Análise fitoquímica, toxicidade e potencial larvicida de extrato bruto vegetal na busca por substâncias bioativas / Phytochemical analysis, toxicity and larvicidal potential of crude plant extracts in the search for bioactive substances

A floresta amazônica é considerada a detentora da maior biodiversidade do mundo, em fauna e flora. Sua biodiversidade apresenta uma grande fonte de plantas ricas em compostos bioativos, cuja exploração racional contribui para o desenvolvimento sustentável da região. Na busca por extratos bioativos, o presente trabalho descreve os resultados dos testes fitoquímicos, a toxicidade frente à Artemia salina, e atividade larvicida do extrato bruto etanólico da serragem de Astronium lecointei Ducke e das folhas de Cochlospernum orinocense (Kunth) Steud. Os resultados preliminares fitoquímicos demonstraram a presença de taninos e uma toxicidade moderada frente à Artemia salina para o extrato de Astronium lecointei Ducke. Em relação ao extrato das folhas de Cochlospernum orinocense (Kunth) Steud, os testes apresentaram resultado positivos para taninos, flavonoides e resinas, e uma alta toxicidade evidenciado pela DL50  de 0,51 mg/mL

Synthesis of branched naphthoquinones from castor oil

<div class="WordSection1"><p><em>The naphthoquinones are cyclic aromatic α,β-dienonas with a basic framework derived from naphthalene. They are also found in many higher plants, algae, fungi and as the product of the  metabolism  of some  bacteria  having large biologica</em><em> activity described in the literature such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anticancer and trypanocidal [1-3]. Castor oil is an abundant raw material in Brazil of great versatility and, it is present in biodiesel production, surfactants, cosmetics and others. Considering the importance of naphthoquinones and, the availability of the ricinoleic acid from castor oil, the aim of this study was the preparation of new branched naphthoquinones in order to test their trypanocidal activity. Castor oil was submitted to saponification with sodium hydroxide, ethanol and water under reflux for 6 h. We then carried out an acid hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid and the formed ricinoleic acid was extracted with ethyl acetate. Following, through Kochi-Anderson addition reaction it was performed the alkylation of a naphthoquinone <strong>1</strong> and <strong>2</strong>, using ammonium persulfate, silver nitrate, acetonitrile and water, under heating at 70-80 ° C during 3 h, to give the branched naphthoquinones <strong>4</strong> and <strong>5</strong></em> <em>(scheme 1). The naphthoquinone <strong>3</strong> will be similarly submitted to this procedure. The naphthoquinones <strong>4</strong> and <strong>5</strong> were purified by column chromatography on sílica gel using hexane as the eluent. The compounds were characterized by mass spectrometry and ¹H and ¹³CNMR spectroscopy.</em></p></div

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data