SummaryThe present study was undertaken to determine anthropometrical parameters in male adult Wistar rats. We tested the hypothesis that the anthropometrical index may identify obesity and may predict its adverse effects on lipid profile and oxidative stress in rats. Two experimental protocols were performed. In the first experiment, 50 male Wistar rats, 21 days old and fed a control chow were studied up to 150 days of age. In the second experiment, male Wistar rats, 60 days old, were divided into three groups (n ¼ 8): control (C) given free access to a control chow; (S) receiving the control chow and drinking 30% sucrose ad libitum and (HC) fed a high-carbohydrate diet ad libitum. The first experiment showed that food consumption, energy intake and body weight increased with increasing age, while specific rate of body mass gain was significantly decreased. There were no significant differences in body length and thoracic circumference of rats from 60 days of age. The abdominal circumference (AC) and body mass index (BMI) significantly increased with enhancing age in rats up to 90 days of age and remained constant thereafter. In the second experiment, after 30 days of dietary treatment, the final body weight, body mass gain, carcass fat and BMI were higher in S and HC rats than in C. There were no significant alterations in body length and carcass protein among the groups. Triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (CT), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and lipid hydroperoxide (LH) were higher in S and HC rats than in C. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) decreased in HC rats and total antioxidant substances (TAS) decreased in S and HC rats. There were positive correlations between BMI with carcass fat, BMI with LH and BMI and serum TG concentration. In conclusion, the BMI for male adult Wistar rats ranged between 0.45 and 0.68 g/cm 2 . Obesity may be easily estimated from the BMI in rats. Alterations in BMI were associated with dyslipidemic profile and oxidative stress in serum of rats and BMI may predict these adverse consequences of the obesity in rats.

Searches for substances with antimicrobial activity are frequent, and medicinal plants have been considered interesting by some researchers since they are frequently used in popular medicine as remedies for many infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to verify the synergism between 13 antimicrobial drugs and 8 plant extracts -"guaco" (Mikania glomerata), guava (Psidium guajava), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), garlic (Allium sativum), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), ginger (Zingiber officinale), "carqueja" (Baccharis trimera), and mint (Mentha piperita) -against Staphylococcus aureus strains, and for this purpose, the disk method was the antimicrobial susceptibility test performed. Petri dishes were prepared with or without dilution of plant extracts at sub-inhibitory concentrations in Mueller-Hinton Agar (MHA) In a constant attempt to improve their quality of life, men have used plants as source of food, shelter, clothing, medicine, cosmetics, and for seeking relief from hardship of life. Some plants are known as medicinal because they contain active substances that cause certain reactions, from relenting to the cure of diseases, on the human organism (Silva Junior et al. 1994). Knowledge on medicinal plants sometimes means the only therapeutic resource of some communities and ethnic groups (Di Stasi 1996); and their use, especially in South America, contributes significantly to primary health care (Holetz et al. 2002). Infectious diseases still represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality among humans, especially in developing countries. Even though pharmaceutical industries have produced a number of new antimicrobial drugs in the last years, resistance to these drugs by microorganisms has increased. In general, bacteria have the genetic ability to transmit and acquire resistance to drugs used as therapeutic agents (Nascimento et al. 2000).In vitro studies on plants used in traditional medicine have been carried out in the field of microbiology, especially on pathogenic bacterial growth; and some of these studies were about the antimicrobial activity of Mikania glomerata Spreng ("guaco") (Boyayan 2002, Holetz et al. 2002, Psidium guajava L (guava) (Gnan & Demello 1999, Jaiarj et al. 1999, Nascimento et al. 2000, Ahmad & Beg 2001, Abdelrahim et al. 2002, Holetz et al. 2002, Voravuthikunchai et al. 2004, Qadan et al. 2005, Syzygium MATERIALS AND METHODSPlant samples -M. glomerata, P. guajava, B. trimera, M. piperita, and C. citratus samples were collected in 2004 from an experimental field of the School of Agronomical Sciences, Unesp, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, and the voucher specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of the Department of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, Unesp. Their leaves were dried at 40 o C and triturated in a mechanical mill. A. sativum, S. aromaticum, and Z. officinale samples were obtained from the local commerce in the same year and were used in natura for the extracts preparation. Preparation of plant extracts -Plant material, dried (M. glomerata, P. guajava, B. ...

