ABSTRACT Plants harbour diverse communities of fungal species in their internal compartments. Endophytic fungi help their hosts to establish, survive, and adapt to different environments. Here, we examined the diversity of endophytic fungi in the leaflets and branches of Poincianella pyramidalis, a plant species endemic to the Brazilian tropical dry forest (Caatinga). A total of 360 fragments of leaflets and branches were analysed and 189 endophytic fungi were isolated and distributed among 21 ascomycetous genera based on their ITS and LSU rDNA sequences. Diaporthe was the most frequently identified genus, followed by Didymella and Rhytidhysteron. The colonisation rate of plant fragments was higher in the branches (74 %) than in leaflets (14 %). The richness of the genera of endophytic fungi was also higher in the branches than in leaflets, whereas no difference was observed in endophyte diversity between the plant parts, based on Shannon-Wiener and Fisher alpha diversity indices. Our results indicate that endemic plant species from Brazilian dry forest, such as P. pyramidalis, are predominantly colonised by ascomycetous fungi, especially members of the class Dothideomycetes.

In order to produce bioactive derivatives of carvacrol and thymol, nine derivatives of each compound were prepared through modifications the phenolic hydroxyl group. The structures of compounds were confirmed by spectral data from MS, IR and NMR. Carvacrol, thymol and derivatives were submitted to the evaluation of the inhibition of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, using a colorimetric method in which the inhibition of the enzyme is measured by coloration, and larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti. Derivatives carvacryl acetate-1b and thymyl hexanoate-2b showed the best results for the inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme, and for the larvicidal activity the derivatives 1a, 1b, 1c, 3h, 2a, 2b, 2c and 4h showed positive results, emphasizing compound thymyl 4-methoxybenzoate-4h which showed LC50 values of 23.60 ppm, considered a very good result.

A ecotoxicologia aquática analisa os efeitos adversos dos poluentes químicos na biota, utilizando-se de animais nos ensaios laboratoriais. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se analisar a adequação dos ensaios laboratoriais realizados com organismos aquáticos com base nos princípios dos 3 R. Foram realizadas revisões de 20 artigos sobre ecotoxicologia aquática, publicados no período de 2010 a 2014. A análise verificou o número de animais utilizados nos ensaios ecotoxicológicos, aclimatação, aprovação da pesquisa por comitê de ética e uso de anestésicos. Os resultados indicam que os princípios de refinamento e substituição, do programa dos 3R, foram os que mais ocorreram nas pesquisas, porém a maioria delas não citou aprovação dos protocolos experimentais por um comitê de ética nem o uso de anestésicos nos organismos durante os experimentos. As pesquisas publicadas indicam a necessidade de redução do número de organismos nos bioensaios, bem como a aplicação dos princípios bioéticos na experimentação realizada com organismos aquáticos.

Aquatic eco-toxicology analyzes the adverse effects of chemical pollutants in the biota. The aim of this study was to analyze the adequacy of the laboratory trials with aquatic organisms, based on the principles of the 3Rs. Twenty articles on aquatic eco-toxicology published from 2010 to 2014 were reviewed. The numbers of animals utilized in eco-toxicological trials, acclimatization, research approved by the committee on ethics and utilization of anesthetics were verified. The findings indicate that the principles of refinement and replacement, of the 3Rs program, were the most encountered in the research; while most did not cite approval of experimental protocols by an ethics committee, nor the use of anesthetics on the organisms during the experiments. The research published indicates a need to reduce the number of in the bio-trials, and to apply principles of bioethics in experimentation with aquatic organisms.

La ecotoxicología acuática analiza los efectos adversos de los contaminantes químicos en la biota, utilizando animales en las pruebas de laboratorio. En este trabajo se tuvo como objetivo analizar la adecuación de las pruebas de laboratorio realizados con organismos acuáticos basadas en los principios de las 3Rs. Se realizaron revisiones en 20 artículos sobre Ecotoxicología acuática, publicados en el periodo de 2010 a 2014. Se verificó el número de animales utilizados en las pruebas ecotoxicológicas y en la aclimatación. La investigación fue aprobada por el comité de ética y para la utilización de anestésicos. Los resultados indican que los principios Refinamiento y Sustitución, del programa de las 3Rs, fueron los más encontrados en los estudios, pero que la mayoría no citó aprobación de los protocolos experimentales por un comité de ética, ni para el uso de anestésicos en los organismos durante los experimentos. Las investigaciones publicadas indican la necesidad de reducir el número de organismos en las biopruebas, así como la aplicación de los principios de la bioética en la experimentación realizada con los organismos acuáticos.

The increasing demand for fatty acid-free lecithin required modifications in existing purification methods. In this technical note we describe a purification procedure with the following steps: a) homogenization and extraction of yolks obtained from fresh eggs with acetone, b) solubilization with ethanol and solvent elimination and c) repeated solubilization/precipitation with petroleum ether/acetone. This crude extract was chromatographed on neutral alumina, which was exhaustively washed with chloroform before elution with chloroform:methanol, allowing the sequential separation of fatty acids and lecithin. Chromatographic behavior and mass spectra of the product are presented. This fast procedure yields fatty acid-free lecithin at a competitive cost.