Biological characteristics of Orthonama obstipata (Fabricius, 1794) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), an emerging defoliator of mint (Mentha spicata L., 1753) in Morocco

The looper caterpillar, O. obstipata is one of the defoliator species of cultivated mint in Morocco. Its identification and its biology constitute the preliminary step for the development of a program aiming at its integrated management. The larvae were collected from a plot of mint grown in a region of northern central Morocco, and reared in the laboratory. The identification of the species was based on comparing the male aedeagus and the female spermatheca to the reference slides. In this study, the elements of biology and morphological characteristics of the different ecophases of O. obstipata are clarified and discussed. The life cycle of the species, from egg to egg, is completed in 31.3 ± 2.16 days. The emergence occurs linearly in time after the 27th and 28th days of oviposition according the sex. The sex ratio (Male/Female) is 0.88:1. The fecundity of the females is positively correlated with their lifespan. Females have an average fecundity of 210 eggs and a fertility rate of 97%. Adults live on average 22.0 ± 6.27 days. The highest mortality rates occur in the last larval instar and pupa. Keywords: Orthonama obstipata, Biology, Reproduction, Mentha spicat

Essential oil chemical diversity of Moroccan mint (Mentha spicata L.)

Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) is one of the best known aromatic and medicinal plants. The characterization of essential oil variation is of commercial importance as well as helpful for appropriate use of M. spicata. Thirteen strains of cultivated or spontaneous mints were collected from 10 Moroccan regions and acclimatized for two years in Meknes. Their leaves collected at full flowering were dried for hydrodistillation. Essential oil yields were found to vary from 1.32 % to 5.83 %. Analysis of these oils by GC/MS indicated a large variation in chemical composition among the studied strains of Moroccan M. spicata (9 to 51 compounds). The highest yields characterize the cultivated strains of Agadir (5.83 %), S2 of Larache (4.84 %) and the spontaneous strain S3 of Ifrane (4.17%). The richest strain in number of compounds is S3 of Ifrane with 51 compounds whereas uncultivated S2 from the same region has only 9 compounds. Some strains are rich in carvone such as the cultivated strain of Ouarzazate (65.94%) and the spontaneous S2 of Ifrane (72.3 %). Others are rich in eucalyptol, pulegone or 3-Cyclopenten-1-one, 2-hydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) such as those of Marrakech (21.1 %), Agadir (30.7 %) and S1 of Larache (22.1 %), respectively. The strains of Settat and Ifrane (S1) have high levels of limonene (17.8-18.1%). Keywords: Mentha spicata, Essential oils, Carvone, Eucalyptol, Cluster analysis, GC/M

Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch and Dalziel : Antimicrobial Activities, Cytotoxicity Evaluation, and Phytochemical Identification by GC-MS

During a previous study that identified plants used in traditional medicine in Togo to treat infectious diseases, Daniellia oliveri was specifically reported to treat intertrigo and candidiasis. Consequently, to explore the anti-infective potential of this plant, we investigated the antibacterial and the antifungal activity of the plant’s parts, as well as the cytotoxic activities of raw extracts and subsequent fractions, and the chemical composition of the most active fractions. In order to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, MICs were determined using the broth dilution method. Then, the most active fractions were evaluated for cytotoxicity by using normal human cells (MRC-5 cells) via the MTT assay. Finally, the most active and not toxic fractions were phytochemically investigated by GC-MS. Interestingly, all the raw extracts and fractions were active against the bacteria tested, with MICs ranging from 16 µg/mL to 256 µg/mL, while no antifungal activity was observed at 256 µg/mL, the highest tested concentration. Moreover, no toxicity was observed with most of the active fractions. The subsequent chemical investigation of the most interesting fractions led to identifying terpenes, phytosterols, phenolic compounds, and fatty acids as the main compounds. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that D. oliveri possesses valuable antibacterial activities in accordance with traditional use

Togo to go: Products and compounds derived from local plants for the treatment of diseases endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background: Many African countries suffer from endemic diseases which are often caused by infections and seriously affect the social and economic development of these nations. While the access to proper medication is still limited, many of these countries are, at the same time, rich in medical plants.Materials and Methods: A review of relevant scientific (and gray) literature was carried out and information obtained from local authorities in medicinal plants. A synthesis of the data obtained was thereafter performed and recommendations for the future proposed.Results: Plants such as Cissus aralioides, Securidaca longipedunculata, Piliostigma thonningii, Nauclea latifolia, Ocimum gratissimum and Newbouldia laevis are widely reported to be used in the treatment of endemic diseases in Togo and her neighbouring countries.These plants often contain highly potent chemical compounds, such as quinones, xanthones, tannins and terpenes and therefore may provide an alternative avenue to short-term treatment. A combination of further analysis of plant materials and their active ingredients on the one hand, and modern technology to turn such natural products into commercial equivalents on the other, is required in order to identify the targets and modes of action of these natural materials, unlock access to them, and ultimately produce valuable medicines and phytoprotectants based on locally grown plant materials.Conclusion: The production of plant-derived products, as advocated in this paper, is in line with the WHO’s traditional medicine strategy 2014-2023, and will eventually yield a sustainable health-and-wealth generating cycle that will benefit a countries in the region, economically and ecologically.Keywords: Togo, redox active secondary metabolites, phytochemicals, antimalarial activity,  antidiarrheal activity, tropical diseases

Turning Waste into Value: Nanosized Natural Plant Materials of Solanum incanum L. and Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir with Promising Antimicrobial Activities

Numerous plants are known to exhibit considerable biological activities in the fields of medicine and agriculture, yet access to their active ingredients is often complicated, cumbersome and expensive. As a consequence, many plants harbouring potential drugs or green phyto-protectants go largely unnoticed, especially in poorer countries which, at the same time, are in desperate need of antimicrobial agents. As in the case of plants such as the Jericho tomato, Solanum incanum, and the common African tree Pterocarpus erinaceus, nanosizing of original plant materials may provide an interesting alternative to extensive extraction and isolation procedures. Indeed, it is straightforward to obtain considerable amounts of such common, often weed-like plants, and to mill the dried material to more or less uniform particles of microscopic and nanoscopic size. These particles exhibit activity against Steinernema feltiae or Escherichia coli, which is comparable to the ones seen for processed extracts of the same, respective plants. As S. feltiae is used as a model nematode indicative of possible phyto-protective uses in the agricultural arena, these findings also showcase the potential of nanosizing of crude “waste” plant materials for specific practical applications, especially—but not exclusively—in developing countries lacking a more sophisticated industrial infrastructure

TOGO TO GO: PRODUCTS AND COMPOUNDS DERIVED FROM LOCAL PLANTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES ENDEMIC IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Background: Many African countries suffer from endemic diseases which are often caused by infections and seriously affect the social and economic development of these nations. While the access to proper medication is still limited, many of these countries are, at the same time, rich in medical plants. Materials and Methods: A review of relevant scientific (and gray) literature was carried out and information obtained from local authorities in medicinal plants. A synthesis of the data obtained was thereafter performed and recommendations for the future proposed. Results: Plants such as Cissus aralioides, Securidaca longipedunculata, Piliostigma thonningii, Nauclea latifolia, Ocimum gratissimum and Newbouldia laevis are widely reported to be used in the treatment of endemic diseases in Togo and her neighbouring countries.These plants often contain highly potent chemical compounds, such as quinones, xanthones, tannins and terpenes and therefore may provide an alternative avenue to short-term treatment. A combination of further analysis of plant materials and their active ingredients on the one hand, and modern technology to turn such natural products into commercial equivalents on the other, is required in order to identify the targets and modes of action of these natural materials, unlock access to them, and ultimately produce valuable medicines and phytoprotectants based on locally grown plant materials. Conclusion: The production of plant-derived products, as advocated in this paper, is in line with the WHO’s traditional medicine strategy 2014- 2023, and will eventually yield a sustainable health-and-wealth generating cycle that will benefit a countries in the region, economically and ecologically

