O mollissima de Jatropha(Pohl) O Baill é um arbusto autóctone nativo da vegetação da Caatinga, encontrado em grande parte da região semi-árida do Nordeste brasileiro, utilizado na cultura popular para fins terapêuticos. O látex de Jatropha e seus extratos foram avaliados quanto à composição química, identificando os principais metabólitos secundários e suas atividades farmacológicas utilizando métodos qualitativos e quantitativos. Sua toxicidade foi investigada através da dose tóxica aguda em ratos Wistar, sua ação antioxidante foi investigada de acordo com o método fotocolorimétrico do radical livre DPPH, e sua ação antibacteriana foi investigada através de concentração inibitória mínima e concentração bactericida mínima. Fenóis, taninos, flavonóides e saponinas foram detectados em látex e em outros extratos, exceto o extrato aquoso.Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus mutans e Enterococcus faecalis) e cepas Gram-negativas ( Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium e Pseudomonas aeruginosa ) em várias diluições juntamente com o extrato hidroalcoólico. O látex de J. mollissima também apresentou baixa toxicidade aguda em ratos. Portanto, os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa corroboram o uso popular de J. mollissima e seu potencial terapêutico.

The red-rumped agouti is a small-sized wild rodent, belonging to the Dasyproctidae family, with great zootechnical potential, and it adapts well to captivity. In order to contribute to the species biology, this study describes the origin of the nerves forming the lumbosacral plexus. Twelve animals (six males and six females) were used, from previous experiments. The animals were fixed in a 10% formaldehyde aqueous solution and eviscerated after 72 hours. Then, the major and minor psoas muscles were retracted, exposing the nerves forming the plexus. Cotton soaked with 20-volume hydrogen peroxide was placed on these nerves, remaining for 12 hours straight for bleaching and subsequent dissection. The topographical relations of the lumbosacral plexus were grouped into tables and arranged in terms of simple percentage. In 7 cases (58.34%), the lumbosacral plexus in the red-rumped agouti stemmed from the ventral roots of the last 4 lumbar nerves and the first 3 sacral nerves (Type I – L4-S3), in 4 animals (33.33%) it stemmed from L5-S3 (Type II), and in 1 case (8.33%) it stemmed from L5-S4 (Type III). The nerves participating of the lumbosacral plexus in the red-rumped agouti were: lateral femoral cutaneous, genitofemoral, femoral, obturator, sciatic, cranial gluteal, caudal gluteal, and pudendal nerve. The origin of the lumbosacral plexus and the spinal nerves making up this plexus in red-rumped agoutis were similar to that described in other rodents, such as rock cavy, lowland paca and spix's yellow-toothed cavy.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of the honey bee Apis mellifera ethanolic extract of the red propolis, obtained in four municipalities of the Rio Grande do Norte semi-arid region, through an in vitro evaluation of the antineoplastic potential in human hepatic carcinoma (HepG2) and normal cell lines (L929), and from the comet assay in hepatic cell lines (ZF-L hepatocytes) to evaluate the genoprotective potential of the extract. The hepatoprotective effect was also evaluated in vivo by the induction of chronic experimental hepatic lesions in rodents (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769), Wistar line, by intraperitoneal administration of thioacetamide (TAA) at the dose of 0.2g/kg. The animals were distributed in the following experimental groups: G1 (control), G2 (treated with 500mg/kg ethanolic extract of propolis), G3 (treated with 500mg/kg of ethanolic extract and TAA) and G4 (treated with TAA). All rats were submitted to serum biochemical, macroscopic, histological and stereological biochemical exams of the liver. It was verified the genoprotective effect of red propolis since the mean damages promoted to DNA in cells tested with the extract were significantly lower than the mean of the positive control damage (hydrogen peroxide). The red propolis extract did not present cytotoxic activity to the tumor cells of human liver cancer, as well as to normal ones. The absence of cytotoxicity in normal cells may indicate safety in the use of the propolis extract. The results of the serum biochemical evaluation showed that the serum levels of the aminotransferase enzymes (AST) did not differ significantly between G1, G2 and G3 when compared to each other. G4 showed significant increase in levels compared to the other groups, indicating that the administration of the extract did not cause liver toxicity, as well as exerted hepatoprotective effect against the hepatic damage induced by TAA. The G3 and G4 animals developed cirrhosis, but in G3 the livers were characterized by the presence of small regenerative nodules and level with the surface of the organ, whereas in G4 the livers showed large regenerative nodules. The livers of the G1 and G2 animals presented normal histological appearance, whereas the livers of the G3 animals showed regenerative nodules surrounded by thin septa of connective tissue, and in G4 the regenerative nodules were surrounded by thick septa fibrous connective tissue. The analysis of the hepatic tissues by means of stereology showed that there was no statistical difference between the percentage of hepatocytes, sinusoids, and collagens in G1 and G2. In G3 the percentage of hepatocytes, sinusoids, and collagen did not differ significantly from the other groups. It was concluded that the ethanolic extract of the red propolis exerted a hepatoprotective effect, because it promoted in vitro reduction of the damage to the DNA of liver cells, antineoplastic activity in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) and did not exert cytotoxic effect in normal cells or was able to reduce liver enzyme activity and the severity of cirrhosis induced by TAA in vivo.

Anatomy of the brachial plexus in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus Milne-Edwards, 1867) | Araujo Jr HN, Oliveira GB, Costa HS, Lopes PMA, Oliveira REM, Bezerra FVF, Moura CEB, Oliveira MF | Agricultural Journals