Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of carob tree fruit pulps are strongly influenced by gender and cultivar

Extracts from fruit pulps of six female cultivars and two hermaphrodite Portuguese carob trees [(Ceratonia siliqua L., Fabaceae)] exhibited strong antioxidant activity and were rich in phenolic compounds. The extracts decreased the viability of different human cancer cell lines on a dose- and time-dependent manner. Gender and cultivar significantly influenced the chemical content and the biological activities of the extracts. Extracts from hermaphrodite trees had a higher content of phenolic compounds, and exhibited higher antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Among females, cv. Aida had the highest radical scavenging activity and total content of phenolics, Mulata the highest capacity to inhibit lipid oxidation and Gasparinha the strongest cytotoxic activity on HeLa cells. The decrease in cell viability was associated with apoptosis on HeLa and MDA-MB-231 lines. (+)-Catechin and gallic acid (GA) were the main compounds identified in the extracts, and GA contributed to the antioxidant activity. Our results show that the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of carob tree fruit pulps are strongly influenced by gender and cultivar, and provide new knowledge about the advantages of hermaphrodite trees over female cultivars, namely, as a source of compounds with biological interest, which may represent an increase of their agronomic interest.     

Atypical necrotizing encephalitis associated with systemic canine distemper virus infection in pups

This report describes the naturally occurring atypical neuropathological manifestation of systemic canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in two 16-day-old Pit Bull pups. CDV-induced changes affected the gray and white matter of the forebrain while sparing the hindbrain. Histologically, there was necrosis with destruction of the nervous parenchyma due to an influx of inflammatory and reactive cells associated with eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies within glial cells. Positive immunoreactivity against CDV antigens was predominantly observed within astrocytes and neurons. RT-PCR was used to amplify CDV-specific amplicons from brain fragments. These findings suggest the participation of CDV in the etiopathogenesis of these lesions.     

Synthetic gene as target to assess the sensitivity of PCR to detect Trichinella spp. larvae in meat from a non-endemic region

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease exotic in Brazil but commonly found worldwide including South American countries like Argentina. International trading...     

Synthesis and structural characterization of oaklin-catechins

Condensation reactions of procyanidin dimer B4 with two representative oak wood cinnamic aldehydes (coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde) were conducted in winelike model solutions. Coniferaldehyde led to the formation of guaiacylcatechin-pyrylium-catechin (GCP-catechin, 737 m/z), whereas sinapaldehyde led to the formation of syringylcatechin-pyrylium-catechin (SCP-catechin, 767 m/z). The former was also structurally characterized by 1D and 2D NMR, allowing an elucidation of the formation mechanism of these oaklin-catechin adducts and demonstrating the importance of procyanidins in the formation of colored compounds through the reaction with cinnamic aldehydes extracted from oaks during storage.     

Morphology of the Dentin Structure of Sloths Bradypus tridactylus: A Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy Investigation

The aim of this study was to describe the dentine morphology of sloths (Bradypus tridactylus). The sloth teeth were removed and prepared for light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy analyses (SEM). LM revealed two patterns of tubular dentins: an outer with dentinary tubules over the all tooth length and one in the inner part with larger diameter and more spaced tubules, when compared to those present in the outer dentine. These findings were confirmed by SEM, which revealed a tubular pattern in the outer dentine like in humans. The inner dentine displayed pared grouped tubules that were characterized as vascular channels. It can be concluded that this sloth species present two types of dentins: an inner dentin (ortodentin) and an outer dentin characterized as a vascular dentin. This suggests a partial evolutive/adaptive process of this dental tissue, as compared to other mammalian species.     

Changes in Organic Matter of a Ferrallitic Tropical Soil Degraded by Cropping Systems: The Case of Southern Senegal

Understanding of the mechanisms involved in the restoration of degraded soils is necessary in order to assess the sustainability of a cropping system. For this purpose, an 8-year experiment was set up to test the efficiency of four cropping systems involving applications of fertilizer and/or manure and incorporation of crop residues and/or fallows on the regeneration of a Haplic Acrisol degraded by about 90 years of traditional cropping (groundnut-millet rotation without any input). The supply of nitrogen by the soil and particle size and chemical distribution were measured and used to characterize the soil organic matter (SOM) after 2 and 8 years of treatments, and then related to nutrients uptake. Two of the four cropping systems tested that were expected to regenerate soil fertility (Q1 and Q2: 4-year rotations including a plowed-in fallow, incorporation of crop residues, and mineral fertilization) both had a depressive effect on SOM content, although the losses of total C and N observed during the experiment (e.g .,-23% N and -20% N for Q1 and Q2, respectively) were less than that for the control (traditional cropping B, -33% N). Only the multiyear fallow did not result in further degradation of SOM, without, however, enriching the soil. On the other hand, an annual application of 10 Mg dry matter of manure ha -1 , combined with fertilizer, markedly increased the SOM (total N increased by factor 2 after only 2 years), an effect that seemed, however, stabilized at the end of the 8 years. Only a strong (10 Mg dry matter ha -1 ) and annual supply of manure, associated with mineral fertilization, had a positive effect on SOM, but its durability is not established.     

Apparent Digestible Energy and Nutrient Digestibility Coefficients of Diet Ingredients for Pacu Piaractus brachypomus

The digestible energy and apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients of common diet ingredients were determined for pacu Piaractus brachypomus (370.21 ± 17.56 g). Fish were fed with pelleted practical diets to apparent satiation and the feces were collected by siphoning. The digestibility value for each ingredient was determined by comparison of the digestibility of a test diet with a reference diet (24.5% crude protein and 1% chromic oxide). The digestible energy values of soybean meal (SBM), fish meal (FM), corn (CN), and wheat bran (WB) were 2382. 3826, 3353, and 1784 kcal/kg, respectively. The apparent dry matter digestibility coefficients were 83.72, 90.14, 89.13, and 82.05% for SBM, FM, CN, and WB, respectively. The apparent crude protein digestibility coefficients were 75.88, 90.49, 85.06, and 61.62% for SBM. FM, CN, and WB, respectively. The apparent lipid digestibility coefficients were 63.03, 77.00, 83.01, and 82.45% for SBM, FM, CN, and WB, respectively. The digestibility of protein, lipid, and energy from SBM were somewhat low compared to values for other warmwater omnivorous fishes, but similar to values reported for pacu-caranha P. mesopotamicus. Otherwise, the nutrient and energy availability of the ingredients to P. brachypomus was similar to that of other fish. This information will be useful in formulating nutritious, economical diets for pacus.     

Plant development and nutrient uptake rate in Dendrobium nobile Lindl

Abstract

Dendrobium nobile Lindl. is one of the most cultivated and distributed orchids around the world; however, information on its nutrition is scarce. Our objective was to study the plant development and nutrient accumulation in plants of D. nobile weekly fertilized with 100?mL Sarruge nutrient solution at 75% concentration. One plant per replication was randomly collected every month, along 12 months, totaling four plants. Dry matter (DM) and nutrient accumulation were determined for the different plant parts. Plants had already accumulated nearly 50% of total DM up to the flowering stage (240 days after first fertilization, DAFF). Order and amount of accumulated nutrients, at 360 DAFF, was, in mg per plant: K (701.07)?>?N (339.44)?>?Ca (289.03)?>?Mg (135.44)?>?P (118.83)?>?S (23.56); in µg per plant, it was Fe (14,122.35)?>?Zn (5,277.82)?>?Mn (3,216.87)?>?B (1,253.02)?>?Cu (271.25).