Lippia alba and Lippia gracilis essential oils affect the viability and oviposition of Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that affects millions of people around the world. Currently, the only drug available for the treatment of this disease is praziquantel, which has low efficacy against immature helminth stages and there are reports of drug resistance. In this study, the chemical composition and the in vitro effect of essential oils (EOs) and major compounds from Lippia gracilis and Lippia alba against schistosomula and adult Schistosoma mansoni worms were evaluated. Adult S. mansoni worms cultured for 8h in the presence of L. gracilis EO (50 and 100 µg/mL) or for 2h with its major compound, carvacrol (100 µg/mL), had a 100% reduction in viability. After interaction with L. alba EO (100µg/mL), there was a reduction of approximately 60% in the viability of adult worms after 24 hours of exposure; citral (50 and 100 µg/mL), its major compound, reduced the viability after 24 hours by more than 75%. Treatment of schistosomula with 100 µg/mL of L. gracilis or L. alba EOs for 6h led to a reduction in parasite viability of 80% and 16% respectively. Both EOs and their major compounds significantly reduced the oviposition of adult worms exposed to a non-lethal concentration (5 µg/mL). In addition, morphological changes such as the destruction of the tegument and disorganization of the reproductive system of male and female worms were visualized. Both EOs showed low cytotoxicity at a concentration of 50 µg/mL. The results encourage further investigation of these plants as a potential source of bioactive compounds against S. mansoni.

Morphoagronomic characterization of Lantana camara L. germplasm / Caracterização morfoagronômica de germoplasma de Lantana camara L

The medicinal and aromatic species Lantana camara is a bush that receives a lot of interest regarding ornamental use. However, due to its condition of invasive plant in natural environments, it suffers constant eradication attempts, which causes genetic erosion of the species. To work around this problem, a sample of the genetic variability of L. camara was saved in the Active Germplasm Bank of medicinal and aromatic plants of the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS). This study aimed to evaluate morphoagronomically 22 accessions of L. camara, collected in 15 municipalities in the state of Sergipe. To carry out morphoagronomic characterization, morphological and agronomic traits were analyzed. Phenotypic variability among the accessions of the L. camara collection for all the analyzed morphological quantitative and agronomic characteristics was observed. The means ranged from 4.91 to 6.90 cm for leaf length; from 2.81 to 5.03 cm for leaf width; from 1.32 to 1.87 for the leaf length/width ratio; from 9.59 to 22.98 mm2 for leaf area; from 99.00 to 215.00 cm for crown diameter; from 85.67 to 214.33 for plant height; and from 1.08 to 2.43 cm for stem diameter. Most accessions presented erect form. The mean number of flowers per inflorescence varied from 12 to 38 flowers. For the agronomic traits, we observed that the dry mass ranged from 49.86 to 649.04 g.plant-1. The mean content of essential oil ranged from 0.13 to 0.26% and yield between 0.10 and 1.55 mL.plant-1. The most divergent phenotypic accessions were LAC-001 (São Cristóvão) and LAC-038 (Moita Bonita) and the ones with the lowest divergence were LAC-004 (Itaporanga D'ajuda) and LAC-019 (Siriri). Thus, it was observed that the variables were efficient to differentiate the accessions and suggest the existence of genetic variability among them.

A espécie aromática e medicinal Lantana camara, é um arbusto muito usado para ornamentação. Devido à sua condição de planta invasora em ambientes naturais, sofre com tentativas de erradicação constantes, o que ocasiona erosão genética da espécie. Para contornar essa problemática, uma amostra da variabilidade genética da L. camara está sendo conservada no Banco Ativo de Germoplasma (BAG) de Plantas Medicinais e Aromáticas da Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS). Assim, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar morfoagronomicamente 22 acessos de L. camara, coletados em 15 municípios do estado de Sergipe. Para caracterização morfoagronômica, variáveis morfológicas e agronômicas foram analisadas. Observou-se variabilidade fenotípica entre os acessos da coleção de L. camara para a maioria das características morfológicas quantitivas e agronômicas. A média para comprimento de folha variou de 4,91 e 6,90 cm; largura de folha de 2,81 a 5,03 cm; relação comprimento/largura de 1,32 a 1,87; área folia de 9,59 a 22,98 mm²; diâmetro da copa de 99, 00 a 215,00 cm; altura de planta de 85,67 a 214,33 cm; diâmetro do caule de 1,08 a 2,43 cm; A maioria dos acessos apresentou porte ereto. O número médio de flores por inflorescências variou de 12 a 38. Para as características agronômicas observou-se que a massa seca variou de 49,86 a 649,04 g.planta-¹. A média para teor de óleo essencial variou de 0,13 a 0,26% e o rendimento entre 0,10 a 1,55 mL.planta-¹. Os acessos mais divergentes fenotipicamente foram LAC-001 (São Cristóvão) e LAC-038 (Moita Bonita) e os que apresentaram a menor divergência foram LAC-004 (Itaporanga D'ajuda) e LAC-019 (Siriri). Dessa forma, nota-se que as variáveis foram eficientes para diferenciar os acessos e sugerem a existência de variabilidade genética entre eles.

