Nina Claudia Barboza da Silva

Developmental effects of additional ultraviolet a radiation, growth regulators and tyrosine in Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) Kuntze cultured in vitro

Tissue cultures of Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) Kuntze were treated with different growth regulators (Kinetin and 2,4-D), tyrosine and Ultraviolet A radiation (UV-A; 320 - 400 nm) to investigate their effects on development and pigment production. Nodal segments of plantlets grown from seeds were inoculated in all tested media and different light conditions. After eight weeks, this material was used to evaluate biomass, chlorophyll and betacyanin production. The Murashige and Skoog (MS) + kinetin medium resulted in development of approximately four shoots/explant. This medium plus white light was the best combination for micropropagation with the highest rooting percentage and betacyanin production. Plantlets grown under UV-A illumination reduced biomass accumulation and worse Chlorophyll a / Chlorophyll b ratio. Addition of 2,4-D resulted in inhibition of pigment production and growth of plantlets.

Antinociceptive effects of Abarema cochliacarpos (B.A. Gomes) Barneby & J.W.Grimes (Mimosaceae)

In this study, we investigated the analgesic activity of crude aqueous and methanol extracts obtained from Abarema cochliacarpos bark in mice, and analyzed its phytochemical profile. All the extracts exhibited analgesic properties against the writhing test in mice, but the aqueous and methanol extracts were more active, and more potent than two known analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs used as reference. They were also active against the capsaicin-model, but inactive when evaluated in the hot-plate test. Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of saponins, catechins, tannins, phenols and anthraquinones.

Distinct growth and extractive methods of Acmellaoleracea (L.) R.K. Jansen rising different concentrations of spilanthol: An important bioactive compound in human dietary

Acmella oleracea, commonly known as jambú, is a great source of spilanthol, a secondary metabolite responsible for different kind of biological activities, such as the antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory bioactivities. The purpose of this work was to evaluate spilanthol content in A. oleracea plants obtained from three different cultivation conditions - in vitro, acclimatized and in field - and compare two different extraction techniques: maceration and microwave assisted extraction (MAE). Therefore, A. oleracea nodal segments were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium. After 30days, developed plants were transferred to ex vitro conditions and successfully acclimatized. From all types of culture, the whole plant as well as the flowers, leaves, stems and roots were used, separately, to obtain ethanolic extract (75%) but only the micropropagated whole plant was used on the factorial design 24-1 on the microwave-assisted extraction. All the samples were quantified by HPLC-DAD and analyzed by CG-MS. Results show that the different acclimatized plant parts are the richest in spilanthol content, followed by the in vitro culture and, finally, field material. The MAE was able to extract the highest amount of spilanthol from in vitro whole plant (3.09%) compared to the classical maceration extract (0.98%) and, furnished good crude extracts yields under an optimized study accurately explained by the mathematical model. The antibacterial assay presented a negative result using in vitro samples and bacteria inhibition with field samples against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228) standard strains.

Introdução da Fitoterapia no SUS: contribuindo com a Estratégia de Saúde da Família na comunidade rural de Palmares, Paty do Alferes, Rio de Janeiro

Este trabalho teve por objetivo valorizar o uso de plantas medicinais na Estrategia Saude da Familia (ESF) como instrumento para a promocao de saude na comunidade rural de Palmares. Assim, foram realizados estudos exploratorios descritivos de abordagem quali-quantitativa, para o conhecimento do uso difuso de plantas medicinais, bem como do estado da arte sobre plantas medicinais e fitoterapicos entre os profissionais de saude. Observou-se que 82% da populacao estudada faz o uso de plantas medicinais na forma de cha (64%), com folhas (52%). E todos os profissionais de saude desconheciam sobre a fitoterapia no Sistema Unico de Saude (SUS), apresentando demanda espontânea por capacitacao. A capacitacao deu-se nas Unidade Basica de Saude (UBS), tratando sobre diferentes temas. Como retorno a comunidade, foi implantada uma horta comunitaria de plantas medicinais e foram elaborados materiais didaticos para auxiliar na educacao continuada do servico de saude, como o memento de plantas medicinais. Portanto, para a introducao desta pratica como terapeutica no SUS, e essencial planejar e executar atividades voltadas para a educacao em saude, valorizando os aspectos culturais envolvidos no uso das plantas medicinais pelos usuarios do SUS local, de forma participativa e dialogica.

Anemia tomentosa var. anthriscifolia in vitro culture: sporophyte development and volatile compound profile of an aromatic fern

Anemia tomentosa var. anthriscifolia is an aromatic fern with a pleasant woody aroma and antimycobacterial activity. In this paper, we describe for the first time its spore-derived gametophyte development and the effect of indole-3-acetic acid and jasmonic acid on in vitro gametophyte/sporophyte development, as well as volatile compound production. Volatiles were obtained by simultaneous distillation and extraction (SDE) and analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Spore-derived gametophytes were able to develop into sporophytes independently of the media culture composition, even when no plant growth regulator was added. Fifty different substances were detected in all in vitro A. tomentosa SDE extracts, while 20 were detected in the wild SDE plant extract. Monoterpenes were more prevalent (69.8–89.8%) than sesquiterpenes (9.4–28.7%) in in vitro plants, while sesquiterpenes represent 97.5% of the volatiles produced by the wild-grown plants. The major monoterpene components in in vitro plants were α-pinene (9.3–24.3%), trans-pinocarveol (20.6–27.9%), pinocarvone (15.4–25.1%) and myrtenyl acetate (6.4–12.3%). The triquinane sesquiterpenes silphiperfol-6-ene (0.6–2.9%), α-guaiene (0.5–2.5%), β-barbatene (1.1–3.9%) and 9-epi-presilphiperfolan-1-ol (2.5–5.6%) represent the most abundant sesquiterpenes. The changes in the monoterpene/sesquiterpene rates between micropropagated and wild plants are not related to the presence of JA or IAA in the media culture. Further studies are still needed to obtain a complete understanding of the factors leading to these results, which could be related to differences in the irradiance levels of in vitro plants versus those from a wild environment, as well as the developmental stage of the plants. This is the first report of the use of plant growth regulators on Anemia tomentosa in vitro culture development and their effects on volatile profiles.

Changes in electrophoretic profiles of Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) induced by gamma radiation

The ability of nodal segments of Ipomoea batatas to differentiate shoots and roots was evaluated after gamma irradiation. Shoot differentiation was less sensitive to irradiation than roots. However, at 90 Gy, no shoot was able to regenerate a new plant; in contrast 76 % of the roots from irradiated nodal segments continued to grow. The gamma radiation also induced changes in electrophoretic profiles of peroxidases of storage roots. Plants originated from irradiated storage roots presented changes in leaf peroxidase profiles very similar to those produced by leaves directly irradiated. The peroxidase profile of absorbent roots from irradiated storage roots was different from that obtained from directly irradiated absorbent roots.