Pedro A. Santos

Essential oils from Azorean Laurus azorica.

The essential oils isolated from leaves of ten and from unripe berries of eight populations of Laurus azorica (Seub.) Franco, collected on five islands of the Azorean archipelago, were analysed by GC and GC-MS. All oil samples were dominated by their monoterpene fraction (60-94%), alpha-pinene (15-37%) and 1,8-cineole (12-31%) being the main components of the leaf oils, while trans-beta-ocimene (27-45%) and alpha-pinene (12-22%) were the main components of the oils from the berries. The sesquiterpene fractions of the oils ranged from 3 to 17% and the main components were beta-caryophyllene (traces-8%) and beta-elemene (traces-3%) both in the leaf and berry oils. Some phenylpropanoid components were also present, in total amounting to 17%, trans-cinnamyl acetate (215% of the leaf oils) being the main component of this fraction. Cluster analysis of the enantiomeric composition of alpha- and beta-pinene in the oils from the leaves clearly showed two groups, one constituted by the two populations growing on the island S. Jorge, and the other constituted by the remaining populations.

Composition of the essential oil of Hypericum foliosum Aiton from five Azorean islands

Eight collective samples of terminal cymose inflorescences of Hypericum foliosum Aiton were collected on five islands of the Azores (S. Jorge. S. Miguel, Pico, Terceira and Faial). The essential oils isolated by hydrodistillation to estimate the oil yields, and by distillation-extraction to determine the percentage composition of the oils, were analysed by GC and GC-MS. The oil yield varied between 0.10% and 0.25% and the main components (> 5%) were n-nonane (29-73%), limonene (7-46%), terpinolene (1-19%), β-caryophyllene (1-7%) and β-pinene (0.3-6%). With the exception of one oil sample from S. Jorge, cluster analysis showed a high degree of similarity between the populations studied.

Chemical polymorphism of the essential oils from populations of Thymus caespititius grown on the island S. Jorge (Azores)

The compositions of the essential oils obtained from ten populations of Thymus caespititius grown on S. Jorge (Azores) were studied by GC and GC-MS. All the oils analysed were dominated by their monoterpene fraction (69-9%). The sesquiterpene fraction was rather small (4-17%) and consisted mainly of oxygen-containing compounds (3-13%). Enantiomeric ratio of sabinene and alpha-terpineol was investigated in the oils from some populations. (+)-Sabinene was detected with high enatiomeric purity (96 99%). Although ( +)-alpha terpineol was the predominant enantiomer, its purity varied considerably (66-97%). Cluster analysis of all identified components grouped the oils into four main clusters that corresponded with their major components: alpha-terpineol (43-68%), carvacrol (32-52%), thymol (44-58%) and sabinene (41%). The essential oil from Th. caespititius showed a clear chemical polymorphism, that was particularly evident among four populations growing along a 200 m distance at Pico Verde.

HAIRY ROOT CULTURES OF ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS (DILL): ESTABLISHMENT, GROWTH, TIME-COURSE STUDY OF THEIR ESSENTIAL OIL AND ITS COMPARISON WITH PARENT PLANT OILS

Transformed root cultures of Anethum graveolens were induced by inoculation of aseptically grown seedlings with Agrobacterium rhizogenes carrying plasmid pRi 1855. The main component of the essential oils from the fruits and from the roots of the parent plant was carvone, whereas α-phellandrene and apiole were dominant in the oil from, respectively, the aerial parts and the hairy roots. The essential oils from the fruits, aerial parts and roots of the parent plant were at 2%, 0.3% and 0.06% (v/w), respectively, but only 0.02% (v/w) in the hairy root cultures. Growth of the hairy root cultures reached 600 mg dry wt/50 ml medium after 50 days. The essential oil composition did not change significantly during their growth.

Essential Oil Composition and Glandular Trichomes of Marrubium vulgare L. Growing Wild in Algeria

Abstract A scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study of the aerial parts of Marrubium vulgare L. grown wild in Algeria showed a dense woolly indumentum of stellate, nonglandular, point-shaped trichomes that completely hide both the adaxial and abaxial leaf epidermes, as well as the stem and flower surfaces bearing the glandular trichomes. Peltate and two types of capitate trichomes constitute the morphological distinct glandular trichomes that are spread over the vegetative and reproductive organs. The essential oils of M. vulgare were obtained by hydrodistillation and distillation-extraction from the aerial parts collected during the flowering (F) and vegetative phases (V), and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The essential oils were obtained in a yield of ≤ 0.05% (v/w). Eugenol was the main component in the F oil (50%) but comprised only 16% in the V oil. β-Bisabolene was the dominant component of the V oil (29%) and the second main component in the F oil (11%).

Essential oils from seven populations of Juniperus brevifolia (Seub.) Antoine, an endemic species of the Azores

The composition of the essential oils isolated from twigs and from unripe berries of seven populations of Juniperus brevifolia (Seub.) Antoine, an endemic species of the Azorean archipelago, was analysed by GC and GC–MS. All oil samples were dominated by their monoterpene fraction (84–94%), limonene (41–79%) and α-pinene (6–40%) being the main oil components. The sesquiterpene fraction occurred in a concentration range of 1–10%. Diterpenes amounted to 6%, sandaracopimara-8(14),15-diene (up to 5%) being the main component of this fraction. Cluster analysis of the essential oils revealed two distinct groups, one from the twigs and the other from the berries. The enantiomeric composition of α-pinene and limonene showed a clear homogeneity between all the oil samples. Copyright

Performance evaluation of mixed and pure microbial inocula as surrogate culture in a BOD5 test

The use of activated sludge (AS) to assess the environmental impact of chemicals and wastewaters suffers from several drawbacks related to the heterogeneity, absence of standardization and health risk associated with such a mixed sewage population. To search for reliable testing inoculum alternatives, the potential of a standardized soil inoculum and a pure culture (Pseudomonas sp.), as reference material in a 5-day BOD test, was evaluated using the dilution and manometric methods and testing the standard glucose-glutamic acid solution. The results obtained for the BOD5 of the standard solution fall in the range referred for the AS in the standards of the cited methods, demonstrating the potential of these inocula as an alternative to AS in the BOD5 test. Moreover, testing on real wastewater samples showed highly significant correlations (P < 0.001) between the BOD5 values obtained with these two inocula and with the standard inoculum. Analysis of metabolic patterns also pointed to a similar catabolic profile between soil inoculum and AS and to the potential of a mixed Pseudomonas-soil inoculum as an AS surrogate culture.

Composition of the Essential Oil From the Liverwort Marchesinia mackaii (Hook.) S. F. Gray Grown in Portugal

Abstract Four samples, from two populations, of the liverwort Marchesinia mackaii were collected on Madeira and at the mainland of Portugal, at different collection times. The oil yields determined by hydrodistillation attained 0.5% (v/w). The essential oils isolated by distillation-extraction were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The main components (>5%) were α-asarone (23–31%), 2,4,5-trimethoxyallylbenzene (10–23%), (E)-methyl isoeugenol (12–19%), β-asarone (11–13%) and β caryophyllene (7–16%).

A Business Simulation with an Agent-Based Deliberative Model of Consumer Behaviour

Agent-based modelling, a way to simulate complex systems comprised of autonomous and interacting agents, is perhaps one of the most promising developments in experiential learning. In this paper we present a business simulation where the marketplace is modelled as an evolving system of deliberative (consumer) agents acting as utility maximizers. Concretely, we describe the deliberative-based architecture of our consumer agents and its unique properties. Additionally, we present our preliminary results which suggest participants are better able to understand the simulation when provided with the unique information of the agent-based approach.