Antifungal activity of poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles incorporated with Eucalyptus essential oils against Hemileia vastatrix.

Coffee (Coffea L.) is one of the main crops produced globally. Its contamination by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix Berkeley and Broome has been economically detrimental for producers. The objective of this work was to extract and characterize the essential oils from Eucalyptus citriodora Hook, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn and Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden, produce and characterize nanoparticles containing these essential oils and evaluate the in vivo and in vitro antifungal activity of free and nanoencapsulated essential oils. The principal constituent of the essential oil from E. citriodora was citronellal; that from E. grandis was α-pinene; and that from E. camaldulensis was 1,8-cineol. The in vitro antifungal activity against the fungus H. vastatrix was 100% at a concentration of 1000 µl l-1 for all the oils and nanoparticles containing these natural products. The sizes of the nanoparticles produced with the essential oils from E. citriodora, E. camaldulensis and E. grandis were 402·13 nm, 275·33 nm and 328·5 nm, respectively, with surface charges of -11·8 mV, -9·24 mV and - 6·76 mV, respectively. Fourier transform infrared analyses proved that the encapsulation of essential oils occurred in the polymeric matrix of poly(ε-caprolactone). The incorporation of essential oils into biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles increased their efficiency as biofungicides in the fight against coffee rust, decreasing the severity of the disease by up to 90·75% after treatment with the nanoparticles containing the essential oil from E. grandis.

Airborne olive pollen counts are not representative of exposure to the major olive allergen Ole e 1.

Pollen is routinely monitored, but it is unknown whether pollen counts represent allergen exposure. We therefore simultaneously determined olive pollen and Ole e 1 in ambient air in Córdoba, Spain, and Évora, Portugal, using Hirst-type traps for pollen and high-volume cascade impactors for allergen. Pollen from different days released 12-fold different amounts of Ole e 1 per pollen (both locations P < 0.001). Average allergen release from pollen (pollen potency) was much higher in Córdoba (3.9 pg Ole e 1/pollen) than in Évora (0.8 pg Ole e 1/pollen, P = 0.004). Indeed, yearly olive pollen counts in Córdoba were 2.4 times higher than in Évora, but Ole e 1 concentrations were 7.6 times higher. When modeling the origin of the pollen, >40% of Ole e 1 exposure in Évora was explained by high-potency pollen originating from the south of Spain. Thus, olive pollen can vary substantially in allergen release, even though they are morphologically identical.

Correlation between pollen counts and symptoms in two different areas of the Iberian Peninsula: Cordoba (Spain) and Evora (Portugal).

This work was designed to analyse the symptoms of pollen allergy in two different cities of the Iberian Peninsula, Cordoba and Evora. Fifteen patients with pollinosis in Cordoba and twenty-seven in Evora were included in this study. Rhinitis symptoms scores were recorded in both cities in order to correlate these data with those of pollen counts. Linear regression analyses were performed in order to find out the contribution of different taxa to the sign of allergy symptoms in the allergenic population. Skin prick tests were also considered. A high and significant correlation was found for Poaceae (0.89), Olea (0.73) and Plantago (0.56) in Cordoba and Olea (0.53) in Evora. Results also suggest that the incidence of the different pollen types in allergy patients is higher in Cordoba than in Evora. A rural lifestyle in Evora that confers a better protection from environmental agents in addition to a less contaminated atmosphere could be the cause.

Effects of aluminum sulfate on erythropoiesis in rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronically administered aluminum on erythropoiesis in rats. After treatment (i.p. injections of Al(2)(SO(4))(3), 50 micromol/kg body weight, five times a week) for 3 months, the treated (Al) group showed significantly decreased hemoglobin concentration (32%) and hematocrit (24%) compared with the control group. Serum iron decreased significantly in the Al group, whereas total iron binding capacity did not change. Treatment did not alter the activity of hepatic, renal or cerebral delta-ALA-D. Biochemical measurements related to 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) levels from serum and hepatic, renal and cerebral homogenates also did not change after treatment. Hepatic concentrations of aluminum were higher in the Al group than in the control group. Renal and cerebral aluminum concentrations did not vary between groups. The present results indicate that exposure to aluminum sulfate promotes signs of anemia in rats as a consequence of alterations in iron status.