FLORA DO ESTRATO HERBÁCEO DA RESTINGA DA PRAIA DO CAÚRA, SÃO JOSÉ DE RIBAMAR, MARANHÃO

Este estudo teve por objetivo registrar a flora do componente herbáceo da restinga da Praia do Caúra, apontando a riqueza, formas de vida e trazendo contribuições para o conhecimento florístico do litoral maranhense. O estudo foi desenvolvido na restinga da Praia do Caúra (02º33’14,20’’S, 44º02’13,99’’W), São José de Ribamar. Foram realizadas coletas mensais, do estrato herbáceo, entre 2015 a 2017, por meio de buscas exploratórias nos diferentes trechos darestinga. Foram identificadas 85 espécies, 68 gêneros e 28 famílias. As famílias mais representativas foram Fabaceae, com 16 espécies e Cyperaceae, com 12 espécies, seguido de Poaceae (9 spp), Asteraceae (6 spp), Euphorbiaceae e Passifloraceae, com 5 espécies, cada. A espécie Passiflora porophylla foi registrada pela primeira vez para o Maranhão. Foram identificados seis tipos de formas de vida (Caméfitos, Geófitos, Hemicriptófito, Holoparasita,Terófito e Trepadeira). Por fim, a riqueza registrada na área reforça a necessidade de manutenção da vegetação de restinga diante da perda da flora que vem acontecendo no local.Palavras-chave: Riqueza de espécies; Formas de vida; Costa maranhense; Nordeste. ABSTRACTThis paper aimed to record the flora of the herbaceous component of Praia do Caúra restinga, pointing out the richness, life-forms, and bringing contributions to the floristic knowledge of the coast of Maranhão state. The study was carried out in the Praia do Caúra restinga (02º33’14.20’’S, 44º02’13.99’’W), in the municipality of São José de Ribamar. Monthly collections of herbaceous strata were carried out between 2015 to 2017, through exploratory walks in the different stretches of the restinga. In the study area, 85 species, 68 genera and 28 families were identified. The most representative families were Fabaceae, with 16 species, and Cyperaceae, with 12 species, Poaceae (9 spp), Asteraceae (6 spp), Euphorbiaceae, and Passifloraceae, with 5 species, each. Passiflora porophylla was registered for the first time in Maranhão state. There were identified six types of life forms (chamaephytes, geophytes, Hemicryptophyte, Holoparasite, Terophyte and Vine. Therefore, the high number of speciesrecorded in the area reinforces the need to maintain restinga vegetation because of the loss of flora that has been happening in the area.Keywords: Species richness; Life-forms; Coast Maranhão; Northeast

LEVANTAMENTO FLORÍSTICO E FISIONÔMICO DA RESTINGA DA PRAIA DA GUIA, SÃO LUÍS, MARANHÃO

O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar um levantamento florístico, descrever as fisionomias e formas biológicas das espécies fanerogâmicas da restinga da Praia da Guia. A área de estudo encontra-se situada a noroeste da Ilha do Maranhão (2°31’53.05’’S; 44°20’30.48’W), município de São Luís. O levantamento florístico foi realizado durante o período de agosto de 2015 a maio de 2017 por meio de caminhadas exploratórias ao longo de toda a área de estudo. O material foi identificado através de consulta a literatura específica e a classificação fisionômica utilizada seguiu métodos propostos em restingas do nordeste do Brasil. O levantamento contemplou 129 espécies, 105 gêneros e 46 famílias, sendo as famílias Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae e Cyperaceae as mais representativas. A riqueza de espécies encontrada no presente estudo mostrou-se elevada assim como em outros estudos similares realizados em restingas do Maranhão, mostrando a necessidade de investigar a composição florística, contribuindo assim para um conhecimento mais aprofundado sobre a riqueza fanerogâmica das restingas brasileiras

Toxicology and safety of the tincture of Operculina alata in patients with functional constipation

The tincture of Operculina alata, popularly known as "tincture of jalapa", is used in Northeast Brazil to treat constipation and encephalic vascular accident, but it has not yet been adequately tested for safety and efficacy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicology and safety of the tincture of O. alata in patients with functional constipation. This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study consisted of three phases: pre-treatment, treatment and post-treatment, each phase with duration of seven days. Arterial pressure, heart rate, body weight, adverse events, hematological, metabolic, liver and kidney functions were monitored. Forty patients were randomized to receive tincture of O. alata and 43 patients to receive placebo. There were statistical differences in the clinical aspects between groups, but these changes were not considered clinically significant. Adverse events were considered not serious and of mild intensity, especially dizziness, headache, abdominal pain and nausea. This clinical trial confirmed the safety of the tincture of O. alata in the pharmaceutical form and dosage tested, allowing the product to be safely used in a larger population for the assessment of its clinical efficacy.A tintura de Operculina alata, popularmente conhecida como "tintura de jalapa", é usada no Nordeste do Brasil para tratar constipação intestinal e acidente vascular encefálico, mas sua eficácia e segurança ainda não foram confirmadas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a toxicologia e segurança da tintura de O. alata em pacientes com constipação intestinal funcional. Este foi um ensaio clínico duplo-cego, randomizado e controlado por placebo. O estudo consistiu de três fases: pré-tratamento, tratamento e pós-tratamento, cada fase com duração de sete dias. Foram monitorizados a pressão arterial, frequência cardíaca, peso corporal, eventos adversos e funções hematológica, metabólica, hepática e renal. Quarenta pacientes foram randomizados para receber tintura de O. alata e 43 pacientes para receber placebo. Houve diferenças estatísticas nos aspectos clínicos entre os grupos, contudo, estas mudanças não foram consideradas clinicamente significativas. Eventos adversos foram considerados não sérios e de leve intensidade, especialmente, cefaléia, tontura, dor abdominal e náusea. Este ensaio clínico confirmou a segurança da tintura de O. alata na forma farmacêutica e dosagem testada, permitindo que o produto seja testado em população maior para determinar sua eficácia clínica

Toxicology and safety of the tincture of Operculina alata in patients with functional constipation

The tincture of Operculina alata, popularly known as "tincture of jalapa", is used in Northeast Brazil to treat constipation and encephalic vascular accident, but it has not yet been adequately tested for safety and efficacy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicology and safety of the tincture of O. alata in patients with functional constipation. This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study consisted of three phases: pre-treatment, treatment and post-treatment, each phase with duration of seven days. Arterial pressure, heart rate, body weight, adverse events, hematological, metabolic, liver and kidney functions were monitored. Forty patients were randomized to receive tincture of O. alata and 43 patients to receive placebo. There were statistical differences in the clinical aspects between groups, but these changes were not considered clinically significant. Adverse events were considered not serious and of mild intensity, especially dizziness, headache, abdominal pain and nausea. This clinical trial confirmed the safety of the tincture of O. alata in the pharmaceutical form and dosage tested, allowing the product to be safely used in a larger population for the assessment of its clinical efficacy.A tintura de Operculina alata, popularmente conhecida como "tintura de jalapa", é usada no Nordeste do Brasil para tratar constipação intestinal e acidente vascular encefálico, mas sua eficácia e segurança ainda não foram confirmadas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a toxicologia e segurança da tintura de O. alata em pacientes com constipação intestinal funcional. Este foi um ensaio clínico duplo-cego, randomizado e controlado por placebo. O estudo consistiu de três fases: pré-tratamento, tratamento e pós-tratamento, cada fase com duração de sete dias. Foram monitorizados a pressão arterial, frequência cardíaca, peso corporal, eventos adversos e funções hematológica, metabólica, hepática e renal. Quarenta pacientes foram randomizados para receber tintura de O. alata e 43 pacientes para receber placebo. Houve diferenças estatísticas nos aspectos clínicos entre os grupos, contudo, estas mudanças não foram consideradas clinicamente significativas. Eventos adversos foram considerados não sérios e de leve intensidade, especialmente, cefaléia, tontura, dor abdominal e náusea. Este ensaio clínico confirmou a segurança da tintura de O. alata na forma farmacêutica e dosagem testada, permitindo que o produto seja testado em população maior para determinar sua eficácia clínica

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost