Diversidade e usos de plantas medicinais nos quintais da comunidade de São João da Várzea em Mossoró RN / Diversity and uses of medicinal plants in homegardens at the community São João da Varzea, Mossoró RN

RESUMO Nos quintais do nordeste brasileiro são mantidas tradicionalmente diversas espécies vegetais para o tratamento de doenças. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi realizar um levantamento das espécies medicinais em quintais na Comunidade de São João da Várzea, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. Participaram do estudo 22 informantes e foram aplicadas para a coleta de dados técnicas de observação direta e participante, turnê guiada, lista livre e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Verificou-se a presença de 57 espécies pertencentes a 37 famílias botânicas. As espécies com maior frequência de ocorrência foram goiabeira (Psidium guajavaL.) e coqueiro (Cocos nucifera L.), presentes em 59% e 55% dos quintais, respectivamente. Para estas espécies houve maior índice de concordância de uso (CUPc de 61,5% e 92,3%). Foram citadas 67 patologias e o maior número de plantas medicinais foi indicado para o tratamento de gripe, disenteria, inflamações e como cicatrizante de ferimentos. O principal modo de administração foi por via oral, na forma de decocção (58%) e as folhas foram as partes mais usadas (32,6%). Os quintais são sistemas que atuam como uma estratégia de uso mais sustentável dos recursos medicinais por conservarem também as espécies nativas. As espécies medicinais mais frequentes nos quintais são arvores frutífero-alimentícias importantes para a renda familiar. A gripe e desinteria são os principais agravos de saúde tratados com espécies medicinais pela comunidade. Ziziphus joazeiro Mart., Citrus X limonia (L.) Osbeck, Punica granatum L., Cocos nucifera L. e Psidium guajava L. são espécies que merecem maiores estudos farmacológicos.

ABSTRACT Traditionally, at homegardens in the northeastern of Brazil, several plant species are employed for the treatment of diseases. The aim of this study was to research the species of medicinal use in homegardens of São João da Varzea, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. 22 homegardens were studied through the techniques of direct and participant observations , guided tours, free list and semi structured interviews. We verified the presence of 57 botanical species belonging to 37 families. The two species with the highest frequency of occurrence were the guava (Psidium guajava L.) and the coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), present in 59% and 55% of the homegardens, respectively. For these species there was more agreement of use (CUPc 61.5% and 92.3%). 67 diseases, including influenza and dysentery were the most common ones mentioned during the interviews. The main mode of administration was orally, in the form of decoction (58%), and the leaves were the most employed component (32.6%). Homegardens are systems that act as a more sustainable use of medicinal resources strategy since they conserve native species. The most common medicinal plants in the homegardens are the fruitful-food trees, important to the family income. The flu and the dysentery are the main health problems treated with medicinal plants by the community. The Ziziphus joazeiro Mart., Citrus X limonia (L.) Osbeck, Punica granatum L., Cocos nucifera L. and Psidium guajava L. are species that deserve further pharmacological studies.

Poaia [Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot. ) Stoves]: aspectos da memória cultural dos poaieiros de Cáceres - Mato Grosso, Brasil / Ipecac [Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot. ) Stoves]: aspects of cultural memory of "poaieiros" in Cáceres - Mato Grosso, Brazil

O Brasil está entre os principais exportadores de poaia [Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot.) Stoves] seguido do Panamá e Costa Rica. A poaia brasileira apresenta alto valor farmacológico das raízes devido aos teores de emetina e cefalina. Este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever como as famílias de poaieiros mantém a memória cultural sobre a Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot.) Stoves. As informações foram coletadas no município de Cáceres, Mato Grosso, através de entrevista estruturada e observação participante com 20 homens e 10 mulheres, de faixa etária de 45 a 86 anos. Foram citadas as formas de utilização na alimentação para animais, inseticida, carrapaticida, emético, contra diarréias, para alívio de dor de cabeça, contra malária, bronquite e dor no estômago. A raiz é a parte mais usada e a forma de preparo é tintura ou misturada ao fumo, ao vinho ou à cachaça. Poucos entrevistados passaram aos filhos o conhecimento sobre a P. ipecacuanha. A memória cultural sobre a P. ipecacuanha deve-se a vivência, extração e comercialização da planta, e por ouvir as conversas dos pais com amigos. A perda de conhecimento associado a poaia é causada pelo êxodo rural, destruição do habitat com o desmatamento e ocupação agrícola. A extinção da espécie na região contribui para a erosão cultural.

