RESUMO
Aspidosperma pyrifolium is used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory disorders. The aim of the study was to perform phytochemical characterization and evaluate the anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and acute toxicity effects of the total alkaloid fraction (TAF-Ap) from stem barks. Two monoterpenic indole alkaloids were isolated by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and the structural elucidation was performed using 1D and 2D NMR analysis. As for toxicity, no animals died at 50 mg kg-1 and this concentration presented mild sedation and forced breathing within the first 24 h. The lethal dose capable of killing 50% of the animals (LD50) was estimated to be 160 mg kg-1. In the pharmacological tests, the models used were 1% carrageenan-induced paw edema and peritonitis, 1% formalin-induced nociception and 1% acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing in Swiss mice. The study made it possible to isolate 15-methoxyaspidospermine and 15-methoxypyrifolidine, corroborating the results of pharmacological assays, which showed anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential, especially at 30 mg kg-1 (p < 0.001). Thus, the species was shown to be a promising source of active substances, with special attention paid to its toxicological potential.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: An understanding of the causes and consequences of dispersal is vital for managing populations. Environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, provide potential environmental context-dependent stimuli for dispersal of targeted and non-targeted species, which may occur not only for active but also for passive dispersal, although such a possibility is frequently neglected. Here, we assessed the potential of food deprivation and acaricides to interfere with the take-off for passive (wind) dispersal of the predatory mite Neoseiulus baraki. RESULTS: Wind tunnel bioassays indicated that starvation favoured the take-off for wind dispersal by the mite predator, which also varied with wind velocity, and dispersal increased at higher velocities within the 1-7 (m s-1 ) range tested. For the acaricides tested, particularly the biopesticide azadirachtin but also abamectin and fenpyroximate, the rate of predator take-off for dispersal increased, and further increased with wind velocity up to 7 m/s. Such responses were associated with changes in the predator behavioural preparation for wind-mediated passive dispersal, with a greater incidence of the standing posture that permitted take-off. CONCLUSION: The rate of take-off for passive dispersal by N. baraki increased with food deprivation and exposure to the residues of agricultural acaricides. Azadirachtin exposure resulted in a particularly strong response, although abamectin and fenpyroximate also stimulated dispersal. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.