Stigmatic surface in the Vochysiaceae: reproductive and taxonomic implications

(Stigmatic surface, reproductive biology and taxonomy of the Vochysiaceae). The Vochysiaceae are Neotropical trees and shrubs, common in the savanna areas in Central Brazil (Cerrados). The family has been traditionally divided into two tribes: Erismeae, with three genera, and Vochysieae, with five genera. We investigated the stigmatic surface of six Vochysiaceae species, belonging to four genera of Vochysieae: Vochysia, Salvertia, Callisthene and Qualea. Flowers and buds at different developmental stages were collected. Morphological features were observed on fresh material and stigmatic receptivity was inferred based on esterasic activity. Pistils were fixed and embedded in paraplast and sectioned on a rotary microtome; the sections were stained before histological analysis. Stigmas of open flowers were also observed by scanning electron microscopy. Stigmas of all species were wet and showed esterasic activity at pre-anthesis and anthesis stages. Stigmatic surface was continuous with transmitting tissue of glandular nature. Vochysia and Salvertia stigmatic surfaces were formed by multicelular uniseriate hairs, and species of the remaining genera showed papillate surface. The exudate over mature stigmas in all species flowed without rupture of stigmatic Surface and pollen tubes grew down between hairs or papillae. Differences on the stigmatic surface agreed with a phylogenetic reconstruction that separated two clades and indicated that Vochysieae is not monophyletic. Stigmatic features could not be associated with pollination and breeding systems.

Florística e fitossociologia de área de cerrado S.S. no município de Patrocínio Paulista, nordeste do Estado de São Paulo

A necessidade de se conhecer mais sobre o Bioma Cerrado torna-se cada vez mais urgente, devido à sua destruição acelerada. Este trabalho realizou o levantamento florístico-fitossociológico de uma área de cerrado sensu stricto na Fazenda Santa Cecília, município de Patrocínio Paulista, nordeste do Estado de São Paulo (20º 46' 2 S e 47º 14' 24 W, 836 m de altitude e Neossolo Quartzarênico). em 30 parcelas de 10 x 10 m, foram amostrados 511 indivíduos arbustivo-arbóreos de PAP > 15 cm, pertencentes a 30 famílias, 38 gêneros e 53 espécies. As famílias com maior riqueza específica foram Fabaceae (sete espécies), Myrtaceae (cinco espécies), Vochysiaceae (quatro espécies), Annonaceae (três espécies) e Caesalpiniaceae (três espécies), totalizando 45% das espécies. As espécies de maior valor de importância (IVI) foram: Qualea grandiflora (62,38), Dalbergia miscolobium (22,24), Styrax camporum (21,86), Ocotea corymbosa (18,02), Qualea parviflora (14,97) e Qualea multiflora (11,46). A comunidade arbórea apresentou densidade de 1.703 indivíduos por hectare, índice de Shannon (H') de 3,05 e índice de similaridade de Jaccard (ISj) de 45% quando comparado com área próxima de cerrado.

Efficiency of a constructed wetland for wastewaters treatment

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

Levantamento da infestação de plantas aquáticas em Porto Primavera antes do enchimento final do reservatório

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar as plantas aquáticas e os níveis de infestação de cada espécie em Porto Primavera antes do enchimento final do reservatório. Foram avaliados todos os focos de vegetação aquática no reservatório (72 pontos), sendo os pontos demarcados com um aparelho de GPS. As espécies foram identificadas e estimouse visualmente (tamanho da área) a distribuição proporcional das plantas no foco de infestação. Após a identificação, foram encontradas 18 espécies de plantas aquáticas vegetando no reservatório, das quais foram determinadas a frequência de espécie de planta aquática e a distribuição dentro do sistema de geração de energia. As espécies encontradas no reservatório foram: Eichhornia crassipes, Eichhornia azurea, Pistia stratiotes, Paspalum repens, Cyperus brevifolius, Paspalum conspersum, Echinochloa polystachya, Egeria densa, Egeria najas, Polygonum hidropiperoides, Polygonum lapathifolium, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Eleocharis sellowiana, Nymphaea ampla, Pontederia cordata, Salvinia auriculata, Salvinia rotundifolia e Typha angustifolia. As maiores frequências relativas foram observadas em: E. azurea (36,11%), E. crassipes (16,67%), P. stratiotes (13,89%), S. auriculata (13,89%), C. brevifolius (11,11%) e P. lapathifolium (6,94%).

Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants of the Cerrado, Brazil

In order to determine the potential of Cerrado plants as sources of antimicrobial activity, the phytochemical screening of ethanol extracts from Virola surinamensis, Qualea grandiflora, Alchornea castaneifolia, Hancornia speciosa and Curatella americana traditionally used in folk medicine are reported. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Distribuição e abundância de espécies arbóreas em cerradões no Pantanal, Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

Os cerradões no Pantanal ocorrem em áreas não inundáveis da planície e são importantes para a economia regional. Das áreas de cerradão são retiradas madeiras para construção de cercas, currais e galpões. Apesar da grande importância dos recursos vegetais do cerradão, existem poucas informações para embasar sua conservação e uso sustentável. Este trabalho teve como objetivos estudar a abundância, a distribuição das espécies arbóreas e correlações com a fertilidade do solo em áreas de cerradão (savana florestada) do Pantanal Sul Mato-grossense. Foram estudadas seis áreas de cerradão na sub-região da Nhecolândia, por meio de 30 pontos quadrantes, totalizando 120 árvores amostradas, com circunferência a altura do peito (CAP) > 15 cm, em cada área. As comparações florísticas, de abundância das espécies e de fertilidade do solo, foram efetuadas por análises de componentes principais (PCA). As áreas mostraram-se heterogêneas, apresentando diferentes níveis de fertilidade do solo, estrutura e composição da vegetação. Dois cerradões foram agrupados em termos de fertilidade do solo e de estrutura da vegetação, apresentando muitas árvores de Qualea grandiflora Mart., espécie que ocorreu associada a solos com maiores teores de fósforo. Outros dois cerradões apresentaram composição florística mais semelhante que os demais, apesar de ocorrerem em solos com diferentes níveis de fertilidade, indicando perturbação antrópica.