Analyse d'Acides Aminés non dérivés par Chromatographie en Phase Liquide avec le Détecteur Evaporatif à Diffusion de la Lumière et Couplage avec la Spectrométrie de Masse

Amino acids represent one of the most important classes of natural compounds. They take in many biological processes the most important of which is the formation of peptides and proteins. Since most of them are lacking in a chromophore group, the majority of the chromatographic methods proposed for their determination in mixtures involves pre- or post-column derivatization allowing a spectrophotometric detection.In order to avoid the derivatization step, Liquid Chromatography (LC) was coupled with an Evaporative Light Scattering Detector (ELSD) or coupled with Mass Spectrometry (MS). Both detection modes are practically universal but require the development of volatile mobile phases.Among all the LC systems tried, porous graphitic carbon was chosen and evaluated as stationary phase for underivatized amino acid analysis. Separation of sulfur amino acids (taurine analogous) and partial separations of proteinic amino acids have been obtained using an aqueous volatile mobile phase containing ammonium acetate ajusted to pH=9.3. A complete separation of the 20 underivatized proteinic amino acids was achieved using a mobile phase containing a perfluorinated carboxylic acid (nonafluoropentanoic acid) as volatile ion pairing agent, in a gradient elution mode, at 10°C, in approximatively 40 minutes.LC systems that have been developed with an ESLD are directly transposable with MS. With the higher specificity of MS or MS tandem detection, the analysis of the 20 underivatized proteinic amino acids is achieved in 20 minutes. While ELSD does not permit detection limits below the mg/l level, MS tandem allows the detection of only about ten µg/l. Thus, direct quantitation of sulfur amino acids in some sea invertebrates have been allowed using LC-MS tandem.Les acides aminés forment une des plus importantes classes de molécules naturelles. Ils sont impliqués dans de nombreux processus biologiques dont le plus important est sans doute l'élaboration des peptides et protéines. Ils sont pour la plupart dépourvus de groupements chromophores, aussi, la majorité des méthodes chromatographiques proposées pour leur détermination en mélanges implique une dérivation pré- ou post colonne permettant alors une détection spectrophotométrique.Pour éviter l'étape de dérivation, la Chromatographie en Phase Liquide (CPL) est ici associée au Détecteur Evaporatif à Diffusion de la Lumière (DEDL) ou couplée à la Spectrométrie de Masse (SM). Ces deux modes de détection sont quasi universels mais requièrent la mise au point de phases mobiles volatiles.Parmi les systèmes CPL testés pour l'analyse directe des acides aminés, le carbone graphitique poreux a été retenu et évalué comme phase stationnaire. Une phase mobile aqueuse saline, volatile, composée d'acétate d'ammonium, ajustée à pH=9,3, permet notamment la séparation d'acides aminés soufrés analogues de la taurine et la séparation partielle d'acides aminés protéiques. En revanche, la séparation totale des 20 acides aminés protéiques est obtenue avec une phase mobile contenant un acide carboxylique perfluoré (acide nonafluoropentanoique) comme agent d'appariement d'ions volatil, en gradient d'élution, à 10°C, en une quarantaine de minutes.Les systèmes CPL mis au point avec le DEDL sont directement compatibles avec la SM. En utilisant la spécificité de détection de la SM et la SM tandem, l'analyse des acides aminés protéiques est possible en 20 minutes. Si le DEDL ne permet pas de descendre à des concentrations détectées inférieures au mg/l, la SM tandem autorise des limites de détection avoisinant quelques dizaines de µg/l seulement. La CPL-SM tandem a permis le dosage direct d'acides aminés soufrés dans des invertébrés marins

Development of an LC-MS-MS method for the quantification of taurine derivatives in marine invertebrates.

