Antônio Euzébio Goulart Sant’Ana

Molluscicidal activity of the diterpenoids jatrophone and jatropholones A and B isolated fromJatropha elliptica (Pohl) Muell. Arg.

In the search for new molluscicidal natural products, the activity of the crude ethanol extract of the rhizome of Jatropha elliptica (Pohl.) Muell. Arg. was tested. The LC50 was 13.07 ppm. The fractionation and purification of the extract furnished jatrophone and a mixture of jatropholones A and B, as the main compounds. They were tested against the snail Biomphalaria glabrata. Jatrophone showed an LC50 of 1.16 ppm as a molluscicide and an LC50 of 1.14 ppm for the assay of egg mass, while the mixture of jatropholones A and B presented an LC50 of 58.04 ppm as a molluscicide and was not active against the second assay at a concentration up to 100 ppm. Copyright

Toxicity of some glucose/mannose-binding lectins to Biomphalaria glabrata and Artemia salina.

Schistosomiasis or bilharzia, which affects millions of people living in Africa, Asia and Latin America, is closely associated with certain species of aquatic snails. One way of attacking the disease is to eradicate the host snails. Molluscicidal activities of natural compounds are especially important in the widespread control of this tropical disease. As part of our search for natural compounds with molluscicidal properties for the vector control of schistosomiasis, we are now evaluating for the first time the toxicity of the plant lectins from Canavalia brasiliensis (ConBr), Cratylia floribunda (CFL), Dioclea guianensis (Dgui), Dioclea grandiflora (DGL) and Dioclea virgata (Dvir) to Biomphalaria glabrata Say and Artemia salina Leach. Results indicate that all the samples were toxic to A. salina Leach, some of them with values of lethal concentration that kills 90% of the population (LC(90))<10 microg mL(-1). They are also active against B. glabrata Say, killing 100% of adult snails, at a concentration of 50 microg mL(-1). The lectins CFL and Dgui possess properties lethal to mollusks, with values of LC(90)=50.3 microg mL(-1) and LC(90)=41.0 microg mL(-1), respectively.

Comparison of the Volatile Components Released By Calling Males Of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) with Those Extractable from the Salivary Glands

Abstract The volatile compounds released by calling males of Ceratitis capitata and those that were extracted from the salivary glands with n-hexane were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Twelve of the 24 compounds identified in the released volatiles, namely, 2-heptanone, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 3-octanone, ethyl hexanoate, methyl heptanoate, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, limonene, indene, ethyl heptanoate, methyl octanoate, α-trans-bergamotene and (E,E)-α-farnesene, also were detected in the glandular extract. The similarities found in the chemical profiles of the released volatiles and of the salivary gland suggest that the latter is the storage site, and also perhaps the site of synthesis, of some of the pheromone components in this species of fruit fly.

THE BIOLOGY OF DIATRAEA FLAVIPENNELLA (LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBIDAE) REARED UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Abstract Aspects of the biology of the sugarcane pest Diatraea flavipennella (Box 1931) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), locally named broca-pequena da cana-de-açúcar, reared and maintained under laboratory conditions and fed on an artificial diet have been investigated. The larval stage, which involved 7 instars, continued for a mean period of 34.87 d. Each instar could be characterized by the size of the cephalic capsule, which increased 1.28-fold on average between instars. The mean duration of the pupal stage was 12.75 d. The pupae exhibited sexual dimorphism in that the females were larger than the males, while the latter exhibited a genital pore that was absent in the females. In adult insects, the female/male ratio was 1:1.3. Adult females were on average 28.73 mm in size while the mean value for adult males was only 20.80 mm. Females commenced oviposition on the first d of their adult life and were able to oviposit until d 6. On average each female produced 431.05 eggs during her lifetime, although the majority of eggs were deposited during the first 2 d after emergence.

THE PREDOMINANCE OF Diatraea flavipennella (LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBIDAE) IN SUGAR CANE FIELDS IN THE STATE OF ALAGOAS, BRAZIL

Brazil, the third largest producer of cane sugar in the world, is responsible for approximately 330,000 tons per year or 25% of the total world production (IBGE, 2004). While the state of Alagoas, in north-eastern Brazil, ranks as number three in terms of agricultural and industrial productivity of sugar cane in the country, the potential yield is diminished through damage by pests, mainly insects of the genus Diatraea (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Two species of Diatraea predominate in Brazil, namely, D. saccharalis Fabricius 1974 and D. flavipennella Box 1931. The former is widespread throughout the country while the second is restricted to Alagoas and a few other states in the north-eastern region (Guagliumi, 1972/73). Studies carried out in Alagoas during the 1970s and 1980s (Risco et al. 1975) indicated that D. saccharalis prevailed (70.12%) over D. flavipennella (29.88%). According to a survey conducted in 1985 by the Entomology Sector of PLANALSUCAR (PLANALSUCAR 1985), however, an inversion of this situation commenced in some areas of the state and D. flavipennella (89.80%) showed preponderance over D. saccharalis (10.20%). Knowledge of the frequencies of occurrence of these two species is of considerable importance to the sugar cane industry because the damage caused by these pests leads to significant loss of yield. Thus, a 1% change in the level of infestation by D. saccharalis gives rise to a reduction of 2.5 kg of sugar per ton of cane collected (Gallo et al. 2002). Because the data regarding the prevalence of the two pests are dated, we have conducted a new survey of the incidence of Diatraea species in the sugar cane plantations of Alagoas. Eight different edaphic and climatic areas in Alagoas were selected for assessment, encompassing the agricultural estates belonging to the sugar cane factories Cachoeira, Cansanção de Sinimbu, Marituba, Santo Antônio, Seresta, Sumaúma, Terra Nova, and Triunfo (Fig. 1). The study was conducted between Sep 2003 and Feb 2004 during the initial phase of sugar cane cultivation and subsequent growth of the culture. Larvae of Diatraea species were collected from severely infested sugarcane plants found in the 8 locations mentioned. The plants were selected on the basis of observable damage to the apical buds and infiltration of larvae into the culms, both of which may lead to the penetration of phytopathogenic micro-organisms and subsequent disease provoking sucrose breakdown. Identification of the species collected was performed on the basis of the morphological characteristics of the larvae as described previously by Guagliumi (1972/73) and Mendonça (1996). The total number of larvae collected from all sampling areas was 3341, of which 78 specimens (2.33%) were D. saccharalis and 3263 (97.67%) were D. flavipennella (Table 1). In all 8 locations studied, the number of specimens of D. flavipennella randomly collected was far greater than that of D. saccharalis , the latter being completely absent in 3 areas. The results clearly demon-

Cocos nucifera Linn. (Palmae) husk fiber ethanolic extract: antioxidant capacity and electrochemical investigation.

The present study aims to determine the antioxidant capacity of the ethanolic extracts of husk fiber of four coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) varieties (yellow dwarf, green dwarf, giant and hybrid) and to evaluate the electrochemical behavior of these extracts on a glassy carbon electrode and on a modified glassy carbon electrode. The highest values of total phenolic content were obtained for the hybrid (531 ± 24 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract) and yellow dwarf (501 ± 29 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract) varieties and the lowest was for the green dwarf variety with 58 ± 9 mg GAE g(-1) dry extract. The ability of the extracts to scavenge DPPH˙ radicals was in the order of giant > yellow dwarf > hybrid > green dwarf and the IC50 values varied from 8.6 to 55.9 μg mL(-1). All varieties showed reducing potential by the use of FRAP and CUPRAC methods, with the lowest performance obtained for the green dwarf variety. Additionally, through the use of mimetic biomembranes, ethanolic extracts of coconut husk were shown to protect lipids against oxidative damage independent of the variety. The main antioxidants identified in the extract of yellow dwarf variety by UPLC-MS were quercetin and catechin. Cyclic voltammetric studies of the ethanolic extracts on glassy carbon electrode confirmed the presence of easily oxidized compounds, and the high antioxidant capacity of the varieties. This capacity was expressed as mg quercetin equivalents g(-1) dry extract and ranged from 25.9 up to 53.5 mg QE g(-1). A poly-xanthurenic acid (poly-Xa)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) / glassy carbon modified electrode (poly-Xa/MWCNT/GCE) was used for this purpose. Our findings suggest that these extracts are potentially important antioxidant supplements for the everyday human diet, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, thereby aggregating value to the enormous amount of waste from the coconut industry, mostly used for burning purposes.

