Oviposition inhibitory activity of the Mexican sunflower Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae) polar extracts against the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae)

The Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia, Asteraceae) is an invasive shrub of agricultural and non-agricultural lands in tropical countries. Besides extensive utilizations in the traditional medicine, mainly to treat malaria, the plant is believed to have a great potential in agriculture of developing countries as a green biomass to produce fertilizer, fodder and biopesticides. The plant is known to produce tagitinins, which are sesquiterpene lactones with a bitter taste endowed with toxicity against several insects such as mosquitoes, aphids, and beetles. Here, we evaluated the potential of T. diversifolia against the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae), which is one of the most economically important arthropod pests worldwide. The leaf methanolic extract and its ethyl acetate fraction were tested for acute and chronic toxicity and for oviposition inhibitory effects. The chemical composition of the extracts was analyzed by HPLC-MSn and NMR. The main constituents were flavonoid derivatives, phenylpropanoids and sesquiterpene lactones. Among the latter, tagitinin C and tagitinin A were the major compounds. In acute toxicity assays, mortality did not exceed 50% even for the highest tested dose of 150 \u3bcg cm-3. However, in chronic toxicity assays, on day 5 from application, the methanolic extract LD50 was 41.3 \u3bcg cm-3 while LD90 was 98.7 \u3bcg cm-3. Furthermore, both T. diversifolia extracts inhibited oviposition in T. urticae. The ethyl acetate extract was the most active oviposition inhibitor, with an ED50 value of 44.3 \u3bcg cm-3 and an ED90 of 121.5 \u3bcg cm-3. Overall, the good yield rate of the extract and the high crop yield highlighted good prospects of using the extract from this plant for the development of oviposition inhibitors against mite

Identification of tagitinin C from Tithonia diversifolia as antitrypanosomal compound using bioactivity-guided fractionation

Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae), is used as traditional medicine in tropical countries for the treatment of various diseases, including malaria. Although numerous studies have assessed the antimalarial properties, nothing is known about the effect of T. diversifolia extracts on trypanosomiasis. In this study extracts of T. diversifolia aerial parts were evaluated for their bioactivity against Trypanosoma brucei. The activity was studied against bloodstream forms of T. brucei (TC221), as well as against mammalian cells (BALB/3T3 mouse fibroblasts), as a counter-screen for toxicity. Both methanolic and aqueous extracts showed significant effects with IC50 values of 1.1 and 2.2\u3bcg/mL against T. brucei (TC221) and 5.2 and 3.7\u3bcg/mL against BALB/3T3 cells, respectively. A bioassay-guided fractionation on the methanolic extract yielded in identification of active fractions (F8 and F9) with IC50 values of 0.41 and 0.43\u3bcg/mL, respectively, against T. brucei (TC221) and 1.4 and 1.5\u3bcg/mL, respectively, against BALB/3T3 cells,. The phytochemical composition of the extracts and the purified fractions were investigated using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and 1D and 2D NMR spectra showing the presence of sesquiterpene lactones that in turn were subjected to the isolation procedure. Tagitinin A and C were rather active but the latter presented a very strong inhibition on T. brucei (TC221) with an IC50 value of 0.0042\u3bcg/mL. This activity was 4.5 times better than that of the reference drug suramin. The results of this study shed light on the antitrypanosomal effects of T. diversifolia extracts and highlighted tagitinin C as one of the possible responsible for this effect. Further structure activity relationships studies on tagitinins are needed to consider this sesquiterpenes as lead compounds for the development of new antitrypanosomal drugs

