Inventario de la flora del campus de la Universidad de la Amazonía, municipio de Florencia (Caquetá – Colombia)

El inventario de la flora del campus de la Universidad de la Amazonía incluye 214 especies de plantas vasculares, pertenecientes a 179 géneros y a 73 familias. Las familias con el mayor número de especies son Fabaceae (19), Poaceae (10), Polypodiaceae (9), Euphorbiaceae (9), Rubiaceae (8), Araceae (7) y Heliconiaceae (7). Las especies arbóreas comprendieron el 25.2 % del total, las arbustivas el 17.2 %, las hierbas el 43.9 %; las epifitas (incluyendo hemiepífitas) el 7.9 %, las palmas el 2.3 %, lianas el 2.3 % y hemiparasitas el 0.9 %. El censo realizado para árboles y arbustos arrojó un total de 1089 individuos, la gran mayoría pertenecientes a especies introducidas. A pesar de pertenecer a la zona urbana, el campus universitario constituye un importante espacio para el conocimiento de la flora

Nuevas secciones del Herbario Enrique Forero (HUAZ) de la Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia (Caquetá-Colombia)

Las colecciones biológicas constituyen un recurso de información clave para el conocimiento, conservación y uso sostenible de la diversidad biológica, ellas se erigen como el mejor medio para poder identificar y describir el patrimonio biológico de la nación, así como para formar nuevos investigadores. El Herbario de la Universidad de la Amazonia fue creado en el año 2004, como resultado del proyecto “Inventario de flora del campus de la Universidad de la Amazonía”, y se identifica ante la Asociación Colombiana de Herbarios con el acrónimo HUAZ. En éste trabajo se presentan la Carpoteca y la Etnofitoteca como nuevas secciones del Herbario, que contribuyen al fortalecimiento en la investigación de la flora nativa y sus usos en la región amazónica. La Carpoteca cuenta con 319 ejemplares que pertenecen a 74 familias, 167 géneros y 167 especies. Las familias mejor representadas son: Fabaceae (32 géneros) y Arecaceae (17 géneros). La Etnofitoteca cuenta con 20 registros de ocho clases de artículos, tales como: collares (7), pendientes (6), manillas (2), tobillera (1), anillo (1), dije (1), decoración (1) y canasta (1). La parte de la planta más usada como materia prima es la semilla, en un 79% de los artículos. La especie con mayores registros en los ornamentos es Sapindus saponaria, seguida de Astrocaryum chambira y Schefflera morototoni

Plants of the annonaceae traditionally used as antimalarials: a review

Species of the Annonaceae family are used all over the tropics in traditional medicine in tropical regions for the treatment of malaria and other illnesses. Phytochemical studies of this family have revealed chemical components which could offer new alternatives for the treatment and control of malaria. Searches in scientific reference sites (SciFinder Scholar, Scielo, PubMed, ScienceDirect and ISI Web of Science) and a bibliographic literature search for species of Annonaceae used traditionally to treat malaria and fever were carried out. This family contains 2,100 species in 123 genera. We encountered 113 articles reporting medicinal use of one or more species of this family including 63 species in 27 genera with uses as antimalarials and febrifuges. Even though the same species of Annonaceae are used by diverse ethnic groups, different plant parts are often chosen for applications, and diverse methods of preparation and treatment are used. The ethanol extracts of Polyalthia debilis and Xylopia aromatica proved to be quite active against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro (median inhibition concentration, IC50 <1.5 mu g/mL). Intraperitoneal injection of Annickia chlorantha aqueous extracts (cited as Enantia chlorantha) cleared chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis from the blood of mice in a dose-dependant manner. More phytochemical profiles of Annonaceous species are required; especially information on the more commonly distributed antimalarial compounds in this family

Biological and Agronomical Strategies for Controlling Skin-pitting of Kiwifruit

Skin-pitting of kiwifruit is a post-harvest disease caused by Cadophora luteo-olivacea. Inoculation occurs in the field but symptoms appear after about three months of cold storage. Incidence of the pathology is very variable over time but it can be quite high causing considerable damage. The aim of this study was to search for biological and agronomical control measures, which can reduce skin-pitting. For biological control, isolates of potential antagonists were made from the surface of stored kiwifruit sourced from fruit produced in two different orchards: one with high and the other with low incidence of disease. Five and nine different microorganisms were obtained from fruit of the first and second orchard, respectively. Isolated microorganisms were inoculated on PDA plates together with C. luteo-olivacea. The majority of the isolates did not influence pathogen growth, except for two strains very closely related to Pseudomonas libanensis (P. fluorescens subgroup), isolated from fruit from the orchard with low incidence of symptoms. The bacteria were tested in vitro against five isolates of each of the two most frequent strains of C. luteo-olivacea (A and B); all were significantly inhibited in growth, presenting a compact, mucous and orange-brown mycelium. The strong antagonistic activity of the two P. libanensis strains represented a promising result for further studies. For agronomical control, it is known that light has a positive effect on calcium accumulation in fruits and that a low calcium content contributes towards creating favourable conditions for pathogen development. In 2009, heavy summer pruning and calcium chloride treatments were practiced in three different orchards, to verify whether a higher light availability and an increase of the calcium content would have a positive effect on reducing disease incidence. Skin-pitting incidence was monitored during storage