Interespecific variation in the composition of volatile oils from the leaves of Swietenia macrophylla King (Meliaceae)

The volatile oils from leaves of five Brazilian specimens of Swietenia macrophylla King (Meliaceae) collected in three different Amazon Rainforest Conservation Areas in the States of Mato Grosso, Pará, and Rondônia were extracted and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oils showed to be composed by terpenoids, majority hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes, being germacrene D (20.5-46.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (8.3-11.1%) the main components. Besides these derivatives, only α-cubebene, β-caryophyllene, β-gurjunene and γ-cadinene were detected in all of the analyzed samples. This analysis indicated a great diversity of constituents in the oils obtained from specimens collected in these regions, which could be associated to the different susceptibility in the attack of H. grandella in S. macrophylla cultures.

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from verbenaceae species: alternative sources of (E)-caryophyllene and germacrene-D

Volatile oils from the leaves of Verbenaceae species Aloysia virgata, Lantana camara, Lantana trifolia, Lantana montevidensis, Lippia brasiliensis and Lippia sericea were investigated for its chemical composition and antibacterial activity. The volatile oils were characterized by a high content of sesquiterpenes of which (E)-caryophyllene (10-35%), germacrene-D (5-46%) and bicyclogermacrene (7-17%) were the major components for all studied species. For the flowers, a higher concentration of monoterpenes was observed for the species L. camara, L. trifolia and L. brasiliensis. These compounds probably act as attractive to specific pollinators. The volatile oils from A. virgata was the most active, exhibiting moderate antimicrobial activity against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli.

Chemical composition, circadian rhythm and antibacterial activity of essential oils of piper divaricatum: a new source of safrole

The essential oils from leaves, stems and fruits of Piper divaricatum were analyzed by GC-MS. The tissues showed high safrole content: leaves (98%), fruits (87%) and stems (83%), with yields of 2.0, 4.8 and 1.7%, respectively. This is a new alternative source of safrole, a compound widely used as a flavoring agent and insecticide. The leaf's oil showed antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria while safrole was active against Salmonella Typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, the study of circadian rhythm of the safrole concentration in the essential oils of leaves showed a negligible variation of 92 to 98%.

Chemical composition of volatiles from male and female specimens of Baccharis trimera collected in two distant regions of southern brazil: a comparative study using chemometrics

GC/MS/FID analyses of volatile compounds from cladodes and inflorescences from male and female specimens of Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC. collected in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, Brazil, showed that carquejyl acetate was the primary volatile component (38% to 73%), while carquejol and ledol were identified in lower concentrations. Data were subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis, which confirmed that the chemical compositions of all samples were similar. The results presented here highlight the occurrence of the same chemotype of B. trimera in three southern states of Brazil.

Phenolic composition and antioxidant properties of Brazilian honeys

The antioxidant activities and polyphenolic levels of "assa peixe," "cambara," and "morrão de candeia" Brazilian honeys were investigated. Phenolic extracts of 11 honeys were evaluated spectrophotometrically to determine their total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and their antioxidant activities were measured using DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection was applied to determine the phenolic composition of the honey extracts. The presence of fourteen phenolic compounds was established (eleven phenolic acids and three flavonoids), as well as HMF and abscisic acid. Principal component analysis was applied to classify the honey samples according to their floral origins.

Variation of essential oil composition of Tapirira guianensis Aubl. (Anacardiaceae) from two sandbank forests, north of Brazil

Tapirira guianensis (Anacardiaceae) is used in traditional medicine and is important for the recovery of degraded areas and riparian forests because the T. guianensis fruits are highly consumed by wildlife. Volatile components from dried leaves and branches of five individual plants of T. guianensis were collected in two sandbank forests of the State of Pará (Extractive Reserve Maracanã and Area of Environmental Protection Algodoal/Maiandeua), extracted by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by GC/MS. The ten oils obtained are comprised mostly of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (58.49 to 100%), with (E)-caryophyllene, β-selinene, α-selinene, β-sesquiphellandrene, and α-zingiberene being the most prominent. The results of the oil compositions were processed by Hierarchical Component Analysis (HCA) allowing the establishment of three groups of essential oils for T. guianensis differentiated by the content of β-selinene/α-selinene (Type I), (E)-caryophyllene (Type II), and β-sesquiphellandrene/α-zingiberene (Type III).