Effects of triterpene derivatives from Maytenus rigida on VEGF-induced Kaposi's sarcoma cell proliferation

Betulinic acid (BA) is a naturally occurring lupane-type triterpene which exhibits a variety of biological activities including potent cytotoxic properties. On the basis of the structural similarity to BA, two lupane derivatives namely lup-20(29)-ene-3beta,30-diol (1) and lup-20(29)-ene-3beta,28-diol (2), along with two friedelane derivatives, namely friedelan-3-one (3) and friedelan-3beta-ol (4), isolated from the Brazilian plant Maytenus rigida, have been evaluated for their anti-proliferative effect. Similarly to BA, compounds 1 and 3 at 1 microM concentration significantly inhibited the VEGF-induced Kaposis sarcoma (KS) cell proliferation by 50%. In contrast, this effect was not found in control endothelial cells (EC). Moreover, compounds 1 and 3 showed a dose-dependent effect on the apoptotic cell death, as detected by FACS analysis and caspase-3 assay. Specifically, at 10 microM concentration, apoptosis was significantly induced (from 45% to 55% of hypodiploid cells vs control cells) and showed the same potency order observed for the anti-proliferative effect at 1 microM, i.e., compound 3>BA>compound 1. Taking into account the interest given rise by BA as anticancer agent, the comparable anti-proliferative activity shown by compounds 1 and 3 and BA, can give an impulse to further investigate lupane and friedelane derivatives as cytotoxic agents.

A 12A-hydroxyrotenoid from roots of boerhaavia coccinea

An isoflavonoid isolated from the chloroformic extract of roots of Boerhaavia coccinea was identified as 9,10-dimethoxy-11,12a-dihydroxyrotenoid and named coccineone E.

Cytotoxic activity of marine algae against cancerous cells

This paper presents an investigation on the cytotoxic activity in human tumor cell from dichloromethane, chloroform, methanol, ethanol, water extracts, and hexane and chloroform fractions from green, brown and red algae collected at Riacho Doce Beach, north coast of Alagoas, Brazil, against the cancer cells K562 (chronic myelocytic leukemia), HEp-2 (laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma) and NCI-H292 (human lung mucoepidermoid carcinoma) through the MTT colorimetric method. The dichloromethane extract and chloroform fraction of Hypnea musciformis showed the best cytotoxic activity against K562 (3.8±0.2 µg.mL-1 and 6.4±0.4 µg.mL-1, respectively). Dichloromethane extracts of Dictyota dichotoma (16.3±0.3 µg.mL-1) and the chloroform fraction of H. musciformis (6.0±0.03 µg.mL-1) and chloroform fraction of P. gymnospora (8.2±0.4) were more active against HEp-2 as well as ethanol extracts of P. gymnospora (15.9±2.8 µg.mL-1) and chloroform fraction of H. musciformis (15.0±1.3 µg.mL-1) against the cell NCI-H292. The constituents with higher anticancer action are present in the extracts of dichloromethane and chloroform and in the chloroform fraction of H. musciformis, Digenea simplex, P. gymnospora, and D.dichotoma. In the case of the seaweed S. vulgare, the anticancer constituents are present in the aqueous extract.

Electroanalytical studies of sulfentrazone in protic medium, its degradation by the electro-Fenton process, and toxicity assessment using ss-DNA.

Sulfentrazone is an herbicide used as a pre-plant incorporated or pre-emergence treatment. The electrochemical oxidation of sulfentrazone was studied, by cyclic, differential and square-wave voltammetry on unmodified and on glassy carbon nanotube-modified electrodes, and by controlled-potential coulometry and electrolysis. The voltammograms of sulfentrazone showed a main irreversible diffusion-controlled pH-dependent oxidation peak. The in situ DNA-damaging capacity of sulfentrazone was also investigated, employing double stranded ds-DNA-modified glassy carbon electrode, without evidence of interaction. On the other hand, in a solution of sulfentrazone and single stranded ss-DNA, the oxidation signals of the respective bases decreased concentration-dependently, indicating binding of sulfentrazone to guanine and adenine. The electro-Fenton method was employed to promote decontamination by eliminating the herbicide, resulting in almost 60% of mineralization.