Sulfur amino acids, such as taurine, hypotaurine, and thiotaurine, were found in high quantities in tissues of marine symbiotic organisms (e.g., bivalves, tubeworms) living close to hydrothermal vent sites. Therefore, they are assumed to play a key role in the S-oxidizing base metabolism or sulfide detoxification. We propose here a specific, rapid, and original analytical procedure for the direct determination of sulfur amino acids at the level of a few parts per billion in biological samples, avoiding the classical low specific post-column ortho-phthaldialdehyde derivatization step required by non-ultraviolet-absorbing molecules. Indeed, by coupling liquid chromatography on a porous graphitic stationary phase under isocratic conditions (10 mM ammonium acetate buffer adjusted to pH 9.3) to tandem mass spectrometry (ionization process by pneumatically assisted electrospray in negative ion mode), it is possible to perform specific quantification of these metabolites in less than 10 min directly in biological matrices without any derivatization step or other tedious sample treatments. Thus, taurine, hypotaurine, and thiotaurine have been identified and assayed in several deep sea organisms, showing that the developed method is well suited for this kind of application

ANALYSE D'ACIDES AMINES NON DERIVES PAR CHROMATOGRAPHIE EN PHASE LIQUIDE AVEC LE DETECTEUR EVAPORATIF A DIFFUSION DE LA LUMIERE ET COUPLAGE AVEC LA SPECTROMETRIE DE MASSE

ORLEANS-BU Sciences (452342104) / SudocSudocFranceF

Criblage d'inhibiteurs réversibles et irréversibles des phosphatases CDC25s par spectrométrie de masse (Application à des extraits d'origine végétale)

Les protéines CDC25 (Cell Cycle Division 25) sont des régulateurs clés de la progression du cycle cellulaire et leur surexpression a été reportée dans de nombreux types de cancers. Leur inhibition apparait donc intéressante dans le cadre de traitements anticancéreux. L'objet de ces recherches a été de développer un test de criblage permettant de détecter les inhibiteurs réversibles et irréversibles des CDC25s, puis d'appliquer ce test à des extraits végétaux. La première partie implique la spectrométrie de masse par désorption/ionisation laser assistée par matrice couplée à un détecteur à temps de vol (MALDI-TOFMS) afin de détecter les molécules se liant aux CDC25s avec une liaison faible (inhibiteurs réversibles). La deuxième partie de ce test beaucoup plus innovante consiste à mettre en évidence les ligands se liant avec une liaison plus forte (inhibiteurs irréversibles) aux CDC25s. Pour cela, une étape de digestion trypsique des protéines est réalisée, puis l'étude de l'empreinte peptidique massique est procédée sur le digest afin de déceler les inhibiteurs irréversibles. En parallèle, nous nous sommes intéressés à l'application de ce test à des extraits végétaux dans le but d'identifier de nouveaux inhibiteurs des CDC25s. L'activité inhibitrice de CDC25s de ces extraits est également évaluée in vitro grâce à des tests biologiques visant à compléter les premiers résultats obtenus lors du criblage par spectrométrie de masse. De ces travaux il résulte qu'une molécule encore non connue pour son activité sur CDC25s a montré un potentiel effet inhibiteur de ces protéines et cytotoxique sur lignées cellulaires humainesThe CDC25s phosphatases are key regulators of the physiological cell cycle progression. Their overexpression has been reported in a significant number of cancers and their inhibition appears to be an interesting strategy for treatments. We propose here a rapid screening test allowing the detection of reversible and irreversible CDC25 inhibitors. The test is based on the incubation of the candidate molecules with the human CDC25 proteins followed by an ultrafiltration step. The retentate is then directly analyzed by MALDI-TOFMS to detect reversible inhibitors or submitted to PMF analysis to reveal irreversible inhibitors. In parallel we applied this test to vegetable extracts in order to identify novel CDC25 inhibitors. The CDC25s inhibitory activity of these extracts is also evaluated in vitro thanks to biological tests. It results from this work that one molecule never known for its activity on the CDC25s shows a potential inhibitory effect and is cytotoxic on human cellular lineageNANCY-INPL-Bib. électronique (545479901) / SudocSudocFranceF