Leishmaniasis phytotherapy. Nature's leadership against an ancient disease.

The use of phytotherapy to treat human diseases has its roots in pre-historical times. Despite the modern advances achieved in the field of synthetic chemistry, the most efficient drugs available have their genesis directly or indirectly related with the vegetal kingdom. Indigenous communities have long used plant extracts to treat illnesses. Many of these extracts have shown effective action, with new bioactive compounds being extracted and screened every year. These extracts have also proven to be good sources of therapeutic agents to the treatment of Leishmaniasis. This work highlights some of these agents, while trying to emphasize the importance of plants as a source of new and powerful drugs against this widespread disease.     

Extreme eosinophilia with disseminated eosinophilic granulomatous disease in a horse

Extreme eosinophilia with disseminated eosinophilic granulomatous disease is described in a 4-year-old Arabian mare. Clinical signs included weight loss, coughing, jugular distention, and ventral edema. Cutaneous lesions were not observed. Eosinophilic inflammation was observed in cytologic specimens from the respiratory tract, body cavities, and lymph nodes. At necropsy, a 20-cm diameter intrathoracic mass was observed. Smaller nodules were present in the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, adrenal glands, pancreas, and skeletal muscle. Histologically, these masses and nodules were characterized by infiltrates of eosinophils, macrophages, and multinucleated giant cells, reactive fibroplasia; and multifocal eosinophilic coagula. Microscopically, mild eosinophilic infiltrates were observed in sections of stomach, small intestine, colon, and pleura; however, gross lesions were not observed in these tissues at necropsy. The etiology of the extreme eosinophilia and disseminated eosinophilic granulomatous disease in this horse was not determined.     

Role of Azospirillum brasilense nitrate reductase in nitrate assimilation by wheat plants

Summary The nitrogen metabolism of wheat plants inoculated with various Azospirillum brasilense strains and nitrate reductase negative (NR^–) mutants was studied in two monoxenic test tube experiments. The spontaneous mutants selected with chlorate under anaerobic conditions with nitrite as terminal electron acceptor fixed N₂ in the presence of 10 mM NO₃ ^– and were stable after the plant passage. One strain (Sp 245) isolated from surface-sterilized wheat roots produced significant increases in plant weight at both NO₃ levels (1 and 10 mM) which were not observed with the NR^– mutants or with the two other strains. Similar effects were observed in a pot experiment with soil on dry weight and total N incorporation but only at the higher N fertilizer level. In the monoxenic test tube experiments plants inoculated with the mutants showed lower nitrogenase activities than NR⁺ strains at the low NO₃ ^– level (1 = mM) but maintained the same level of activity with 10 mM NO₃ ^– where the activity of all NR⁺ strains was completely repressed. The nitrate reductase activity of roots increased with the inoculation of the homologous strains and with the mutants at both NO₃ ^– levels. At the low NO₃ ^– level this also resulted in increased activity in the shoots, but at the high NO₃ ^– level the two homologous strains produced significantly lower nitrate reductase activity in shoots while the mutants more than doubled it. The possible role of the bacterial nitrate reductase in NO₃ ^– assimilation by the wheat plant is discussed.     

Primary and secondary metabolite composition of kernels from three cultivars of Portuguese chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) at different stages of industrial transformation

Chestnut (Castanea sativa) is an important basic food in rural diets and a major starch crop used in a similar way to potatoes. Chestnuts are a fundamental economic resource in the "chestnut regions" not only for the fruit but also for the chestnut wood. Chestnuts have become increasingly important with respect to human health, for example, as an alternative gluten-free flour source. Chestnuts are also a rich source of other beneficial compounds, but there have been few studies on the composition during processing. In this study, we analyzed the chemical composition of three Portuguese cultivars at different stages of industrial processing. The chestnut cultivars were Longal, Judia, and Martaínha. All three cultivars had high moisture contents but were low in ash, crude fat, and crude protein contents, with high starch and low fiber contents. The free amino acid contents, including various essential amino acids, varied depending on the cultivar. All three cultivars also had a significant content of polyphenolics with gallic acid; ellagic acid was predominant among hydrolyzable and condensed tannins. Many of these compounds are known to exert significant positive effects on human health. The one-way analysis of variance for fresh chestnut shows significant differences among the three cultivars for most of the studied parameters. The same statistical analysis applied to each one of the two cultivars (Judia and Longal) sampled for the four processing steps analyzed indicates a significant effect of this factor in practically all of the constituents. On the other hand, the two-way analysis of variance shows that, besides the residual, the processing step and the interaction cultivar x processing step were the factors that more contributed for the total variation observed in the constituents analyzed, while the contribution of cultivar was much less significant.     

Free amino acid composition of quince (Cydonia oblonga Miller) fruit (pulp and peel) and jam

Twenty-one free amino acids present in several samples of quince fruit (pulp and peel) and quince jam (homemade and industrially manufactured) were analyzed by GC/FID. The analyses showed some differences between quince pulps and peels. Generally, the highest content in total free amino acids and in glycine was found in peels. As a general rule, the three major free amino acids detected in pulps were aspartic acid, asparagine, and hydroxyproline. For quince peels, usually, the three most abundant amino acids were glycine, aspartic acid, and asparagine. Similarly, for quince jams the most important free amino acids were aspartic acid, asparagine, and glycine or hydroxyproline. This study suggests that the free amino acid analysis can be useful for the evaluation of quince jam authenticity. It seems that glycine percentage can be used for the detection of quince peel addition while high alanine content can be related to pear addition.     

Studying the function of ecosystem in preventing aeolian dust emission in the dryland areas of China

Aeolian dust emissions can cause many environmental hazards, like accelerating land degradation and desertification, polluting air, harming human health, and so on. The dryland areas of China (DAC) are hot spots of aeolian dust emissions. To date, many efforts have been paid to researching dust emissions processes and effects, but research studies on ecosystems' function in preventing dust emissions are still very limited. In this study, we investigated the function of DAC ecosystems in preventing dust emissions, and the corresponding driving factors through integrated wind erosion modelling system (IWEMS) modelling. The main results indicate that: (1) from 2001 to 2020, the ecosystems of DAC prevented the emission of dust ~40,554 Tg, approximately 15 times as much as the total actual dust emission (~2776 Tg); (2) the function of DAC ecosystems in preventing dust emissions was relatively strong in spring and winter; (3) grassland ecosystems had the strongest function in preventing dust emissions among all the land cover types, avoiding the emission of dust ~20,857 Tg over 2001–2020; (4) dust emission prevention function provided by the DAC ecosystems benefits almost every region of China, which provides a theoretical basis for formulating ecological compensation policies; and (5) the changes in dust emissions were dominated by wind speed in most areas of DAC.     

Assessing the influence of mechanical ventilation on blood gases and blood pressure in rattlesnakes

ObjectiveTo characterize the impact of mechanical positive pressure ventilation on heart rate (HR), arterial blood pressure, blood gases, lactate, glucose, sodium, potassium and calcium concentrations in rattlesnakes during anesthesia and the subsequent recovery period.Study designProspective, randomized trial.AnimalsTwenty one fasted adult South American rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus terrificus).MethodsSnakes were anesthetized with propofol (15 mg kg⁻¹) intravenously, endotracheally intubated and assigned to one of four ventilation regimens: Spontaneous ventilation, or mechanical ventilation at a tidal volume of 30 mL kg⁻¹ at 1 breath every 90 seconds, 5 breaths minute⁻¹, or 15 breaths minute⁻¹. Arterial blood was collected from indwelling catheters at 30, 40, and 60 minutes and 2, 6, and 24 hours following induction of anesthesia and analyzed for pH, PaO₂, PaCO₂, and selected variables. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and HR were recorded at 30, 40, 60 minutes and 24 hours.ResultsSpontaneous ventilation and 1 breath every 90 seconds resulted in a mild hypercapnia (PaCO₂ 22.4 ± 4.3 mmHg [3.0 ± 0.6 kPa] and 24.5 ± 1.6 mmHg [3.3 ± 0.2 kPa], respectively), 5 breaths minute⁻¹ resulted in normocapnia (14.2 ± 2.7 mmHg [1.9 ± 0.4 kPa]), while 15 breaths minute⁻¹ caused marked hypocapnia (8.2 ± 2.5 mmHg [1.1 ± 0.3 kPa]). Following recovery, blood gases of the four groups were similar from 2 hours. Anesthesia, independent of ventilation was associated with significantly elevated glucose, lactate and potassium concentrations compared to values at 24 hours (p < 0.0001). MAP increased significantly with increasing ventilation frequency (p < 0.001). HR did not vary among regimens.Conclusions and clinical relevanceMechanical ventilation had a profound impact on blood gases and blood pressure. The results support the use of mechanical ventilation with a frequency of 1–2 breaths minute⁻¹ at a tidal volume of 30 mL kg⁻¹ during anesthesia in fasted snakes.     

Leptospirosis as the most frequent infectious disease impairing productivity in small ruminants in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Despite the importance of small ruminants breeding in developing countries, milk/meat productivity remains unsatisfactory. Infectious diseases, such as leptospirosis, brucellosis, and small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs), contribute to this scenario. The objective of the present study was to determine the role of each of these diseases in the productivity of small ruminants breeding in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In goats, 343 samples were tested for leptospirosis, 560 for Brucella abortus, and 506 for caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE), whereas in sheep, 308 samples were tested for leptospirosis, 319 for B. abortus, 374 for Brucella ovis, and 278 for Maedi-Visna (MV). Regarding leptospirosis, 25.9% of goats and 47.4% sheep were seroreactive, with serovar Hardjo the most prevalent in both species. Anti-B. abortus agglutinins were found in 0.7% of all samples, exclusively in goats. In relation to SRLVs, 8.6% of goats and 3.2% of sheep samples were positive for CAE and MV, respectively. Leptospirosis was the major infectious problem in the small ruminants sampled and may contribute to impaired productivity of these animals.     

Release of doxycycline through cellulose acetate symmetric and asymmetric membranes produced from recycled agroindustrial residue: Sugarcane bagasse

Cellulose acetate is one of the components employed in drug controlled-release systems in the form of membranes. The aim of this study was to examine the controlled-release of doxycycline employing cellulose acetate symmetric and asymmetric membranes as matrices. The cellulose triacetate was produced from sugarcane bagasse through a homogeneous acetylation reaction, using acetic acid as the solvent, acetic anhydride as the acetylating agent and sulfuric acid as the catalyst. The viscosity average molecular weight of the cellulose acetate produced was 39,000 g mol⁻¹. The symmetric membranes were produced using a system solvent of dichloromethane/ethanol (9:1, v/v) and the asymmetric membranes were produced from the same solvent system and 10% of water. For the formulation of both, 5% of doxycycline was used. The membranes were characterized by thermal analysis (DSC and TGA) and scanning electron microscopy SEM. The release of doxycycline through cellulose triacetate matrices was examined using spectrophotometric analysis in the ultraviolet-visible region, at 275 nm. The results revealed that asymmetric membranes release 80% of the drug in 100 min, while symmetric membranes release 14% of the drug during the same time interval.