Impact of the botanical insecticide Neem Azal on survival and reproduction of the biting louse Damalinia limbata on angora goats

Secondary metabolites present in the neem tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss, Meliaceae), exhibit a wide range of biological activities in insects. However, few studies have been undertaken to assess the potential of neem products as insecticides for the control of ectoparasites of domestic animals. This study was undertaken to estimate the efficacy of Neem Azal, an azadirachtin-rich extract of neem seeds, in controlling Damalinia limbata (Phthiraptera) louse infestation of angora goats. The study was conducted on a fibre animal farm situated in Central Italy. Groups of 11-12 goats were treated with Neem Azal at an azadirachtin concentration of 650ppm or 125ppm, with Neguvon or were left untreated. Their louse burden was assessed fortnightly to monthly for 22 weeks. A reduction in louse densities of 76-96% was observed from week 2 to week 18 after treatment with the neem solution containing azadirachtin at a concentration of 650ppm. At the lower test concentration (125ppm) a reduction of 60-92% could be recorded from week 2 to week 14. Neem Azal was found to reduce the survival of both adult and nymph stages of D. limbata and to interfere with oviposition and oogenesis of female lice. A decrease in oviposition was observed in neem exposed female lice and the examination of their ovaries revealed morphological alterations in both vitellogenic and previtellogenic ovarioles at the follicular and germinal level. Since neem compounds target different life stages and physiological processes of D. limbata, the development of insecticide resistance by biting lice exposed to neem-based insecticides appears unlikely. For this reason and for its prolonged activity, which in principle allows angora goats to be protected for a large part of the mohair production cycle, neem-based insecticides may have a potential interest for mohair producing breeders.     

Modern sediment records of hydroclimatic extremes and associated potential contaminant mobilization in semi-arid environments: lessons learnt from recent flood-drought cycles in southern Botswana

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The aim of this work was to identify and analyze the records of flood-drought cycles as preserved in the sediments of the Notwane reservoir, southern Botswana, in...     

Fast access of some grape pigments to the brain

Anthocyanins represent the main flavonoid pigments in red grape and wine, in red berries, and in many other fruits and vegetables and are widespread in the human diet. After ingestion, these complex, hydrophilic compounds quickly appear as intact molecules in the plasma. This study investigated their presence in the brain of anesthetized rats that received 8 mg/kg of body weight of a pure anthocyanin mixture extracted from Vitis vinifera grapes. The mixture was maintained in the stomach for 10 min. After this time, intact anthocyanins were detected by HPLC-DAD-MS not only in the plasma (176.4 +/- 50.5 ng/mL, mean +/- SEM) but also in the brain (192.2 +/- 57.5 ng/g). These results demonstrate for the first time that grape pigments can reach the mammalian brain within minutes from their introduction into the stomach.     

Concentration and mean degree of polymerization of Rubus ellagitannins evaluated by optimized acid methanolysis

Ellagitannins are a major class of phenolics largely responsible for the astringent and antioxidant properties of raspberries and blackberries. The Rubus ellagitannins constitute a complex mixture of monomeric and oligomeric tannins. Rubus oligomeric ellagitannins contain, beside the well-known ellagic acid and gallic acid moieties, the sanguisorboyl linking ester group. When exposed to acids or bases, ester bonds are hydrolyzed and the hexahydroxydiphenic acid spontaneously cyclizes into ellagic acid. This study describes a new, rapid procedure for the acid hydrolysis of Rubus ellagitannins in methanol, which results in maximal yield and enables the quantification of all the major reaction products. Additionally, the method provides the rationale for estimating the mean degree of polymerization of Rubus ellagitannins.     

Partial purification from hot dogs of N-nitroso compound precursors and their mutagenicity after nitrosation

Hot dogs contain apparent N-nitroso compounds (ANC) and ANC precursors (ANCP). ANCP purification was followed by nitrosation, sulfamic acid treatment, and analysis for ANC. Aqueous hot dog extracts were adsorbed on silica gel, which was eluted with MeCN and MeOH. The MeOH eluate was adsorbed on cation exchange resin (H+ form) and eluted with NH4OH. Eluted ANCP traveled at moderate speeds in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on amino and Pb2+ columns. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives of crude water extract indicated the presence of glycerol, phosphate, lactic acid, and two monosaccharides. GC-MS of TMS derivatives of Pb2+ column HPLC eluates indicated that ANCP included 1-deoxy-N-1-glucosyl glycine. The nitrosated NH4OH eluate showed 4x background mutagenic activity for Salmonella typhimurium TA-100. Un-nitrosated fractions showed 2x background activity. Although tryptophan nitrosation gave 88% ANC yield, tryptophan is probably not a major ANCP in hot dogs. Hot dog patties prepared with or without sucrose or glucose showed similar ANC and ANCP levels. We discuss possible implications of these findings for the etiology of colon cancer.     

Clinical evaluation of an antiinflammatory and antioxidant diet effect in 30 dogs affected by chronic otitis externa: preliminary results

The aim of this evaluation study was to assess the possible role of a specific nutraceutical diet in relieving main clinical symptoms of chronic bilateral otitis externa (occlusion of ear canal, erythema, discharge quantity, and odor) in 30 adult dogs. Thirty dogs of different breeds (mean age?±?SEM; 6.03?±?0.15 years and mean weight?±?SEM; 32.01?±?1.17 Kg; 53.3 % males, 46.6 % females) with evident chronic clinical otitis symptoms were equally divided and randomly assigned to receive either the nutraceutical diet (ND group) or a standard diet (SD group) over a period of 90 days. In all cases a topical pharmacological treatment was given. The nutraceutical diet, also endowed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, significantly decreased the mean score intensity of all symptoms after 90 days of intervention (P?<?0.0001) with the exception of Malassezia pachydermatis infection which was only slightly reduced. Our investigation is one of the few evidence-based results where a commercial nutraceutical diet has been proven effective, in combination with drugs, in relieving otitis externa-related symptoms. This study opens new insights into otitis externa clinical management providing evidence of efficacy of a combined therapy with drugs and a specific nutraceutical diet.     

Cannabinoid receptors are widely expressed in goldfish: molecular cloning of a CB2-like receptor and evaluation of CB1 and CB2 mRNA expression profiles in different organs

Cannabinoids, the bioactive constituents of Cannabis sativa, and endocannabinoids, among which the most important are anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, control various biological processes by binding to specific G protein-coupled receptors, namely CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. While a vast amount of information on the mammalian endocannabinoid system does exist, few data have been reported on bony fish. In the goldfish, Carassius auratus, the CB1 receptor has been cloned and its distribution has been analyzed in the retina, brain and gonads, while CB2 had not yet been isolated. In the present paper, we cloned the goldfish CB2 receptor and show that it presents a quite high degree of amino acid identity with zebrafish Danio rerio CB2A and CB2B receptors, while the percentage of identity is lower with the puffer fish Fugu rubripes CB2, as also confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis. The sequence identity becomes much lower when comparing the goldfish and the mammalian CB2 sequences; as for other species, goldfish CB2 and CB1 amino acid sequences share moderate levels of identity. Western-blotting analysis shows the CB2 receptor as two major bands of about 53 and 40 kDa and other faint bands with apparent molecular masses around 70, 57 and 55 kDa. Since the distribution of a receptor could give information on its physiological role, we evaluated and compared CB1 and CB2 mRNA expression in different goldfish organs by means of qReal-Time PCR. Our results show that both CB1 and CB2 receptors are widely expressed in the goldfish, displaying some tissue specificities, thus opening the way for further functional studies on bony fish and other nonmammalian vertebrates.