Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants from the cerrado of the central-western region of Brazil

Ethanol extracts from six selected species from the Cerrado of the Central-Western region of Brazil, which are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases and other medical conditions, namely Erythroxylum suberosum St. Hil. (Erythroxylaceae), Hyptis crenata Pohl. ex Benth. (Lamiaceae), Roupala brasiliensis Klotz. (Proteaceae), Simarouba versicolor St. Hil. (Simaroubaceae), Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Sterculiaceae) and Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) March. (Burseraceae), as well as fractions resulting from partition of these crude extracts, were screened in vitro for their antifungal and antibacterial properties. The antimicrobial activities were assessed by the broth microdilution assay against six control fungal strains, Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans, and five control Gram-positive and negative bacterial strains, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Toxicity of the extracts and fractions against Artemia salina was also evaluated in this work. All plants investigated showed antimicrobial properties against at least one microorganism and two species were also significantly toxic to brine shrimp larvae. The results tend to support the traditional use of these plants for the treatment of respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders and/or skin diseases, opening the possibility of finding new antimicrobial agents from these natural sources.Among the species investigated, Hyptis crenata, Erythroxylum suberosum and Roupala brasiliensis were considered the most promising candidates for developing of future bioactivity-guided phytochemical investigations.

Macrophytes in the upper Paraná river floodplain: checklist and comparison with other large South American wetlands

Neotropical aquatic ecosystems have a rich aquatic flora. In this report, we have isted the aquatic flora of various habitats of the upper Paraná River floodplain by compiling data rom literature and records of our own continuous collections conducted during the period 2007-2009. Our main purposes were to assess the macrophyte richness in the Paraná floodplain, to compare it with other South American wetlands and to assess whether the number of species recorded in South American inventories has already reached an asymptote. We recorded a total of 153 species of macrophytes in the Upper Paraná River floodplain, belonging to 100 genera and 47 families. In our comparative analysis, a clear floristic split from other South American wetlands was shown, except for the Pantanal, which is the closest wetland to the Paraná floodplain and, therefore, could be considered a floristic extension of the Pantanal. The species accumulation curve provides evidence that sampling efforts should be reinforced in order to compile a macrophyte flora census for South America. The high dissimilarity among South American wetlands, together with the lack of an asymptote in our species accumulation curve, indicates that the sampling effort needs to be increased to account for the actual species richness of macrophytes in this region. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (2): 541-556. Epub 2011 June 01.

Los ecosistemas acuáticos neotropicales tienen una rica flora acuática. En este informe, hemos hecho una lista de la flora acuática de diversos hábitats de la alta planicie de inundación del río Paraná mediante la compilación de datos de la literatura y los registros de nuestras colecciones propias realizadas durante el período 2007-2009. Nuestros principales objetivos fueron evaluar la riqueza de macrófitos en la llanura aluvial del Paraná, para compararlo con otros humedales de América del Sur y evaluar si el número de especies registradas en los inventarios suramericanos ya han alcanzado una asíntota. Se registraron un total de 153 especies de macrófitas en la llanura de inundación del Río Alto Paraná, pertenecientes a 100 géneros y 47 familias. En nuestro análisis comparativo, se mostró una clara división florística de otros humedales de América del Sur, con excepción del Pantanal, que es el más cercano a los humedales de la planicie de inundación del Paraná y, por tanto, podría considerarse una extensión florística del Pantanal. La curva de acumulación de especies demuestra que los esfuerzos de muestreo deben ser reforzados con el fin de elaborar un censo de la flora de acrófitos para América del Sur. La alta disimilitud entre los humedales de América del Sur, junto con la falta de una asíntota en nuestra curva de acumulación de especies, indica que el esfuerzo de muestreo debe ser mayor para dar cuenta de la riqueza real de las especies de acrófitos en esta región.

Plantas medicinais comercializadas no Mercado Municipal de Campo Grande-MS / Commercialized medicinal plants in the Mercado Municipal of Campo Grande-MS

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi realizar um levantamento etnofarmacológico das principais espécies vegetais comercializadas no Mercado Municipal de Campo Grande (MS). O estudo foi realizado entre agosto de 2002 e agosto de 2003, através de entrevistas com os raizeiros. Cerca de 117 espécies foram citadas. Foram selecionadas as plantas dos biomas Cerrado e Pantanal e dessas 34 espécies foram adquiridas. Das plantas adquiridas 22 foram identificadas botanicamente, pois o material das outras foi deficiente para determinação até espécie. Das plantas identifificadas, somente dez são típicas do cerrado, podendo-se citar a Curatella americana, Guazuma ulmifolia, Maclura tinctoria e Stryphnodendron obovatum. A família com o maior número de citação foi Asteraceae, seguida de Moraceae, Sterculiaceae e Leguminosae. A parte das plantas mais utilizada é a folha, preparada principalmente como infusão. A indicação terapêutica mais citada foi como cicatrizante, no tratamento de feridas e dores reumáticas. Grande parte das espécies têm indicação de utilização popular para várias patologias e a maioria das espécies (65,2 por cento) não teve qualquer estudo farmacológico que confirmasse a indicação popular. Somente oito espécies (34,8 por cento) tiveram alguma atividade confirmada na literatura.

The aim of this paper was the survey of the medicinal plants most used from Campo Grande population and commercialized in the Mercado Municipal of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The survey was performed in 2002 and 2003 by interviewing and revealed 117 species. Thirty four species were acquired, and of those 22 were identified. Of those ten are only typical of the Cerrado, like as: Curatella americana, Guazuma ulmifolia, Maclura tinctoria, Stryphnodendron obovatum etc. The most mentioned families were Asteraceae, Moraceae, Sterculiaceae and Leguminosae. The most used part of the plant is the leaf, mainly prepared as infusion. These folk-medicine plants have been mostly used for wound healing and the treatment of rheumatism. The species are used for treating diverse pathologies. Data obtained showed that most of the species (65.2 percent) did not have any pharmacological study to confirm the popular indication. Only eight species (34.8 percent) had some activity confirmed in the literature.