Biological Properties of Essential Oils from the Piper Species of Brazil: A Review

Piperaceae, a Latin name derived from Greek, which in turn originates from the Arabic word babary—black pepper, is considered one of the largest families of basal dicots, found in tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. The species that belong to this family have a primarily pantropical distribution, predominantly herbaceous members, occurring in tropical Africa, tropical Asia, Central America and the Amazon region. The Piperaceae family includes five genera: Piper, Peperomia, Manekia, Zippelia and Verhuellia. Brazil has about 500 species distributed in the Piper, Peperomia and Manekia genera. The Piper genus, the largest of the Piperaceae family, has about 4000 species. Within the Piper genus, about 260–450 species can be found in Brazil. Piper species have diverse biological activities and are used in pharmacopeia throughout the world. They are also used in folk medicine for treatment of many diseases in several countries including Brazil, China, India, Jamaica and Mexico. Pharmacological studies of Piper species point toward the vast potential of these plants to treat various diseases. Many of these species are biologically active and have shown antitumor, antimicrobial, antioxidant, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, enzyme inhibitor, antiparasitic, antiplatelet, piscicide, allelopathic, antiophidic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, amebicide and diuretic possibilities

Plant-Derived Compounds as an Alternative Treatment Against Parasites in Fish Farming: A Review

Aquaculture has grown rapidly for food production around the world. However, outbreaks of infectious diseases have also increased in aquaculture, causing serious economic losses. For many years, fish farmers have applied conventional treatments such as anti‐parasitics and chemical treatments to control fish parasites. However, previous studies have revealed an accumulation of these chemical residues in fish tissues, and a negative environmental impact from farms to aquatic organisms. As an alternative to conventional methods, many plant‐derived compounds such as essential oils (e.g. Origanum sp. and Lippia spp.) and plant extracts (e.g. Allium sativum and Mentha spp.) have been used as an efficient treatment to control parasites in freshwater, brackishwater and marine aquaculture systems. Our objective with this review is to highlight the advantages of the use of plant extracts as an alternative treatment against parasites in aquaculture (e.g. protozoans, myxozoans and monogeneans) and to show the possible negative environmental impacts of conventional treatments used in fish farming systems. Finally, we also highlight the potential of discovering new plant‐derived bioactive compounds that have been increased in the last year due to the use of new tools such as the application of nanotechnology and microencapsulation to control diseases in fish farming

Seed Dispersal Anachronisms: Rethinking the Fruits Extinct Megafauna Ate

Background: Some neotropical, fleshy-fruited plants have fruits structurally similar to paleotropical fruits dispersed by megafauna (mammals.10 3 kg), yet these dispersers were extinct in South America 10–15 Kyr BP. Anachronic dispersal systems are best explained by interactions with extinct animals and show impaired dispersal resulting in altered seed dispersal dynamics. Methodology/Principal Findings: We introduce an operational definition of megafaunal fruits and perform a comparative analysis of 103 Neotropical fruit species fitting this dispersal mode. We define two megafaunal fruit types based on previous analyses of elephant fruits: fruits 4–10 cm in diameter with up to five large seeds, and fruits.10 cm diameter with numerous small seeds. Megafaunal fruits are well represented in unrelated families such as Sapotaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Apocynaceae, Malvaceae, Caryocaraceae, and Arecaceae and combine an overbuilt design (large fruit mass and size) with either a single or few (,3 seeds) extremely large seeds or many small seeds (usually.100 seeds). Within-family and within-genus contrasts between megafaunal and non-megafaunal groups of species indicate a marked difference in fruit diameter and fruit mass but less so for individual seed mass, with a significant trend for megafaunal fruits to have larger seeds and seediness. Conclusions/Significance: Megafaunal fruits allow plants to circumvent the trade-off between seed size and dispersal b

