PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Resina. 

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Balsámico (resina). 

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: The proximate compn., minerals, flavonoids, and glycemic index (GI) of cooked and raw pinhao seeds were compared.  No differences in moisture, lipids, sol. fiber, and total starch after boiling were found.  However, the sol. sugars and P, Cu, and Mg contents decreased, probably as a consequence of leaching in the cooking water.  Also, the boiling process modified the profile of the phenolic compds. in the seeds.  No flavonols were detected in raw pinhao seeds.  The internal seed coat had a quercetin content five times higher than that of the external seed coat; also, quercetin migrated into the seed during cooking.  The internal seed coat had a high content of total phenolics, and seeds cooked in normal conditions (with the seed coat) showed a total phenolics content five times higher than that of seeds cooked without the seed coat.  Cooking was then extremely favorable to pinhao seeds bioactive compds. content.  The carbohydrate availability was evaluated in a short-term assay in humans by the GI.  The GI of pinhao seeds cooked with the coat (67%) was similar to that of the seeds cooked without a coat (62%) and lower than bread, showing that cooking does not interfere with starch availability.  The low glycemic response can be partly due to its high content of resistant starch (9% of the total starch).

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: E. de Brasil hasta N.E. de Argentina (Misiones). 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs

The Brazilian pine-fruit shell (Araucaria angustifolia) is a food residue, which was used in natural and carbonized forms, as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aq. solns. Chem. treatment of Brazilian pine-fruit shell (PW), with sulfuric acid produced a non-activated carbonaceous material (C-PW). Both PW and C-PW were tested as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of MB from aq. effluents. It was obsd. that C-PW leaded to a remarkable increase in the sp. surface area, av. porous vol., and av. porous diam. of the adsorbent when compared to PW. The effects of shaking time, adsorbent dosage and pH on adsorption capacity were studied. In basic pH region (pH 8.5) the adsorption of MB was favorable. The contact time required to obtain the equil. was 6 and 4 h at 25 degreesC, using PW and C-PW as adsorbents, resp. Based on error function values (F error) the kinetic data were better fitted to fractionary-order kinetic model when compared to pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and chemisorption kinetic models. The equil. data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models. For MB dye the equil. data were better fitted to the Sips isotherm model using PW and C-PW as adsorbents. 

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants, last advances on chemistry and bacteria activities on the medicinal herbs

1) Over recent years, nitric oxide (NO) not only has appeared as an important endogenous signaling mol. in plants and as a mediator in many developmental and physiol. processes, but has also received recognition as a plant hormone.  The impressive recent achievements in elucidating the role of NO in plants have come about by the application of NO donors.  The aim here was to study the effects of different NO donors, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and the nitrosyl ethylenediaminetetraacetate ruthenium(II) ([Ru(NO)(Hedta)]) complex, on cellular growth in embryogenic suspension cultures of Araucaria angustifolia.  [Ru(NO)(Hedta)] stimulated about 60% of cellular growth in embryogenic suspension cultures of A. angustifolia, with results similar to those obsd. with the SNP donor.  Nevertheless, application of the NO scavenger PTIO (2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide) inhibited this cellular growth in both.  Cellular growth was correlated with an increase in endogenous NO levels after 21 days of culture, esp. in treatments with NO donors.  The results demonstrated that the [Ru(NO)Hedta] complex could possibly be used as a NO donor in plants.

2) A natural population of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze was evaluated to quantify genetic diversity, using nucleotide sequences of chloroplast maturase K genes (matK) and six specific nuclear polymorphic microsatellite loci (nuSSR).  Ests. of nucleotide diversity assessed from matK sequences were low (p = 0.001), but they indicated the potential of this gene for evaluating divergence among widespread populations.  The matK sequence (1,565 bp) was used for anal. of phylogenetic relationships, enabling clustering of the South American species (A. angustifolia and A. araucana).  For anal. of intraspecific genetic diversity, nuSSR were more informative than matK, resulting in a polymorphic loci percentage of 69, a no. av. of alleles per locus of 11.6, expected genetic diversity 0.741, and significant spatial genetic structure up to 25 m.  Our data can help in the selection of genetic sources for conservation of this species, which is at risk of extinction.

3) UV radiation is one of the most deleterious forms of radiation to terrestrial organisms and is involved in formation of mutagenic pyrimidine dimers and oxidized nucleotides.  The biflavonoid fraction (BFF), extd. from needles of Araucaria angustifolia was capable of protecting calf thymus DNA from damage induced by UV radiation.  This occurred through prevention of cyclobutane thymine dimer and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine formation, this being quantified by high-performance liq. chromatog. coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) in a multiple reaction monitoring mode (MRM) and by HPLC-coulometric detection, resp.

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín. Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica. Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, p.9.

2) CORDENUNSI, Beatriz Rosana, et al. Chemical composition and glycemic index of Brazilian pine ( Araucaria   angustifolia ) seeds. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2004, vol.52, nº11, p.3412-3416.

3) BETINA ROYERA, Natali F, et al. Applications of Brazilian pine-fruit shell in natural and carbonized forms as adsorbents to removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions—Kinetic and equilibrium study. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2009, Vol.164, nº2-3, p.1213-1222 .

4) ZACHI DE OSTI, Renata, et al. Nitrosyl ethylenediaminetetraacetate ruthenium(II) complex promotes cellular growth and could be used as nitric oxide donor in plants. Plant Science (Shannon, Ireland) . 2010, vol.178, nº5, p.448-453.
 
5) PATREZE, Camila Maistro; TSAI, Siu Mui. Intrapopulational genetic diversity of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze is different when assessed on the basis of chloroplast or nuclear markers. Plant Systematics and Evolution . 2010, Vol.284, nº1-2, p.111-122.
 
6) YAMAGUCHI, Lydia F.; KATO, Massuo J.; DI MASCIO, Paolo. Biflavonoids from Araucaria angustifolia protect against DNA UV-induced damage. Phytochemistry (Elsevier) . 2009, vol.70, nº5, p.615-620.