Tyttöjen Tila : kehittämishanke Loviisassa

Tytti Eriksson. Tyttöjen tila- kehittämishanke Loviisassa. Diakonia-ammattikorkeakoulu. Diak, Helsinki, syksy 2016. sivuja 52 liitteitä 5. Sosiaalialan koulutusohjelma, Diakonia ja kristillinen kasvatus, sosionomi, (YAMK) Opinnäytetyön tavoite oli selvittää loviisalaisten yläasteikäisten tyttöjen toiveita ja osallisuutta Loviisaan perustettavan Tyttöjen Tilan toimintaan. Lisäksi työn tarkoituksena oli suunnitella toimintaa ja hakea rahoitusta toiminnan pyörittämiseen ja avata tila Loviisassa. Opinnäytetyö on kehittämishanke, joka toteutettiin kaksiosaisena, kyselytutkimuksena sekä kehittävänä toimintana, joka päättyi tyttöjen tilan perustamiseen. Opinnäytetyön tutkimuksellinen osuus toteutettiin Loviisan kaupungin tilauksesta kyse-lytutkimuksena. Loviisa on kaksikielinen kunta, jossa suomenkielisten osuus väestöstä on 55 % ja ruotsinkielisten 42 %. Kysely tehtiin kaikille yläkouluikäisille loviisalaisty-töille ja se toteutettiin kaksikielisenä. Kyselyt tehtiin keväällä 2016 ja tila avattiin loka-kuussa 2016. Tutkimus oli määrällinen kyselytutkimus ja kehittämishanke. Lisäksi sa-maan aikaan opinnäytetyön tekijä suunnitteli tyttöryhmän kanssa tyttöjen omaa huonetta Loviisan keskustan Forumin nuorisotilaan. Tekijä haki myös rahoitusta toimintaan kol-mella erillisellä rahoitushakemuksella. Tyttötyö ja sukupuolisensitiivinen työ ovat olleet tärkeimpiä suuntaviivoja opinnäyte-työssä. Myös nuorten osallisuus ja nuorten oman äänen kuuluminen ovat vaikuttaneet opinnäytetyöhön ja ovat siinä esillä. Toimintaa halutaan jatkaa yhdessä tyttöjen kanssa ja kehittää sitä heidän toiveidensa mukaisesti. Opinnäytetyön valmistumisvaiheessa yhdestä rahoitushakemuksista on saatu rahaa toi-mintaan. Lisäksi International Soroptimistit Loviisa- naisjärjestö oli tukemassa toimintaa. Tulevaisuudessa kuntasektorilla tulee olemaan tarve hakea rahoitusta toimintaan erilaisista hankkeista ja projektirahoituksista, jotta voidaan turvata laadukkaan ja ennal-taehkäisevän nuorisotyön jatkuvuus kuntien taloudellisen tilanteen heikentyessä. Itse uskon, että työ tulee tulevaisuudessa olemaan enemmän projektiluonteista ja ostopalve-lut tulevat lisääntymään, joten rahoituskanavien ja erilaisten projektien tuntemus tulee jatkossa olemaan myös kuntatyöntekijöiden osaamisaluetta. Opinnäytetyö oli tarpeellinen työn kehittämisen kannalta ja antoi suuntaviivaa toiminnan jatkosta. Tilan avaamiseen lokakuussa osallistui 120 tyttöä. Asiasanat: nuorten osallisuus, sukupuolisensitiivinen työ, tyttötyö, Loviisan kaupunki  Eriksson, Tytti. Girls´ place – development project in Loviisa. Autum 2016.52p.,5 ap-pendices Language Finnish. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Degree pro-gramme in Social Services. Diaconia, Christian Education and Youth Work. Degree: Master of Social Services. The purpose of this thesis was to understand the gender-sensitive hopes and aspirations of teenage girls participating in to-be-established Girls Club activities. In addition, the aim was to advise the planning of those activities and to seek funding for opening and running a girls´ club in Loviisa, Finland. This thesis is a development project, which was carried out in two parts, as a survey and as a development activity, which led to the establishment of the girls´ club and its services. In accordance with the town of Loviisa´s research guidance, the research was conducted as a survey. Loviisa is a bilingual municipality consisting of population of 55% Finnish speakers and 42% Swedish speakers. The sample included high-school aged girls in Loviisa and the surveys were conducted bi-lingually. The research was qualitative. In addition, the author planned together with the interviewees the facilities in the town-centre Forum Youth Club. The author also sought funding with three independent appli-cations. The survey took place in the Spring 2016 and the facilities opened in October 2016. Working with the girls and addressing the gender-sensitive issues has been a significant driver for this thesis. The actual participation and the desire to hear the ‘true voice’ of the youth have had a significant impact on this work, as can be seen in the findings. The aspiration is to develop this work, and to do so according to the wishes of teenage girls in Loviisa. One of the original funding applications out of the three has been successful so far. In addition, the International Soroptimist Loviisa - a women’s institution – has been sup-porting this project. It is essential that the municipality- level sector continues to find and to secure funding from a variety of projects, to ensure the continuity of high quality and preemptive youth support work, especially under currently weakening municipality- level economy. The author firmly believes that future work will be more project-based and that the outsourcing of services will increase. Therefore the council and youth workers will need ongoing training about the appropriate funding sources and venues. This thesis is necessary for developing the provision of youth services and to provide pointers for the future services and activities. The first night opening, in October 2016, of the Girls´ Club in Loviisa attracted 120 girls. Keywords: youth participation, youth work, youth support, gender sensitivity, working with teenage girls, Loviisa

