Cryptocarya alba (Peumo; CA) and Laurelia sempervirens (Laurel; LS) are herbs native to the Chilean highlands and have historically been used for medicinal purposes by the Huilliches people. In this work, the essential oils were extracted using hydrodistillation in Clevenger apparatus and analyzed by GC-MS to determine their composition. The antioxidant capacity (AC) was evaluated in vitro. The cytotoxicity was determined using cell line cultures both non tumoral and tumoral. The toxicity was determined using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against 52 bacteria using the agar disc diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined. The principal compounds found in C. alba essential oil (CA_EO) were α-terpineol (24.96%) and eucalyptol (21.63%) and were isazafrol (91.9%) in L. sempervirens essential oil (LS_EO). Both EOs showed antioxidant capacity in vitro. Both EO showed antibacterial activity against bacteria using. LS_EO showed more inhibitory effect on these cell lines respect to CA_EO. Both EOs showed toxicity against the nematode C.elegans at 3.12–50 mg/mL. The essential oils of CA and LS have an important bioactive potential in their antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxicity activity. Both essential oils could possibly be used in the field of natural medicine, natural food preservation, cosmetics, sanitation and plaguicides among others.

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Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) is a hefty notothenioid fish and a key species within the marine ecosystem with a high migratory capacity across sub-Antarctic and south American Pacific oceans. Transcriptome characterization and molecular markers associated with micro and macro-evolutionary studies are not available, which in turn limits the gain of knowledge about the genetic basis of this species. Therefore, in the present study, a de novo transcriptome from eight tissue and an embryonic state of Patagonian toothfish was developed, using the Illumina Hiseq 4000 platform. A total of 233,424 superTranscripts were assembled and 37,446 annotated against public databases. Moreover, we identified 71,107 expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs), with an average number of 0.3 SSRs per superTranscripts and one SSR per 1.12 kB. The most abundant SSR type was repeated dinucleotide (53.67%), followed by trinucleotide (13.73%) repeats. From the total of EST-SSRs identified, 34,196 primer pairs were properly designed and a subset of 25 immune loci were selected for its evaluation as potential EST-SSR population markers. Of this subset, 11 proved to have good technical features and were evaluated in 64 animals from four Patagonian toothfish populations. A number of 63 alleles were identified, with a mean of 4.9 alleles per locus and a polymorphism information content ranging from 0.224 to 0.591, with a mean of 0.50. Significant (F ST , range 0.082-0.117 and G ST , range 0.069-0.291) genetic differentiation (P < 0.05) was determined among the populations analyzed. Therefore, the results presented here represent a relevant genetic resource for biological studies on evolution, conservation, genetic diversity, population structure, and genetic management of breeding stocks of this important species.

The Mapuche and their ancestors have used D. winteri in traditional medicine. In the present study, the essential oil extract of D. winteri leaves (DW_EO) were characterized chemically and biologically to evaluate its pharmacological activity. In vitro antioxidant activity was assayed, and antitumor activity was evaluated in non-tumor and tumor-cell culture lines. Caenorhabditis elegans was used as a model to evaluate toxicity, and the chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The chemical oil composition was characterized principally of five major terpenes: 4 sesquiterpenes γ-Eudesmol (39.7%), β-Caryophyllene (33.7%), Elemol (25.9%), α-Eudesmol (0.3%) and 1 diterpene Kaunene (0.4%). By quantum calculations, it was determined that all oils have the ability to capture and yield electrons, which is consistent with the moderate antioxidant activity of DW_EO detected in vitro. Furthermore, by molecular docking is estimated that these oils can bind to proteins involved in the production of oxygen radicals. Of these proteins, CYP2C9 could bind energetically, reaching binding energy between −6.8 and −9.2 kCal/mol for the 5 terpenes studied, highlighting among these β-Caryophyllen and γ-Eudesmol. DW_EO has effect against H. pylori (MIC 32 μg/ml), S. aureus (MIC 8 μg/ml), E. coli (MIC 32 μg/ml) and C. albicans (MIC 64 μg/ml), β-Caryophyllen and γ -Eudesmol (MIC 64 μg/ml) and could selectively inhibit the proliferation of epithelial tumor cell lines but showed low against C. elegans (0.39–1.56 μg mL−1). Therefore, DW_EO may be used as a source of bioactive compounds in novel pharmacological treatments for medical application, agronomics, sanitation, and food.

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