Anatomia foliar de cinco espécies de Polygala de restinga e cerrado

A plasticidade ecológica observada em plantas que ocupam diferentes formações vegetais é frequentemente acompanhada por variações morfológicas, sendo a folha o órgão vegetativo com a maior variação estrutural. Diante disso, cinco espécies de Polygala L. ocorrentes em restinga e cerrado do Estado de São Paulo tiveram a anatomia da folha analisada com o objetivo de efetuar um inventário dos seus principais caracteres e descrever sua estrutura, com o propósito de compará-las, e de avaliar se é possível evidenciar padrões estruturais comuns às condições ecológicas de ambas as formações vegetacionais. As espécies pesquisadas foram: P. cyparissias A.St. –Hil. & Moq., P. laureola A.St.-Hil. & Moq., P. paniculata L., encontradas em restinga; P. angulata DC. e P. violacea Aubl. emend. Marques, que ocorrem em campo cerrado e em margem de cerradão, respectivamente. A região mediana da lâmina foliar e a região proximal do pecíolo de cada folha foram processadas segundo as técnicas usuais para microscopia eletrônica de varredura e de luz. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam dois padrões estruturais comuns às espécies procedentes das formações de restinga e cerrado: características mesomórficas são observadas em P. laureola, P. paniculata e P. violacea, e xeromórficas em P. cyparissias e P. angulata.

Análise da estrutura arbustivo-arbórea de uma área de cerrado sensu stricto, município de Aquidauana-Mato Grosso do Sul

The objective of this work was to study the floristic composition and structure of the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah), focusing on the tree and shrub strata. A total of 30 plots (10x10m) were set up, distributed in 10 contiguous blocks where individuals with a minimum PBH of 10 cm were sampled. A total of 1,107 individuals were sampled. Such individuals belonged to 33 families and 88 species, showing high values of richness. Total basal area and total density were respectively 6,651m² and 3690 individuals per hectare. The values of diversity (3.868 nats/individual) and evenness (0.86) show high heterogeneity and low ecological dominance. The most important species were Qualea grandiflora Mart., Lafoensia pacari St. Hil., Magonia pubescens St. Hil. and Qualea parviflora Mart., which together represented 57.7% of VI.

Leaf Morphological Plasticity of Tree Species from Two Developmental Stages in Araucaria Forest

This study compared the morphological and anatomical variations of the leaves of four shade-tolerant tree species Allophylus edulis (St.-Hil.) Radlk (Sapindaceae), Casearia sylvestris Sw. (Salicaceae), Cupania vernalis Cambess. (Sapindaceae) and Luehea divaricata Mart. (Malvaceae) from a fragment of Araucaria forest in two developmental stages. Morphological and anatomical traits, such as leaf and tissue thickness, leaf area, leaf dry mass, specific leaf area, leaf density and stomata density were measured from 30 leaves of each developmental stage. The phenotypic plasticity index was also calculated for each quantitative trait. The results showed that the four species presented higher mean values ​​for specific leaf area and spongy/palisade parenchyma ratio at young stage, and higher mean values ​​for stomata density, total and palisade parenchyma thickness in the adult stage. The plasticity index demonstrated that L. divricata presented highest plasticity for both the morphological and anatomical traits while A. edulis displayed the lowest plasticity index. The results of this study indicated that the leaves of these species exhibited distinct morphological traits at each stage of development to cope with acting environmental factors.

Bacterial community associated with traps of the carnivorous plants Utricularia hydrocarpa and Genlisea filiformis

