José Ferreira da Silva

Guarana: revisiting a highly caffeinated plant from the Amazon.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Guarana (Paullinia cupana Kunth var. sorbilis (Mart.) Ducke) has been traditionally consumed by indigenous communities of the Amazon region. It is valued mainly for its stimulant property because of its high content of caffeine, which can be up to 6% in the seeds. AIM OF THE REVIEW The purpose of this review is to revisit this typically Brazilian plant, addressing economic considerations, the chemical makeup of the seeds and pharmacological properties so far investigated. RESULTS Guarana is primarily produced in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Bahia, and approximately 70% of the production is used by the industry of soft and energy drinks. The other 30% becomes guarana powder for direct consumption in capsules or dilution in water, or it serves as a raw material for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. In addition to its stimulant property, guarana has other therapeutic properties, which have aroused the interest of the scientific community. CONCLUSION This review shows that other guarana properties may be explored and how scarce are the studies regarding agronomic, plant pathology, physiology and breeding. So far, caffeine has been the main reason to study guarana and still will lead the researches because the demand for this alkaloid by food and pharmaceutical industry, and a strongly growing market related with beauty products. However, guarana has other components and there is great interest in studies designed to elucidate the effects of guaranas bioactive components and their potential pharmacological applications. Significant part of the guarana production in Brazil still comes from Indians tribes in the Amazon State, and any improvement in this plant, in any aspect, may propitiate a positive economic impact in their lives.

Exigências nutricionais e crescimento de plantas de mogno (Swietenia macrophylla King.)

The need for developing research related principally to the nutritional requirements of essential native Amazonian forest species, such as mahogany, is urgent, since the exploration of highly valuable species is continually more frequent. With the objective of evaluating the growth and the nutritional requirement of mahogany plants, an experiment in a vegetation house with 14 treatments was undertaken. The experiment outline was of occasional blocks with 5 repetitions. The growth characteristics evaluated were: height of the aerial part, diameter of the bottom, dry material of the aerial part, root and total, relationship of root and aerial part, relationship and nutrient content of dry material of the aerial part. The results lead to the conclusion that: the conjoint correction of acidity and the fertility of the soil for acid soils and low natural fertility is necessary even if the content of the organic material is considered high; of the nutrients, P is the one which limits most the development of the plant, as well as the absorption of other nutrients; there is no need to add K for developing the plants when liming occurs.; addition of K is recommended when liming does not occur; and the nutritional requirement of mahogany in macronutrients obeys the decreasing order of P>S>K.N.

Molecular and biochemical characterization of caffeine synthase and purine alkaloid concentration in guarana fruit

Guarana seeds have the highest caffeine concentration among plants accumulating purine alkaloids, but in contrast with coffee and tea, practically nothing is known about caffeine metabolism in this Amazonian plant. In this study, the levels of purine alkaloids in tissues of five guarana cultivars were determined. Theobromine was the main alkaloid that accumulated in leaves, stems, inflorescences and pericarps of fruit, while caffeine accumulated in the seeds and reached levels from 3.3% to 5.8%. In all tissues analysed, the alkaloid concentration, whether theobromine or caffeine, was higher in young/immature tissues, then decreasing with plant development/maturation. Caffeine synthase activity was highest in seeds of immature fruit. A nucleotide sequence (PcCS) was assembled with sequences retrieved from the EST database REALGENE using sequences of caffeine synthase from coffee and tea, whose expression was also highest in seeds from immature fruit. The PcCS has 1083bp and the protein sequence has greater similarity and identity with the caffeine synthase from cocoa (BTS1) and tea (TCS1). A recombinant PcCS allowed functional characterization of the enzyme as a bifunctional CS, able to catalyse the methylation of 7-methylxanthine to theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine), and theobromine to caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), respectively. Among several substrates tested, PcCS showed higher affinity for theobromine, differing from all other caffeine synthases described so far, which have higher affinity for paraxanthine. When compared to previous knowledge on the protein structure of coffee caffeine synthase, the unique substrate affinity of PcCS is probably explained by the amino acid residues found in the active site of the predicted protein.

Plantas invasoras em sistemas agroflorestais com cupuaçuzeiro no município de Presidente Figueiredo (Amazonas, Brasil)

The increase of weed infestation on agricultural systems cause damages to the crops, decreasing plant productivity by the direct competition or by alelopathy. This work have undertaken a survey and phytosociological analysis of some aspects of weed species that occur in agroforestry systems with cupuassu. The treatments consisted of three crops arrangements (cassava+fruit trees; annuals crops+fruit trees; passion fruit+fruit trees), and three fertilizer management (NPK+OM, with Phosphorus and Phosphorus+leguminous). Three harvests of weed plants were accomplished, being six samples of 0,25 m2 per plot. The identification of the species of the weed plants were carried out in the laboratory. The 55 weed species identified were distributed in 23 botanical families, being 43 of dicotyledonous species, 11 of monocotyledonous, and one of pteridophyta. The families Poaceae (monocotyledonous) and Asteraceae (dicotyledonous) were the most frequent and with large number of individuals. The most frequent species and with large number of plants per m2 were Paspalum conjugatum P.J. Bergius (area A) and Homolepis aturensis (Kunth) Chase (area B) of the Poaceae family; Ageratum conyzoides L. of the Asteraceae family, presented the largest density. The similarity coefficients varied among the areas studied, being the largest indexes observed in the treatments that received fertilizers with organic matter (NPK+OM), particularly in the system cassava+fruit trees. The agricultural practices and the soil and crops management systems, had a great influence to the flora composition and in the weed plants communities size in each local area. The number of monocotyledonous was smaller in the treatment with NPK+OM than in the other treatments.

References genes for qRT-PCR in guaraná (Paullina cupana var. sorbilis)

Gene expression has been extensively studied in plant science research, mainly for the assessment of plant stress responses. Real-time-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is an important tool for obtaining this information because it is a quick and easy technique to acquire a large amount of molecular data for both model and non-model plants. For a successful RT-qPCR analysis, gene expression should be carefully normalised. Genes involved in essential biological processes that exhibit constitutive expression are commonly selected as internal standards to normalise RT-qPCR experiments. In this study, the transcription profiles of 13 candidate reference genes for RT-qPCR were evaluated in three guarana cultivars (BRS-Amazonas, BRS-Maués and BRS-Luzéia) using different tissues (vegetative and fruit) in varying developmental stages. Two different algorithms, NormFinder and GeNorm, were utilised to assess gene stability. In general, the two algorithms did not select the same pairs of genes for all analysed conditions. For the largest group (the fruits of all cultivars), NormFinder selected the pair EF1A/UBQ, whereas GeNorm chose ACT/GAPDH as the best normalising genes. Thus, we recommend the use of at least four reference genes for the normalisation of gene expression in guarana plant studies.

Tolerância de leguminosas de cobertura do solo a Herbicidas

There is little research regarding to tolerance of soil cover legumes to herbicides. Products that are selective to these plants and show satisfactory control of harmful plants are still scarce. This paper has the objective to evaluate the tolerance to herbicide of four legume plants. The experiment was installed in a greenhouse. The four legumes were sowed in a 2 kg plastic bag. The substratum was homogenized with two seeds of Pueraria phaseoloides, Desmodium ovalifolium, Mucuna aterrima and Mucuna cochinchinensis. The herbicides applied were 2,4-DB, in post-emergence and alachlor, imazaquin and pendimethalin in pre-emergence. The statistical experimental method used was completely randomized in a factorial experiment (4x4x5x4) with four legume species, four herbicides and five doses of each herbicide with four replications. Thirty six days after sowing, P. phaseoloides showed tolerance to the herbicides alachlor and imazaquin and susceptibility to 2,4-DB and pendimethalin. D. ovalifolium was susceptible to herbicides except the alachlor. M. aterrima showed tolerance to alachlor, imazaquin and pendimethalin and was susceptible to 2,4-DB. The herbicides alachlor and imazaquin were not phytotoxic to M. cochinchinensis. However, severe injury was observed with the use of 2,4-DB and pendimethalin.

MÉTODOS DE CONTROLE DE Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. (FABACEAE) EM ÁREAS INVADIDAS NO SEMIÁRIDO DO BRASIL

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of different methods to control Prosopis juliflora , invasive alien species in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized in triple factorial scheme 2x2x8 (two populations of the species, two growth stages - regenerating and adult individuals and eight control treatments), with 10 repetitions. The treatments were: control, girdling of the stem, girdling and brushing of used lubricating oil; girdling and application of 2,4-D + picloram, clear cutting, clear cutting followed by burning of the stump; clear cutting and brushing of used lubricating oil; and clear cutting and application of 2,4-D + picloram. In total 320 individuals were monitored, among these, 160 regenerates and 160 adults individuals. The variables evaluated were: percentage of control, number of shoots, diameter and length of shoots. According to the results among the treatments, those who were more effective in controlling Prosopis juliflora were clear cutting followed by burning of the stump and application of 2,4-D + picloram in cut and girdled plants. The brushing lubricating oil on the basis of girdled plants also showed a promising strategy to control invasive.

Enraizamento de estacas de cultivares de guaranazeiro com adubação de plantas matrizes

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of plant fertilization on the rooting of guarana cuttings. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 6x2 factorial arrangement, with five cultivars and one genotype of guarana, with or without fertilization. The experimental unit contained ten cuttings with four replicates. The fertilization was applied after pruning (January), after fruiting (April), and before the beginning of flowering (May). For rooting, the cuttings were kept in incubators at 50% irradiance and under intermittent mist. After 120 days in the incubator, the following characteristics were evaluated: rooted and dead cuttings; cutting length; and volume and dry weight of roots. Plant fertilization increased rooting in 11.15%, and reduced cutting mortality in 11.05%. The fertilization promoted a greater rooting in the cultivars BRS-Maues, BRS-CG882 and in the genotype CMU 381. Irrespective of the cultivar, the fertilization increases the number, volume and weight of root dry matter; however, it has no influence on root length.

Screening e dose-resposta de herbicidas à malva e juta

The production of mauve ( Urena lobata ) and jute ( Corchorus capsularis ) fiber is demanded by the industry as a raw material in the production of canvas, ropes, book covers and other applications. The production cycle of this fiber is a sustainable activity because it uses renewable resources of the floodplains of the Solimoes River in the Amazonas state. The crop management combined with weed control are conditions for the species to express the maximum productive potential. The use of selective herbicides constitutes an efficient and economically viable alternative for this purpose. The objective of this research was to evaluate the selectivity of herbicides through screening and dose-response for these two species producers of natural fibers. Two experiments were conducted in a greenhouse: the first, in the form of screening to assess herbicides applied in post-emergence as bentazon, clethodim, fluazifop-p-butyl, fomesafen, linuron, oxyfluorfen, and sulfentrazone at recommended doses for other crops; and the second, the herbicides clethodim and fluazifop-p-butyl that were selective to jute and mauve, in 7 doses. The herbicides bentazon, linuron, fomesafen, oxyfluorfen, and sulfentrazone caused death of all plants while clethodim and fluazifop-p-butyl were moderately phytotoxic. The two species were more tolerant to fluazifop-p-butyl than to clethodim.