APLICACIÓN DE SUSTANCIAS ACTIVAS DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES COMO ADITIVOS ALIMENTARIOS PARA REDUCIR LOS EFECTOS CITOGENOTÓXICOS E INMUNOTÓXICOS INDUCIDOS POR OCRATOXINA A Y MEJORAR LA PRODUCCIÓN PORCINA.

La producción porcina se encuentra entre una de las más importantes en el continente americano. La carne y subproductos de cerdos alimentados con cereales contaminados por ocratoxina A (OTA) son también fuente de contaminación para el hombre. Esta toxina producida por diferentes especies de Aspergillus presenta propiedades nefrotóxicas, genotóxicas e inmunosupresoras. Actualmente hay un considerable interés en la industria de alimentos por las sustancias vegetales como una alternativa para la prevención de las micotoxicosis. Baccharis articulata y Minthostachys verticillata son plantas medicinales argentinas que han sido ampliamente estudiadas por nuestro grupo de investigación, demostrando propiedades antivirales, antimicrobianas, inmunomoduladoras y antioxidantes. Estudios recientes mostraron que ácido clorogénico aislado de B. articulata redujo los efectos tóxicos de OTA en linfocitos de ratas. Además, estudios in vitro e in vivo demostraron ausencia de efectos citotóxicos y genotóxicos para estas sustancias vegetales. La hipótesis planteada es: El aceite esencial y/o uno de sus componentes puros (limoneno) obtenidos de M. verticillata y los componentes mayoritarios de B. articulata, poseen capacidad para reducir los efectos citogenotóxicos e inmunotóxicos inducidos por OTA, permitiendo su utilización como aditivos alimentarios para el mejoramiento de la producción porcina”. El objetivo del proyecto es caracterizar in vitro e in vivo la capacidad de sustancias obtenidas de plantas medicinales para revertir los efectos tóxicos inducidos por OTA y su posible aplicación como aditivos biológicos en los agroecosistemas de producción porcina. Se recolectará el material vegetal y se obtendrá aceite esencial y extractos acuosos, luego se realizará la identificación y cuantificación de los compuestos puros por CG o HPLC. Para los ensayos de citotoxicidad in vitro, células Vero y PBMCs de ratas Wistar, se enfrentarán a diferentes concentraciones de las sustancias vegetales SV y OTA y la viabilidad celular será evaluada por test de captación de rojo neutro, tinción de exclusión al azul de tripán y método colorimétrico de MTT. La apoptosis inducida por OTA y el efecto protector de las SV se evaluará mediante análisis de fragmentación de ADN por TUNEL, expresión de caspasas-3 y 8 por Western-Blot, expresión de Bax, y Bcl-2 por inmunohistoquímica, RT-PCR y real time PCR y análisis de externalización de fosfatidilserina (FS) por citometría de flujo. Para los estudios in vivo se utilizarán ratas Wistar que serán alimentadas diariamente y por 28 días con diferentes dietas que incluirán el alimento balanceado adicionado con distintas concentraciones de OTA, SV o combinaciones de OTA+SV. Luego, se sacrificarán los animales y se determinará el daño genotóxico inducido por OTA y la reducción del daño por las SV, mediante el test de micronúcleos. También se caracterizará la respuesta inmune de las ratas tratadas determinando la producción de Ac por ELISA, y la respuesta de las PBMCs a mitógenos por citometría de flujo. Teniendo en cuenta los resultados preliminares obtenidos con ácido clorogénico, se esperan obtener similares resultados tanto con el aceite esencial de M. verticillata así como con los otros compuestos. También se espera que las SV adicionadas a las raciones alimentarias contaminadas con OTA, reduzcan los daños citogenotóxicos e inmunotóxicos que produce esta micotoxina. El proyecto posee un fuerte impacto sobre el sector productivo dado que, los riesgos relacionados con la contaminación por micotoxinas están presentes en todos los ámbitos del sector agrícola-ganadero, afectando la economía de nuestro país. La incorporación de sustancias vegetales, inocuas, como aditivos alimentarios para disminuir los efectos tóxicos que causa OTA aportará conocimientos y tecnología a la industria pecuaria y alimentaria para mejorar la producción porcina así como la calidad de la carne y los subproductos destinados a consumo humano

Age, pollen and spores of ODP Site 175-1082

The present-day condition of bipolar glaciation characterized by rapid and large climate fluctuations began at the end of the Pliocene with the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere continental glaciations. The global cooling steps of the late Pliocene have been documented in numerous studies of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites from the Northern Hemisphere. However, the interactions between oceans and between land and ocean during these cooling steps are poorly known. In particular, data from the Southern Hemisphere are lacking. Therefore I investigated the pollen of ODP Site 1082 in the southeast Atlantic Ocean in order to obtain a high-resolution record of vegetation change in Namibia between 3.4 and 1.8 Ma. Four phases of vegetation development are inferred that are connected to global climate change. (1) Before 3 Ma, extensive, rather open grass-rich savannahs with mopane trees existed in Namibia, but the extension of desert and semidesert vegetation was still restricted. (2) Increase of winter rainfall dependent Renosterveld-like vegetation occurred between 3.1 and 2.2 Ma connected to strong advection of polar waters along the Namibian coast and a northward shift of the Polar Front Zone in the Southern Ocean. (3) Climatically induced fluctuations became stronger between 2.7 and 2.2 Ma and semiarid areas extended during glacial periods probably as the result of an increased pole-equator thermal gradient and consequently globally enhanced atmospheric circulation. (4) Aridification and climatic variability further increased after 2.2 Ma, when the Polar Front Zone migrated southward and the influence of Atlantic moisture brought by the westerlies to southern Africa declined. It is concluded that the positions of the frontal systems in the Southern Ocean which determine the locations of the high-pressure cells over the South Atlantic and the southern Indian Ocean have a strong influence on the climate of southern Africa in contrast to the climate of northwest and central Africa, which is dominated by the Saharan low-pressure cell.

Pollen analysis of surface sediments from the Gulf of Guinea and offshore NW-Africa

The areas of marine pollen deposition are related to the pollen source areas by aeolian and fluvial transport regimes, whereas wind transport is much more important than river transport. Pollen distribution patterns of Pinus, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, and Asteraceae Tubuliflorae trace atmospheric transport by the northeast trades. Pollen transport by the African Easterly Jet is reflected in the pollen distribution patterns of Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae Tubuliflorae, and Mitracarpus. Grass pollen distribution registers the latitudinal extension of Sahel, savannas and dry open forests. Marine pollen distribution patterns of Combretaceae-Melastomataceae, Alchornea, and Elaeis reflect the extension of wooded grasslands and transitional forests. Pollen from the Guinean-Congolian/Zambezian forest and from the Sudanian/Guinean vegetation zones mark the northernmost extension of the tropical rain forest. Rhizophora pollen in marine sediments traces the distribution of mangrove swamps. Only near the continent, pollen of Rhizophora, Mitracarpus, Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, and pollen from the Sudanian and Guinean vegetation zones are transported by the Upwelling Under Current and the Equatorial Under Current, where those currents act as bottom currents. The distribution of pollen in marine sediments, reflecting the position of major climatic zones (desert, dry tropics, humid tropics), can be used in tracing climatic changes in the past.

The late Pliocene pollen record of ODP Site 108-658 off Cape Blanc, Atlantic Ocean

A 200 m long marine pollen record from ODP Site 658 (21°N, 19°W) reveals cyclic fluctuations in vegetation and continental climate in northwestern Africa from 3.7 to 1.7 Ma. These cycles parallel oxygen isotope stages. Prior to 3.5 Ma, the distribution of tropical forests and mangrove swamps reached Cape Blanc, 5°N of the present distribution. Between 3.5 and 2.6 Ma, forests occurred at this latitude during irregular intervals and nearly disappeared afterwards. Likewise, a Saharan paleoriver flowed continuously until isotope Stage 134 (3.35 Ma). When river discharge ceased, wind transport of pollen grains prevailed over fluvial transport. Pollen indicators of trade winds gradually increased between 3.3 and 2.5 Ma. A strong aridification of the climate of northwestern Africa occurred during isotope Stage 130 (3.26 Ma). Afterwards, humid conditions reestablised followed by another aridification around 2.7 Ma. Repetitive latitudinal shifts of vegetation zones ranging from wooded savanna to desert flora dominated for the first time between between 2.6 and 2.4 Ma as a response to the glacial stages 104, 100 and 98. Although climatic conditions, recorded in the Pliocene, were not as dry as those of the middle and Late Pleistocene, latitudinal vegetation shifts near the end of the Pliocene resembled those of the interglacial-glacial cycles of the Brunhes chron.

Changes in the vegetation and trade winds in equatorial Northwest Africa 140,000-70,000 yr B.P., as deduced from two marine pollen records

The deep-sea cores M 16415-2 and M 16416-2 at about 9°N off Sierra Leone were analysed palynologically for the time interval 140,000-70,000 yr B.P. Results were presented in absolute (pollen concentration and pollen influx) and relative diagrams (pollen percentage). In a previous study it was evidenced that in northwest Africa pollen is mainly transported to the Atlantic by wind, so that the efficiency of aeolian pollen transport (pollen flux) could be used to evaluate changes in the intensity of the northeast trade winds. The glacial episodes (represented by the oxygen isotope stages 6 and 4) are characterized by strong northeast trade winds, whereas the last interglacial (stage 5) is characterized by weak trade winds. The pollen influx diagram shows that the intensity of the trade winds increased slightly during the relatively cool intervals of stage 5 (viz. 5.4 and 5.2). Tropical forest had maximally expanded around 124,000 yr B.P. (stage 5.5), around 98,000 yr B.P. (transition of stage 5.3 to 5.2), and around 70,000 yr B.P. (first part of stage 4): an increasing delay of the response of tropical forest to global intervals with maximum temperature is apparent during the last interglacial. As tropical forests need continuous humidity, the record of tropical forest monitors changes in climatic humidity south of the Sahara. During the last interglacial, the southern boundary of the Sahara shifted only little: expansions and contractions of the tropical forest area are correlated with contra-oscillations of the grass-dominated savanna zone. Great latitudinal shifts of the desert savanna boundary, on the contrary, occurred during the penultimate glacial interglacial transition (around 128,000 yr B.P.) to the north, and during the last interglacial-glacial transition (around 65,000 yr B.P.) to the south.

Paleoclimate reconstruction from Miocene macroflora in Kazakhstan compiled from various publications

25 datasets (13 fossil leaf and pollen assemblages, 12 quantitative palaeoclimatic datasets) are provided in order to analyse Early Miocene palaeoclimate in Kazakhstan. The rich fossil record in Kazakhstan documents that during the Oligocene and Early Miocene this area in Central Eurasia was densely forested with warm-temperate deciduous trees and shrubs of the so-called "Turgayan flora". 29 fossil floras from 13 localities have been selected for a quantitative analysis of the Aquitanian (early Early Miocene) climate situation in Kazakhstan. The assessed mean annual temperatures generally place around 15 °C, while values of mean annual precipitation are of about 1000 mm. In combination with several other climate parameters estimated (temperatures of warmest and coldest months, precipitation rates of wettest, driest and warmest months), these data reflect uniform climatic conditions over several thousands of square kilometres. Data of temperature parameters show slight spatial differentiations, with generally cooler mean annual temperatures and higher seasonality (i.e. warmer summers and colder winters) in the north-eastern part of the study area compared with the south-western area around Lake Aral. As compared with palaeoclimate estimates for the European and East Asian Aquitanian, the central part of the Eurasian continent reveals evident signals of higher seasonality and slightly increased continentality.

Corallina gracilis; Corallinaceae

Haliptilon gracile var. verticillatum (J.V.Lamouroux) H.W.Johansen var. verticillatum (E.Y. Dawson) Garbary & H.W.Johansen, determined by E. Yale Dawson

Field identification cards /

A set of individual identification cards for rare and sensitive plant species found in the southeastern United States including Puerto Rico. Categories include forbs, shrubs, ferns, and trees. Each card has a color picture on one side and a description and map on the reverse. The description includes: family, flowering date, habitat, and identifying characteristics.

Pollen distribution of sediment core MD96-2048 from the Western Indian Ocean

Glacial-interglacial fluctuations in the vegetation of South Africa might elucidate the climate system at the edge of the tropics between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. However, vegetation records covering a full glacial cycle have only been published from the eastern South Atlantic. We present a pollen record of the marine core MD96-2048 retrieved by the Marion Dufresne from the Indian Ocean ~120 km south of the Limpopo River mouth. The sedimentation at the site is slow and continuous. The upper 6 m (spanning the past 342 Ka) have been analysed for pollen and spores at millennial resolution. The terrestrial pollen assemblages indicate that during interglacials, the vegetation of eastern South Africa and southern Mozambique largely consisted of evergreen and deciduous forests. During glacials open mountainous scrubland dominated. Montane forest with Podocarpus extended during humid periods was favoured by strong local insolation. Correlation with the sea surface temperature record of the same core indicates that the extension of mountainous scrubland primarily depends on sea surface temperatures of the Agulhas Current. Our record corroborates terrestrial evidence of the extension of open mountainous scrubland (including fynbos-like species of the high-altitude Grassland biome) for the last glacial as well as for other glacial periods of the past 300 Ka.

Pollen record of sediment core GeoB1008-3 from the Congo fan

Palynological investigation of the marine core, GeoB1008-3, from near the mouth of the Congo river (6°35.6'S/10°19.1'E), provides information about the changes in vegetation and climate in West Equatorial Africa during the last 190 ka. The pollen diagram is divided into zones 1-6 which are considered to correspond in time with the marine isotope stages 1-6. Oscillations in temperature and moisture are indicated during the cold stage 6. During stage 5, two cooler periods (5d and 5b) can be shown with an expansion of Podocarpus forests to lower elevations on the expense of lowland rain forest. Extended mangrove swamps existed along the coast in times of high sea level (stages 5 and 1).

Pollen analysis of sediment core GIK16415-2 in the eastern tropical Atlantic

Palynological data of the marine core M 16415-2 show latitudinal shifts of the northern fringe of the tropical rain forest in north-west Africa during the last 700 ka. Savanna and dry open forest expanded southwards and tropical rain forest expanded northwards during dry and humid periods, respectively. Until 220 ka B.P., the tropical rain forest probably kept its zonal character in West Africa during glacials and interglacials. It is only during the last two glacial periods that the rain forest possibly fragmented into refugia. Throughout the Brunhes chron, pollen and spore transport was mainly by trade winds.

Contribution to the ethnobotanical study of antidiabetic medicinal plants of the Central Middle Atlas region (Morocco)

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants was carried out in the Central Middle Atlas in the years 2013 and 2014 to establish the catalog of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in the treatment of diabetes. Thus, 1560 people were interviewed, using questionnaires. The latter enabled us to gather information on traditional healing practices of the local population including scientific name, French name, vernacular name, plant parts used , therapeutic indications , revenues and mode of administration. The results show that 76 medicinal species were inventoried in the study area. These plant species are included into 67 genus and 40 families. The most represented families are: Lamiaceae (12 species), Asteraceae and Brassicaceae species with 14 each. Of 76 medicinal species found in the region, four species are reported for the first time in the traditional treatment of diabetes in Morocco. They are Pistacia atlantica, Ptychotis verticillata, Anacyclus pyrethrum, Alyssum spinosum, Cistus albidus, Juniperus thurifera, Ephedra nebrodensis, Thymus algeriensis, Th. munbyanus, Th. zygis, Abelmoschus esculentus, Fraxinus augustifolia, Sorghum vulgare and, Eriobotrya japonica. The leaves are the most used organs (38%). The decoction is the dominant mode of preparation (50%) and administration is mostly for oral use (97%).

Dieta do ouriço-branco, Tripneustes ventricosus (Lamarck, 1816), no Arquipélago de Fernando de Noronha, PE

Sea urchins are benthic macroinvertebrates that inhabit shallow coastal waters in tropical and temperate zones. Urchins are usually classified as generalists or omnivores as they can adjust their diet according to the food resources available in the environment. Due to the strong grazing pressure they may exert, urchins have an important role in marine ecosystems, occupying different trophic levels and stimulating the intensification of the dynamics of communities where they occur. In 2004, a monitoring program focused on the population dynamics of the white sea urchin, Tripneustes ventricosus, has been initiated in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. At the same time, a surprisingly lack of information on the species biology has been noted, despite their wide geographical distribution and economic importance in many parts of its range. Hence, this work was developed to provide information on the feeding habits of T. ventricosus in the archipelago. Ten specimens were collected between December 2006 and July 2007 at two sites of the archipelago, Air France and Sueste Bay for biometrics and analysis of gut contents. Test diameters ranged from 9.19 cm (± 1.1) to 10.08 cm (± 0.58). Calculated stomach repletion index (IRE) was higher (p <0.05) in the Air France site and also during January and July. The IRE was not correlated to the gonad index. Fifteen different species of algae were detected in a total of 120 stomachs examined: 4 Chlorophytas, 4 Phaeophytas and 6 Rhodophytas. Food diversity (p <0.05) was higher in December 2006 and January 2007. Although several items had a high frequency of occurrence, they were low represented in terms of weight, and consequently, had a low level of relative importance. The brown algae Dictyopteris spp and Dictyota spp, followed by the green algae Caulerpa verticillata accounted for the greatest importance in T. ventricosus diet, comprising about 90% of the consumed items