Revegetation and Soil Management Effects on Chemical Properties of a Saprolite Resulting from Deep Soil Removal

During the building of a hydroelectrical power plant at Ilha Solteira in the Parana River (Brazil), materials of a highly weathered soil Oxisol were extracted from a depth between 5 and 8 m for engineering works. This resulted in an abandoned depression area. The topsoil was not salvaged and the open pit was not backfilled, and as result vegetation hardly or not at all recovered. on the residual saprolite materials, an experimental field was established to assess different soil rehabilitation treatments. Field experiments were initiated in 1992. After soil tillage, two different crops and three different liming strategies were compared, giving six combinations. In addition, two uncropped control treatments, tilled and no-tilled, were established so that a total of eight treatments were assessed. The experimental design consisted of four randomized experimental blocks, which included a total of 32 plots with a plot area of 100 m(2). This experiment was used to study the effectiveness of the soil-reclamation treatments after a 9-year period. Soil samples were taken at three different depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-40 cm), and they were analyzed routinely for pH, organic-matter content, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Revegetation of the abandoned saprolite material increased soil organic-matter content and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and to some extent small differences between treatments were evidenced. Exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) recovered faster than organic-matter content. A significant linear relationship was found between organic-matter content and CEC, suggesting continued addition of organic material will further approach the value of these parameters to those levels corresponding to natural soils under "Cerrado" vegetation.

Genotoxic effects of (-)-cubebin in somatic cells of mice

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Absence of mutagenicity effects of Psidium cattleyanum Sabine (Myrtaceae) extract on peripheral blood and bone marrow cells of mice

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Lack of clastogenic/genotoxic effects of Baccharis dracunculifolia extract on Swiss mouse peripheral blood cells

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

Effects of Annona squamosa extract on early pregnancy in rats

Annona squamosa Linn., family Annonaceae, is said to show varied medicinal effects, including insecticide, antiovulatory and abortifacient. The purpose of present study was to investigate if A. squamosa seed aqueous extract, in doses higher than that popularly used to provoke abortion, interferes with reproductive performance, and to correlate the ingestion of this extract with possible alterations in rat embryonic implantation. Doses of 300 mg/kg (Treated Group I, n = 17) and 600 mg/kg (Treated Group II, n = 12) body wt. were administered by gavage, during days 1 to 5 of pregnancy (preimplantation period). The control group (n = 13) received water in the same manner, during the same period for comparison with experimental groups. The animals were euthanized on day 10 of pregnancy. Treatment of dams during the preimplantation period showed no signs of toxicity, and no alteration in the corpora lutea, implantations and embryo in terms of development numbers. The percentage of preimplantation and postimplantation losses in treated groups I and II did not differ from those of control. Treatment with aqueous extract of A. squamosa seeds caused no morphological change in the endometrium. The absence of morphological alterations in uterine epithelial cells in treated groups I and II permitted a viable embryonic implantation, as verified by the number of embryos in development at day 10 of pregnancy. Thus, A. squamosa seed aqueous extract did not interfere with the reproductive performance of pregnant rats.

Potent anti-inflammatory effects of systemically administered curcumin modulate periodontal disease in vivo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Plant growth regulators on the pre-harvest period of 'Pêra' oranges

Neste estudo, avaliou-se os efeitos de auxinas e giberelinas, combinados e aplicados em pré-colheita na qualidade interna de frutos de laranjeira Pêra. Citrus sinensis Osbeck cultivar Pêra foram pulverizadas com três aplicações, em intervalos de 45 dias, com os seguintes tratamentos: GA3 + 2,4-D a 12,5mg L-1 de cada; GA3 + 2,4-D 25mg L-1; GA3 + 2,4-D 37,5mg L-1; GA3 + NAA 12,5mg L-1;GA3 + NAA 25mg L-1; GA3 + NAA 37,5mg L-1; NAA + 2,4-D 12,5mg L-1; NAA+2,4-D 25mg L-1; NAA+2,4-D 37,5mg L-1 e testemunha (água). Os resultados mostraram que os tratamentos não prejudicaram a qualidade interna dos frutos. Além disso, os níveis de resíduo de reguladores vegetais no suco, ficaram abaixo de 0,05mg L-1, 110 dias após a última aplicação.

Bottom-up and top-down effects in a pre-dispersal seed predation system: are non-predated seeds damaged?

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

Antiulcerogenic and analgesic effects of the Austroplenckia populnea extracts in mice

Austroplenckia populnea (Reiss.) Lund. is a Brazilian Cerrado plant belonging to the Celastraceae family. Hexane and methanol extracts of leaves were investigated for their antiulcerogenic (ethanol and indomethacin/bethanecol induced gastric damage) and analgesic (writhing and tail-flick tests) activities in mice. Acute toxic effects also were evaluated. Oral administration of both extracts at a dose of 1000 mg/kg significantly reduced the total area of the lesion, the relative area of lesion and the ulcerative index in ethanol-induced gastric damage, but both extracts were inactive in the indomethacin/bethanecol-induced gastric damage test. A dose dependent effect was determined with the hexane extract in the ethanol-induced lesions test. The hexane and methanol extracts reduced the number of contortions in the writhing test, but both extracts were inactive in the tail-flick immersion test. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Antiulcerogenic and analgesic effects of Maytenus aquifolium, Sorocea bomplandii and Zolernia ilicifolia

Maytenus aquifolium (Celastraceae), Sorocea bomplandii (Moraceae) and Zolernia ilicifolia (Fabaceae) are native plants from the Tropical Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlantica, Brazil) known a 'espinheira-santa'. These plants are traditionally used as analgesic and antiulcerogenic medicine, with the same traditional uses of the true 'espinheira-santa' (Maytenus ilicifolia, Celastraceae), an efficient antiulcerogenic agent. Pharmacological and toxicological studies with these plants have not been carried out. The purpose in this study was to evaluate the efficacy (analgesic and antiulcerogenic activities), safety (acute toxicity) and quality (phytochemical profile) of these three plants. The analgesic effect was analyzed by writhing and tail flick tests, while anti Ulcerogenic effect was performed through ulcer induction by ethanol and indomethacin/bethanecol assays. LD., and acute toxic effects, as well as phytochemical profiles of all plants also were carried. Surprisingly, the three plants showed analgesic and antiulcerogenic effects at dose of 1000 mg/kg, v.o. Maytenus aquifolium lowering all ulcerogenic parameters (ethanol test), but increased the ulcerogenic effects in the indoniethacin/bethanecol test. Sorocea bomplandii produced antiulcerogenic effects in both experimental models used, while Zolernia ilicifolia showed significant effects only in indomethacin/bethanecol-induced gastric lesions. Pre-treatment with Zolernia ilicifolia induced someone toxic effects, A phytochemical profile for each plant species was determined and its main chemical classes of compounds were described. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological effects of Ocimum gratissimum L. are due to synergic action among multiple compounds present in essential oil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Brazilian Medicinal Plant Acts on Prostaglandin Level and Helicobacter pylori

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

The anti-ulcerogenic effects of Curatella americana L.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Qualea grandiflora, a Brazilian Cerrado medicinal plant presents an important antiulcer activity

Qualea grandiflora is one of the species widely used in folk medicine to treat gastric ulcers in Cerrado of the central region of Brazil. The hydroalcoholic extract of bark (HE) of Qualea grandiflora was investigated for their ability to prevent and heal lesions in the gastric mucosa. The oral administration of HE exhibited antiulcer activity decreasing the ulcerative index induced by HCl/ethanol solution, indomethacin/bethanechol and stress. In the Shay model, results showed that HE (p.o.) only reduced the severity of gastric lesions without effects on pH, gastric acidity or volume. When given by intraduodenal route, HE changed the pH, but did not modify the other parameters of the gastric juice. These data were in accordance with those obtained when HE was administered orally for 14 days after gastric ulcers were induced by acetic acid in rats. HE presented healing process in subacute gastric ulcer induced by acetic acid in rats. Moreover, histological examinations showed the simple columnar epithelium, lamina propria with simple branched tubular glandules with dilated lumen and large amounts of mucus secretion. Phytochemical investigation of HE led to the detection of terpenes, steroids, saponins, phenolic compounds and tannins in this extract, which may be involved in the observed activity. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Gastroprotective and ulcer healing effects of essential oil from Hyptis spicigera Lam. (Lamiaceae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)