Vochysiaceae: secondary metabolites, ethnopharmacology and pharmacological potential

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

Relative antioxidant activity of Brazilian medicinal plants for gastrointestinal diseases

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

Growth rings in cerrado woody species: occurrence and anatomical markers

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

P elements in the saltans group of Drosophila: a new evaluation of their distribution and number of genomic insertion sites

Few are studies on P elements that have addressed the saltans group. These studies had shown that species from the cordata and elliptica subgroups were devoid of any discernible P homologous sequences, while species from the parasaltans, sturtevanti, and saltans subgroups all contain P element sequences. Our analyses showed the presence of one to 15 P element insertion sites in species of the saltans group, including Drosophila neocordata and Drosophila emarginata (cordata and elliptica subgroups, respectively). From these species, only those from the parasaltans, sturtevanti, and saltans subgroups harbor canonical P elements and, only those of the last two subgroups seem to harbor putative full-sized elements. Due to the low similarity of the sequences found in D. neocordata and D. emarginata to those earlier described, we suggest that these sequences might be rudimental P element derivatives that were present in the ancestral of the subgenus Sophophora. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Leaf and stem anatomy of Vochysiaceae in relation to subfamilial and suprafamilial systematics

Several leaf anatomical features are potentially systematically informative within both the family Vochysiaceae and the order Myrtales, notably tracheoidal idioblasts, mucilage cells and secretory canals. Tracheoids with spiral wall thickenings are present in the mesophyll of most species of Vochysia, and also occur in several other families of Myrtales. Mucilage cells are common in the leaf epidermis in some Vochysiaceae. Secretory ducts are present in the midrib in Salvertia and Vochysia, which are apparently closely related, although Salvertia also shares some leaf anatomical characters with Qualea and Callisthene. Anatomical data do not support the segregation of Ruizterania from Qualea; leaves of R. albiflora leaves are very similar to those of Q. paraensis in venation pattern, and leaf and stem anatomy. Different venation patterns are characteristic of sections within the genus Qualea, but within the large genus Vochysia, leaf anatomy is variable even within a subsection. Amongst other Myrtales, leaf anatomy of Vochysiaceae most closely resembles that of Combretaceae and Onagraceae. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London.

Absence of mutagenicity of plants used to treat gastrointestinal disorders

The Brazilian Savanna (locally called Cerrado) is an important biome presenting several plants that are used in popular medicine. However, the risks associated with the consumption of derivatives from these plants are generally unknown. Studies with compounds obtained from different species have shown the risks of DNA damage. The present work assessed the in vivo mutagenicity of three plant species used in popular medicine to treat human gastrointestinal disorders (Mouriri pusa, Qualea grandiflora and Qualea multiflora). The micronucleus assay was performed in peripheral blood of mice submitted to acute treatments. Results showed that no assessed extracts were mutagenic in vivo. In fact, the absence of mutagenicity in the present study indicates that the extracts do not contain compounds capable of inducing DNA breaks or chromosomal loss. However, further analysis should be performed in others systems to guarantee their safety, mainly to human chronic use.

Comparison of Brazilian plants used to treat gastritis on the oxidative burst of helicobacter pylori -stimulated neutrophil

Ten Brazilian medicinal plants used to treat gastritis and ulcers were carefully selected on the basis of ethnopharmacological importance and antiulcerogenic activity previously described. The antioxidant activity of the methanolic extracts was determined in analysis conditions that simulate a real biological activity on inhibition of the oxidative burst induced in neutrophils using Helicobacter pylori as activator, by a luminol-amplified chemiluminescence assay. The extracts, at low concentration (5 g/mL), exhibited a large variation in inhibitory effects of H. pylori-induced oxidative burst ranging from 48% inhibition to inactive, but all extracts, excluding Byrsonima intermedia, had inhibitory activity over 80% at the concentration of 100 g/mL. The total suppressive antioxidant capacity measured as the effective concentration, which represents the extract concentration producing 50% inhibition of the chemiluminescence induced by H. pylori, varies from 27.2 to 56.8 g/mL and was in the following order: Qualea parviflora > Qualea multiflora > Alchornea triplinervia > Qualea grandiflora > Anacardium humile > Davilla elliptica > Mouriri pusa > Byrsonima basiloba > Alchornea glandulosa > Byrsonima intermedia. The main groups of compounds in tested extracts are presented. Differences in the phytochemical profile, quantitatively and qualitatively, of these plants can explain and justify their protective effect on the gastric mucosa caused by the neutrophil-generated ROS that occurs when H. pylori displays its evasion mechanisms. © 2013 Cibele Bonacorsi et al.

Anatomia do lenho e do carvão de espécies arbóreas do Cerrado no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

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

Qualidade do sombreamento natural de três espécies arbóreas visando ao conforto térmico animal

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)