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INTRODUCTION: Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a plant from the Lamiaceae family that has been used as ancestral food, medicine, and oil, with culinary, artistic, and religious purposes by most of the Mesoamerican civilizations. Native from Mesoamerica, introduced into South America, Australia, and Europe, it is presently consumed as a nutritional and functional food. OBJECTIVE: This research aims to characterize ancient native cultivars from four provenances in Guatemala to recommend their direct consumption by the population as well as to establish its trade. METHOD: Seed samples were collected in four places where they have been cultivated for several generations. The oil was obtained by expression and analyzed chemically by gas chromatography following standard qualitative and quantitative methods. RESULTS: Variations in oil yield and some of the characteristic parameters of the phytochemical analysis were obtained. In general, the profile was similar to most of the reported data in the literature, with the saturated fatty acids (8.54-9.25%) relatively lower than the references (7.95-11.45%) but a higher concentration of unsaturated fatty oils, particularly of omega-3 (64.68-68.62%). CONCLUSION: The oil from native cultivars contains high quantities of omega-3, which might help pregnant women during gestation and to control other conditions such as metabolic syndrome, particularly in low- and middle-income populations where these seeds are consumed regularly. The suggestion is made to encourage the cultivation and use of these ancestral seeds with the possibility of commercialization abroad with an appellation of origin label.
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Corrosion-induced damaged structures are generally repaired using locally available materials. Nevertheless, determining the durability of the repair materials to be used is necessary to forecast its service life after being placed on the damaged structure. In previous investigations, the most commonly used durability indices are saturated electrical resistivity (ρS), ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), total void content (TVC), water capillary absorption (WCA), rapid chloride permeability (RCP), and compressive strength (fc). Four repair mortar types were evaluated. For each mortar type, 5 × 5 cm2 cubes, 5 × 10 cm2 (small) cylinders, and 10 × 20 cm2 (large) cylinders were made from each mortar evaluated. On the basis of the present results, the durability design of mortars should consider not only the mechanical strength, but also the durability index values to define its durability performance. According to the empirical correlations obtained between all durability indices, ρS vs. RCP, TVC vs. WCA, and RCP vs. WCA were the ones with higher correlation coefficient. These correlations could be used for mortar mixture durability forecasting.
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The genus Porthidium includes nine pitviper species inhabiting Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Porthidium porrasi is a species endemic to the Southwest of Costa Rica, for which no information on its venom was available. In this study, the proteomic composition and functional activities of P. porrasi venom are described. The most abundant venom proteins were identified as metalloproteinases (36.5%). In descending order of abundance, proteins belonging to the disintegrin, phospholipase A2, serine proteinase, C-type lectin/lectin-like, vascular endothelial growth factor, Cysteine-rich secretory protein, L-amino acid oxidase, phospholipase B, and phosphodiesterase families were also identified. P. porrasi venom showed a weak lethal potency in mice (10 µg/g body weight by intraperitoneal route), induced marked hemorrhage and edema, and weak myotoxic effect. These in vivo activities, as well as those assayed in vitro (proteolytic and phospholipase A2 activities) correlated with compositional data. A comparison of P. porrasi venom with those of three other Porthidium species studied to date reveals a generally conserved compositional and functional pattern in this pitviper genus. Importantly, the lethal effect of P. porrasi venom in mice was adequately cross-neutralized by a heterospecific polyvalent antivenom, supporting its use in the treatment of eventual envenomings by this species.