<p>African medicinal plants are commonly used throughout Africa to treat a variety of ailments including wounds and ulcers, cough and chest complaints, gingivitis, fever and gonorrhoea, indication all related to infection and inflammation. In screening several plant species from an inventory of common medicinal plants from both South and West Africa for diverse medicinal purposes, 6 plants were selected because of their interesting and useful ethnomedicinal values.</p>

<p>African medicinal plants are commonly used throughout Africa to treat a variety of ailments including wounds and ulcers, cough and chest complaints, gingivitis, fever and gonorrhoea, indication all related to infection and inflammation. In screening several plant species from an inventory of common medicinal plants from both South and West Africa for diverse medicinal purposes, 6 plants were selected because of their interesting and useful ethnomedicinal values.</p>

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Chemistry) / Plants have been widely used in traditional medicine for a number of ailments, among which may be included infectious diseases such as colds, influenza, chicken pox, TB, etc. as well as lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Seaweeds have also been shown to contribute to the maintenance of health through their nutritional and medicinal properties and recently, a great deal of interest has developed towards the isolation of bioactive compounds from marine sources due to their numerous health benefits. Furthermore, marine algae are valuable sources of structurally diverse metabolites with scientifically proven therapeutic claims. Chemical constituents of red seaweed, Porphyra capensis was investigated in this present study along with subsequent brine shrimp lethality assay analysis of the crude extracts. The compounds isolated from the plant were from the hexane (6) and butanol (2) extracts. These compounds were all isolated and purified by various chromatographic techniques, namely silica gel chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 gel as well as C18 reversed phase silica gel. The structures of the isolated compounds were analysed and characterised by NMR, GC-MS, ESI MS and FTIR spectroscopy. Eight compounds were isolated and identified as phytol, desmosterol, 9-eicosenoic acid, 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentanoic acid, palmitic acid, methyl (E)-hexadec-9-enoate, glycerol and compound 1 (novel compound). All the compounds were isolated from Porphyra capensis for the first time. The hexane, butanol and methanol extracts were found to be non-toxic with the brine shrimp test LC50 value at least two times greater than ?g/ml.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / African medicinal plants are commonly used throughout Africa to treat a variety of ailments including wounds and ulcers, cough and chest complaints, gingivitis, fever and gonorrhoea, indication all related to infection and inflammation. In screening several plant species from an inventory of common medicinal plants from both South and West Africa for diverse medicinal purposes, 6 plants were selected because of their interesting and useful ethnomedicinal values. / South Africa

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Research into traditional medicines is often conducted in a multidisciplinary approach as motivated by a desire to understand them in as complete a manner as possible,realizing their chemistry, biology and pharmacology. One biological approach involves monitoring the cytotoxicity of the extracts of subfractions against the nauplii,Artemia salina (brine shrimp). Organic and aqueous extracts of seven South African medicinal plants was investigated for biological activity. Selected plant extracts was also evaluated for AChE inhibitory activity. The objectives of this study was to look for any correlation between known biological activities of the investigated plants and BSLT lethality data and also to look for any correlation between AChEI activity and BSLT lethality data for selected plant extracts. The most active of the plants was the n-hex extract of T.alliacea, followed by the aqueous extract of C.mellei and the MeOH extract of C.quadrifidus; the MeOH and the DCM extracts of A.afra; the DCM extract of P.undulatum and the EtOAc extract of A.annua. The results from this study show a good correlation with antitumor, antimicrobial and anti-trypanocidal activity.The various plants extracts investigated showed good inhibitory activity towards AChE using the TLC bioautography method. The results obtained from this study indicate that this type of activity is not only subject to plants containing alkaloids, but rather a diverse class of compounds may exhibit this kind of activity. The extracts that showed good AChE inhibitory activity also showed good cytotoxicity towards brine shrimp nauplii.

Interactions among commercial fisheries and birds have been studied in open ocean ecosystems and at aquaculture facilities. On the Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, USA, a commercial harvest of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) eggs (i.e. cysts) occurs annually during fall and winter. Coinciding with commercial harvest is the use of the GSL by millions of waterbirds which has the potential to result in conflict among industry and birds. The objectives of my research were to examine fall and winter ecology of birds using the GSL and interactions with the brine shrimp cyst harvest. I examined the influence of temperature and food availability on the number and distribution of waterfowl and eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). I also assessed the diets of the same species to see how much cyst biomass is being consumed by birds compared to removal by commercial harvest. A mass die-off (i.e. downing) of migrating eared grebes occurred during my research, so I assessed differences among birds that died and those that did not to better explain this phenomenon. Finally, I assessed the breeding origin of northern shovelers (Anas clypeata) wintering on the GSL using stable isotopeand banding data.I found that commercial harvest boats did not influence duck population numbersor distribution; rather temperature and food availability most influenced abundance and distribution, though this influence varied by species. Compared to commercial harvest, northern shovelers, green-winged teal (Anas crecca), and eared grebes removed a small fraction of the total amount of cysts that were removed from the GSL. Waterfowl diets were mainly wetland plant seeds during fall and spring, but when freshwater marshes were frozen in winter, ducks ate mostly brine shrimp cysts and brine fly (Ephydra spp.) larvae. Eared grebes are highly associated with saltwater habitats and they consumed adult brine shrimp most of the fall. Eared grebes that perished during the downing had mercury and selenium concentrations above levels seen in pre- and post-downing birds and higher than observed concentration that impact bird species, providing a potential ultimate cause of death during snowstorms that accompany most downings. Stable isotope analysis indicated northern shovelers that winter on the GSL had breeding origins throughout the specie’s range, but most came from local or southern Prairie Pothole Region breeding populations.

Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) are migratory birds that build their nests over water and in large groups called colonies. Their typical breeding range is in central southern Canada and northern United States; however, a previously uncertain number of Eared Grebes (grebes) also nest around the Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, at the southern edge of their breeding range. Little is known about the habitat requirements for grebe nesting colonies at such low latitudes and if they are different from colonies found elsewhere. My objectives for this research were to determine the status of the grebe nesting population as well as their habitat characteristics along the GSL in freshwater wetlands. I found over 4,280 grebe nests distributed among 35 colonies. Grebes built nests by mounding submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beginning the first week of June. The results from my habitat study show that grebes prefer to nest in areas with an average water depth of 48 cm, high invertebrate density, and abundant areas of floating SAV. Water depth and vegetation type at colony sites as well as timing of nesting and average number of eggs per nest of GSL colonies differed from colonies located at more northern latitudes. The differences in nesting could be attributed to the need to wait for SAV to grow and form mats on the water’s surface, or a need to wait for their food source to reach harvestable size. After grebes leave their nesting grounds, they stop at the GSL where they prepare for their final migration southward by consuming their fill of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana). Brine shrimp are tiny invertebrates that are well-adapted to salty environments; they produce hard-walled eggs called cysts which are of great economic value and are commercially harvested from the GSL. I compared cyst viability, which is the percentage of cysts in a condition conducive to hatching, for cysts that had passed through the digestive tract of grebes and cysts samples obtained from the GSL. Only 30% of the cysts that had passed through grebes were viable, whereas 63% of cysts from the GSL were viable.

Ultraviolet filters are active ingredients in sunscreen that protect us from harmful UV radiation. However, organic UV filters are thought to have adverse effects on the environment and humans. In recent years, fear of harmful impacts of sunscreen has caused a surge of coral reef safe sunscreens to hit the market. These sunscreens, which contain inorganic metal oxides as UV filters, have been accepted as safe for humans and the environment until recently. Metal oxides in reef safe sunscreens may form intermediates in the water that can harm marine life and can absorb through the skin and into the blood, possibly disrupting normal bodily function. In this study, a 48-hour bioassay was run with Artemia salina and various UV filters at different concentrations to determine at what levels of exposure and to which UV filters the organism is sensitive. Three trials were run with one organism in each of the 200 bioassay wells and 20 replicates per treatment. At each data collection time, organism survival outcomes were recorded. Results showed significant difference between trials but not between treatments. This project serves to research the impact sunscreen has on A. salina and potential environmental and human health impacts.

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to express different phenotypes in response to biotic or abiotic environmental cues. The ability of an organism to make changes during development to adjust to changes in its environment is a key to survival. Sexually reproducing organisms that have short life cycles and that are easy to raise in the laboratory are more conducive for developmental phenotypic plasticity. Considerable research has already been carried out on the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, regarding its morphology due to changing salinities. There is, however, little research considering subsequent generations and how there morphology might be affected by parental experiences. This study has examined: 1) the morphological effects of different rearing regimes of different salinity levels, and 2) the epigenetic transgenerational transfer of these morphological traits in A. franciscana. Measurements included rate of growth (as measured by instar), body size, body length, and other morphological traits. A gradual increase to more hyperosmotic conditions during development produced brine shrimp that were larger in size and also more developmentally advanced. Salinity stress experienced by adults had increased the growth rate in the F1 offspring of A. franciscana. Collectively, these data indicate that Artemia franciscana is a tractable model for investigating phenotypic plasticity. These findings have added to the ever-growing field of developmental phenotypic plasticity while also providing more information on the natural history and adaptive abilities of A. franciscana.

The present work describes the phytochemistry study and of biological activity of the species Scutellaria racemosa Pers (Labiatae) and Pfaffia tuberosa Spreng (Amaranthaceae). Four compounds were isolated of the S. racemosa Pers: lupeol (14), oroxilin A (10), dinatin (12) and oroxyloside (11). The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and the capacity of inhibition of enzymes prolyl oligopeptidase (POP), dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of the crude extract (EB), fractions and isolated compounds of the S. racemosa Pers were evaluated. The n-hexane (FH) and ethyl acetate (FA) fractions were the most active against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The evaluation of the crude extract and fractions using the Brine Shrimp Lethality Test indicated that this plant does not present toxicity. About the tests of enzymatic inhibition, the ethyl acetate (FA) and n-butanol (FB) fractions of S. racemosa Pers and the compounds dinatin (12) and oroxyloside (11) demonstrated significant capacity of inhibition of the POP. The inhibition promoted for the dinatina (12) (100 μM) corresponded 43% and for the oroxyloside (11) (100 μM) corresponded 34% of the total enzyme tested. The crude extract (EB) and the respective fractions of the Pfaffia tuberosa Spreng were also evaluated about the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and of enzymatic inhibition of the POP, DPP IV and AChE. Through these assays, it was verified that the crude extract (EB) and the fractions of the Pfaffia tuberosa Spreng do not present important antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity. In relation to the tests of inibitory activity of the POP, the dichloromethane (FD) and ethyl acetate (FA) fractions present IC50 of 21.4 and 28.5 μg/mL against of POP, respectively. Dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions (FD, FA and FB) presented low activity against DPP IV (< 20%). The ethyl acetate (FA) and n-butanol (FB) fractions showed significant inhibition of the AChE in the amounts, 6.25 and 25 μg, respectively. / O presente trabalho descreve o estudo fitoquímico e a atividade biológica das espécies Scutellaria racemosa Pers (Labiatae) e Pfaffia tuberosa Spreng (Amaranthaceae). Quatro compostos foram isolados da S. racemosa Pers: lupeol (14), oroxilina A (10), dinatina (12) e oroxilosídeo (11). A atividade antimicrobiana, citotóxica e a capacidade de inibição das enzimas prolil oligopeptidase (POP), dipeptidil peptidase IV (DPP IV) e acetilcolinesterase (AChE) do extrato bruto (EB), frações e compostos isolados da S. racemosa Pers foram avaliadas. As frações n-hexano (FH) e acetato de etila (FA) foram as mais ativas contra Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis e Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A avaliação do extrato bruto (EB) e frações através do teste de letalidade frente a Artemia salina indicou que esta planta não apresenta toxicidade significativa. Quanto aos testes de inibição enzimática, as frações acetato de etila (FA) e n-butanol (FB) de S. racemosa Pers e os compostos dinatina (12) e oroxilosídeo (11) demonstraram significativa capacidade de inibição da POP. A inibição promovida pela dinatina (12) (100 μM) correspondeu a 43% e pelo oroxilosídeo (11) (100 μM) correspondeu a 34% do total de enzima testada. O extrato bruto (EB) e as respectivas frações da Pfaffia tuberosa Spreng também foram avaliadas quanto a atividade antimicrobiana, citotóxica e de inibição enzimática da POP, DPP IV e AChE. Através destes ensaios, verificou-se que o extrato bruto (EB) e a frações da Pfaffia tuberosa Spreng não apresentam importante atividade antimicrobiana e citotóxica. Em relação aos testes de atividade inibitória da POP, as frações diclorometano (FD) e acetato de etila (FA) foram as que apresentaram os melhores resultados, com IC50 de 21,4 e 28,5 μg/mL, respectivamente. As frações diclorometano, acetato de etila e n-butanol (FD, FA e FB) apresentaram baixa capacidade de inibição da DPP IV (< 20%). As frações acetato de etila (FA) e n-butanol (FB) apresentaram significativa inibição da AChE, nas quantidades de 6,25 e 25 μg, respectivamente.