Control of the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus by essential oils and extracts obtained from plants: a review.

The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a serious threat to forest ecosystems at a global scale. The nematode has become a major quarantine problem due to its capability to completely destroy Pinus spp. trees, with great damage to the wood industry. Controlling the nematode inside a living tree is quite difficult, the techniques used being often ineffective and quite expensive. In the coming years, most chemicals used to control nematodes will be banned and replaced by safer and environmentally friendly products. As so, chemicals naturally produced by plants will play an important role in controlling diseases such as pine wilt. Plants, particularly aromatic ones, are commonly used due to the chemical properties of their secondary metabolites. Among these, essential oils and/or extracts are highly employed and are being tested as possible control of some organisms, like nematodes. Recent publications have evaluated essential oils derived from different plant species as natural nematicides [1; 2], antibacterial [3], anti-fungal [4] as well as insecticidal [5]. Concerning control of the PWN, a significant amount of information on plants tested, results obtained and employed techniques, is available. Our revision has extensively gathered this information, making it easier to search, read and use. It may become useful information for future studies on the subject, since it will be possible to check the plants already tested. Although numbers aren´t definitive, so far, tested plants are distributed amongst 148 families. The extracts or essential oils of plants belonging to the Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Euphorbiaceae families show promising results on controlling the pinewood nematode

Phenols, essential oils and carotenoids of Rosa canina from Tunisia and their antioxidant activities

The antioxidant activity of leaf extracts of Rosa canina from diverse localities of Tunisia were evaluated by ABTS and DPPH methods, whereas in those of essential oils and carotenoids extracts such activity was determined only by the ABTS method. Total phenols determined by the Folin method revealed that at Aindraham, samples showed a great variability of phenol content in contrast to those from Feija. After chemical analysis of the essential oils by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectra (GC-MS), revealed that the oils of Feija were predominantly composed of palmitic acid, vitispirane, linoleic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid and phytol acetate, while in thosesamples from Aindraham predominated vitispirane, palmitic acid, linoleic acid and phytol acetate. Higher concentrations of b-carotene and lycopene were found in the samples from Aindraham after determination by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All samples possess antioxidant activity, nevertheless much more significant in phenol extracts in contrast to the carotenoid extracts, which possess the lowest activity

Blockade of insulin-like growth factors increases efficacy of paclitaxel in metastatic breast cancer

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in women owing to metastasis and the development of resistance to established therapies. Macrophages are the most abundant immune cells in the breast tumor microenvironment and can both inhibit and support cancer progression. Thus, gaining a better understanding of how macrophages support cancer could lead to the development of more effective therapies. In this study, we find that breast cancer-associated macrophages express high levels of insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGFs) and are the main source of IGFs within both primary and metastatic tumors. In total, 75% of breast cancer patients show activation of insulin/IGF-1 receptor signaling and this correlates with increased macrophage infiltration and advanced tumor stage. In patients with invasive breast cancer, activation of Insulin/IGF-1 receptors increased to 87%. Blocking IGF in combination with paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent commonly used to treat breast cancer, showed a significant reduction in tumor cell proliferation and lung metastasis in pre-clinical breast cancer models compared to paclitaxel monotherapy. Our findings provide the rationale for further developing the combination of paclitaxel with IGF blockers for the treatment of invasive breast cancer, and Insulin/IGF1R activation and IGF+ stroma cells as potential biomarker candidates for further evaluation

Thermal stability of the essential oils isolated from Tunisian Thymus capitatus Hoff. et Link.: Effect on the chemical composition and the antioxidant and antibacterial activities

The chemical composition, the antioxidant and the antibacterial activities of essential oils, isolated from the aerial parts of Tunisian Thymus capitatus during the flowering phase, and stored in the dark during 37 days in the oven, at 60 degrees C were evaluated. Samples taken periodically were used to evaluate the chemical composition, the antioxidant and the antibacterial activities. With some fluctuations, carvacrol (68-74%) was the major component of the oil independent of the storage period. alpha-Terpinene and gamma-terpinene decreased over time, whereas p-cymene increased in the same period. Despite the thirty-seven days of storage at 60 degrees C, T. capitatus essential oil still showed high antioxidant and stable antimicrobial activity

Mosquitoes infected with dengue viruses in Brazil

Dengue epidemics have been reported in Brazil since 1985. The scenery has worsened in the last decade because several serotypes are circulating and producing a hyper-endemic situation, with an increase of DHF/DSS cases as well as the number of fatalities. Herein, we report dengue virus surveillance in mosquitoes using a Flavivirus genus-specific RT-Hemi-Nested-PCR assay. The mosquitoes (Culicidae, n = 1700) collected in the Northeast, Southeast and South of Brazil, between 1999 and 2005, were grouped into 154 pools. Putative genomes of DENV-1, -2 and -3 were detected in 6 mosquito pools (3.8%). One amplicon of putative DENV-1 was detected in a pool of Haemagogus leucocelaenus suggesting that this virus could be involved in a sylvatic cycle. DENV-3 was found infecting 3 pools of larvae of Aedes albopictus and the nucleotide sequence of one of these viruses was identified as DENV-3 of genotype III, phylogenetically related to other DENV-3 isolated in Brazil. This is the first report of a nucleotide sequence of DENV-3 from larvae of Aedes albopictus