Antonio Adauto Fonteles-Filho

Antibacterial activity of GUAVA, Psidium guajava Linnaeus, leaf extracts on diarrhea-causing enteric bacteria isolated from Seabob shrimp, Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller)

O cha de folhas de goiaba Psidium guajava Linnaeus e comumente usado como remedio nas gastrenterites e diarreias infantis por aqueles que nao tem acesso a antibioticos. Esta pesquisa estudou o efeito antibacteriano sobre bacterias causadoras de diarreias, do oleo essencial e do extrato de folhas de goiabeira usando como diluente: metanol, hexano e acetato de etila. Os extratos foram testados sobre Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp. e Escherichia coli. As bacterias testadas foram isoladas de camarao sete-barbas Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller) usando-se como controle cepas padrao, de cada especie. Das bacterias testadas, o melhor efeito inibitorio foi observado sobre Staphylococcus aureus. O extrato de metanol apresentou maior inibicao bacteriana. O oleo essencial mostrou acao inibitoria contra S. aureus e Salmonella spp. Foi demonstrada alguma resistencia das cepas isoladas de camarao aos antibioticos comerciais testados. Estes dados confirmam que remedios a base de folhas de goiabeira podem ser utilizados em casos de diarreia provocada por essas bacterias, quando o uso de antibiotico for restrito. Conclui-se que extratos de folhas de goiaba e o seu oleo essencial sao muito ativos contra S. aureus, tornando-os importantes fontes em potencial de novos compostos antimicrobianos.Guava leaf tea of Psidium guajava Linnaeus is commonly used as a medicine against gastroenteritis and child diarrhea by those who cannot afford or do not have access to antibiotics. This study screened the antimicrobial effect of essential oils and methanol, hexane, ethyl acetate extracts from guava leaves. The extracts were tested against diarrhea-causing bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli. Strains that were screened included isolates from seabob shrimp, Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller) and laboratory-type strains. Of the bacteria tested, Staphylococcus aureus strains were most inhibited by the extracts. The methanol extract showed greatest bacterial inhibition. No statistically significant differences were observed between the tested extract concentrations and their effect. The essential oil extract showed inhibitory activity against S. aureus and Salmonella spp. The strains isolated from the shrimp showed some resistance to commercially available antibiotics. These data support the use of guava leaf-made medicines in diarrhea cases where access to commercial antibiotics is restricted. In conclusion, guava leaf extracts and essential oil are very active against S. aureus, thus making up important potential sources of new antimicrobial compounds.

Bacteria of fecal origin in mangrove oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae) in the Cocó River estuary, Ceará State, Brazil

This study was aimed at evaluating the microbiological quality of mangrove oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae), collected at a natural oyster bed in the estuary of Coco river (Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil). MPN values were used for estimating the total (TC) and fecal (FC) coliforms and Enterococcus spp. TC and FC MPN values in the whole muscle and intervalve liquid ranged from 1,600/g and from 1,100/g. No correlation was found between the physico-chemical parameters (temperature, salinity and pH) of the surrounding water and the bacteriological contamination levels found in the tested oysters. The only correlation found was between TC and FC values. Enterococcus spp. strains were isolated and subjected to biochemical tests for species identification. The capacity of those strains for production of a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance was tested using the Escherichia coli strain ATCC 25922 as a testing organism. Only one, E. faecalis, out of 121 Enterococcus strains tested, presented the inhibitory activity.

Idade e crescimento de Lopholatilus villarii Ribeiro no Sudeste do Brasil (Osteichthyes, Malacanthidae)

The tilefish, Lopholatihis villarii Ribeiro, 1915 is a commercially-important demersal fish, in the Southeast Brazil, inhabiting calcareous and rocky substrates of the outer shelf and upper continental slope. This study was based on readings of the scales age rings of 153 especimens, caught from March, 1995 to March, 1996. Scales were found to grow on an isometric proportion with fish length, and age rings are formed betvveen the third and fourth trimesters (winter and spring). The age groups of sampled fish varied from II to X years, and the growth equation in total length (cm) is Lt = I 13.4 [1-e -0.144 (t+ 1.4)] with the correspondem one in weight (kg): W, = 22.5[1-e -0.144 (1 + 14)]3 184 obtained from the weight/length regression equation: ln W = -11.95 + 3.184 In L. The tilefish has a low growth coefficient (K = 0.144), typical of camivorous specics of the fourth trophic levei, and it may reach, theoretically, 41 years of age.

Comportamento migratório da lagosta Panulirus argus (Latreille), em frente ao Estado do Ceará, Brasil

Tagging experiments have been used to study the migratory behaviour of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille), off Ceara State, Brazil. An analysis based on vectorial theory has provided the calculation of the coefficient of directional dispersion ( V), the coefficient of randon disperson (a² ) and the centre of density, by quarters of the year. The lobsters were found to engage in breeding migration in the second quarter, when there is a low random dispersion and in feeding migration in the third and fourth quarters, when there is high randon dispersion. The spawning areas are located in offshore regions and the lobsters reach them by moving seawardly, from positions occupied nearer the cost, in the fourth quarter.