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This study evaluated the expression of defense compounds by the secondary metabolism of Eucalyptus globulus plants subjected to attacks by the insect Ctenarytaina eucalypti (blue gum psyllid) and abiotic mechanical damage using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and mass detection (MS). The results show that both biological and mechanical attacks activated defense responses in the plants. We identified 34 compounds in the leaves of the treated plants. In the case of the plants damaged by C. eucalypti, four of the compounds differed from those of the control: three oxygenated monoterpenes (borneol, exo-2-hydroxy cineole and thymol) and one quinone (6-acethyl-flaviolin). In the case of the mechanical damage, five compounds differed from the control: three sesquiterpenes (alloaromadendrene, eremophilene, and caryophyllene-oxide), borneol, and 6-acethyl-flaviolin. According to the results, different compounds are biosynthesized when faced with biotic and abiotic inductions, indicating a certain level of specificity in the response of the plants to different types of damage.

Codium bernabei is a green alga that grows on Chilean coasts. The composition of its structural polysaccharides is still unknown. Hence, the aim of this work is to isolate and characterize the hot water extracted polysaccharide fractions. For this purpose, the water extracts were further precipitated in alcohol (TPs) and acid media (APs), respectively. Both fractions were characterized using different physicochemical techniques such as GC-MS, GPC, FTIR, TGA, and SEM. It is confirmed that the extracted fractions are mainly made of sulfated galactan unit, with a degree of sulfation of 19.3% (TPs) and 17.4% (ATs) and a protein content of 3.5% in APs and 15.6% in TPs. Other neutral sugars such as xylose, glucose, galactose, fucose, mannose, and arabinose were found in a molar ratio (0.05:0.6:1.0:0.02:0.14:0.11) for TPs and (0.05:0.31:1.0:0.03:0.1:0.13) for ATs. The molecular weight of the polysaccharide samples was lower than 20 kDa. Both polysaccharides were thermally stable (Tonset > 190 °C) and showed antioxidant activity according to the ABTS•+ and DPPH tests, where TPs fractions had higher scavenging activity (35%) compared to the APs fractions. The PT and APTTS assays were used to measure the anticoagulant activity of the polysaccharide fractions. In general, the PT activity of the TPs and APs was not different from normal plasma values. The exception was the TPs treatment at 1000 µg mL−1 concentration. The APTTS test revealed that clotting time for both polysaccharides was prolonged regarding normal values at 1000 µg mL−1. Finally, the antitumor test in colorectal carcinoma (HTC-116) cell line, breast cancer (MCF-7) and human leukemia (HL-60) cell lines showed the cytotoxic effect of TPs and APs. Those results suggest the potential biotechnological application of sulfate galactan polysaccharides isolated from a Chilean marine resource.

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This study evaluated the expression of defense compounds from the secondary metabolism of Eucalyptus globulus plants, subjected to direct and indirect stimuli by the insect Ctenarytaina eucalypti (blue gum Psyllid). Results showed that defense responses were activated in plants in all tested cases. Were detected and identified thirty-two compounds in the leaves of treated plants, of which five compounds differed with the control, and all are part of the chemical defenses from the plants, three of them were oxygenated monoterpenes (borneol, exo-2-hydroxy cineole and thymol), a aromatic carboxylic acid (benzoic acid) and a quinone (6-acethyl-flaviolin). The plants induced by volatile compounds and by indirect entomological manner, showed its capability to synthesize defensive compounds without a wound that promotes these responses. Were also found some constitutive secondary metabolites over expressed in the different inductions compared with the control.