ABSTRACT
The genus Coryssiphus Simon, 1903 is redescribed and found to be composed of two species. Coryssiphus unicolor Simon, 1903 is synonymised with C. cinerascens Simon, 1903, being the female of that species. Coryssiphus praeustus Simon, 1903 and C. cinerascens are redescribed and the genus is transferred from Liocranidae to Miturgidae: Systariinae based on a number of somatic and genitalic characters. The peculiar presence of Coryssiphus in Africa is briefly discussed.
Subject(s)
Spiders , Female , Animals , Animal DistributionABSTRACT
The genus Carteronius Simon, 1897 is transferred from Clubionidae to Corinnidae and recognized as the senior synonym of Mandaneta Strand, 1932, being the oldest available name for the pre-occupied Mandane Karsch, 1880. Upon comparing the respective type specimens, the type species of Carteronius and the type species of Mandaneta were found to represent the same species. Whence the type species Carteronius helluo Simon, 1896, is considered a junior synonym of the type species Mandaneta sudana (Karsch, 1880). Three other species of Carteronius are transferred to Donuea Strand, 1932 (Corinnidae): D. fuscus (Simon, 1896) comb. nov. from Mauritius, D. vittiger (Simon, 1896) comb. nov. and D. argenticomus (Keyserling, 1877) comb. nov., both from Madagascar. The type species, Carteronius sudanus comb. nov., from Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and C. gentilis (Simon, 1909) comb. nov., from Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon (the latter transferred from Procopius Thorell, 1899) are redescribed, and the female of C. gentilis is described for the first time. Six new species of Carteronius are described: C. ashanti Bonaldo & Silva-Junior sp. nov. from Ghana, C. myene Bonaldo & Labarque sp. nov., and C. simoni Bonaldo & Shimano sp. nov. from Gabon, C. lumumba Bonaldo & Ramírez sp. nov. from Cameroon, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and C. arboreus Bonaldo & Haddad sp. nov. and C. teke Bonaldo & Bosselaers sp. nov. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A key and distribution maps to all eight species in the genus are presented. The related Bunyoronius Bonaldo, Ramírez & Haddad gen. nov. is proposed to include B. femoralis Bonaldo, Ramírez & Haddad sp. nov. from the Central African Republic, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Subject(s)
Spiders , Female , Animals , Animal DistributionABSTRACT
A new species of Heser Tuneva, 2005 (Gnaphosidae) is described from the south of India. A key is provided to the species of Heser and the importance of Gnaphosidae for the study of world spider biodiversity is briefly discussed.
ABSTRACT
A bioassay-guided fractionation of Juniperus procera berries yielded antiparasitic, nematicidal and antifouling constituents, including a wide range of known abietane, pimarane and labdane diterpenes. Among these, abieta-7,13-diene (1) demonstrated in vitro antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2 strains (IC(50) = 1.9 and 2.0 microg/mL, respectively), while totarol (6), ferruginol (7) and 7beta-hydroxyabieta-8,13-diene-11,12-dione (8) inhibited Leishmania donovani promastigotes with IC(50) values of 3.5-4.6 microg/mL. In addition, totarol demonstrated nematicidal and antifouling activities against Caenorhabditis elegans and Artemia salina at a concentration of 80 microg/mL and 1 microg/mL, respectively. The resinous exudate of J. virginiana afforded known antibacterial E-communic acid (4) and 4-epi-abietic acid (5), while the volatile oil from its trunk wood revealed large quantities of cedrol (9). Using GC/MS, the two known abietanes totarol (6) and ferruginol (7) were identified from the berries of J. procera, J. excelsa and J. phoenicea.
Subject(s)
Abietanes/pharmacology , Antinematodal Agents/pharmacology , Antiprotozoal Agents/pharmacology , Diterpenes/pharmacology , Juniperus/chemistry , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Artemia/drug effects , Caenorhabditis elegans/drug effects , Fruit/chemistry , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry , Leishmania donovani/drug effects , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Plasmodium falciparum/drug effects , Resins, Plant/chemistryABSTRACT
Cussonia holstii is a traditional medicinal plant used in Kenya, which has not been studied chemically up-to-date. Upon biological screening, a substantial antitrichomonas activity was found in the dichloromethane extract of the bark of Cussonia holstii. A detailed chromatographic study using centrifugal partition chromatography revealed that a pentacyclic triterpenoid, i.e., hederagenin, is the antitrichomonas constituent of the plant with a IC50 of 2.8 microM.
Subject(s)
Antitrichomonal Agents/pharmacology , Araliaceae , Oleanolic Acid/analogs & derivatives , Oleanolic Acid/pharmacology , Phytotherapy , Trichomonas vaginalis/drug effects , Animals , Antitrichomonal Agents/administration & dosage , Antitrichomonal Agents/therapeutic use , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Humans , Inhibitory Concentration 50 , Oleanolic Acid/administration & dosage , Oleanolic Acid/therapeutic use , Plant Bark , Plant Extracts/administration & dosage , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plant Extracts/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Bioassay-guided fractionation of the dichloromethane extracts of the roots and the bark of Zanthoxylum usambarense led to the isolation of two physiologically active compounds, i.e. canthin-6-one 1 (fungicide) and pellitorine 4 (insecticide). Together with oxychelerythrine 2, norchelerythrine 3, (+)-sesamin 5 and (+)-piperitol-3,3-dimethylallyl ether 6, they were isolated for the first time from this plant.