-guided fractionation on Casearia sylvestris, a medicinal plant species found in Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, led to the isolation of clerodane diterpenes 12-13 which showed effect on DNA. In addition, we have reported several interesting potent antifungal iridoids: 1β-hydroxy-dihydrocornin (14), 1α-hydroxy-dihydrocornin (15), α-gardiol (16), β-gardiol (17), plumericin (18), isoplumericin (19), 11-O-trans-caffeoylteucrein (20); ester derivative: 2-methyl-4-hydroxy-butyl-caffeoate (21), amide N-[7-(3'.4'-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2Z, 4Z-heptadienoyl] pyrrolidine (22) and triterpene viburgenin (23).