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION VARIABILITY IN THE Uncaria tomentosa (cat’s claw) WILD POPULATION

Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) is a vine widely distributed throughout the South-American rainforest. Many studies investigating the chemical composition of cat's claw have focused on the pentacyclic (POA) and tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids (TOA), quinovic acid glycosides (QAG), and polyphenols (PPH). Nevertheless, it is still uncertain how environmental factors affect chemical groups. The aim of this work was to better understand the influence of environmental factors (geographic origin, altitude, and season) on cat's claw chemical composition. Stem bark, branches and leaf samples were extracted and analyzed by HPLC-PDA. The data obtained were explored by multivariate analysis (HCA and PCA). Higher amounts of oxindole alkaloids and PPH were found in leaves, followed by stem bark and branches. No clear relationship was verified among geographic origin or altitude and chemical composition, which remained unchanged regardless of season (dry or rainy). However, three oxindole alkaloid chemotypes were clearly recognized: chemotype I (POA with cis D/E ring junction); chemotype II (POA with trans D/E ring junction); and chemotype III (TOA). Thus, environmental factors appear to have only a minor influence on the chemical heterogeneity of the cat's claw wild population. Nevertheless, the occurrence of different chemotypes based on alkaloid profiles seems to be clear.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF Roldana platanifolia

The chemical study of Roldana platanifolia led to the isolation of β-caryophyllene, five eremophilanolides, chlorogenic acid, and a mixture of β-sitosterol-stigmasterol, β-sitosteryl glucopyranoside, and sucrose. The anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts and isolated products were tested using the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) model of induced acute inflammation. The acetone and methanol extracts showed dose dependent activities (ID50 0.21 and 0.32 mg/ear, respectively), while none of the isolated compounds exhibited relevant edema inhibition. The active extracts were also evaluated with the myeloperoxidase assay technique (MPO) to determine their ability to prevent neutrophil infiltration. Results showed that the anti-inflammatory activity was related to the compound’s ability to inhibit pro-inflammatory mediators such as neutrophils.

FLASH-OFDM System Performance Studies for Wireless Broadband Network Operator Services

@450 wireless broadband service is Digita’s mobile wireless broadband network service. In @450 network Digita acts as the network operator offering network capacity to service operators. For Digita it is important to know what kind of services its network is capable of and what are the network’s service parameters. The knowledge of the network parameters and the behaviour can be used in advance in the development of new service products. Before a new service product can be offered to service operators a lot of work has to be done. The basic testing is necessary to get an understanding of the basic functionality. The requirement specification has to be done and a new product has to be created. The new product has to be tested. The test results have to be analysed in order to find out if the new product is suitable for real use and with which limitations. The content of this Thesis is the development of wireless technologies, @450 service and network, FLASH-OFDM technology, FLASH-OFDM performance testing and the development of a new service product.

Effect of alcohol concentration and electrode composition on the ethanol electrochemical oxidation

The electrochemical oxidation on platinum and platinum rhodium bimetallic electrodes was studied by Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry for several ethanol concentrations in solution. It is found that increasing the ethanol concentration the production of the partially oxidized products (acetaldehyde) increases as the concentration increases. On the other hand, addition of 25% at. of rhodium increases the full oxidation to CO2. Another interesting result observed is a correlation between the intensity of the dehydrogenations peak at 0.3 V vs. RHE and the CO2 yield for the different ethanol concentration studied.

Floristic composition of two wetland forests in Araguaian Plain, State of Tocantins, Brazil, and comparison with other areas

