BackgroundMedicinal plants are used by 80% of people from developing countries to fulfill their primary health needs, occupying a key position on plant research and medicine. Taking into account that, besides their pharmaceutical importance, these plants contribute greatly to ecosystems' stability, a continuous documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge is a priority. The objective of this study was to organize a database of medicinal plants including their applications and associated procedures in Canhane village, district of Massingir, province of Gaza, Mozambique.MethodsIn order to gather information about indigenous medicinal plants and to maximize the collection of local knowledge, eleven informants were selected taking into account the dimension of the site and the fact that the vegetation presents a great homogeneity. The data were collected through intensive structured and semi-structured interviews performed during field research. Taxonomical identification of plant species was based on field observations and herbarium collections.ResultsA total of 53 plant species have been reported, which were used to treat 50 different human health problems. More than half of the species were used for stomach and intestine related disturbances (including major diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery). Additionally, four species with therapeutic applications were reported for the first time, whose potential can further be exploited. The great majority of the identified species was also associated with beliefs and myths and/or used as food. In general, the community was conscientious and motivated about conservational issues and has adopted measures for the rational use of medicinal plants.ConclusionsThe ethnomedicinal use of plant species was documented in the Canhane village. The local community had a rich ethnobotanical knowledge and adopted sound management conservation practices. The data compiled in this study show the social importance of the surveyed plants being a contribution to the documentation of PGR at the national and regional level.
Biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers (BS/BE) are naturally synthesized molecules, which can be used as alternatives to traditional detergents. These molecules are commonly produced by microorganisms isolated from hydrocarbon-rich environments. Gordonia alkanivorans strain 1B was originally found in such an environment, however little was known about its abilities as a BS/BE producer. The goal of this work was to access the potential of strain 1B as a BS/BE producer and perform the initial characterization of the produced compounds. It was demonstrated that strain 1B was able to synthesize lipoglycoprotein compounds with BS/BE properties, both extracellularly and adhered to the cells, without the need for a hydrophobic inducer, producing emulsion in several different hydrophobic phases. Using a crude BS/BE powder, the critical micelle concentration was determined (CMC = 16.94 mg/L), and its capacity to reduce the surface tension to a minimum of 35.63 mN/m was demonstrated, surpassing many commercial surfactants. Moreover, after dialysis, emulsification assays revealed an activity similar to that of Triton X-100 in almond and sunflower oils. In benzene, the E24 value attained was 83.45%, which is 30% greater than that of the commercial alternative. The results obtained highlight for the presence of promising novel BS/BE produced by strain 1B.
This work aims to demonstrate the importance of hydrothermal alkaline sulfite pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse in the delivery of fermentable sugars. The pretreatment conditions, namely sodium sulfite loads (5.0-10.0 wt%), temperatures (140-160 1C) and reaction times (30-60 min), were tested according to the full factorial design of experiments. The employed pretreatment was characterized by high lignin removal (43-77 wt%) and partial extraction of xylans (up to 25.0 wt%), mainly by cleavage of acetyl and arabinosyl groups. After 72 h of enzymatic hydrolysis with 10 FPU (filter paper unit) cellulase and 10 CBU (cellobiose unit) b-glucosidase per g of pretreated bagasse, the conversion of the carbohydrate-enriched substrates was in the range of 51 to 80 mol% for cellulose and 45 to 71 mol% for xylans. The best hydrothermal alkaline sulfite pretreatment conditions (10.0 wt% sulfite load, 150 1C and 45 min) were found to be highly efficient for the delivery of fermentable sugars with a yield as high as 40.4 AE 1.9 g for 100 g native bagasse.
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