Medicinal plants used by "Passo da Ilha" rural community in the city of Pato Branco, southern Brazil

The scope of this work was to rescue and document the traditional knowledge regarding the medicinal plants used by Passo da Ilha rural community, in Pato Branco, Paraná State, Southern Brazil (26° 11' S, 52°36' W and 760 m high). Structured interviews were made in field research with 16 informants who had the traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. The research was carried out from October to December 2000. The plants were collected in the field, identified and their vouchers were housed at the Herbarium "Irina Delanova De Gemtchjnicov" (BOTU) of São Paulo State University, in Botucatu. A total of 47 botanical families and 114 species of medicinal plants were identified. These plants ere suitable for ore than 30 different edicinal uses. The residents are mainly of European descent, which justify the presence of many exotic plants. The knowledge on how to use medicinal plants properly is held mainly by the females, and decreases in the newer generations, denoting "cultural erosion" in progress.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi resgatar e documentar o conhecimento popular referente às plantas medicinais utilizadas na comunidade rural do Passo da Ilha, em Pato Branco-PR (26° 11' S, 52°36' W e 760 m de altitude). Optou-se por utilizar o modelo de entrevista estruturada com 16 informantes, os quais possuíam o conhecimento sobre o uso das plantas medicinais em suas famílias. O período da realização das entrevistas foi de outubro a dezembro de 2000. As plantas foram coletadas no campo, identificadas e "vouchers" foram depositados no Herbário "Irina Delanova De Gemtchjnicov" (BOTU) da Universidade Estadual Paulista, em Botucatu-SP. Foram identificadas 47 famílias botânicas e 114 espécies de plantas medicinais. Estas plantas foram indicadas para mais de 30 usos medicinais diferentes. A comunidade é composta na maioria por descendentes de europeus, justificando a presença de muitas plantas exóticas. O domínio do uso das plantas é feminino, porém o conhecimento é menor nas gerações mais novas, denotando um processo de erosão cultural.

Alelopatia de acículas de Pinus taeda na germinação e no desenvolvimento de plântulas de Avena strigosa / Allelopathic of Pinus taeda needles on the germination and development of Avena strigosa seedlings

O trabalho teve por objetivo caracterizar o efeito alelopático do extrato aquoso de acículas de Pinus taeda na germinação e no desenvolvimento inicial de plântulas de aveia preta comum (Avena strigosa). O experimento foi conduzido no Laboratório de Bioquímica e Fisiologia Vegetal da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR), Campus de Pato Branco, utilizando o delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com tratamento fatorial (bifatorial com parcela subdividida no tempo), com três repetições, sob condições de temperatura, umidade e luminosidade controladas. Os tratamentos foram compostos por cinco concentrações (0, 25, 50, 75 e 100 por cento) de extrato bruto de acículas de pínus em estágio vegetativo (acícula verde), moderadamente decomposto (acícula seca) e em decomposição avançada (acícula decomposta). As avaliações foram realizadas a cada 24 horas. Foram avaliados os parâmetros porcentagem de germinação, velocidade média de germinação e comprimento de radículas e epicótilos das plântulas de Avena strigosa. O estágio de acícula verde afetou significativamente as variáveis avaliadas e esse problema aumentou com a concentração do extrato.

The purpose of this study was to verify the allelopathic effect of aqueous extract from the Pinus taeda needles on the germination and development of black oat (Avena strigosa) seedlings. The work was carried out at the Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory at the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR), Campus Pato Branco, using a completely randomized design with factorial distribution in three replicates, under temperature, humidity and light controlled conditions. The extract from the pine needles was composed of five percentages (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent) from the crude extract (EB) dilution, composed of distilled water + pine needles in vegetative stage (green needles), moderately decomposed (dry needles) and in advanced decomposition (decomposed needles). The germination percentage, average speed of germination, the length of the primary roots and the length from the seedlings roots of Avena strigosa were evaluated. The stage of green needles affected the variables studied and showed linearly effect with the increasing concentration of the crude extract.

Behavior of Araujiain, a new cysteine phytoprotease, in organic media with low water content

In this paper we studied the effect of different organic solvents (1-octanol, trichloroethylene, ethanol, ethyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran, cyclohexane, propanone, acetonitrile, dichloromethane, chlorobenzene, N,N-dimethylformamide, acetophenone, diethyl ether, methanol, ethylene glycol and toluene) with low and constant water content on substrate preferences, thermostability and stability (caseinolytic activity retention after 4 h) of proteases of Araujia hortorum Fourn. (Asclepiadaceae). The stability of araujiain was high in N,N-dimethylformamide and ethanol at 40 ºC, but decreased at higher temperature. Araujiain substrates preferences in buffer Tris-HCl (pH 8), ethylene glycol and N,N-dimethylformamide exhibited different patterns, but the enzyme showed a high preference by glutamine derivative in all cases. According to FTIR spectroscopy studies, araujiain changed its secondary structure and as a consequence, it also changed its substrate preferences. This enzyme showed lower beta-helical character and greater beta-sheet folding in buffer than in organic media. A larger amount of antiparallel beta-sheet residues indicates the formation of tighter intermolecular hydrogen bonds and enzymatic aggregates. These facts could explain the higher esterolytic activities, the greater stability and good hydrolytic potential of araujiain in some organic media such as N,N-dimethylformamide.