Morpho-agronomic characterization of Varronia curassavica germplasm conservated "Ex situ" / Caracterização morfoagronômica de germoplasma de Varronia curassavica conservado "Ex situ"

Varronia curassavica Jacq. is a medicinal and aromatic plant native to Brazil. The essential oil of this species is valued by the pharmaceutical industry due to its bioactive substances containing anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to morpho-agronomically characterize 27 accessions of the collection of V. curassavica of the Active Germplasm Bank of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Federal University of Sergipe. The experiment consisted of a randomized block design with three replications. The morphological characterization occurred in the field, by evaluating the variables plant height; canopy width; canopy shape; stem diameter; stem color; leaf blades width, length, and length/width ratio; leaves, petals, and sepals color. The agronomic characterization was performed using the essential oils extracted from dried leaves by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus. Leaves dry matter yield per plant and essential oil yield and content were also evaluated. The accessions showed great variation for leaves color, with different shades of green, which allowed separating them into dark green leaf and light green leaf plants. Plant height values ranged from 101.33 cm (VCUR-801) to 345.33 cm (VCUR-701). The clustering analysis of the traits revealed seven distinct groups. The accessions VCUR-103 and VCUR-001 were the most divergent, whereas the accessions VCUR-401 and VCUR-404 were the most similar. The morpho-agronomic characterization of V. curassavica accessions provides a correct description of the species by pointing out perspectives for genetic improvement, besides optimizing the conservation process. KEYWORDS: Cordiaceae. Medicinal plant. Aromatic plant. Essential oil. Domestication. Genetic breeding INTRODUCTION Brazil is rich in plant biodiversity (SOUZA et al., 2010). However, in recent years, its biodiversity has undergone accelerated destruction,mainly affecting the natural vegetation. This fact is due to agricultural expansion, fires, logging, extractivism, and uncontrolled urban growth. All these changes have posed a great threat to several plant species in the country (OLIVEIRA, 2010). An alternative for the maintenance and conservation of endangered species is the formationof collections in Active Germplasm Banks, which holds base collections for the conservation of a broad plant genetic variability, enabling biodiversity maintenance (SILVA et al., 2012). Varronia curassavica Jacq. (ex Cordia verbenacea DC.)] is a medicinal and aromatic plant native to Brazil, belonging to the Cordiaceae family (GASPARINO; BARROS, 2009). It occurs from Central America to southern Brazil (LORENZI; MATOS, 2008) in a wide range of habitats, such as beaches, restinga, forests, and cerrado (WANDERLEY et al., 2002). V. curassavica has stood out both in folk medicine and in the pharmaceutical industry, mainly due to the anti-inflammatory substances present in its essential oil (PASSOS et al., 2007; PARISSOTO et al., 2012; PIMENTEL et al., 2012). The effectiveness of V. curassavica is recognized by the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The plant is included in the List of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS) (BRASIL, 2011). Due to its therapeutic properties, several studies have been developed aimed at the selection Received: 14/05/18 Accepted: 20/11/19

