Invertebrate herbivory on floating-leaf macrophytes at the northeast of Argentina: should the damage be taken into account in estimations of plant biomass?

ABSTRACT: We assessed the damage produced by invertebrate herbivores per leaf lamina and per m2 of populations floating-leaf macrophytes of Neotropical wetlands in the growth and decay periods, and assessed if the damage produced by the herbivores should be taken into account in the estimations of plant biomass of these macrophytes or not. The biomass removed per lamina and per m2 was higher during the growth period than in decay period in Nymphoides indica and Hydrocleys nymphoides, while Nymphaea prolifera had low values of herbivory in growth period. During decay period this plant is only present as vegetative propagules. According to the values of biomass removed per m2 of N. indica, underestimation up to 17.69% should be produced in cases that herbivory do not should be taking account to evaluate these plant parameters on this macrophyte. Therefore, for the study of biomass and productivity in the study area, we suggest the use of corrected lamina biomass after estimating the biomass removed by herbivores on N. indica. The values of damage in N. indica emphasize the importance of this macrophyte as a food resource for invertebrate herbivores in the trophic networks of the Neotropical wetlands.

Hydatid disease with water lily sign manifesting as a soft-tissue mass in the soleus muscle of an adult woman- case report

Due to the high lactic acid levels and the contractility of the muscle soft-tissue hydatid disease is unusual even in endemic areas, and skeletal muscle involvement is extremely rare. Here we discuss an extremely unusual and rare case of hydatid disease found in the medial aspect of the soleus muscle in 46 years old female. MRI imaging is essential for identification and differential diagnosis

Bioactive constituents and antibacterial screening of two nigerian plant extracts against selected clinical bacteria

Background: The growing desires to combat antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria necessitate the need to search for new antimicrobials agents from other sources such as plants.Objectives: The present study investigated the antibacterial activities and bioactive components of Nymphaea lotus and Spondias mombin against selected clinical bacteria.Material and Methods: Extracts of N. lotus and S. mombin were prepared by 72 hours maceration in 70% methanol. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Citrobacter freundi and, Klebsiella oxytoca against the two extracts was carried out by disk diffusion method while minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) was by agar-well dilution and broth dilution method, respectively. The bioactive compounds of the plants were identified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.Results: Extracts of N. lotus showed better antimicrobial activities than S. mombin against all the clinical bacterial isolates with an MIC range of 3.13 ­ >12.5mg/mL compared to S. mombin with MIC range of 6.25 ­ >12.5mg/mL. The GC-MS results revealed the presence of 21 and 25 compounds for N. lotus and S. mombin respectively. Benzoic acid derivatives were in abundance in both plants with approximately 71.5% and 82.1% in N. lotus and S. mombin respectively.Conclusions: The findings from this study provided further evidence on their ethno-botanical claims and additional information on the potentials of the studied plants as effective medicinal plants with antimicrobial activity against clinical bacteria. This highlights the need for continuous exploration of medicinal plants for novel compounds with better antimicrobial property as option for the treatment of resistant bacterial infection

Compared leaf anatomy of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae) species from Brazilian flood plain / Anatomia comparativa da folha de espécies de Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae) da planície de inundação brasileira

Nymphaea has seven species already catalogued in the flood prone areas of the Brazilian Pantanal. However, some species remain difficult to identify and descriptions of the anatomy of vegetative organs are an important tool for infrageneric separation to aid in group taxonomy. The species collected in the Pantanal and prepared according to the usual techniques for anatomical studies showed similar structural characteristics, and data on the arrangement of vascular bundles in the midrib and petiole, as well as the form and distribution of sclereids, were consistent. Nymphaea oxypetala stands out from the other evaluated species for having a greater number of differential characters, including angular collenchyma and the absence of bicollateral bundles in the petiole. Nymphaea lingulata stands out as the only species to feature bicollateral bundles in the leaf blade. The results, summarised in the dichotomous key, facilitate the identification of species that use the flower as the main differentiation, but are in a vegetative stage.

Nymphaea tem sete espécies catalogadas nas áreas inundáveis do Pantanal brasileiro. No entanto, algumas espécies são de difícil identificação e descrições da anatomia dos órgãos vegetativos são uma ferramenta importante para a separação infragenérica para auxiliar na taxonomia do grupo. As espécies coletadas no Pantanal e preparadas de acordo com as técnicas usuais para estudos anatômicos mostraram as mesmas características estruturais, e os dados de arranjo dos feixes vasculares na nervura central e pecíolo, bem como a forma e distribuição de esclereides, foram consistentes. Nymphaea oxypetala se destaca das outras espécies avaliadas por ter um maior número de caracteres diferenciais, incluindo colênquima angular e ausência de feixes bicolaterais no pecíolo. Nymphaea lingulata se destaca como a única espécie que apresenta feixes bicolaterais no limbo. Os resultados, resumidos em uma chave dicotômica, facilitam a identificação de espécies que utilizam a flor como principal diferenciação quando se encontram em estágio vegetativo.

Antinociceptive, Immunomodulatory and Antipyretic Activity of Nymphayol Isolated from Nymphaea stellata (Willd.) Flowers

In the present study, we aimed to analyze the antinociceptive, immunomodulatory and antipyretic activities of nymphayol were investigated in wistar rats and mice. Antinociceptive effect was evaluated by acetic acid induced writhing, formalin induced paw licking and hot-plate tests. Immunomodulatory activity was assessed by neutrophil adhesion test, humoral response to sheep red blood cells, delayed-type hypersensitivity, phagocytic activity and cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression. Antipyretic activity was evaluated by yeast induced hyperthermia in rats. Nymphayol produced significant (p<0.05) antinociceptive activity in acetic acid induced writhing response and late phase of the formalin induced paw licking response. Pre-treatment with nymphayol (50 mg/kg, oral) evoked a significant increase in neutrophil adhesion to nylon fibres. The augmentation of humoral immune response to sheep red blood cells by nymphayol (50 mg/kg) was evidenced by increase in antibody titres in rats. Oral administration of nymphayol (50 mg/kg) to rats potentiated the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction induced by sheep red blood cells. Treatment with nymphayol showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in pyrexia in rats. The results suggest that nymphayol possesses potent anti-nociceptive, immunomodulatory and antipyretic activities.