The polyamine “multiverse” and stress mitigation in crops: A case study with seed priming in quinoa

The importance of polyamines (PAs) in plant growth and development was recognised several decades ago and, since then, their role in cell proliferation, embryogenesis, organogenesis, flowering, fruit development and ripening, etc. has been investigated to a great extent. In more recent years, most of the attention on PAs has been focussed on their functions in biotic and, especially, abiotic stress responses. Exogenous application, transgenic plants over- or under-expressing PA biosynthetic genes, and mutants have been used to unveil their essential contribution to plant tolerance to salinity, drought, chilling, and heavy metal stresses, among others. In parallel, knowledge on their mechanisms of action has increased greatly and it is today evident that PA functions depend upon their ability to (a) bind electrostatically or covalently to numerous compounds thereby modulating membrane, cell wall, nucleic acid, and protein structure and functions, (b) produce hydrogen peroxide via their catabolic pathways, (c) interact with the biosynthetic and signaling pathways of practically all known phyto hormones, and (d) interact with nitric oxide. In this review, a state-of-the-art overview of PA functions in plants and their possible applications in mitigating stress in crop plants is provided. The potential of seed priming with PAs as an economically and environmentally valid approach for enhancing plant tolerance to adverse environmental conditions is discussed and some results from our study on quinoa and salt stress are presented

The Three Pillars of Natural Product Dereplication. Alkaloids from the Bulbs of Urceolina peruviana (C. Presl) J.F. Macbr. as a Preliminary Test Case

The role and importance of the identification of natural products are discussed in the perspective of the study of secondary metabolites. The rapid identification of already reported compounds, or structural dereplication, is recognized as a key element in natural product chemistry. The biological taxonomy of metabolite producing organisms, the knowledge of metabolite molecular structures, and the availability of metabolite spectroscopic signatures are considered as the three pillars of structural dereplication. The role and the construction of databases is illustrated by references to the KNApSAcK, UNPD, CSEARCH, and COCONUT databases, and by the importance of calculated taxonomic and spectroscopic data as substitutes for missing or lost original ones. Two NMR-based tools, the PNMRNP database that derives from UNPD, and KnapsackSearch, a database generator that provides taxonomically focused libraries of compounds, are proposed to the community of natural product chemists. The study of the alkaloids from Urceolina peruviana, a plant from the Andes used in traditional medicine for antibacterial and anticancer actions, has given the opportunity to test different approaches to dereplication, favoring the use of publicly available data sources

Identification of withania somnifera-silybum marianum-trigonella foenum-graecum formulation as a nutritional supplement to contrast muscle atrophy and sarcopenia

Background: Muscle atrophy, i.e., the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is an unresolved problem associated with aging (sarcopenia) and several pathological conditions. The im-balance between myofibrillary protein breakdown (especially the adult isoforms of myosin heavy chain, MyHC) and synthesis, and the reduction of muscle regenerative potential are main causes of muscle atrophy. Methods: Starting from one-hundred dried hydroalcoholic extracts of medical plants, we identified those able to contrast the reduction of C2C12 myotube diameter in well-characterized in vitro models mimicking muscle atrophy associated to inflammatory states, glucocorticoid treatment or nutrient deprivation. Based on their ability to rescue type II MyHC (MyHC-II) expression in atrophying conditions, six extracts with different phytochemical profiles were selected, mixed in groups of three, and tested on atrophic myotubes. The molecular mechanism underpinning the effects of the most efficacious formulation, and its efficacy on myotubes obtained from muscle biopsies of young and sarcopenic subjects were also investigated. Results: We identified WST (Withania som-nifera, Silybum marianum, Trigonella foenum-graecum) formulation as extremely efficacious in protecting C2C12 myotubes against MyHC-II degradation by stimulating Akt (protein kinase B)-dependent protein synthesis and p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase)/myogenin-dependent myoblast differentiation. WST sustains trophism in C2C12 and young myotubes, and rescues the size, developmental MyHC expression and myoblast fusion in sarcopenic myotubes. Conclusion: WST strongly counteracts muscle atrophy associated to different conditions in vitro. The future validation in vivo of our results might lead to the use of WST as a food supplement to sustain muscle mass in diffuse atrophying conditions, and to reverse the age-related functional decline of human muscles, thus improving people quality of life and reducing social and health-care costs

Enteroparasitological profile of patients assisted in the Lauro Wanderley University Hospital (HULW)

Infections with intestinal parasites represent a worsening public health, given the large number of individuals affected and various organic changes that can be caused. The objective was to conduct a survey of individuals affected by these parasites assisted by the Clinical Laboratory of the HULW from January 2010 to January 2011, as well as characterizing data intrinsic to individuals. Data were obtained through a statistical analysis of 7844 reports of fecal examinations. Among the results was shown that 32.5 % of samples were parasitized, Ascaris lumbricoides being the most frequent in these reports, accounting for 36 %. Female patients were the most affected, comprising 62 % of positive cases. It was detected the existence of multiple parasitism in 30.7 %. Therefore, the high frequency of intestinal parasites detected is a reality that needs to be minimized in the population assisted by the HULW’s Clinical Laboratory.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Isolation, absolute configuration and cytotoxic activities of alkaloids from Hippeastrum goianum (Ravenna) Meerow (Amaryllidaceae)

The phytochemical study of Hippeastrum goianum led to the identification of 13 compounds by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Compounds 7-demethoxy-9-O-methylhostasine (1) and 7-deoxi-trans-dihydronarciclasine (2) had their absolute configurations determined by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). This is the first time that compound 1 is described in the Amaryllidaceae family. The cytotoxicity of all isolated compounds was tested against colorectal carcinoma (HCT 116), breast carcinoma (MCF-7), and non-tumor human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell lines. The half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of compound 2 against each cell line was equivalent to the positive control (doxorubicin), indicating a considerable cytotoxic activity. Keywords: narciclasine; galasine; cytotoxic activity; absolute configuration; vibrational circular dichrois

Evaluation of antitumour and antiinflammatory effects and acute toxicity of extracts obtained from Streptomyces spp. isolated from m Soils of Paraiba (Brazil)

Bioactive metabolites produced by Streptomyces spp. commonly exhibit a variety of pharmacological properties such as antibiotic, antitumor, enzymatic and anti-helminthic. The study evaluated the possible antitumor and anti-inflammatory effects and the degree of toxicity of extracts isolated from Streptomyces in experimental models with animals. The extracts Sp-1 and Sp-3 did not have anti-inflammatory effect. In the Sarcoma 180 model the effects of Sp-1 and Sp-3 were significant with decreased average weights of tumors at 10 mg/kg, and reduction of up to 73 % of initial weight of the implanted tumor. For tumors of Ehrlich Carcinoma, the doses showed no significant effect on the average weight of tumors. Stimulant effects, such as exophthalmia, agitation, escape reaction, irritability, tremors and dermatitis were observed after 1 h of administration, depressive reactions were also observed, such as prostration and decreased respiratory rate, and no deaths were highlighted.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire