Interactions of extracts from selected chewing stick sources with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans.

BACKGROUND: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans produces a leukotoxin that activates a pro-inflammatory death of human monocytes/macrophages. A specific clone of this bacterium (JP2) has a 530-base pair deletion in the leukotoxin promoter gene and significantly enhanced expression of leukotoxin. This specific clone of A. actinomycetemcomitans is common in some African populations and has a strong association with periodontal attachment loss in adolescents in these populations. Chewing sticks of plant origin are commonly used as oral hygiene tool in Africa, but their role as a therapeutic agent in periodontal disease is poorly investigated. RESULTS: Ethanol extracts were made from 7 common plants used as chewing sticks in West-Africa. None of the tested extracts inhibited growth of A. actinomycetemcomitans. However, extracts from Psidium guajava (Guava) completely neutralized the cell death and pro-inflammatory response of human leukocytes induced by the leukotoxin. None of the six other tested chewing stick extracts showed this effect. CONCLUSIONS: The discovery that extracts from Guava efficiently neutralizes A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxicity might lead to novel therapeutic agents and strategies for prevention and treatment of aggressive forms of periodontitis induced by infections with the highly leukotoxic JP2 clone of this bacterium.

Emission of volatile aldehydes and ketones from wood pellets under controlled conditions.

Different qualities of biofuel pellets were made from pine and spruce sawdust according to an industrial experimental design. The fatty/resin acid compositions were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for both newly produced pellets and those after 2 and 4 weeks of storage. The aldehydes/ketones compositions were determined by high performance liquid chromatography at 0, 2, and 4 weeks. The designs were analyzed for the response variables: total fatty/resin acids and total aldehydes/ketones. The design showed a strong correlation between the pine fraction in the pellets and the fatty/resin acid content but the influence decreased over storage time. The amount of fatty/resin acids decreased approximately 40% during 4 weeks. The influence of drying temperature on the aldehyde/ketone emission of fresh pellets was also shown. The amounts of emitted aldehydes/ketones generally decreased by 45% during storage as a consequence of fatty/resin acid oxidation. The matrices of individual concentrations were subjected to multivariate data analysis. This showed clustering of the different experimental runs and demonstrated the important mechanism of fatty/resin acid conversion.

Effects of nitrogen fertilization on pine needle chemistry and sawfly performance.

Changes in needle nitrogen and resin acid concentrations in young Scots pine trees fertilized with ammonium nitrate were followed over 3 years. Sawfly larvae (Neodiprion sertifer) were reared on fertilized and control trees the year after fertilization. Both nitrogen and resin acid concentrations increased in fertilized trees. The fact that resin acid concentrations increased contradicts predictions of the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis. We suggest that needle resin-acid concentrations are limited more by the size of the resin ducts than by the availability of substrate for resin acid synthesis, and that the formation of resin ducts is limited by the availability of nitrogen. A modification of the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis, relating compartment formation to allelochemical synthesis, is discussed. Performance of sawfly larvae was not affected by fertilization treatment, probably because concentrations of nitrogen (positively affecting performance) and resin acids (adversely affecting performance) increased simultaneously in fertilized trees. Thus, the results of this study do not support the notion that fertilization increases the resistance of trees to needle-eating insects.

Responses of Neodiprion sertifer (Hym., Diprionidae) larvae to variation in needle resin acid concentration in Scots pine.

We have studied how differences in needle resin acid concentrations between two clones of Scots pine influenced larval survival, larval developmental time, and cocoon weight in Neodiprion sertifer. Larvae were reared under controlled conditions in the laboratory on needles showing a three-fold difference, in resin acid concentration. Larval developmental time was significantly longer for larvae fed needles high in resin acids. No significant differences were found in cocoon weight. Larvae fed needles high in resin acids suffered significantly higher mortality, most of which occurred, in the first two instars. Data on relative growth rate for last-instar larvae, based on a traditional growth efficiency experiment, did not show any negative effects of resin acids, indicating that a possible induction takes place during early instars. Observations on the feeding behaviour of last-instar larvae, the high consumption of bark tissue (with high concentrations of resin acids) by larvae fed needles low in resin acids and preference for needle tissues high in resin acids, indicate that these larvae might actively search for tissues rich in resin acids. We conclude that the physiology and behaviour of N. sertifer has been shaped, in part, by the conflict between the negative effects of resin acids, primarily in early instars (longer developmental time with a corresponding increase in exposure to natural enemies and an increase in direct mortality), and the positive effect of resin acids in later instars (a need for resin acids for use in its own predator defence secretion).