How people domesticated Amazonian forests

For millennia, Amazonian peoples have managed forest resources, modifying the natural environment in subtle and persistent ways. Legacies of past human occupation are striking near archaeological sites, yet we still lack a clear picture of how human management practices resulted in the domestication of Amazonian forests. The general view is that domesticated forests are recognizable by the presence of forest patches dominated by one or a few useful species favored by long-term human activities. Here, we used three complementary approaches to understand the long-term domestication of Amazonian forests. First, we compiled information from the literature about how indigenous and traditional Amazonian peoples manage forest resources to promote useful plant species that are mainly used as food resources. Then, we developed an interdisciplinary conceptual model of how interactions between these management practices across space and time may form domesticated forests. Finally, we collected field data from 30 contemporary villages located on and near archaeological sites, along four major Amazonian rivers, to compare with the management practices synthesized in our conceptual model. We identified eight distinct categories of management practices that contribute to form forest patches of useful plants: (1) removal of non-useful plants, (2) protection of useful plants, (3) attraction of non-human animal dispersers, (4) transportation of useful plants, (5) selection of phenotypes, (6) fire management, (7) planting of useful plants, and (8) soil improvement. Our conceptual model, when ethnographically projected into the past, reveals how the interaction of these multiple management practices interferes with natural ecological processes, resulting in the domestication of Amazonian forest patches dominated by useful species. Our model suggests that management practices became more frequent as human population increased during the Holocene. In the field, we found that useful perennial plants occur in multi-species patches around archaeological sites, and that the dominant species are still managed by local people, suggesting long-term persistence of ancient cultural practices. The management practices we identified have transformed plant species abundance and floristic composition through the creation of diverse forest patches rich in edible perennial plants that enhanced food production and food security in Amazonia. © 2018 Levis, Flores, Moreira, Luize, Alves, Franco-Moraes, Lins, Konings, Peña-Claros, Bongers, Costa and Clement

Essential oils from oleoresins of Protium spp. of the Amazon region

The essential oils of six species of Protium (Burseraceae), collected near Manaus, Amazon, were extracted by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC-MS. Resins from four species were collected yearly, and two species were represented by more than one tree. All six oils were found to be entirely monoterpenoid in constitution and were characterized by the predominance of p-cymene and α- and β-phellandrene. The composition of fresh exudates is associated with increasing content of α-pinene and unsaturated p-menthanes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Richesses en partage au Brésil et en France

C’est en observant la répartition des richesses et leur distribution que l’on met en lumière la façon dont elles sont partagées et que l’on perçoit le fonctionnement des sociétés, l’accaparement par certains des ressources et des privilèges et les inégalités socio-spatiales qui en découlent. Il n’existe pas de définition universelle de la richesse. À quelque échelle que ce soit, la richesse est toujours multidimensionnelle et toutes ses formes sont liées entre elles, qu’elles concernent le revenu, le patrimoine économique ou ce qui a trait au pouvoir, au savoir, à la santé, à l’accès aux ressources naturelles et culturelles, etc. Le livre repose sur l’étude d’expériences locales comparées en France et au Brésil dans les territoires du Nord-Pas de Calais et du Minas Gerais, à différentes échelles et sur des terrains variés : de la région à la métropole et au quartier, des espaces miniers encore en activité ou reconvertis aux espaces naturels protégés.The structuring of legal and medical activities in Europe since the 18th century has so far been insufficiently studied jointly, from the point of view of their professionalization and territorial registration

Interaction between Work and Metabolic Syndrome: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clinical condition and a relevant risk factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases; it occurs as a result of lifestyle factors, e.g., work. The aim of this research was to estimate the interaction between work and MS among primary health care (PHC) nursing professionals in the state of Bahia, Brazil. A sectional multicentered study carried out in 43 municipalities in Bahia, whose study population consisted of nursing professionals. The exposure variables were occupation, professional exhaustion, and working time, and the outcome variable was MS. Interaction measures based on the additivity criteria were verified by calculating the excess risks due to the interactions and according to the proportion of cases attributed to the interactions and the synergy index. The global MS prevalence is 24.4%. There was a greater magnitude in the exposure group regarding the three investigated factors (average level occupation, professional exhaustion, and working time in PHC for more than 5 years), reaching an occurrence of 44.9% when compared to the prevalence of 13.1% in the non-exposure group (academic education, without professional burnout, and working time in PHC for up to 5 years). The study’s findings showed a synergistic interaction of work aspects for MS occurrence among PHC nursing professionals