Brazil is among the leading exporters of ipecac [Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot.) Stoves], followed by Panama and Costa Rica. The roots of Brazilian ipecac have high pharmacological value due to their levels of emetine and cephalin. This study aimed to describe how families of "poaieiros" maintain the cultural memory of Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot.) Stoves. Information was collected in the city of Cáceres, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, through structured interviews and participating observation involving 20 men and 10 women aged from 45 to 86 years. The cited forms of use were in animal nutrition, as insecticide, acaricide, emetic, against diarrhea, relief from headache, and against malaria, bronchitis and stomach ache. The root is the most used part and its preparation form is tincture or mixed with tobacco, wine or sugarcane. Few interviewees transmitted to their children the knowledge of P. ipecacuanha. The cultural memory of P. ipecacuanha is due to experience, extraction and marketing of the plant, as well as to hearing conversations between parents and friends. The loss of knowledge associated with ipecac is caused by rural exodus, destruction of its habitat due to deforestation and agricultural occupation. The extinction of this species in the region contributes to cultural erosion.

Nó-de-cachorro (Heteropterys tomentosa A. Juss.): espécie de uso medicinal em Mato Grosso, Brasil / Nó-de-cachorro (Heteropterys tomentosa A. Juss.): a medicinal plant from Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Neste estudo é apresentada uma revisão sobre nó-de-cachorro (Heteropterys tomentosa A. Juss.), espécie de uso medicinal em Mato Grosso. São abordadas as características da espécie com a descrição da planta, hábitat, distribuição geográfica, ecologia, fenologia e biologia reprodutiva, propriedades químicas e farmacológicas. Os aspectos como a etnobotânica (uso e partes usadas), formas de exploração atual e informações sobre cultivo são discutidos.

This study presents a review about "Nó-de-cachorro" (Heteropterys tomentosa A. Juss.), a medicinal species from Mato Grosso State, Brazil. We outlined the characteristics of the species including the plant description, habitat, geographic distribution, ecology, phenology and reproductive biology, chemical and pharmacological properties. Aspects such as ethnobotany (use and used parts), current ways of exploiting and information on cultivation are discussed.

Pré-tratamento com ácido sulfúrico na germinação de sementes de Ziziphus joazeiro Mart: Rhamnaceae / Pretreatment with sulfuric acid on Ziziphus joazeiro Mart: Rhamnaceae seed germination

Ziziphus joazeiro Mart. é uma arvore brasileira endêmica da Caatinga e tem diversos usos no Nordeste. As sementes apresentam dormência tegumentar e o presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar tratamentos pré-germinativos com ácido sulfúrico concentrado para superar a dormência. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com 9 tratamentos, sendo 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210 e 240 minutos de imersão em ácido sulfúrico concentrado P.A. com três repetições de 50 sementes, em dois experimentos. No experimento 1 foram usadas sementes recém coletadas e a avaliação foi feita durante 140 dias. No experimento 2 foram usadas sementes armazenadas por 5 meses e a avaliação feita durante 100 dias. Ziziphus joazeiro apresenta dormência imposta pelo endocarpo que envolve as sementes, e é necessário o uso de ácido sulfúrico durante 180 minutos para sementes recém-coletadas e por 240 ou 270 minutos, para sementes armazenadas por 5 meses para se atingir 80 por cento de emergência. O tempo de armazenamento das sementes pode influenciar a resposta germinativa, com emergência mais rápida após o armazenamento por 5 meses.

Ziziphus joazeiro Mart. is a Brazilian tree endemic to Caatinga and has been largely used in the Northeast of Brazil. Its seeds present tegument dormancy and this work aimed to evaluate pre-germinative treatments with concentrated sulfuric acid to break dormancy. Experimental design was completely randomized, with 9 treatments, i.e. 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, and 240 min of immersion in concentrated sulfuric acid A.R. with three replicates of 50 seeds, in two experiments. In experiment 1, newly collected seeds were evaluated for 140 days. In experiment 2, 5-month stored seeds were evaluated for 100 days. Ziziphus joazeiro presents dormancy imposed by the endocarp that involves the seeds, and sulfuric acid should be used for 180 min on newly collected seeds and for 240 or 270 min on 5-month stored seeds in order to reach 80 percent emergence. Seed storage time may influence the germinative response, with faster emergence after 5-month storage.

