Distribution of the entomopathogenic nematodes from La Rioja (Northern Spain).

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) distribution in natural areas and crop field edges in La Rioja (Northern Spain) has been studied taking into account environmental and physical-chemical soil factors. Five hundred soil samples from 100 sites of the most representative habitats were assayed for the presence of EPNs. The occurrence of EPNs statistically fitted to a negative binomial distribution, which pointed out that the natural distribution of these nematodes in La Rioja was in aggregates. There were no statistical differences (p < or = 0.05) in the abundance of EPNs to environmental and physical-chemical variables, although, there were statistical differences in the altitude, annual mean air temperature and rainfall, potential vegetation series and moisture percentage recovery frequency. Twenty-seven samples from 14 sites were positive for EPNs. From these samples, twenty isolates were identified to a species level and fifteen strains were selected: 11 Steinernema feltiae, two S. carpocapsae and two S. kraussei strains. S. kraussei was isolated from humid soils of cool and high altitude habitats and S. carpocapsae was found to occur in heavy soils of dry and temperate habitats. S. feltiae was the most common species with a wide range of altitude, temperature, rainfall, pH and soil moisture, although this species preferred sandy soils. The virulence of nematode strains were assessed using G. mellonella as insect host, recording the larval mortality percentage and the time to insect die, as well as the number of infective juveniles produced to evaluate the reproductive potential and the time tooks to leave the insect cadaver to determinate the infection cycle length. The ecological trends and biological results are discussed in relationship with their future use as biological control.

Efecto hipoglicemiante de la planta Bauhinia purpúrea L., en ratones euglicémicos / Hipoglicemic effect of Bauhinia purpúrea L., in euglicemic mice

La Diabetes Mellitus (DM) es una enfermedad metabólica que se caracteriza por presentar valores elevados de glicemia debido a la disminución total o parcial de la insulina en el organismo y/o resistencia a la misma por los tejidos periféricos. Las complicaciones de la DM son cada vez más frecuentes, por lo tanto se hace necesario incentivar la búsqueda de nuevos fármacos hipoglicemiantes que complementen el protocolo actual de tratamiento. La Bauhinia purpurea L., es una planta abundante en el estado Aragua, frecuentemente usada en la medicina tradicional para el control de la DM. El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue comprobar el efecto hipoglicemiante de B. purpurea L., para lo cual se realizó un estudio experimental, tipo exploratorio, descriptivo y analítico, donde se utilizaron 12 ratones machos euglicémicos, divididos en dos grupos, experimental y control. Al grupo experimental se le administró extracto acuoso de la planta B. purpurea L., vía intraperitoneal (7 mg/Kg / dosis) y a los del grupo control se administró solución salina al 0,9% en la misma cantidad y por la misma vía. Se encontró una disminución significativa (p<0.03) de la glicemia después de la administración del extracto y en comparación con la glicemia medida en el grupo control después de la administración del placebo. Esto demostró la actividad hipoglicemiante de la planta, por lo que es importante identificar el principio activo responsable de disminuir la glicemia y considerar incorporarlos en la preparación de medicamentos con efectos hipoglicemiantes.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease that is characterized by elevated blood glucose values due to total or partial reduction of insulin in the body and / or resistance to it by the peripheral tissues. Complications of DM are increasingly common, therefore it is necessary to encourage the search for new hypoglycemic drugs to supplement the current treatment protocol. The Bauhinia purpurea L., is an abundant plant in the state of Aragua, frequently used in traditional medicine for the control of DM. The main objective of this research was to test the effect of hypoglycemic B. purpurea L., which conducted a pilot study, exploratory, descriptive and analytical, which used 12 male mice, euglicémic divided into two groups, experimental and control. The experimental group was administered aqueous extract of the plant B. purpurea L., intraperitoneally (7 mg / kg / dose) and control group was administered saline 0.9% in the same amount and in the same way. We found a significant decrease (p <0.093) in blood sugar after administration of the extract and comparing the blood glucose measured in the control group after administration of placebo. This demonstrated the hypoglycemic activity of the plant, so it is important to identify the active ingredient responsible for reducing blood sugar and consider incorporating them in the preparation of drugs with hypoglycemic effects.