Adubação orgânica na produção de biomassa de plantas, teor e qualidade de óleo essencial de orégano (Origanum vulgare L. ) em cultivo protegido / Organic fertilization on phytomass production and essential oil content and quality of oregano (Origanum vulgare L. ) under protected cultivation

Origanum vulgare L., conhecida como orégano, é considerada planta condimentar largamente usada na culinária. No Brasil poucas são as pesquisas com esta espécie visando maximização das técnicas de cultivo. Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos de diferentes doses dos adubos orgânicos bovino e aves no crescimento de plantas, teor de clorofila, teor, rendimento e qualidade do óleo essencial de orégano cultivado sob estufa. Foram conduzidos dois ensaios, sendo um com esterco bovino e o outro com esterco de aves (Poedeira). Plantas de orégano (Origanum vulgare L.) foram cultivadas em vasos de 10 L submetidas aos seguintes tratamentos: Ensaio I: Esterco bovino: 1) Solo sem adubação (controle); 2) solo + 3,0 kg m-2 de esterco bovino; 3) solo + 6,0 kg m-2 de esterco bovino; 4) solo + 9,0 kg m-2 de esterco bovino; 5) solo + 12,0 kg m-2 de esterco bovino; Ensaio II - Esterco de aves: 1) solo sem adubação (Controle); 2) solo + 1,5 kg m-2 de esterco de galinha; 3) solo + 3,0 kg m-2 de esterco de galinha; 4) solo + 4,5 kg m-2 de esterco de galinha e 5) solo + 6,0 kg m-2 de esterco de galinha. Ambos os ensaios foram conduzidos em delineamento blocos ao acaso com 4 repetições e a parcela experimental composta de 4 vasos. Foi observado que as doses de adubos bovino e avícola influenciaram significativamente no crescimento das plantas, rendimento e composição química do óleo essencial de orégano.

Origanum vulgare L., known as oregano or wild marjoram, is an aromatic plant widely used in cookery. In Brazil, there are few studies with this species aimed at improving the cultivation techniques. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different levels of cattle and chicken organic manure on plant growth, chlorophyll content, besides essential oil content, yield and quality of oregano grown in a greenhouse. Two assays were carried out, one of them used cattle manure and the other, chicken manure (Hen). Oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) plants were grown in 10L-pots and subjected to the following treatments: Assay I: Cattle manure: 1) Soil without fertilization (control); 2) Soil + 3.0 kg m-2 cattle manure; 3) Soil + 6.0 kg m-2 cattle manure; 4) Soil + 9.0 kg m-2 cattle manure; and 5) Soil + 12.0 kg m-2 cattle manure; Assay II: Chicken manure: 1) Soil without fertilization (control); 2) Soil + 1.5 kg m-2 chicken manure; 3) Soil + 3.0 kg m-2 chicken manure; 4) Soil + 4.5 kg m-2 chicken manure; and 5) Soil + 6.0 kg m-2 chicken manure. The experimental design for both assays was in randomized blocks with four replicates and four pots per plot. Cattle and chicken manure levels significantly influenced oregano plant growth besides essential oil yield and chemical composition.

Skipping of exon 30 in C5 gene results in complete human C5 deficiency and demonstrates the importance of C5d and CUB domains for stability.

The deficiency of complement C5 is rare and frequently associated with severe and recurrent infections, especially caused by Neisseria spp. We observed the absence of component C5 in the serum of 3 siblings from a Brazilian family with history of consanguinity. The patients had suffered from recurrent episodes of meningitis and other less severe infections. Sera from these patients were unable to mediate hemolytic activity either by the classical or alternative pathways and presented extremely low levels of C5 protein (1.3, 0.9 and 1.0 microg/ml-normal range: 45-190 microg/ml). Hemolytic activity could be restored by the addition of purified C5 to deficient serum. Sequencing of sibling C5 cDNA revealed a homozygous 153 bp deletion that corresponds precisely to exon 30. The parents carried the same deletion but only in one allele. Sequencing of the corresponding region in the genomic DNA revealed a C to G substitution within intron 30 and, most significantly, the substitution of GAG(4028) for GAA(4028) at the 3' end of exon 30 which is most likely responsible for skipping of exon 30. The resulting in-frame deletion in the C5 mRNA codes for a mutant C5 protein lacking residues 1289-1339. These residues map to the CUB and C5d domains of the C5 alpha chain. This deletion is expected to produce a non-functional and unstable C5 protein which is more susceptible to degradation.

Deficiency of the human complement regulatory protein factor H associated with low levels of component C9.

We identified a 4-year-old Brazilian boy from a family of Japanese descent and history of consanguinity, who suffered from severe recurrent pneumonia. He carries factor H (FH) deficiency associated with reduced levels of component C9 and low serum levels of C3 and factor B. His mother also presented low levels of these proteins and factor I, while his father and sister had only lower levels of FH. Western blot assays confirmed the complete absence of FH and FHL-1 polypeptides in this patient. Sequencing of the proband's FH cDNA revealed a homozygous G453A substitution, encoding an Arg(127)His change. His mother, father and sister are heterozygous for this substitution. Despite the absence of FH in the plasma, this protein was detected in the patient's fibroblasts, suggesting that Arg(127) may be important for FH secretion. Low concentrations of C9 were detected in the proband serum but no mutations in the patient's C9 gene or promoter have been identified, suggesting that this is a consequence of uncontrolled complement activation and high C9 consumption.

Human monocyte-derived dendritic cells are a source of several complement proteins.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the role of local production of complement components by dendritic cells (DCs) during the generation of specific immune responses. In this study, we demonstrate that human DCs are an extrahepatic source of several soluble complement proteins. METHODS: Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to evaluate the expression and production of several complement proteins. RESULTS: We show that DCs produce C3, C5, C9, Factor (F)I, FH, FB, FD and properdin at levels similar to macrophages. Treatment of DCs with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) promoted an increase in the expression of C3 and FI mRNAs and a decrease in C5 mRNA, while C9, FH, FB, FD and properdin mRNA levels were not affected. Treatment with interleukin (IL) -1 or dexamethasone induced a modest increase in C3 mRNA levels and did not affect the expression of other complement components. CONCLUSION: DCs are a source of complement proteins whose synthesis may be regulated in response to different inflammatory stimuli.

Hereditary human complement C3 deficiency owing to reduced levels of C3 mRNA.

An 8-year-old son (L.A.S.) of consanguineous parents, presented recurrent bacterial infections, vasculitis and extremely low levels of serum C3 (0.15 microg/ml). The classical and alternative pathway haemolytic activities and the generation of opsonins and chemotactic factors derived from the activation of the complement system were markedly affected in the proband's serum. An in vitro addition of purified C3 restored the classical pathway-dependent haemolytic activity of his serum. Autoradiographs of the proband's lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated and 35S-labelled fibroblast supernatants after that the SDS-PAGE revealed no C3 alpha or beta chains. The amount of C3 mRNA synthesized by the proband's fibroblasts, as evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, was greatly reduced.