Comparative analysis of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in Italy and Tunisia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Italy and Tunisia (Africa for the Romans), facing each other on the opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea, have been historically linked since the ancient times. Over the centuries both countries were mutually dominated so the vestiges and traces of a mutual influence are still present. The aim of the present study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the medicinal species present in the respective Floras in order to explore potential analogies and differences in popular phytotherapy that have come out from those reciprocal exchanges having taken place over the centuries</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The comparative analysis based on the respective floras of both countries takes into consideration the bulk of medicinal species mutually present in Italy and Tunisia, but it focuses on the species growing in areas which are similar in climate. The medicinal uses of these species are considered in accordance with the ethnobotanical literature.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A list of 153 medicinal species belonging to 60 families, present in both floras and used in traditional medicine, was drawn. A considerable convergence in therapeutic uses of many species emerged from these data.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This comparative analysis strengthens the firm belief that ethno-botanical findings represent not only an important shared heritage, developed over the centuries, but also a considerable mass of data that should be exploited in order to provide new and useful knowledge.</p

Vegetation forcing modulates global land monsoon and water resources in a CO2-enriched climate

The global monsoon is characterised by transitions between pronounced dry and wet seasons, affecting food security for two-thirds of the world’s population. Rising atmospheric CO2 influences the terrestrial hydrological cycle through climate-radiative and vegetation-physiological forcings. How these two forcings affect the seasonal intensity and characteristics of monsoonal precipitation and runoff is poorly understood. Here we use four Earth System Models to show that in a CO2-enriched climate, radiative forcing changes drive annual precipitation increases for most monsoon regions. Further, vegetation feedbacks substantially affect annual precipitation in North and South America and Australia monsoon regions. In the dry season, runoff increases over most monsoon regions, due to stomatal closure-driven evapotranspiration reductions and associated atmospheric circulation change. Our results imply that flood risks may amplify in the wet season. However, the lengthening of the monsoon rainfall season and reduced evapotranspiration will shorten the water resources scarcity period for most monsoon regions

Wild food plants of popular use in Sicily

In the present work the authors report the result of their food ethnobotanical researches, which have been carried out in Sicily during the last thirty years. Data concerning 188 wild species used in the traditional Sicilian cuisine are reported. The authors underline those species that are partially or completely unknown for their culinary use and they illustrate other species that local inhabitants suggested in the prevention or treatment of symptomatologies caused by a refined diet, poor in vegetables. These data want to contribute to avoid the loss of traditional knowledge on uses and recipes concerning wild food botanicals, and to encourage further studies for those species that have not yet been sufficiently researched in their food chemical and nutritional profile. These studies may also suggest new applications for a few botanicals in medico-nutritional fields. The work includes also a short review of the seaweeds and mushrooms traditionally gathered and consumed in Sicily

Phénomènes électrocinétiques dans les membranes organiques composites microporeuses à faible densité de charge

Ces travaux apportent de nouveaux éclaircissements sur les phénomènes interfaciaux dans le domaine de l'étude du comportement des nanosurfaces au contact de solutions d'électrolytes. Des mesures de potentiels d'écoulement (PE) et de potentiel de diffusion (PM) sont mises en oeuvre.Les mesures de potentiel d'écoulement sont étudiées en fonction du seuil de coupure pour des membranes organiques composites mésoporeuses en polyethersulfone (PES) et microporeuses en polyamides (PA) de couche support en polysulfone (PS). L'essentiel de la chute de pression dans ces membranes ayant lieu à travers leur couche active, l'information atteinte par les mesures de PE (point isoélectrique, état de charge de surface) ne caractérise que cette couche. L'effet de la force ionique est aussi étudié. Il montre que plus le seuil de coupure diminue plus les intéractions électriques entre l'électrolyte et la membrane sont grandes ce qui se traduit par une adsorption accrue des ions de l'électrolyte. Le point isoélectrique (pi) de la membrane PES est déterminé à 3,1 et ce indépendamment de la force ionique et de la nature de l'électrolyte. Dans ce cas les ions déterminant la charge sont les ions H+ et OH-. Pour la membrane à faible seuil de coupure en PA, l'adsorption des ions de l'électrolyte se traduit par un déplacement du pi avec la force ionique. Pour KC1, les pI sont de 4,4 et 5,8 à des concentrations respectives de 0,0001 et 0,001 mol.L'1. Pour une concentration fixe en électrolyte (0,0001 mol.L-1), les pI de la membrane PA sont respectivement de 4,4, 5,6 et 6,8 pour les différents électrolytes: KC1, NaCl et CaCl2.Les mesures de PM permettent de déterminer les nombres de transport des cations Na+, K+ , Ca2+ respectivement 0,44, 0,49 et 0,42 et de les corréler aux résultats de pi obtenus par des mesures de PE. On a également déterminé la densité de charge de surface de la membrane PA par la méthode d'Aizawa. Ces valeurs sont comprises entre 0,1 et 1 μC.cm2, (60 et 550 mol.m-3)

Ionic association analysis of LiTDI, LiFSI and LiPF6 in EC/DMC for better Li-ion battery performances

