Wild carnivores, domestic dogs and ticks: shared parasitism in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The increase of contact between natural and rural areas is prominent in Brazil, due to agricultural activities and concern with the environmental conservation. In this context, domestic animals, wild fauna and humans are exposed to mutual exchange of parasites, microorganisms and diseases. We studied tick parasitism of wild carnivores and domestic dogs, and the environmental of questing ticks, in extensive cattle ranch areas intermingled with natural vegetation, and in a natural reserve, both in a region of Cerrado biome, Midwestern Brazil. From 2008 to 2015, we inspected 119 wild carnivores from nine species, and collected six tick species (Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma tigrinum, Dermacentor nitens and Rhipicephalus microplus). The most numerous and infested hosts were Cerdocyon thous, Lycalopex vetulus, Chrysocyon brachyurus, Puma concolor and Conepatus amazonicus. From 139 domestic dogs, we collected A. sculptum, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and R. microplus. From vegetation, samplings resulted in A. sculptum, A. dubitatum, A. ovale, Amblyomma rotundatum and R. microplus, with dominance of A. sculptum. Domestics and wild animals presented high overlapping of infestations by A. sculptum, a generalist and anthropophilic tick species. This tick is the most important vector of the Brazilian spotted fever, a lethal human disease. This fact elicits attention and requires efforts to monitor the presence of pathogens vectored by ticks circulating in this type of agroecosystem, including in other regions of the Brazil, because the most of the natural vegetation remaining have been increasingly immersed in pastures and agricultural matrix.

Correlação entre as atividades antiradical, antiacetilcolinesterase e teor de fenóis totais de extratos de plantas medicinais de farmácias vivas / Correlation between the anti-radical, anti-acetylcholinesterase activities and phenolic content of some extracts of live herbal pharmacies in the Northeast of Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a correlação entre o conteúdo de fenóis de extratos de 18 plantas medicinais comuns nas Farmácias Vivas com a atividade sequestradora do radical livre DPPH e com a inibição da enzima acetilcolinesterase. Maiores conteúdos de fenóis totais foram encontrados nas plantas: Eugenia uniflora, Lippia alba, Lippia microphylla, Mentha x villosa, Ocimum gratissimum e Ocimum selloi. As espécies que apresentaram maior atividade antioxidante, semelhante a quercetina, foram: Spondias mombim, Malphigia glabra, L. alba e Croton zenhtneri,. As plantas Cecropia pachystachia, L. alba, L. microphylla, M. glabra, O. gratissimum e Plectranthus ornatus mostraram maiores halos de inibição da enzima acetilcolinesterase. Combinando as duas ações, as plantas mais ativas foram a M. glabra e a L. alba e somente a segunda correlaciona-se diretamente com o maior teor de fenóis totais. Através deste estudo, M. glabra e L. alba foram consideradas as plantas mais promissoras para estudos subsequentes a fim de encontrar novos compostos com ação potencial contra a doença de Alzheimer.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the phenolic content of 18 medicinal plant extracts of "Live Pharmacies" and correlate them with their free radical scavenging activity and inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme. Higher amounts of phenolic compounds were found in the following plants: Eugenia uniflora, Lippia alba, Lippia microphylla, Mentha x villosa, Ocimum gatissimum, and Ocimum selloi. The species that showed higher anti-radical activity were Croton zenhtneri, Lippia alba, Malphigia glabra, and Spondias mombim, similar to quercetin. The plants Cecropia pachystachia, L. alba, L. microplylla, M. glabra, O. gratissimum, and Plectranthus ornatus showed larger inhibition zones of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme. By correlating the two actions L. alba and M. glabra are common as more active to both tests and only L. alba correlates directly with the phenolic content. Through this study, L. alba and M. glabra are considered the most promising plants for further studies to find new compounds with potential action against Alzheimer's disease.