A determinação das quantidades de nutrientes absorvidas durante o ciclo de desenvolvimento é de suma importância para estabelecer as épocas em que esses elementos são mais exigidos e as quantidades corretas que devem ser disponibilizadas à cultura da batata. No entanto, quase não existem essas informações para as principais cultivares utilizadas no Brasil. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a extração e a exportação de macronutrientes pelas cultivares de batata Ágata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies e Mondial. O experimento foi conduzido durante a safra de inverno, em um Latossolo Vermelho, no município de Itaí (SP). As parcelas foram constituídas pelas cinco cultivares, e as subparcelas, por épocas de coletas, realizadas no momento do plantio e a cada sete dias após a emergência. As cultivares Mondial e Asterix, mais produtivas, apresentaram maior extração de macronutrientes, com quantidades médias por hectare de 116 kg de N, 18 kg de P, 243 kg de K, 50 kg de Ca e 13 kg de Mg, enquanto as cultivares Ágata, Atlantic e Markies extraíram menor quantidade, com valores médios de 92, 14, 178, 35 e 9 kg ha-1, respectivamente. A maior demanda por macronutrientes pelas cultivares estudadas ocorreu na fase inicial de enchimento dos tubérculos (42 a 70 DAP). A exportação de macronutrientes não esteve diretamente relacionada com a produtividade de tubérculos, já que a cultivar mais produtiva (Mondial) não foi a que exportou a maior quantidade de macronutrientes. A cultivar Asterix exportou maior quantidade de N, P, K e Mg, com valores de 88, 15, 220 e 8 kg ha-1, respectivamente, enquanto a menor exportação foi observada na cultivar Atlantic, com 48 kg ha-1 de N, 10 kg ha-1 de P, 143 kg ha-1 de K e 5 kg ha-1 de Mg. A variação entre as cultivares na extração, especialmente de K e N, indica necessidade de manejo diferencial da adubação.

Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o crescimento, o acúmulo e a distribuição de matéria seca (MS) nas cultivares de batata (Solanum tuberosum) Ágata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies e Mondial, durante a safra de inverno. O experimento foi conduzido de junho a outubro de 2008, no munícipio de Itaí, SP. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, em parcelas subdivididas, com quatro repetições. As parcelas foram constituídas pelas cultivares, e as subparcelas por épocas de coletas de plantas para avaliação: no plantio e a cada sete dias após a emergência. Todas as cultivares têm crescimento lento até o início da fase de enchimento de tubérculos. Porém, as cultivares Asterix, Atlantic e Markies são mais precoces do que a Mondial no estabelecimento de taxas máximas de acúmulo de matéria seca. As cultivares Asterix e Mondial apresentam maior número de folhas por planta, produtividade de tubérculos, taxa de acúmulo e produção de MS, mas a cultivar Mondial é menos eficiente na alocação de MS nos tubérculos que as demais cultivares. As cultivares com maior taxa máxima de acúmulo produzem maior quantidade de MS, mesmo apresentando menor período de duração da taxa máxima de acúmulo.Termos para indexação: Solanum tuberosum, análise de crescimento, partição de matéria seca, taxa de crescimento. Growth and dry matter accumulation and distribution in potato cultivars during the winter crop seasonAbstract -The objective of this work was to evaluate growth and dry matter accumulation and distribution of potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum) Ágata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies, and Mondial, during the winter crop season. The experiment was carried out in Itaí, São Paulo state, Brazil, from June to October 2008. A randomized complete block design with split-plots and four replications was used. Plots comprised the potato cultivars and subplots were established by plant sampling times: at planting and every seven days after emergence. All the cultivars show slow growth until the onset of the tuber bulking stage. However, Asterix, Atlantic and Markies are earlier than Mondial in obtaining the maximum rates of dry matter accumulation. The Asterix and Mondial cultivars have more leaves per plant, higher tuber yield, higher maximum accumulation rates and dry matter production, but Mondial is less efficient in dry matter alocation to the tubers than the other cultivars. The cultivars with higher maximum accumulation rates provided higher amounts of dry matter, even with shorter terms of the maximum accumulation rate.