Germinação de sementes de Aristolochia esperanzae O. Kuntze em diferentes temperaturas e condições de luminosidade / Germination of Aristolochia esperanzae O. Kuntze seeds under different temperatures and light conditions

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a influência da temperatura e da luz, em interação com a temperatura e de forma isolada, bem como, determinar a temperatura mais adequada para a condução do teste de germinação de sementes de Aristolochia esperanzae O. Kuntze (cipó mil-homens). Foram realizados três ensaios. No primeiro, as temperaturas utilizadas foram 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 e 40ºC. No segundo, foi avaliada a germinação das sementes nas temperaturas de 25, 30 e 35ºC, na presença e ausência de luz e no terceiro ensaio, foram testadas quatro condições de luminosidade, de forma isolada: (a) luz branca; (b) luz vermelha; (c) vermelho-distante e (d) ausência de luz, na temperatura de 25ºC. Em ambos os ensaios, foram avaliados, durante 30 dias, as porcentagens de sementes germinadas, de plântulas normais e de sementes não germinadas, e os tempos médios de sementes germinadas e de plântulas normais. Nas temperaturas de 15ºC e de 40ºC, não ocorreram germinação de sementes de A. esperanzae. O melhor resultado para sementes germinadas e para formação de plântulas normais (96 por cento) foi obtido na temperatura de 30ºC. A presença de luz e as temperaturas de 25ºC e 30ºC favoreceram a germinação de sementes e a formação de plântulas normais. As sementes de Aristolochia esperanzae tiveram sua germinação inibida na ausência de luz, caracterizando-as como fotoblásticas positivas.

The aim of this study was to verify the influence of temperature and light, interacting or separately, as well as to establish the most suitable temperature to conduct the germination test of Aristolochia esperanzae O. Kuntze ("cipó mil-homens") seeds. Three assays were performed. In the first one, temperatures were 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40ºC. In the second assay, seed germination was evaluated at 25, 30 and 35ºC, in the presence and absence of light. In the third assay, four light conditions were tested separately: (a) white light; (b) red light; (c) far-red light; and (d) no light, at 25ºC. In all assays, the percentages of germinated seeds, normal seedlings and non-germinated seeds, besides the mean times of germinated seeds and normal seedlings, were evaluated during 30 days. At 15ºC and 40ºC, there was no A. esperanzae seed germination. The best result for germinated seeds and normal seedlings (96 percent) was obtained at 30ºC. The presence of light and the temperatures 25ºC and 30ºC favored seed germination and normal seedling formation. Aristolochia esperanzae seeds had their germination inhibited in the absence of light, which characterizes them as positive photoblastic.

Siparuna guianensis Aublet (negramina): uma revisão / Siparuna guianensis Aublet (negramina): a review

As pesquisas realizadas a partir de recursos genéticos de espécies medicinais nativas somente serão aplicadas se o material genético estiver seguro quanto à sobrevivência e disponibilidade. O objetivo deste artigo foi realizar uma revisão bibliográfica adotando como critério a escolha de artigos publicados em conceituadas revistas nacionais e internacionais, que permitissem melhor entendimento dos aspectos etnobotânicos, ecológicos e químicos de importante planta medicinal e aromática: Siparuna guianensis Aublet. Como tem sido apontada como uma das espécies prioritárias de conservação para a região do cerrado brasileiro, os estudos da propagação devem ser incentivados para que este recurso genético esteja disponível às gerações futuras.

Studies with genetic resources of native medicinal species will only be applied if their genetic material is safe regarding survival and availability. The aim of this study was to do a literature review adopting as criterion the choice of papers published in renowned national and international journals to allow better understanding on ethnobotanical, ecological and chemical aspects of an important medicinal and aromatic plant, Siparuna guianensis Aublet. Since the latter has been considered one of the major species for the conservation of Brazilian cerrado, studies on its propagation should be encouraged in order to make this genetic resource available to future generations.

Comparison of urine contamination rates using three different methods of collection: clean-catch, cotton wool pad and urine bag.

Collecting uncontaminated urine specimens from infants is difficult. Commonly, an adhesive urinecollecting bag is used, which is uncomfortable. This study determined bacterial contamination rates using three methods of urine collection sequentially on the same infant (without known urinary tract infection)-clean-catch, cotton wool (sanitary) pad and urine bag. The study was undertaken in children under 3 years of age in the Institute of Maternal and Child Health of Pernambuco (IMIP), Recife, Brazil. Urine samples were analysed using phase contrast microscopy and routine culture. Culture of bacteria at any level was interpreted as a contaminated urine specimen. Cultures with > 10(5) colony-forming units/ml of one species by all three collection methods were regarded as true urinary tract infection and these children were excluded. Altogether, 534 urine samples from 191 patients were analysed. Median age was 2 months (1 day-36 months) and 124 (65%) were boys. Twelve children (6.3%) were considered to have true urinary tract infection, three were indeterminate and in 16 one or more samples were missing and all were excluded from analysis. There were more missing samples using the clean-catch method (12%) than when using the bag (4%) or pad (4%). Seventy-six of 160 (47.5%) children had evidence of bacterial contamination. Clean-catch specimens showed the least contamination (14.7%) and rates were similar between pads (29%) and bags (26.6%) (kappa = 0.40). Urine contamination rates were similar for sanitary pads and urine bags and significantly higher than for clean-catch (p<0.01). However, pads were a simple, non-invasive and comfortable alternative to bags.