An overlooked horticultural crop, Smyrnium olusatrum, as a potential source of compounds effective against African trypanosomiasis

Among natural products, sesquiterpenes have shown promising inhibitory effects against bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei, the protozoan parasite causing human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). Smyrnium olusatrum (Apiaceae), also known as Alexanders or wild celery, is a neglected horticultural crop characterized by oxygenated sesquiterpenes containing a furan ring. In the present work we explored the potential of its essential oils obtained from different organs and the main oxygenated sesquiterpenes, namely isofuranodiene, germacrone and β-acetoxyfuranoeudesm-4(15)-ene, as inhibitors of Trypanosoma brucei. All essential oils effectively inhibited the growth of parasite showing IC50 values of 1.9-4.0μg/ml. Among the main essential oil constituents, isofuranodiene exhibited a significant and selective inhibitory activity against T. brucei (IC50 of 0.6μg/ml, SI=30), with β-acetoxyfuranoeudesm-4(15)-ene giving a moderate potentiating effect. These results shed light on the possible application of isofuranodiene as an antiprotozoal agent to be included in combination treatments aimed not only at curing patients but also at preventing the diffusion of HAT

Oviposition inhibitory activity of the Mexican sunflower Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae) polar extracts against the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae)

The Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia, Asteraceae) is an invasive shrub of agricultural and non-agricultural lands in tropical countries. Besides extensive utilizations in the traditional medicine, mainly to treat malaria, the plant is believed to have a great potential in agriculture of developing countries as a green biomass to produce fertilizer, fodder and biopesticides. The plant is known to produce tagitinins, which are sesquiterpene lactones with a bitter taste endowed with toxicity against several insects such as mosquitoes, aphids, and beetles. Here, we evaluated the potential of T. diversifolia against the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae), which is one of the most economically important arthropod pests worldwide. The leaf methanolic extract and its ethyl acetate fraction were tested for acute and chronic toxicity and for oviposition inhibitory effects. The chemical composition of the extracts was analyzed by HPLC-MSn and NMR. The main constituents were flavonoid derivatives, phenylpropanoids and sesquiterpene lactones. Among the latter, tagitinin C and tagitinin A were the major compounds. In acute toxicity assays, mortality did not exceed 50% even for the highest tested dose of 150 μg cm-3. However, in chronic toxicity assays, on day 5 from application, the methanolic extract LD50 was 41.3 μg cm-3 while LD90 was 98.7 μg cm-3. Furthermore, both T. diversifolia extracts inhibited oviposition in T. urticae. The ethyl acetate extract was the most active oviposition inhibitor, with an ED50 value of 44.3 μg cm-3 and an ED90 of 121.5 μg cm-3. Overall, the good yield rate of the extract and the high crop yield highlighted good prospects of using the extract from this plant for the development of oviposition inhibitors against mites