A batata (Solanum tuberosum L.) é a hortaliça de maior importância econômica no Brasil, sendo comercializada quase que exclusivamente na forma in natura (Zorzella et al., 2003). Nos pontos de venda, o consumidor escolhe tubérculos prioritariamente pelo formato, por características visuais como cor e brilho da pele, e pelo preço de aquisição, se interessando pouco pelas característi-cas de qualidade e composição interna.A procura de informações por parte dos consumidores no que diz respeito à adequada forma de preparo e utilização da batata tem sido cada vez maior (Feltran et al., 2004). A qualidade interna da batata é determinada pela composição química dos tubérculos (Moreno, 2000), que sofre influência principalmente do manejo da adubação e da cultivar empregada (Quadros et al., FERNANDES AM; SORATTO RP; EVANGELISTA RM; NARDIN I. 2010. Qualidade físico-química e de fritura de tubérculos de cultivares de batata na safra de inverno. Horticultura Brasileira 28: 299-304.Qualidade físico-química e de fritura de tubérculos de cultivares de batata na safra de inverno RESUMOCom o aumento do consumo de batata processada na forma de fritura, torna-se essencial a identificação dos parâmetros de qualidade dos tubérculos de batata. Objetivou-se avaliar a composição físico-química e qualidade de fritura de tubérculos de cultivares de batata, produzidos na safra de inverno. Os tubérculos foram provenientes de experimento de campo conduzido durante a safra de inverno de 2008, no município de Itaí-SP. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições e cinco tratamentos, representados pelas cultivares Agata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies e Mondial. Os tubérculos das cultivares Mondial e Agata apresentaram características adequadas para o mercado fresco, sendo indicadas para a preparação de massas e pratos assados em que é essencial a manutenção de sua forma. Markies apresentou dupla aptidão culinária, ou seja, possui qualidade adequada ao preparo de massas e fritura. Os tubérculos das cultivares Atlantic, Asterix e Markies apresentaram boa qualidade de fritura, no entanto, a cultivar Markies apresentou polpa dos tubérculos, palitos e chips de coloração amarela mais intensa. Palavras-chave:Solanum tuberosum, matéria seca, açúcares redutores, cor da polpa, cor do chips. ABSTRACT Physicochemical and frying quality of potato cultivars in winter seasonGiven the raising consumption of potato chips, the identification of quality parameters of potato tubers has become essential. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and frying quality of potato tubers of different cultivars grown in the winter cropping season. Tubers were obtained from a field experiment in the winter season in Itaí, São Paulo State, Brazil. The experimental design was of completely randomized blocks with four replications. Treatments consisted of five potato cultivars (Agata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies and Mondial). Tubers of Mondial and Agata cultivars showed suitable characteristics for fresh m...

The antimicrobial activity of essential oils of oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram, lemongrass, ginger, and clove was investigated in vitro by agar dilution method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) and Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli and Salmonella Enteritidis). MIC 90% values were tested against bacterial strains inoculated experimentally in irradiated minced meat and against natural microbiota (aerobic or facultative, mesophilic, and psychrotrophic bacteria) found in minced meat samples. MIC 90% values ranged from 0.05%v=v (lemongrass oil) to 0.46%v=v (marjoram oil) to Gram-positive bacteria and from 0.10%v=v (clove oil) to 0.56%v=v (ginger oil) to Gramnegative strains. However, the MIC 90% assessed on minced meat inoculated experimentally with foodborne pathogen strains and against natural microbiota of meat did not show the same effectiveness, and 1.3 and 1.0 were the highest log CFU=g reduction values obtained against tested microorganisms.

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The present study aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of some medicinal plants against Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus sp. The methanolic extract of Caryophyllus aromaticus presented the highest anti-S. aureus activity and was effective against all bacterial strains tested. 3815-3744. E-mail: ary@ibb.unesp.br Further acquaintance with different ethnic groups has contributed to the development of research on natural products, to the increase in knowledge about the close relationship between the chemical structure of a certain compound and its biological properties, and to the understanding of the animal/ insect-plant interrelation (8). For these reasons, medicinal plants are important substances for the study of their traditional uses through the verification of pharmacological effects and can be natural composite sources that act as new anti-infectious agents.The present study aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial activity of plant (Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, Caryophyllus aromaticus, Cymbopogon citratus, Mikania glomerata and Psidium guajava) extracts against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains isolated from human infections. The determined plant parts (200g) were ground, extracted with 70% methanol and filtered after 48hs. The plant residue was re-extracted by adding 70% methanol and filtered again after 48hs. Such procedure was repeated every 72hs, completing three filtration processes. The filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator at 45ºC for methanol elimination, and the extracts were kept in sterile bottles under refrigerated conditions until use. The dry weight of the extracts was obtained by allowing the solvent to evaporate and was used to determine concentration in mg/mL. (Methodology based on Betoni et al. (3); Table 1).Microbial susceptibility assays using the agar dilution (Mueller-Hinton Agar) method (%v/v and corresponding mg/ mL values) and the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were carried out for fifteen Salmonella Typhimurium, S. aureus, Enterococcus sp and E. coli strains plus one ATCC strain of each bacterium. Overnight cultures (37ºC) in Brain Heart