No abstract

Algae are bioactive natural resources, and due to the medical importance of superficial mycoses, we focused the action of macroalgae extracts against dermatophytes and Candida species. Seaweed obtained from the Riacho Doce beach, Alagoas (Brazil), were screened for the antifungal activity, through crude extracts using dichloromethane, chloroform, methanol, ethanol, water and chloroform and hexane fractions of green, brown and red algae in assays with standard strains of the dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum, T. tonsurans, T. mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum and yeasts Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. guilliermondi and C. parapsilosis. The M44-A and M27-A2/M38A manuals by CLSI were followed, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged from 0.03 to 16.00 μg ml(-1), and an inhibition halo of 10.00-25.00 mm was observed for dermatophytes, while for yeast, it was from 8.00 to 16.00 μg ml(-1) and 10.00-15.00 mm. M. canis showed MIC of 0.03 μg ml(-1) and the largest inhibition halo in T. rubrum (25.00 mm) through the use of the methanol extract. For C. albicans, dichloromethane, methanol and ethanol extracts formed the largest inhibition halo. The ethanol extract was shown to be the best inhibiting fungi growth, and chloroform and hexane fractions of H. musciformis inhibited the growth of all dermatophytes and C. albicans, yielding the conclusion that apolar extracts obtained from algae presented the best activity against important pathogenic fungi.

This study investigated the biological activities of five benthic marine algae collected from Northeastern Region of Brazil. The tested activities included larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti, molluscicidal activity against Biomphalaria glabrata, and toxicity against Artemia salina. Extracts of Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta), Padina gymnospora, Sargassum vulgare (Phaeophyta), Hypnea musciformis, and Digenea simplex (Rhodophyta) were prepared using different solvents of increasing polarity, including dichloromethane, methanol, ethanol, and water. Of the extracts screened, the dichloromethane extracts of H. musciformis and P. gymnospora exhibited the highest activities and were subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation in hexane and chloroform. The chloroform fractions of the P. gymnospora and H. musciformis extracts showed molluscicidal activity at values below 40 μg·mL−1 (11.1460 μg·mL−1 and 25.8689 μg·mL−1, resp.), and the chloroform and hexane fractions of P. gymnospora showed larvicidal activity at values below 40 μg·mL−1 (29.018 μg·mL−1 and 17.230 μg·mL−1, resp.). The crude extracts were not toxic to A. salina, whereas the chloroform and hexane fractions of P. gymnospora (788.277 μg·mL−1 and 706.990 μg·mL−1) showed moderate toxicity, indicating that the toxic compounds present in these algae are nonpolar.

ABSTRACT. FEEDING ANO MORPHOLOGIC RELATIONS Wlm mE DIGESTIVE TRACT Of "CURIMBATÁ", PROCHlLODUS LlNEATUS(VALENCIENNES) (OSTEICHmYES. PROCHILODON. TIOAE), Of A PONO IN Soum BRAZIL. Some aspects of the feeding habits and the morphology of the digestive tracts of Prochilodus Iineatus (Osteichthyes, Prochilodontidae) are investigated in Lagoa Dourada, Ponta Grossa, Paraná. A total of 102 specimens were captured between April1993 and April 1994. From each specimen, the following measurements were determined: total and standard length, weight, sex, length of abdominal cavity. Histological and anatomical analyses were performed on the buccal cavity, pharynx, stomach, and intestine. P. /ineatus is a ilyophagous species with short and numerous incisiform teeth attached to the lips and no pharyngeal teeth.The gill rakers are thick, oblique, and laminate. This species has a "u" -ceacal -type of muscular stomach, with well developed mucosal folds. The submucosa of the pyloric region is composed of dense connective tissue and the muscular layer is well developed which characterize a gizzard-type. The intestine is greatly coiled occupying nearly ali the abdominal cavity. The folds ofthe anterior region are circular and valvar lobulated in the medium and posterior regions. KEY WORDS. Osteichthyes, Prochilodus lineatus, feeding habits, digestive tract morphology Os peixes estão adaptados para se alimentar de um determinado item, ou conjunto de itens. A composição do alimento consumido provê informações sobre o nicho que as espécies ocupam em seu habitat (NIKOLSKY 1963).Para FUGI & HAHN (1991) a plasticidade na dieta de peixes obedece a certo limite pré-estabelecido pela forma do tubo digestivo, cujas estruturas podem refletir as tendências alimentares da espécie.

No abstract