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

Atividade antibacteriana de plantas do cerrado da região de Botucatu - São Paulo

The studies related to research on new antimicrobial products have received special attention from researchers, especially given the emergence of microbial strains resistant to conventional antimicrobials. Thus, the present study was aimed to test the antimicrobial action of hydro-alcoholic extracts of plants collected in Cerrado region of Botucatu, following the species: Achyrocline satureioides (Lam) DC (macela), Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart) Coville (barbatimão), Miconia rubiginosa (Bonpl.) DC (quaresma-branca), Davilla elliptica A. St-Hil (lixinha), Siparuna guianensis (negramina) e Solanum lycocarpum A.St-Hil (lobeira). The plants were always collected in the morning, in areas near the town of Botucatu, and extracts were prepared using a solvent such as methanol 70% from materials dried (50°C) and ground into mill knives. The extraction was performed for 48 hours at refrigerator temperature, followed by filtration, removal of methanol solvent in a rotary evaporator, determination of the dry weight of the extracts (mg / mL) and phytochemical analysis of the same. The sensitivity tests for 10 S. aureus, 11 E. coli and 11 P. aeruginosa, isolated from human clinical cases were performed by diluting volumes of the extracts in Mueller Hinton Agar (MHA) and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (mg / mL). According to the results and statistical analysis, it was found that depending on the bacteria tested, and in descending order of antibacterial activity for S. aureus: Lixinha sheet > Barbatimão sheet > Quaresma-Branca > Macela > Lixinha fruit > Barbatimão shell > Lobeira > Negramina; E. coli: Lixinha sheet > Barbatimão sheet > Lixinha fruit = barbatimão peel > Quaresma-Branca > Macela = Lobeira > Negramina and P. aeruginosa: Lixinha leaf > Barbatimão bark > Barbatimão leaf > Lixinha fruit > Macela > Lobeira > Quaresma - Branca = Negramina... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The identity of two obscure names of Violaceae from the Flora Brasiliensis context: nomenclatural novelties within Hybanthus communis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

O gênero Erythroxylum P. Browne (Erythroxylaceae) do estado do Paraná, Brasil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Bioatividade de derivados de Annonaceae sobre Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Immatures of Lamprosoma amethystinum Perty, 1832 (Chrysomelidae, Lamprosomatinae)

The genus Lamprosoma Kirby, 1818 includes 128 neotropical species and 54 of them are recorded from Brazil (Monros, 1960). The first species with a described larva was L. seraphinum Lacordaire. After that, larvae and pupae of three species were described: L. bicolor Kirby, 1818, L. chorisiae Monros, 1948 and L. azureum Germar, 1824. Fiebrig (1910) described the larva of L. seraphinum Lacordaire, collected on Teminalia hassleriana Chod. (Combretaceae) of Paraguay. Moreira (1913) described L. bicolor collected on Terminalia catappa L., in Rio de Janeiro. According to him, this tree was introduced from Molucas Islands, in Oceania. He also considered it probable that L. bicolor lived on one native species of Terminalia or on another species of Combretaceae and adaptated itself to live on Terminalia catappa. Monros (1949) described L. chorisiae collected on Chorisia speciosa and Ch. insignis [ Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hil., A. Juss. & Cambess.) Ravenna and Ceiba insignis (Kunth) P. E. Gibbs & J. Semir] (Bombacaceae) ("" palos borrachos"") in Tucuman. Caxambu and Almeida (1999) described L. azureum collected on Psidium cattleianum Sabine (Myrtaceae)(""araca""), in Parana state. Herein, the larva and pupa of L. amethystinum collected on Terminalia catappa amendoeira-da-praia"", "" chapeu-de-sol"") in Campinas, Sao Paulo state, are described and illustrated.

Isolation and characterization of sodium 2-fluoroacetate from Mascagnia rigida using chromatography and infrared spectroscopy

Sodium monofluoroacetate was first identified in Dichapetalum cymosum, a South African plant that can cause livestock poisoning and death. After, several other plants also showed to contain this toxin, which leads to the "sudden death". Mascagnia rigida, a well identified poisonous plant, commonly found in northeast of Brazil also cause sudden death in cattle, which shows clinical signs similar to those produced by the ingestion of plants that contain monofluoroacetate. Our aim was to identify the toxic compound present in the aqueous extract of M. rigida. For this purpose, the dried and milled plant was extracted; the extract was lyophilized and submitted to successive chromatographic process, until the desired purity of the active compound was achieved. The study of this material by planar chromatography and by infrared spectrometry indicated that the toxin can be a mixture of mono, di and trifluoroacetate. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of Solanum lycocarpum fruits glicoalkaloid extract in V79 cells