International audienceNew lithium salts such as lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) and lithium 4,5-dicyano-2-(trifluoromethyl)imidazole-1-ide (LiTDI) are now challenging lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6 ), the most used electrolyte salt in commercial Li-ion batteries. Thus it is now important to establish a comparison of these electrolyte components in a standard solvent mixture of ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate (EC/DMC: 50/50 wt%). With this aim, transport properties, such as the ionic conductivity, viscosity and 7 Li self-diffusion coefficient have been deeply investigated. Moreover, as these properties are directly linked to the nature of the interionic interactions and ion solvation, a better understanding of the structural properties of electrolytes can be obtained. The Li salt concentration has been varied over the range of 0.1 mol L−1 to 2 mol L−1 at 25 °C and the working temperature from 20 °C to 80 °C at the fixed concentration of 1 mol L −1 . Experimental results were used to investigate the temperature dependence of the salt ion-pair (IP) dissociation coefficient (α D ) with the help of the Walden rule and the Nernst-Einstein equation. The lithium cation effective solute radius (r Li ) has been determined using the Jones-Dole-Kaminsky equation coupled to the Einstein relation for the viscosity of hard spheres in solution and the Stokes-Einstein equation. From the variations of α D and r Li with the temperature, it is inferred that in EC/DMC LiFSI forms solvent-shared ion-pairs (SIP) and that, LiTDI and LiPF6 are likely to form solvent separated ion-pairs (S 2 IP) or a mixture of SIP and S 2 IP. From the temperature dependence of α D , thermodynamic parameters such as the standard Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy for the ion-pair formation are obtained. Besides being in agreement with the information provided by the variations of α D and r Li , it is concluded that the ion-pair formation process is exergonic and endothermic for the three salts in EC/DMC

Optimizing the performance of supercapacitors based on carbon electrodes and protic ionic liquids as electrolytes

International audienceProtic ionic liquids (PILs) were implemented as electrolytes for supercapacitors using activated carbons with various porous textures as electrode material. The carbon with the largest specific surface area and highest amount of narrow mesopores (pore diameter: 2–7 nm) was found to give the highest specific capacitance in pyrrolidinium nitrate (PyNO3) ionic liquid. However, it should be noted that when the pH value of this ionic liquid was adjusted around 11, higher specific capacitance was achieved, revealing a better electrochemical performance of carbon electrodes in basic media (i.e., capacitance values of 121 and 208 F g−1 for an electrolyte based on PyNO3 with a pH value of 7 and 11, respectively). This ionic liquid contained a small amount of water, which restricted the maximum voltage of symmetric capacitors to a value of 1.2 V, even after PyNO3 had been partially dried (H2O content around 1110 ppm). Therefore, the triethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsufonyl)imide – NEt3H TFSI – PIL was prepared in order to expand the potential window; after drying this PIL contained 200 ppm water. The results obtained with NEt3H TFSI suggest that maximum voltages as high as 2.5 V can be achieved. This clearly shows that the presence of water in PILs has a negative effect on the performance of supercapacitors

Herbes, drogues et épices en Méditerranée

Des jardins d’Adonis aux tiroirs des apothicaires et aux boutiques des commerçants, les herbes, drogues et épices ont toujours nourri les rêves et entretenu les comptes. Elles furent l’objet d’une curiosité particulière puis d’un engouement et d’un commerce aussi actif que lucratif ; la cause aussi de grandes rivalités entre marchands. Ainsi les retrouvons-nous dans les livres de commerçants juifs, dans les souks du Caire, dans les entrepôts de Smyrne, dans les cales des clippers américains ou dans les containers du port de Marseille. Mythes et réalités se côtoient dans cet ouvrage comme ils furent toujours liés dans le quotidien à travers les siècles et les continents. Par les aspects économiques mais aussi botaniques, sociaux et culturels de leur histoire, se précise le rôle important qu’ont tenu et que tiennent encore les Herbes, Drogues et Epices dans les sociétés méditerranéennes. L’Institut de Recherches Méditerranéennes d’Aix-en- Provence et la Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Marseille ont entrepris depuis une décennie l’étude des grands produits de consommation tels le café, l’huile d’olive, le sucre, les céréales, qui, malgré leur usage quotidien, restent finalement peu ou mal connus du public

Growth and physiology of a dominant understory shrub, Hamamelis virginiana, following canopy disturbance in a temperate hardwood forest

As global climatic changes increase plant susceptibility to large-scale disturbances like drought and pathogens, understory responses to these disturbances will become increasingly important to long-term forest dynamics. To better understand understory responses to canopy disturbance, we measured changes in the growth and physiology of the dominant understory shrub, American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), in response to girdling of canopy oaks in a northeastern U.S. temperate hardwood forest. Changes in the growth and physiology of H. virginiana may be important to the regeneration of northeastern temperate forests, as this common shrub largely shapes the microenvironment for seedlings on the forest floor where it occurs. Canopy disturbance by girdling resulted in significant increases in light and soil nitrogen availability. In response to these environmental changes, basal-area growth of H. virginiana increased by an average 334%. This growth increase corresponded to significant increases in foliar nitrogen, respiration, and leaf chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations. These findings indicate improved environmental conditions and increased growth for this understory shrub following the loss of dominant canopy trees. This study suggests that following large-scale canopy disturbance, H. virginiana and shrubs like it may play an important role in competing for soil N and shading seedlings of regenerating canopy species.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author