Seasonally inundated native forest fragments ("ipucas") located in natural landform depression swales of the Araguaian Plain are currently under land use pressure. Their composition needs to be better understood to guarantee their protection. This comparative study of fragments under different land use conditions was carried out at Lago Verde Farm, Lagoa da Confusão,Tocantins, Brazil. The location coordinates are UTM 643586 and 644060 East and 8792795 and 8799167 North. This study aimed to first analyze and compare the floristic composition of two seasonally inundated forest fragments of approximately one hectare each. The first is located in an intact (without human intervention) Gramineous-Woody Savanna region and the second in a rice cultivation region. The floristic composition of both fragments was then compared to that of other wetland forests located in the Northern, Central Western and Southeastern regions of Brazil.All the floristic compositions are affected by seasonal flooding and soil water saturation. The floristic inventory used a census method that sampled all trees and shrubs with perimeter at 1.30 m from soil (PAP) = 15cm; 665 individuals, 33 families and 49 species were recorded for the intact region and 807 individuals, 35 families and 70 species for the altered region fragment. The values of H' = 0.806 (Shannon-Weaver) and J = 3.44 nats /individual (equability) for the fragment in the region affected by rice cultivation are considered high compared to the intact region fragment values (H' = 0.761 and J = 2.97). Families contributing to floristic richness in the altered region fragment were Fabaceae (9 species), Vochysiaceae (6) and Annonaceae (4). In the intact region fragment, Fabaceae also presented the largest number of species (8) followed by Arecaceae, Chrysobalanaceae and Vochysiaceae (3 each). When comparing the forests from various regions in Brazil, floristic similarity was found to be small. Greater similarity was found when indices for the two Lagoa da Confusão fragments were compared to riparian forests located in the Federal District of Brasilia.

Composition of Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) Fruits and Leaves and emblic Leafflower (Phyllanthus emblica) Fruits

Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere (Asia, Europe and North America). It has been used as a medicinal material and food for hundreds of years both in Europe and in China. Clinical investigations and other research suggest that extracts of hawthorn fruits and leaves have multiple health effects including hypolipidaemic, anti-atherosclerotic, hypotensive, cardioprotective and blood vessel relaxing activities. Hawthorn fruit extracts have also displayed antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. Emblic leafflower fruit (Phyllanthus emblica) is widely used in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine. It has been found to have anti-cancer, hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic activities as well as cardioprotective effects and antioxidant activity. The fruit is currently used as a functional food targeted at obese people in China. Phenolic compounds, procyanidins (PCs), flavonols and C-glycosyl flavones in hawthorn and hydrolysable tannins in emblic leafflower fruits are considered among the major bioactive compounds in these berries. Moreover, hawthorn and emblic leafflower fruits are rich in vitamin C, triterpenoids, fruit acids, sugar alcohols and some other components with beneficial effects on the health of human beings. The aim of the thesis work was to characterise the major phenolic compounds in hawthorn fruits and leaves and emblic leafflower fruits as well as other components contributing to the nutritional profile and sensory properties of hawthorn fruits. Differences in the content and compositional profile of the major phenolic compounds, sugars, acids and sugar alcohols within various origins and species of hawthorn were also investigated. Acids, sugars and sugar alcohols in the fruits of different origins/cultivars belonging to three species (C. pinnatifida, C. brettschneideri and C. scabrifolia) of hawthorn were analysed by gas chromatography (GC-FID) and mass spectrometry (Publication I). Citric acid, quinic acid, malic acid, fructose, glucose, sorbitol and myo-inositol were found in all the subspecies. Sucrose was present only in C. scabrifolia and three cultivars of C. pinnatifida var. major. Forty-two phenolic compounds were identified/tentatively identified in fruits of C. pinnatifida var. major by polyamide column chromatography combined with high-performance liquid chromatograph-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) (Publication II). Ideain, chlorogenic acid, procyanidin (PC) B2, (-)-epicatechin, hyperoside and isoquercitrin were the major phenolic components identified. In addition, 35 phenolic compounds were tentatively identified based on UV and mass spectra. Eleven major phenolic compounds (hyperoside, isoquercitrin, chlorogenic acid, ideain, (-)-epicatechin, two PC dimers, three PC trimers and a PC dimer-hexoside) were quantified in the fruits of 22 cultivars/origins of three species of Chinese hawthorn by HPLC-ESI-MS with single ion recording function (SIR) (Publication III). The fruits of the hawthorn cultivars/origins investigated fell into two groups, one rich in sugars and flavonols, the other rich in acids and procyanidins. Based on the compositional features, different biological activities and sensory properties may be expected between cultivars/origins of the two groups. The results suggest that the contents of phenolic compounds, acids, sugars and sugar alcohols may be used as chemotaxonomic information distinguishing the hawthorn species from each other. Phenolic compounds in fruits and leaves of C. grayana and their changes during fruit ripening/harvesting were investigated using HPLC-UV-ESI-MS (Publication IV). (-)-Epicatechin, PC B2 and C1, hyperoside and a quercetin-pentoside were the major phenolic compounds in both fruits and leaves. Three C-glycosyl flavones (a luteolin-C-hexoside, a methyl luteolin-C-hexoside and an apigenin-C-hexoside) were present in leaves in abundance, but only at trace levels in fruits. Ideain and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid were found in fruits only. Additionally, eleven phenolic compounds were identified/tentatively identified in both leaves and fruits (three B-type PC trimers, two B-type PC tetramers, a quercetin-rhamnosylhexoside, a quercetin-pentoside, a methoxykaempferol-methylpentosylhexoside, a quercetin-hexoside acetate, a methoxykaempferol-pentoside, chlorogenic acid and an unknown hydroxycinnamic acid derivative). The total content of phenolic compounds reached the highest level by the end of August in fruits and by the end of September in leaves. The compositional profiles of phenolic compounds in fruits and leaves of C. grayana were different from those of C. pinnatifida, C. brettschneideri, C. scabrifolia, C. pinnatifida. var. major, C. monogyna, C. laevigata and C. pentagyna. Phenolic compounds in emblic leafflower fruits were characterised by Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography combined with HPLC-ESI-MS (Publication V). A mucic acid gallate, three isomers of mucic acid lactone gallate, a galloylglucose, gallic acid, a digalloylglucose, putranjivain A, a galloyl-HHDP-glucose, elaeocarpusin and chebulagic acid represented the major phenolic compounds in fruits of emblic leafflower. In conclusion, results of this study significantly increase the current knowledge on the key bioactive and nutritional components of hawthorn and emblic leafflower fruits. These results provide important information for research on the mechanism responsible for the health benefits of these fruits.

Patterns and processes of littoral zooplankton composition in relation to the trophic state of the environment

Avhandlingen handlar om hur kompositionen hos litoralt djurplankton varierar med omgivningens trofiska nivå (m.a.o. eutrofieringsgrad). Arbetets inledande mål är att beskriva hur mängden och artmångfalden hos djurplankton i strandnära vattnen och de omgivande organismsamhällen ändras med närsaltshalter. Huvudsyftet är att utreda allmänna mekanismer som styr dessa mönster och som på så sätt kan vara viktiga i att reglera samhällen även i andra ekologiska system. Undersökningarna gjordes i åländska flador över flera tillväxtsäsonger samt i laboratorier där omgivningsförhållanden i fladorna kunde simuleras och manipuleras. Djurplankton i dessa lagunlika vikar är lägliga modellsystem. Flador är lämpligt avgränsade från det omgivande havet och förekommer allmänt i norra Östersjöregionen. Således kan de inom ett litet område som Åland representera hela regionala gradienten från näringsfattiga till näringsrika förhållanden. De små kräft- och hjuldjuren som djurplankton består av befinner sig i mitten av näringsväven. De sammankopplar olika typer av mikrobiell produktion vidare till högre konsumenter och är på så sätt centrala för organismsamhällens struktur och funktion i nästan alla akvatiska miljöer. I likhet med primärproducenterna (d.v.s. växter och alger som direkt påverkas av närsaltshalterna, och som bl.a. utgör föda och habitat för djurplankton) samvarierar kompositionen hos djurplankton tydligt med omgivningens trofiska nivå tills den blir hög. Sedan börjar hela samhällskompositionen utveckla sig åt två skilda håll. Dessa mönster kan för djurplanktonets del förklaras med att dess komposition ingalunda styrs endast av primärproducenterna, utan av ett komplicerat samspel mellan dessa resurser samt konkurrerande och högre konsumenter (d.v.s. predatorer på flera högre trofinivåer). Detta kom fram speciellt i laboratorieförhållanden då kompositionen hos dessa samhällskomponenter manipulerades. Både deras sammansättning och relativa tätheter i sig, samt en kombination av båda visade sig styra djurplanktonkompositionen. Lokala processer (inom fladorna) och synnerligen förändringar hos olika fundament- (speciellt vass, borstnate och rödsträfse), kärn- (speciellt yngel av a bborre och mört) och nyckelarter (stora predatorer som gädda) verkar kunna avgöra till vilken grad djurplanktonkompositionen samvarierar med omgivningens trofiska nivå. Inte bara samhällen utan också de mekanismer som styr dem ändras med omgivningens trofiska nivå. Flador är ypperliga naturliga laboratorier för att studera dessa och även andra allmänekologiska mönster och mekanismer. De är också oerhört viktiga miljöer för hela kustregionens natur.