Solanum lycocarpum St.-Hil (Solanaceae) is a hairy shrub or small much-branched tree of the Brazilian Cerrado, popularly known as "fruit-of-wolf". Considering that the induction of chromosomal mutations is involved in the process of carcinogenesis, and that S. lycocatpum is often used in folk medicine, it becomes relevant to study its effect on genetic material. In this sense, the aim of present study was to determine the possible cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic potentials of S. lycocarpum fruits glycoalkaloid extract (SL) in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (V79 cells). The cytotoxicity was evaluated by the colony forming assay, apoptosis and necrosis assay. Trypan blue exclusion dye method and mitotic index. Genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential were evaluated by comet and chromosomal aberrations assays. Four concentrations of SL (4, 8, 16 and 32 mu g/mL) were used for the evaluation of its genotoxic potential. The DNA damage-inducing agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS, 221 mu g/mL) was utilized in combination with extract to evaluate a possible protective effect. The results showed that SL was cytotoxic at concentrations above 32 mu g/mL by the colony forming assay. For apoptosis and necrosis assay, the concentration of 64 mu g/mL of SL showed statistically significant increase in cell death by apoptosis and necrosis, while the concentrations of 128 and 256 mu g/mL of SL demonstrated statistically significant increase in cell death by necrosis, compared with the control group. Analysis of cell viability by Trypan blue exclusion indicated >96% viability for treatments with concentrations up to 32 mu g/mL of SL No significant differences in MI were observed between cultures treated with different concentrations of 51 (4, 8, 16 and 32 mu g/mL) alone or in combination with MMS and the negative control, indicating that these treatments were not cytotoxic. The comet and chromosomal aberrations assays revealed that SL does not display genotoxic activity. Moreover, the different concentrations of SL showed protective effect against both genomic and chromosomal damages induced by MMS. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

St. John’s wort and Kava in treating major depressive disorder with comorbid anxiety : a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled pilot trial

Objective - We report the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) using a combination of St. John’s wort (SJW) and Kava for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) with comorbid anxiety. Methods - Twenty-eight adults with MDD and co-occurring anxiety were recruited for a double-blind RCT. After a placebo run-in of 2 weeks, the trial had a crossover design testing SJW and Kava against placebo over two controlled phases, each of 4 weeks. The primary analyses used intention-to-treat and completer analyses. Results - On both intention-to-treat ( p¼0.047) and completer analyses ( p¼0.003), SJW and Kava gave a significantly greater reduction in self-reported depression on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) over placebo in the first controlled phase. However, in the crossover phase, a replication of those effects in the delayed medication group did not occur. Nor were there significant effects on anxiety or quality of life. Conclusion - There was some evidence of antidepressant effects using SJW and Kava in a small sample with comorbid anxiety. Possible explanations for the absence of anxiolysis may include a potential interaction with SJW, the presence of depression, or an inadequate dose of Kava.

Kava and St. John's wort : current evidence for use in mood and anxiety disorders

Background: Mood and anxiety disorders pose significant health burdens on the community. Kava and St John’s wort (SJW) are the most commonly used herbal medicines in the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders, respectively. Objectives: To conduct a comprehensive review of kava and SJW, to review any evidence of efficacy, mode of action, pharmacokinetics, safety and use in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Bipolar Disorder (BP), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Phobia (SP), Panic Disorder (PD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Methods: A systematic review was conducted using the electronic databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library during late 2008. The search criteria involved mood and anxiety disorder search terms in combination with kava, Piper methysticum, kavalactones, St John’s wort, Hypericum perforatum, hypericin and hyperforin. Additional search criteria for safety, pharmacodynamics , and pharmacokinetics was employed. A subsequent forward search was conducted of the papers using Web of Science cited reference search. Results: Current evidence supports the use of SJW in treating mild-moderate depression, and for kava in treatment of generalized anxiety. In respect to the other disorders, only weak preliminary evidence exists for use of SJW in SAD. Currently there is no published human trial on use of kava in affective disorders, or in OCD, PTSD, PD or SP. These disorders constitute potential applications that warrant exploration. Conclusions: Current evidence for herbal medicines in the treatment of depression and anxiety only supports the use of Hypericum perforatum for depression, and Piper methysticum for generalized anxiety.

Potential of St John's Wort for the treatment of depression : the economic perspective

The burden of rising health care expenditures has created a demand for information regarding the clinical and economic outcomes associated with complementary and alternative medicines. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials have found Hypericum perforatum preparations to be superior to placebo and similarly effective as standard antidepressants in the acute treatment of mild to moderate depression. A clear advantage over antidepressants has been demonstrated in terms of the reduced frequency of adverse effects and lower treatment withdrawal rates, low rates of side effects and good compliance, key variables affecting the cost-effectiveness of a given form of therapy. The most important risk associated with use is potential interactions with other drugs, but this may be mitigated by using extracts with low hyperforin content. As the indirect costs of depression are greater than five times direct treatment costs, given the rising cost of pharmaceutical antidepressants, the comparatively low cost of Hypericum perforatum extract makes it worthy of consideration in the economic evaluation of mild to moderate depression treatments.