Prospecção fitoquímica de Himatanthus drasticus Plumel (Apocynaceae), da mesorregião leste maranhense / Phytochemical screening of Himatanthus drasticus Plumel (Apocynaceae), from the eastern mesoregion of Maranhão, Brazil

O uso indiscriminado de Himatanthus drasticus (Janaúba) por pequenos caprinocultores no controle de verminose em pequenos ruminantes foi o que motivou a realização do estudo fitoquímico do mesmo. Cascas da janaúba foram coletadas na mesorregião Leste do Maranhão e conduzidas aos laboratórios de Nutrição da Universidade Estadual do Maranhão e de Produtos Naturais da Universidade Federal do Maranhão para a identificação botânica e fitoquímica pela metodologia da Prospecção Preliminar e CCD, realizando testes para as diversas classes de metabólitos secundários. A partir das cascas do vegetal moído e desidratado foi realizado o preparo do extrato bruto (EB). O material foi colocado em uma mistura hidroalcoólica de EtOH: H2O (7:3 v:v), e submetido a agitação mecânica esporádica. Os Subextratos foram obtidos a partir do EBHA pelo processo de partição líquido-líquido, ETOH: H2O (2:1, v:v). As misturas foram preparadas com os seguintes solventes orgânicos de polaridades crescentes: hexano, acetato de etila e butanol. As análises cromatográficas evidenciaram a presença de grupos de metabólitos secundários no extrato e nos subextratos. As classes de metabólitos secundários que apresentaram maior expressividade na análise de prospecção foram os alcaloides e taninos, enquanto que na analise por CCD foram os flavonoides e terpenos, indicando o potencial da ação farmacológica das cascas de H. drasticus.

The indiscriminate use of the plant Himatanthus drasticus (Janaúba) by small goat farmers to control nematode parasites in small ruminants was the aim of this phytochemical study of the plant. Barks were collected in the eastern mesoregion of the state of Maranhão, Brazil, and sent to the laboratory for botanical and phytochemical identification by the methodology of Preliminary Prospecting and TLC, testing for the various classes of secondary metabolites. From the ground, dehydrated bark, we conducted the preparation of the crude extract (CE). The material was placed in a water-alcohol mixture of EtOH:H2O (7:3 v:v) and subjected to sporadic mechanical agitation. The subextracts were obtained using the HACE process by liquid-liquid partition, ETOH:H2O (2:1, v:v). The mixtures were prepared with organic solvents of increasing polarity, such as hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol. The GC analysis showed the presence of groups of secondary metabolites in the extract and subextractes. The classes of secondary metabolites that showed greater expressiveness are the alkaloids and tannins, when analyzed by prospecting, and flavonoids and terpenes, when analyzed by TLC, and H. drasticus presents elements indicative of pharmacological action.

Removal of malachite green from water by Firmiana simplex wood fiber / Eliminación de malaquita verde del agua con fibra de madera Firmiana simple

This study shows that wood fiber of Phoenix tree (Firmiana simplex) is an effective adsorbent for malachite green (MG). MG sorption behavior onto the wood adsorbent was investigated in this study. Basic condition was favorable for MG adsorption to the adsorbent. The pseudo second order equation well described MG adsorption onto the wood adsorbent. The Freundlich Isotherm could describe the sorption data. The positive value of AH0 showed that adsorption of malachite green onto the wood adsorbent was endothermic. The negative values of AG at various temperatures indicate the spontaneous nature of the adsorption process.

In vitro response of encapsulated somatic embryos of Lagerstroemia indica L.

A method to produce encapsulatable units for synthetic seeds was developed in L. indica. Somatic embryos were harvested from leaf derived embryogenic callus on Murashige and Skoog's basal medium supplemented with 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2, 4-D, 0.5 mg/l), 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP, 1 mg/l) and ascorbic acid (AA, 50 mg/l). The embryos were encapsulated in alginate beads and dehydrated. Germination ability of the artificial seeds were investigated. The frequency of regeneration from the encapsulated embryos was significantly affected by (i) the concentration of alginate (ii) the duration of storage, and (iii) the effect of different types of media. A 2% sodium alginate concentration on MS salts resulted in significantly higher germination frequencies than at other concentrations. L. indica showed maximum germination on MS medium (93.84%) after 6 weeks of culture. The germinated synthetic seeds with well developed roots and shoots were transferred successfully to green house. This is the first report on artificial seeds in Lagerstroemnia indica.

Efficacy of Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) on N-nitrosodiethylamine induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats.

The effect of ethanolic extract of Terminalia arjuna bark on carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes of N-nitrosodiethylamine induced hepatocellular carcinoma in Wistar albino rats were studied. The plasma and liver glycolytic enzymes such as hexokinase, phosphoglucoisomerase, aldolase were significantly increased in cancer induced animals while glyconeogenic enzyme, glucose-6-phosphatase was decreased. These enzymes were reverted significantly to near normal range in treated animals after oral administration of T. arjuna for 28 days. The modulation of the enzymes constitute the depletion of energy metabolism leads to inhibition of cancer growth. This inhibitory activity may be due to the anticancer activity of constituents present in the ethanolic extract of T. arjuna.