Bioactive compounds in the stem bark of Albizia coriaria (Welw. ex Oliver)

Albizia coriaria was investigated for the bioactive compounds present in its stem bark. The plant was selected on the basis of its widespread use in traditional herbal medicine. Extraction of the plant material was done with ethyl acetate, methanol and water and the bioactivity of each extract was tested against  Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Separation and purification of the compounds in the most active (ethyl acetate) extract was done using a  combination of chromatographic techniques. The compounds were identified by 1D and 2D -1H and 13C NMR techniques as well as Mass spectrometry (MS). Six compounds, namely: Lupeol (1), Lupenone (2), Betulinic acid (3), Acacic acid lactone (4), (+) – Catechin (5) and Benzyl alcohol (6) were identified and  characterized from the ethyl acetate extract. The results of the bioactivity tests carried out in this study indicated that A. coriaria has potential antimicrobial activity. Four of the characterized compounds (1, 2, 3 & 5) have a wide range of biological activity reported in literature. This justifies the use of this plant in traditional medicine and indicates a promising potential for the development of medicinal agents from A. coriaria stem bark.Keywords: Biological activity, Lupeol, Lupenone, Betulinic acid, Acacic acid lactone, (+) – Catechin

Quantifying the Effect of Pyraclostrobin on Grainfill Period and Kernel Dry Matter Accumulation in Maize

Strobilurin fungicides are effective against a wide range of foliar fungal diseases on several crops and may offer additional physiological benefits, including plants staying green longer than normal (the stay-green effect ). It has been hypothesized that the stay-green effect may extend the grain fill period leading to increased grain yield due to a longer period of dry matter accumulation. We investigated the effect of pyraclostrobin fungicide applied at tasseling on foliar disease suppression, stalk rot severity, the stay-green effect of leaves in the upper canopy, dry matter accumulation, time at physiological maturity, grain yield, and moisture at harvest in maize from 2008 through 2010 in Iowa at six location years. Foliar disease severity was0.1) between pyraclostrobin-treated and non-treated maize in all location years, treated plots tended to have higher yield and grain moisture. Time at physiological maturity did not differ between pyraclostrobin-treated and nontreated plots (P \u3e 0.1). Although we demonstrated an application of pyraclostrobin to maize delayed senescence of the leaves thus contributing to the stay-green effect, our data did not show grain-fill period extension

A Review of the Toxicity and Phytochemistry of Medicinal Plant Species Used by Herbalists in Treating People Living With HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Introduction: Despite concerns about toxicity, potentially harmful effects and herb-drug interactions, the use of herbal medicines remains widely practiced by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Uganda. Objective: The objective of the paper was to comprehensively review the literature on the toxicity and chemical composition of commonly used medicinal plant species in treating PLHIV in Uganda. Methods: We reviewed relevant articles and books published over the last sixty years on ethnobotany, antiviral/anti-HIV activity, toxicity, phytochemistry of Vachellia hockii, Albizia coriaria, Bridelia micrantha, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, Erythrina abyssinica, Gardenia ternifolia, Gymnosporia senegalensis, Psorospermum febrifugium, Securidaca longipendunculata, Warburgia ugandensis and Zanthoxylum chalybeum and their synonyms. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Discussion: Most of the plant species reviewed apart from P. febrifugium, S. longipedunculata and C. sanguinolenta lacked detailed phytochemical analyses as well as the quantification and characterization of their constituents. Crude plant extracts were the most commonly used. However, purified/single component extracts from different plant parts were also used in some studies. The U87 human glioblastoma was the most commonly used cell line. Water, ethanol, methanol and DMSO were the commonest solvents used. In some instances, isolated purified compounds/extracts such as Cryptolepine and Psorospermin were used. Conclusion: Cytotoxicity varied with cell type, solvent and extract type used making it difficult for direct comparison of the plant species. Five of the eleven plant species namely, A. coriaria, C. sanguinolenta, G. ternifolia, P. febrifugium and Z. chalybeum had no cytotoxicity studies in animal models. For the remaining six plant species, the crude aqueous and ethanol extracts were mainly used in acute oral toxicity studies in mice. Herbalists reported only A. coriaria and W. ugandensis to cause toxic side effects in humans. However, selective cytotoxic plant extracts can potentially be beneficial as anticancer or anti-tumour drugs

Successful interruption of the transmission of Onchocerca volvulus in Mpamba-Nkusi focus, Kibaale district, mid-western Uganda

Background: The Mpamba-Nkusi onchocerciasis focus is situated in the mid-western part of Uganda. It has an area of 300 km2 and used to have Simulium neavei as the vector which develops in a phoretic association on freshwater crabs. Ground larviciding with temephos (Abate EC500) was initiated in June 2002. All the 330 communities in this focus have undergone annual treatment with ivermectin since 1995 and were later shifted to semi-annual treatment in 2009.Objective: To establish the impact of mass drug administration in combination with larviciding on the interruption of O. volvulus transmission.Design: Longitudinal studySetting: Rural areas in Mpamba-Nkusi focus, Kibaale district.Subjects: Individuals five years and above living in the focus.Interventions: Annual and semi-annual treatment with ivermectin supplemented by vector elimination were used. Epidemiological, entomological and serological assessments were conducted.Results: Freshwater crabs (n = 14,391) caught from monitoring sites (n = 41) since 2008 were negative for immature stages of S. neavei. The S.neavei population was reduced following trial and initiation of ground larviciding. No adult S. neavei has been caught in the focus for over five years. Parasitological examination of individuals residing in the focus revealed a microfilaria (mf) prevalence of 0.3% (95% CI 0 – 0.65%; n = 732) in 2012. Serological assays testing for Onchocerca volvulus antibodies conducted on 3351 children <15 years in 2009 indicated point prevalence of 0.6% , (95% CI, 0.3-0.8%) while in 2012 another survey conducted among 3,407 children, only 1/3407 (0.03%, 95% CI, 0-0.09%) individual was positive for O. volvulus antibodies.Conclusions: Epidemiological and entomological findings suggest that interruption of transmission has been achieved

Performance Characteristics of qPCR Assays Targeting Human- and Ruminant-Associated Bacteroidetes for Microbial Source Tracking across Sixteen Countries on Six Continents

Numerous quantitative PCR assays for microbial fecal source tracking (MST) have been developed and evaluated in recent years. Widespread application has been hindered by a lack of knowledge regarding the geographical stability and hence applicability of such methods beyond the regional level. This study assessed the performance of five previously reported quantitative PCR assays targeting human-, cattle-, or ruminant-associated Bacteroidetes populations on 280 human and animal fecal samples from 16 countries across six continents. The tested cattle-associated markers were shown to be ruminant-associated. The quantitative distributions of marker concentrations in target and nontarget samples proved to be essential for the assessment of assay performance and were used to establish a new metric for quantitative source-specificity. In general, this study demonstrates that stable target populations required for marker-based MST occur around the globe. Ruminant-associated marker concentrations were strongly correlated with total intestinal Bacteroidetes populations and with each other, indicating that the detected ruminant-associated populations seem to be part of the intestinal core microbiome of ruminants worldwide. Consequently tested ruminant-targeted assays appear to be suitable quantitative MST tools beyond the regional level while the targeted human-associated populations seem to be less prevalent and stable, suggesting potential for improvements in human-targeted methods

Extreme Conservation Leads to Recovery of the Virunga Mountain Gorillas

As wildlife populations are declining, conservationists are under increasing pressure to measure the effectiveness of different management strategies. Conventional conservation measures such as law enforcement and community development projects are typically designed to minimize negative human influences upon a species and its ecosystem. In contrast, we define “extreme” conservation as efforts targeted to deliberately increase positive human influences, including veterinary care and close monitoring of individual animals. Here we compare the impact of both conservation approaches upon the population growth rate of the critically endangered Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which increased by 50% since their nadir in 1981, from approximately 250 to nearly 400 gorillas. Using demographic data from 1967–2008, we show an annual decline of 0.7%±0.059% for unhabituated gorillas that received intensive levels of conventional conservation approaches, versus an increase 4.1%±0.088% for habituated gorillas that also received extreme conservation measures. Each group of habituated gorillas is now continuously guarded by a separate team of field staff during daylight hours and receives veterinary treatment for snares, respiratory disease, and other life-threatening conditions. These results suggest that conventional conservation efforts prevented a severe decline of the overall population, but additional extreme measures were needed to achieve positive growth. Demographic stochasticity and socioecological factors had minimal impact on variability in the growth rates. Veterinary interventions could account for up to 40% of the difference in growth rates between habituated versus unhabituated gorillas, with the remaining difference likely arising from greater protection against poachers. Thus, by increasing protection and facilitating veterinary treatment, the daily monitoring of each habituated group contributed to most of the difference in growth rates. Our results argue for wider consideration of extreme measures and offer a startling view of the enormous resources that may be needed to conserve some endangered species

Incidence of \u3ci\u3eWheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus\u3c/i\u3e, and \u3ci\u3eWheat mosaic virus\u3c/i\u3e in Wheat Curl Mites Recovered from Maturing Winter Wheat Spikes

Wheat curl mites (WCM; Aceria tosichella) transmit Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV), and Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV) to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Great Plains region of the United States. These viruses can be detected in single, double, or triple combinations in leaf samples. Information on incidence of viruses inWCM at the end of the growing season is scant. The availability of this information can enhance our knowledge of the epidemiology ofWCM-transmitted viruses. This research was conducted to determine the frequency of occurrence of WSMV, TriMV, and WMoV in WCM populations on fieldcollected maturing wheat spikes and to determine differences in WCM densities in three geographical regions (southeast, west-central, and panhandle) in Nebraska. Maturing wheat spikes were collected from 83 fields across Nebraska in 2011 and 2012. The spikes were placed in proximity to wheat seedlings (three- to four-leaf stage) inWCM-proof cages in a growth chamber and on sticky tape.WCM that moved off the drying wheat spikes in cages infested the wheat seedlings. WCM that moved off wheat spikes placed on sticky tape were trapped on the tape and were counted under a dissecting microscope. At 28 days after infestation, the wheat plants were tested for the presence ofWSMV, TriMV, orWMoV using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and multiplex polymerase chain reaction. WSMV was the most predominant virus detected in wheat seedlings infested with WCM from field-collected spikes. Double (TriMV+WSMV or WMoV+WSMV) or triple (TriMV+ WMoV +WSMV) virus detections were more frequent (47%) than single detections (5%) of TriMV or WSMV. Overall, 81% of the wheat seedlings infested with WCM tested positive for at least one virus. No significant association (P \u3e 0.05) was found between regions for WCM trapped on tape. These results suggest that WCM present on mature wheat spikes harbor multiple wheat viruses and may explain high virus incidence when direct movement of WCM into emerging winter wheat occurs in the fall

Quantifying the Effect of Pyraclostrobin on Grainfill Period and Kernel Dry Matter Accumulation in Maize

Strobilurin fungicides are effective against a wide range of foliar fungal diseases on several crops and may offer additional physiological benefits, including plants staying green longer than normal (the "stay-green effect"). It has been hypothesized that the stay-green effect may extend the grain fill period leading to increased grain yield due to a longer period of dry matter accumulation. We investigated the effect of pyraclostrobin fungicide applied at tasseling on foliar disease suppression, stalk rot severity, the stay-green effect of leaves in the upper canopy, dry matter accumulation, time at physiological maturity, grain yield, and moisture at harvest in maize from 2008 through 2010 in Iowa at six location years. Foliar disease severity was0.1) between pyraclostrobin-treated and non-treated maize in all location years, treated plots tended to have higher yield and grain moisture. Time at physiological maturity did not differ between pyraclostrobin-treated and nontreated plots (P > 0.1). Although we demonstrated an application of pyraclostrobin to maize delayed senescence of the leaves thus contributing to the stay-green effect, our data did not show grain-fill period extension.This article is published as Byamukama, E., Abendroth, L. J., Elmore, R. W., and Robertson, A. E. 2013. Quantifying the effect of Pyraclostrobin on grain-fill period and kernel dry matter accumulation in maize. Plant Health Progress doi: 10.1094/PHP-2013-1024-02-RS. Posted with permission.</p