The anthracnose resistance locus Co-4 of common bean is located on chromosome 3 and contains putative disease resistance-related genes.

The broadest based resistance to anthracnose of common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is conferred by the Co-4 locus. We sequenced a bacterial artificial chromosome clone harboring part of the Co-4 locus of the bean genotype Sprite and assembled a single contig of 106.5 kb for functional annotation. This region contained five copies of the COK-4 gene that encodes for a serine threonine kinase protein previously mapped to the Co-4 locus and 19 novel genes with no similarity to any previously identified genes of common bean. Several putative genes of the Co-4 locus seemed to be expressed as they matched perfectly with bean expressed sequence tags. The expression of the COK-4 genes was assessed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, and a single 850-bp cDNA fragment was sequenced and compared with the genomic sequences of the COK-4 homologs. Although the COK-4 cDNA was isolated from a different bean cultivar, it showed high similarity (95%) to the exons of genes BA17 and BA21, suggesting that they were expressed. In a phylogenetic tree including all currently available Pto-like sequences from Phaseolus species, the COK-4 homologs formed a single cluster with the Pto gene, whereas two sequences from P. coccineus and all sequences of P. vulgaris formed two closely related clusters. The Co-4 locus was physically mapped to the short arm of bean chromosome 3, which corresponds to linkage group B8. This study represents a first step in gaining an understanding of the genomic organization of an anthracnose resistance locus of common bean and provides molecular data for comparative analysis with other plant species.

Prevalence of serotypes and antimicrobial resistance of streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from Brazilian children with invasive infections. Pneumococcal Study Group in Brazil for the SIREVA Project. Regional System for Vaccines in Latin America.

A laboratory surveillance study was developed in Brazil in 1993 to determine capsular types and antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains. By studying 360 strains isolated from children with invasive infections in three different cities, 8 out of 34 types were identified as being the most prevalent and considered as the reference group for further analyses. This group comprised 77.7% of all strains studied, and includes the types 1, 5, 6A/B, 9V, 14, 19F, 19A, and 23F. The prevalence of this reference group was significantly higher among strains isolated from children with pneumonia than meningitis. Similarly, this group was more prevalent among strains isolated from children 3 to 6 years of age than from children under 2 years of age. Most strains (78.6%) were found to be susceptible to penicillin and only 1.4% showed high resistance to this antibiotic. However, intermediate resistance to penicillin was detected in 20% of the strains. This laboratory surveillance will be maintained and extended to other cities of Brazil to better define and monitor the trends of pneumococcal infections for proper control and prevention.

[Prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in schoolchildren]. / Prevalência de parasitose intestinal em escolares da primeira série de uma escola pública.

OBJECTIVE: Aiming to identify the prevalence and the social risk factors of the intestinal parasitosis in first grade school children of Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study based in personal and social data obtained by interview and feces analysis of 146 children to investigate Ancylostomatidae, Ascaris lumbricoides, Endolimax nana, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, Enterobius vermicularis, Giardia lamblia, Hymenolepis nana, Iodamoeba bütschlii, Schistosoma mansoni, Strongyloides stercoralis, Taenia sp and Trichuris trichiura. RESULTS: The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides was 12.3% and of Giardia lamblia was 8.2%. The prevalence of intestinal parasitosis, in general, was 30.8%. The social risk factors for intestinal parasitosis were low maternal (OR=2.3) and paternal education (OR=3.9), small house (OR=3.0), large household (OR=2.7) and proletarian group (p=0.02). After adjusting for social variables, intestinal parasitosis was predicted by paternal education (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The role of health education is important for disease prevention and the school is a natural place to reach the community living next to it.

[Juxta occipital epithelioid sarcoma]. / Sarcoma epitelióide juxta-occipital.

A 24 years old female patient with a juxta-occipital epitheloid sarcoma is reported. The lesion, a slow growing assymptomatic nodule, started 5 years ago reaching 4 cm in diamter. It was deep seated in the cervical muscles but easy to surgically remove. No evidence of metastases or local recurrence was detected for the next six months in spite of the limited excision performed. Clinical and histological features of the tumor were reviewed and its differential diagnosis discussed, particularly with synovial sarcoma and clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses. Histogenetic hypothesis were briefly considered and the relevant literature was reviewed.