Sandfly (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) species diversity in an urban area of the municipality of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico

Monitoring phlebotomine sandflies in urban areas is key for epidemiological studies in susceptible populations. This paper describes sandfly fauna that were present in an urban area of the municipality of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, and were captured with Shannon and CDC light traps. During February and March of 2014, 1,442 sandflies were captured, specifically Lutzomyia cruciata (Coquillet) (98.8%), Lutzomyia cayennensis cayennensis (Floch and Abonnenc) (0.8%), Lutzomyia chiapanensis (Dampf) (0.3%) and Lutzomyia atulapai (De León) (0.1%). Lu. cruciata was the most abundant and the most frequently trapped species. This is the first record of its remarkable ability to adapt to urban green areas. The three other species trapped represent new records of geographic distribution for the study region. These results indicate the need to establish measures for reducing both human contact with this vector and the risk of possible sites of infection.

Fenoles de interés farmacológico en hojas de vides silvestres (Vitis spp. ) de México / Phenols of pharmacological interest in leaves of wild grapevines (Vitis spp. ) of Mexico

Sedentary styles of life, along with inadequate nutritional habits, increase the risk to develop degenerative chronic diseases. Searching for possible alternatives of prevention for those risks, it has been investigated about the quality and nutraceutic properties of several agricultural commodities. The phenols are substances with important functions in vegetal organisms; and moreover they have antioxidants properties in the cellular metabolism of humans and animals. In order to quantify the content of three phenolic acids and a stilbene, it was performed analyses, by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-UV/Vis), on metanolic leave extracts of 97 wild grapevines (Vitis spp.) of Puebla, Mexico. Those plants were found growing in their natural environments from 207 to 2175 m. The gallic acid was the most common of the metabolites since it appeared in 96 of the 97 samples, rutin was the second most common substance and it was identified in 80 samples, the caffeic acid appeared in 29 and finally resveratrol only in 14. The leaves of wild grapevines contain diverse antioxidants substances that might have several benefits in the human health; in addition the suitable conservation, maintenance and correct advantage of this plant genus provide environmental services and the balance of ecosystems.

Estilos de vida sedentarios, conjugados con inadecuados hábitos alimenticios, incrementan el riesgo de contraer enfermedades crónicas degenerativas. En la búsqueda de posibles alternativas de prevención, se ha investigado en la calidad y aspectos nutracéuticos de productos agrícolas. Los fenoles son sustancias con importantes funciones en organismos vegetales que, además, poseen propiedades antioxidantes en el metabolismo celular de humanos y animales. Con objeto de cuantificar el contenido de tres ácidos fenólicos y un estilbeno, fueron realizados análisis por cromatografía de líquidos de alta resolución (HPLC-UV/Vis) en extractos metanólicos de hojas provenientes de 97 accesiones de vides silvestres (Vitis spp.) de Puebla, México que crecían en su ambiente natural desde 207 hasta 2175 msnm. El ácido gálico fue el más común de los metabolitos ya que se presentó en 96 de las 97 muestras, el rutín fue la segunda sustancia en común y se identificó en 80 muestras; el ácido caféico se presentó en 29 y finalmente el resveratrol en 14. Las hojas de vides silvestres poseen diversas sustancias antioxidantes que podrían tener múltiples beneficios en la salud humana; además la adecuada conservación, mantenimiento y aprovechamiento de este género provee servicios ambientales y el equilibrio de ecosistemas.

[Investigation of iron powder, hydrogen peroxide and iron hydrogen peroxide for removal of acid yellow powder 36 dye from aqueous solutions]

A great part of organic compounds cause more pollution in natural waters meet, are chemical dye material. Azo dyes have more usage in different industries. Azo dyes not only give undesirable dye to the water but also have mutation potential and carcinogenesis effects in human and cause the production of toxic substances in water environments. The purpose of this study is investigation of iron powder, hydrogen peroxide and iron powder-hydrogen peroxide processes in removal of acid yellow 36 dye from aqueous solutions. This study was conducted in laboratory scale. At this experiment synthetic solution was made from acid yellow 36 dye, and the removal of acid yellow 36 dye was studied by iron powder, hydrogen peroxide and iron powder-hydrogen peroxide processes .Also effect of dye concentration, pH solution, hydrogen peroxide concentration, iron powder concentration and the time of contact on decolorization, were evaluated. The results showed that iron powder-hydrogen peroxide process, compared to two other process has high decolorization power. Removal efficacy of iron powder-hydrogen peroxide process with H[2]O[2]=23.33 ml / L, pH=3, iron powder 2000 mg/L and 60 minute, was about 97.9% In general this investigation showed that, this method [Iron powder-hydrogen peroxide process] has high efficiency for removal of Azo dyes. But application this method in the industry, should be economically evaluated

Characterization and application of tannase produced by Aspergillus niger ITCC 6514.07 on pomegranate rind

Extracellular tannase and gallic acid were produced optimally under submerged fermentation at 37 0C, 72 h, pH 5.0, 10 percent(v/v) inoculum and 4 percent(w/v) of the agroresidue pomegranate rind (PR) powder by an Aspergillus niger isolate. Tannic acid (1 percent) stimulated the enzyme production by 245.9 percent while with 0.5 percent glucose, increase was marginal. Tannase production was inhibited by gallic acid and nitrogen sources such as NH4NO3, NH4Cl, KNO3, asparatic acid, urea and EDTA. The partially purified enzyme showed temperature and pH optima of 35 0C and 6.2 respectively which shifted to 40 0C and 5.8 on immobilization in alginate beads. Activity of the enzyme was inhibited by Zn+2, Ca+, Mn+2, Mg+2, Ba+2and Ag+. The immobilized enzyme removed 68.8 percent tannin from juice of aonla/myrobalan (Phyllanthus emblica), a tropical fruit, rich in vitamin C and other essential nutrients. The enzymatic treatment of the juice with minimum reduction in vitamin C is encouraging as non enzymatic treatments of myrobalan juice results in vitamin C removal.

Phytochemical and biological study of certain Terminalia species growing in Egypt

A comparative study of the lipid, fatty acids, protein and amino acid content of the fruits of four Terminalia species, viz., T.bellerica Roxb., T.arjuna W. and A., T.muelleri Benth. and T.myriocarpa Heurck and Muell. is carried out. Determination of the tannin content of the different organs; bark, stem, leaf and fruit, isolation and identification of ethyl gallate and gallic acid from the fruits of T. bellerica as well as apigenin-7 -O-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-glucoside from the leaves of the same plant is achieved. A toxicological study, pharmacological and antimicrobial screening of the alcohol and aqueous extracts of the fruits and bark of T. bellerica is also carried out