Varronia curassavica Jacq. é uma planta medicinal e aromática nativa do Brasil. O óleo essencial desta espécie é utilizado pela indústria farmacêutica por conter substâncias bioativas com propriedades anti-inflamatórias. Objetivou-se caracterizar morfoagronomicamente 27 acessos da coleção de V. curassavica do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma de Plantas Medicinais e Aromáticas da Universidade Federal de Sergipe. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados com três repetições. A caracterização morfológica foi realizada em campo, por meio da avaliação da altura da planta; largura da copa; formato da copa; diâmetro do caule a 10 cm do solo; cor do caule; largura, comprimento e relação comprimento/largura das lâminas foliares; e cor das folhas, pétalas e sépalas. A caracterização agronômica foi realizada a partir dos óleos essenciais extraídos de folhas secas por hidrodestilação em aparelho Clevenger. Foi avaliado o rendimento de massa seca das folhas por planta e o teor e rendimento do óleo essencial. Grande variação foi observada entre os acessos para a coloração das folhas, as quais apresentaram diferentes tonalidades de verde, sendo possível separá-las entre plantas com folhas verde-escuro e plantas com folhas verde-claro. Para a variável altura de planta, os valores variaram de 101,33 cm (VCUR-801) a 345,33 cm (VCUR-701). Sete grupos distintos foram formados na análise de agrupamento realizada a partir dos caracteres avaliados. Os acessos VCUR-103 e VCUR-001 foram os que se mostraram mais divergentes, enquanto que os mais semelhantes foram os acessos VCUR-401 e VCUR-404. A caracterização morfoagronômica dos acessos de erva-baleeira permitirá a realização de uma correta descrição da espécie, apontando perspectivas para o melhoramento genético, além de possibilitar a otimização do processo de conservação.

Cropping season affect the performance of basil cultivars and hybrids / Época de plantio afeta o desempenho de cultivares e híbridos de manjericão

The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of basil cultivars and hybrids in two cropping seasons. The experiments were conducted in a randomized block design, with three replications. Twenty-four basil genotypes were tested (20 commercial cultivars and four hybrids), in the dry season (oct.-dec./2015) and in the rainy season (apr.-jun./2016). The evaluated variables were: plant height (cm plant-1), canopy width (cm plant-1), leaf dry weight (g plant-1), and essential oil yield (mL plant-1). The data of each period were subject to analysis of variance and the means were grouped by the Scott-Knott test (p0.05). The individual and joint analyses of variance were performed for the experiments in both seasons. The estimated parameters were: coefficient of genetic variation (CVg), coefficient of environmental variation (CVe), CVg/CVe ratio, and heritability (h2). Leaf dry weight values per plant ranged from 6.23 to 75.00 g plant-1 (dry season) and from 9.17 to 31.34 g plant-1 (rainy season). The hybrid Cinnamon x Maria Bonita (1.50 mL plant-1) and the cultivar Mrs. Burns (1.44 mL plant-1) presented higher essential oil yield in the dry season. All the evaluated variables showed high heritability (h2) (> 50%) and CVg/CVe ratio (> 1.0), in both cropping seasons, indicating a favorable condition for selection. The cropping season influences the biomass and essential oil yield of basil.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de cultivares e híbridos de manjericão em duas épocas de plantio. Para o ensaio, utilizou-se o delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, com três repetições. Foram avaliados 24 genótipos de manjericão, sendo 20 cultivares comerciais e quatro híbridos cultivados na época seca (out.-dez./2015) e chuvosa (abr.-jun./2016). As variáveis avaliadas foram: altura de planta (cm planta-1), largura da copa (cm planta-1), massa seca de folhas (g planta-1) e rendimento (mL planta-1) de óleo essencial. Os dados de cada época foram submetidos à análise de variância, e as médias foram agrupadas pelo teste Scott-Knott (p0,05). Realizou-se a análise de variância individual e conjunta para os experimentos das duas épocas. Foram estimados os seguintes parâmetros: coeficiente de variação genética (CVg), coeficiente de variação ambiental (CVe), razão CVg/CVe e a herdabilidade (h2). As médias deferiram significativamente em relação à época de plantio para a maioria das cultivares. Os valores de massa seca de folha variaram de 6,23 a 75,00 g planta-1 (época seca) e 9,17 a 31,34 g planta-1 (época chuvosa). O híbrido Cinnamon x Maria Bonita (1,50 mL planta-1) e a cultivar Mrs. Burns (1,44 mL planta-1) apresentaram maior rendimento de óleo essencial na época seca. Na época chuvosa foi de 1,29 mL planta-1 (Mrs. Burns). Todos os caracteres avaliados apresentaram alta herdabilidade (h2) (>50%) e razão CVg/CVe (>1,0), nas duas épocas, indicando condição favorável para seleção em um programa de melhoramento. A época de plantio influencia a produção de biomassa e óleo essencial de manjericão.