Local Flora Research Articles

The importance of wild edible plant and macrofungi diversity to attain food security for the tribes of eastern India—a quantitative study

BackgroundInventorization and promotion of traditionally used local flora can be a better option to gain a wide range of alternative edible resources and multiple nutritional benefits. A perusal of literature highlighted the poor nutritional status of the tribal community living in eastern India and pointed out the potential lack of information regarding locally available wild edible resources.ObjectivePresent study aimed to document detailed information on wild edibles of eastern India, evaluate their cultural significance, and understand their role in achieving food security for the local tribes.Materials and methodologyTraditional knowledge of wild edibles was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Standard protocols were followed for collecting data. The collected data were analyzed using specific statistical tools like Relative frequency of citation (RFC), and Cultural food significance index (CFSI) to identify the most cited and culturally significant species. Jaccard similarity index (JI) was used to check the similarity of food plant use in different localities and adjoining areas of the laterite region in eastern India.ResultsA total of 2,603 citations were made by the 153 participants for 83 types of wild edibles spread across 48 families. Among the 83 species, 65 species were angiosperms, three species were pteridophytes and the rest 15 were from fungal groups. The RFC value ranged from 0.04 to 0.76, and Madhuca longifolia (L.) J.F.Macbr. was identified as the most frequently cited species (FC = 116; RFC = 0.76). The Cultural food significance index (CFSI) value varied from 0.2 to 844, and thirteen wild edibles like Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, Enydra fluctuans Lour., Marsilea vestita Hook. & Grev., Termitomyces heimii Natarajan, etc. were identified as culturally most important in the locality.ConclusionPresent study concludes that the local flora and macrofungi diversity is a treasure trove for fulfilling human hunger and gaining enough nutritional benefit. Scientific and sustainable utilization of these wild edibles can be a wise step to attain multiple health benefits and food security for the tribal community of eastern India. Moreover, culturally accepted species can be opted as a good source for bioprospecting nutraceuticals.

Mangrove Health: A Review of Functions, Threats, and Challenges Associated with Mangrove Management Practices

Mangroves stand out as one of the most diverse and biologically significant natural systems in the world. Playing critical roles in maintaining the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, mangroves provide a range of services and functions, including habitat for local fauna and flora, food and other goods, carbon sequestration, and protection from natural disasters such as storm surges and coastal erosion. It is also evident that mangroves face several threats, which have already led to the gradual depletion of mangrove areas worldwide. Based on the analysis of current and related historical literature and data, this review summarises mangrove functions and the threats and challenges associated with mangrove management practices. Our findings suggest that coastal development, expanded aquaculture, deforestation, climate change, and other associated implications such as eutrophication, diseases, and pollution are the major factors posing threats to mangrove sustainability. We also highlight the various challenges, such as land use conflict, a lack of stringent regulatory actions, inadequate policy and government frameworks, and a lack of community awareness, that underlie ineffective mangrove management. The implementation of inclusive and coordinated approaches involving stakeholders from different backgrounds and interests, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and academia is essential for mangrove restoration and sustainable mangrove management by adapting mitigation strategies.

Drug resistance and molecular typing of diarrheagenic escherichia coli from the diarrhea clinics in Qingpu District, Shanghai City from 2015 to 2019

Objective: To analyze the drug resistance and multilocus sequence typing of five types of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) isolated from diarrhea outpatients of diarrhea comprehensive monitoring designated hospital in Qingpu District, Shanghai City from 2015 to 2019. Methods: From January 2015 to December 2019, five types of DEC, isolated and identified from diarrhea outpatient cases' anal swabs of the Qingpu branch of Zhongshan Hospital were collected to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration by using the micro broth dilution susceptibility test. The strains, resistant to the third-generation cephalosporins or carbapenems, or producing ESBLs, were selected based on the results of sensitivity tests and determined by WGS. The MLST typing of DEC was analyzed based on the WGS technology and the minimum spanning tree was constructed by BioNumerics 7.6 software to analyze the local dominant flora. Results: A total of 513 strains of DEC were detected and isolated from 4 494 anal swabs, with a detection rate of 11.42%. About 500 strains were tested for drug sensitivity to nine antibiotics in four classes, including 330 strains of enterotoxigenic E.coli (ETEC), 72 strains of enteroaggregative E.coli (EAEC), 95 strains of enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC), 1 strain of enterohemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC), and 2 strains of enteroinvasive E.coli (EIEC). From 2015 to 2019, the resistance rate of cefotaxime-clavulanic acid was significantly different (P<0.05). The resistance rate of virulence types of DEC to nalixic acid was significantly different (P<0.05). About 71 strains of DEC were determined by WGS, and 77 drug-resistant genes were detected. Strains were classified into 32 ST subtypes, with the dominant genotypes being ST-1491 (29.6%, 21/71) and ST-10 Complex (23.9%, 17/71). All ST-1491 produced ESBLs, which were blaCTX-M gene mutant strains. The dominant type of ST-10 complex was ST-218 (35.3%, 6/17). In addition, 8 strains of EAEC, 14 strains of EPEC and 49 strains of ETEC were classified into 7, 14 and 18 ST subtypes, respectively. Conclusion: The drug resistance of DEC strains from the diarrhea outpatient case of Qingpu District is serious. The ST types of EAEC and EPEC are highly polymorphic. The dominant ST types of DEC are basically consistent with the common genotypes in southeast China.

Exploring the multi-gene regulatory molecular mechanism of Saudi Arabian flora against epilepsy based on data mining, network pharmacology and docking analysis

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder marked by recurrent seizures, significantly affecting the population in Saudi Arabia across all age demographics. The global prevalence of active epilepsy is around 6.38/1,000 persons and in the Arabian region, the median prevalence of active epilepsy is 4.4/1,000 persons. However, over 75% of individuals are untreated. Consequently, the development of therapeutic strategies with increased efficacy and safety profiles is essential to improve the survival rate among epilepsy patients. The current study integrates network pharmacology along with Bioinformatics approaches to explore the potential molecular mechanisms of local flora of Saudi Arabia including Solanum incanum, Abrus precatorius, Withania somnifera, and Azadirachta indica in epilepsy treatment. In the preliminary phase, data related to the bioactive components of the local plants and the associated target genes of both these plants and epilepsy were gathered from scientific literature and open-source databases. This data was then analyzed to identify common targets between the plants and ovarian cancer. Based on these common targets, a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed utilizing the STRING database, which was subsequently incorporated into the Cytoscape software for identification of hub genes based on their degree of connectivity. Lastly, an interplay network depicting the associations between the compounds and the overlapping genes was formulated via Cytoscape, to study the potential network pharmacology implications of these active compounds in relation to ovarian cancer. Following that, a compound-target protein-pathway network was constructed which uncovered that namely abrectorin, genistin, (+)-catechin, precatorine, (+)-ascorbic acid, licoflavanone, skrofulein, stigmasterone, 5,7-Dihydroxy-4′-methoxy-8,3′-di-C-prenylflavanone could potentially be used as antagonists for the therapeutic management of epilepsy by targeting TNF and TP53 proteins. Furthermore, the implementation of molecular docking reinforces the binding affinity of the compound, indicating a robust stability of the forecasted compounds at the docked site. This research lays both a theoretical and experimental groundwork for more profound investigations and establishes a practical method for the strategic employment of active compounds in the development of anti-epileptic therapeutics.

Invasive parasites and global change: Evidence for the recent and rapid spillover of a potential pathogen of tilapias with a complex, three-host life cycle

Biological invasions pose a serious threat to local flora and fauna and have negative impacts on ecosystems. Invasive parasites can also cause severe losses in aquaculture. In this article, we provide evidence of the recent spillover of an African parasite with a complex, three-host life cycle that has rapidly and successfully established itself in the Middle East, most likely due to the recent migration of its final hosts (great cormorant) from Africa. This case of parasite introduction into a country with intensive aquaculture is also important from an economic point of view, since large (up to 2 cm long) larvae of this parasite, the cyclophyllidean tapeworm Amirthalingamia macracantha (Cestoda) localised in the liver, can be pathogenic to their fish hosts, including farmed and wild fish, as shown by our histopathological examination of heavily infected fish. Since its first detection in Israel in November 2020, the parasite has spread rapidly and is currently found in both migratory (great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo) and non-migratory birds (pygmy cormorant, Microcarbo pygmaeus), as well as in fish intermediate hosts, including farmed tilapia in several farms in Israel and wild cichlids. There are numerous examples of the spillover of introduced parasites, including those that parasitise fish of commercial importance, but have a direct life cycle or use only a single intermediate host. Tilapines are the second most important group of farmed fish in the world after carps and are produced mainly in Southeast Asia, Central and South America. The global spread of great cormorants and the early evidence that pygmy cormorant may also harbour A. macracantha pose the risk of further spread of this invasive parasite to other countries and areas. In addition, global warming and reductions in foraging and resting areas near these waters may allow the parasite to complete its life cycle in new hosts.

Phytosociological Studies of Tree Species Biodiversity in Sabarkantha District, Gujarat

The present work aimed to study the “Phytosociological Studies of Tree Species in Sabarkantha District, Gujarat” was conducted in the rural area 14 sites under Sabarkantha district village during the period of January to May 2022 have been presented and discussed in this chapter. Several field trips of duration 2 to 3 days were made at regular intervals to various part of Sabarkantha district, Gujarat. The study was done to assess the tree diversity ad species richness of the rural areas. A grand total 2085 tree presenting 55 species and 27 families were identified from the total area. Fabaceae was the dominant family. Each sampled trees was evaluated in the field in terms of species, species identification was done by on the basis of local and regional flora. All tree &gt; 10 cm girth at breast height (dbh, 1.37m from the ground) were measured. The Shannon-Wiener index value increases with biodiversity. The higher the value of H, the higher the diversity of species in a particular community. The lower the value of H, the lower the diversity. The overall values for Shannon-Weiner index ranged between 0.99 and 1.16. Sites Chitariya and Kanadar have higher Shannon-Weiner index values whereas lower values have been recorded for sites Balisana and Chotasan. The values recorded in this index characterize the relative distribution of species in different sites. The value of Margalef index of species richness for the sites 1 to 14 varied between 5.78 and 8.61. Sites Nadri and Mahor had higher values, 8.61 and 8.32 respectively, while sites Balisana and Sitvada recorded relatively lower values, 5.78 and 6.39. The greater Margalef index of species richness values were proportional to the number of species found at each site.

VOLYN FOLK GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS FOR DENOTING SWAMP: STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC PECULIARITIES

The article is devoted to the study of folk names of bogs in Volyn region. The folk names of bogs collected by the author and published in the dictionary reflect the attitudes and perceptions of the local population, and also contain important information about the characteristics and features of bogs. The study of such names can contribute to the preservation of the cultural heritage associated with natural objects, enrichment of scientific terminology, and understanding of lexical and semantic features of the linguistic worldview. These names may contain valuable information about local conditions, flora, geographical features and ecological status of the bogs, which contributes to deeper understanding of the relationship between humans and the natural environment. In addition, the folk names of bogs can serve as additional sources of information for classifying and identifying different types of bogs in Volyn Polissia, as well as identifying local terminological variations and features. The linguistic approach helps to identify local terminological variations and features that are reflected in the lexical composition and semantics. The study is relevant for understanding the lexical fund, linguistic diversity and cultural heritage associated with the Volyn thelmography. The sphere of functioning, semantic shifts and peculiarities of the meaning of thelmographic terms influence the area of distribution of folk geographical terms. This lexical class is based on well-known terms, mainly of Proto-Slavic origin, which have wide semantic possibilities. In the studied area, folk geographical terms for swamps are represented by semantic, phonetic and grammatical variants and derivatives. The core of the analyzed lexical class is well-known terms, mostly of ProtoSlavic origin: брід, болoто, гать, гребля, трясовuнa, etc., which are characterized by wider semantic possibilities. In many subdialects, these lexemes are represented by dialectal phonetic variants: трасовuнa, трасовuско, грaбля, etc. Folk geographical terminology, in comparison with other language layers, is not characterized by imagery or emotionally expressive means. This folk geographical terminology, which partially leaves a trace in place names, is one of the oldest in origin. In addition to linguistic research, the study of folk geographical terminology can be useful for natural, historical, ethnological and other sciences.

Medicinal plants of the southwestern part of Belgorod oblast

Monitoring the species diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants contributes to the conservation of the gene pool of natural resources and their rational use. Since ancient times, medicinal plants have been the only source of medicinal raw materials. Despite the intensive development of chemical synthesis, plant resources are in great demand both in the pharmaceutical industry and in the national economy. They serve as a raw material for the production of medicines, pharmaceutical substances, cosmetics and biologically active additives. They are also sources of biologically active substances, objects of introduction and stimulus for the development of medicinal plant breeding and import substitution of drugs of natural origin. The need for medicinal raw materials of plant origin is constantly increasing. Separately, it should be noted that some medicinal and aromatic plants cannot be cultivated due to their biological characteristics. Meeting the needs of the country's population and the needs of the pharmaceutical industry is an important strategic issue. The Belgorod branch of the All-Russian Institute of medicinal and aromatic plants carries out many years of research, which made it possible to carry out ecological and phytocenotic evaluation of the natural plant community and analyze it on the basis of species systematics, to identify the natural potential of the local flora with selection of the most promising species for cultivation under regulated conditions. The raw material base of medicinal and aromatic plants in Belgorod region consists of a fund of raw materials harvested from wild-growing plants and a fund of raw materials collected at the expense of cultivated medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are harvested not only for the pharmaceutical industry and direct sale through pharmacies, but also for the needs of the population.

The evolutionary history of bees in time and space

Bees are the most significant pollinators of flowering plants. This partnership began ca. 120 million years ago, but the uncertainty of how and when bees spread across the planet has greatly obscured investigations of this key mutualism. We present a novel analysis of bee biogeography using extensive new genomic and fossil data to demonstrate that bees originated in Western Gondwana (Africa and South America). Bees likely originated in the Early Cretaceous, shortly before the breakup of Western Gondwana, and the early evolution of any major bee lineage is associated with either the South American or African land masses. Subsequently, bees colonized northern continents via a complex history of vicariance and dispersal. The notable early absences from large landmasses, particularly in Australia and India, have important implications for understanding the assembly of local floras and diverse modes of pollination. How bees spread around the world from their hypothesized Southern Hemisphere origin parallels the histories of numerous flowering plant clades, providing an essential step to studying the evolution of angiosperm pollination syndromes in space and time.

Let's Talk About a New Urogenital Pathogen: Actinomyces Neuii

In traditional bacterial cultures of clinical samples, the presence of coryneform has often been considered as local flora, but it is well known that in patients with predisposing factors, these micro-organisms may have a pathogenic implication that would be underestimated. Among other causes, this is due to the difficulty in making an adequate identification to species level. The advent of mass spectrometry in clinical laboratories has greatly facilitated this task. We describe a clinical case of Actinomyces naoi urinary tract infection in an elderly multipath logical patient with urinary catheterization. For this purpose, a descriptive clinical-microbiological study of A. naoi as a pathogen was performed. It was identified by Maldi-TOF mass spectrometry. The clinical course was satisfactory after antibiotic treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. In urine cultures, if there is a significant monomicrobial count of choryneform micro-organisms, we should rule out microorganisms potentially involved in infection before reporting the result as local microbiota.

Mapping deforestation and recovery of tropical montane forests of East Africa

Deforestation poses a major threat to the tropical montane forest ecosystems of East Africa. Montane forests provide key and unique ecological and socio-economic benefits to the local communities and host diverse flora and fauna. There is evidence of ongoing deforestation and forest clearance in these montane forests although estimates diverge among different sources suggesting rates of 0.4%–3% yr−1. Quantifying deforestation rates and forest disturbance is critical to design conservation and sustainable management policies for forest management. This study quantified the rate of deforestation and forest recovery over the last three decades for the Mau Forest Complex and Mount Elgon forests in Kenya and Uganda using Landsat time-series satellite imagery. With the analysis, classification accuracies of 86.2% and 90.5% (kappa 0.81 and 0.88) were achieved for the Mau Forest Complex and the Mt Elgon forests, respectively. 21.9% (88,493 ha) of the 404,660 ha of Mau forest was lost at an annual rate of −0.82% yr−1 over the period between 1986 and 2017. More positively, 18.6% (75,438 ha) of the forest cover that was disturbed during the same period and is currently undergoing recovery. In Mt Elgon forest, 12.5% (27,201 ha) of 217,268 ha of the forest cover was lost to deforestation at an annual rate of −1.03% yr−1 for the period between 1984–2017 and 27.2% (59,047 ha) of the forest cover disturbed is undergoing recovery. The analysis further demonstrated agriculture (both smallholder and commercial) was the main driver of forest cover loss in Mau forest, accounting for 81.5% (70,612 ha) of the deforestation, of which 13.2% was due to large scale and 68.3% was related to the smallholders. For the Mt Elgon forest, agriculture was also the main driver accounting for 63.2% (24,077 ha) of deforestation followed by the expansion of human settlements that contributed to 14.7% (5,597 ha) of forest loss. This study provides accurate and novel estimates of the rate of deforestation for the Mau forest complex and Mt Elgon forest ecosystems. These rates are higher than previously estimated and recent deforestation has been identified, which provides a quantitative basis for forest restoration programs and to design conservation policies.

Reflection on the Implementation and Operation of the Anhanduí Ecological Park - Anhanduí Environmental Education Center in Campo Grande/MS

In facing urban expansion, actions were necessary, such as creating Urban Parks and Environmental Education Centers (CEAs), making them a reality in contemporary Brazil. In Campo Grande (MS), the public power created four CEAs in the 2010s, located in Linear Parks (Urban Parks), spaces rich in water sources, local flora, and fauna. This research aimed to identify the guidelines for implementing and operating the CEA Anhanduí and analyze the participatory activities advocated by the Municipal Environmental Education Program (PMEA) according to the current conservationist Environmental Education. The research found that the CEA has a physical structure, appropriate equipment, and a multitasking manager, but it still does not have a Pedagogical Political Project and a Sustainability Plan.

Skepi Creole Dutch

Abstract This paper presents new Skepi Creole Dutch data from the late-18th century, found in the work of the German scholar Ernst Karl Rodschied. The creole data include pronominal and verbal paradigms, a short 60-word excerpt from a private letter, and around two dozen names for local flora. After briefly introducing Rodschied, we present the data and compare them to the existing Skepi corpus.

Phenology of the Antyllis vulneraria L. in Moscow region

The research topic is the study of the biological characteristics of the local flora protected species Anthillis vulneraria L., under conditions of field experience in the Moscow region. The purpose of this research was to study the phenological cycle and the influence of meteorological factors on the timing and duration of phenophases. In the period from 2017 to 2022, a reduction in the duration of the shoot regrowth period, budding and flowering phases was revealed due to an increase in the sum of average daily temperatures and a decrease in precipitation. The resistance of plants to the conditions of the winter season in plants of the 1st-2nd year is 60-84 %, in plants of the 3rd year 50 %. A. vulneraria goes through a full phenological cycle in 175-190 days, blooms and bears fruit annually, forms a viable self-seeding, starting from the 2nd year of vegetation, grows in one place for up to 6 years, with the lifespan of individual plants up to 3 years. Pre-sowing preparation of seeds - wet stratification for 2 months, increases their germination rate to 53-65 %. The results of the study are relevant for maintaining the number of A. vulneraria that is a protected species of local natural flora in the Moscow region.

Fluctuating asymmetry of the Acer negundo L. leaf: an indicator of its state and the quality of the urban environment

The purpose of this study was to analyze the protective function of Acer negundo L. by assessing the indicators of developmental stability by fluctuating leave asymmetry depending on the value of the influence of anthropogenic factors. The materials were obtained from 25 test sites on areas that differed in the degree of road transport impact in 2018–2021 in Irkutsk. The values of the indicators of the developmental stability of each test site were determined as the average of the coefficients of fluctuating asymmetry, considering the eight characteristics of the leaves collected from them. These values indicate that A. negundo is sufficiently resistant to anthropogenic impacts, particularly the effects of emissions from road transport, compared with other types of phanerophytes involved in the landscaping of urbanized areas. The coefficient of weighted average of this indicator between sites in recreational areas and along highways was 1.33. The correlation coefficient between the values of development stability and the distance of growth of A. negundo from highways was r = –0.64±0.18, which confirms the average connection between these characteristics. Analysis of variance was used to assess the stability of tree development in four classes of traffic intensity (high, medium, low, and absent), determined through a correlation ratio, the level of which n = 0.70 demonstrates a high level of connection. To limit the implementation of A. negundo in the local flora, it is recommended that measures be gradually implemented to remove it from parks, squares, gardens, and adjacent territories, with the replacement of woody vegetation species that are well adapted to grow in these habitats.

Assessment of Sidi Abed mountain flora richness through endemic, rare and threatened species in Tiaret, Algeria

To present day, no study has been carried out on the local flora of the Sidi Abed Mountain. Situated southern the city of Tiaret considered as natural barrier before steppe area. Phyto-ecological surveys with 100 m2 Braun-Blanquet minimum area were conducted 75 species, belonging to 29 families and 66 genera has been established. Asteraceae (20%), Fabaceae (10.7), Poaceae (10.7), Lamiaceae (6.7%), Apiaceae (5.3%) and Asparagaceae (5.3) were the most representative families covering more than 50% of the inventoried families. Moreover, Therophytes (48%) are majorly dominant with a notable decrease of the phanerophytes (5,3%) and increase of Hemicryptophytes (22.7%). Predominance of the Mediterranean biogeographic type species with a percentage of (41.3%) followed by the Euro-Mediterranean (10.7%) and West-Mediterranean (10.7%) typical for Mediterranean semi-arid climate. 2 endemic species were present and rarity reached 9% combined of rare (4%) and quite rare (5%). Among the taxa analyzed, 8 are included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list with different status and 2 are on the Algerian list of protected non-cultivated species.

Assessment of the ecological state of green spaces of Almaty city on the example of Bostandyk district

The article provides an assessment of the ecological state of green spaces on the example of the Bostandyk district of Almaty. The total area of boulevards, squares and green areas of the Bostandyk district of Almaty today is 147.4 hectares. Bostandyk district of Almaty is one of the three greenest districts of Almaty after Medeu and Turksib districts. As our studies have shown, 95 % of green plantations of tree species in the Bostandyk district of Almaty are represented by introducers and a small part of local species — natives. The landscaping of the territory of the city of Almaty is represented by plantings of different types. These include groves, alleys, gardens, parks, boulevards, squares, green areas, intra-district gardening, street gardening. At the same time, a wide variety of species is observed in gardens, parks, boulevards, groves and a very small use of three or four species in landscaping streets. Among the tree plantations, 35 species are massive, which grow along all the streets, boulevards, squares of the Bostandyk district. From hardwoods: Populus nigra, Populus italica, Populus alba, Fraxinus excelsior and others. From the local natural flora grow — Armeniaca vulgaris, Prunus sogdiana, Fraxinus sogdiana, Rhamnus cathartica, Picea schrenkiana.

Monitoring of the condition of woody plants in the central part of the city of Donetsk

The dendroflora of Donetsk has been studied the species composition of trees in stands has been determined, the age structure of plantings has been analyzed, the life condition of green spaces has been assessed, as well as morphometric parameters of trees have been evaluated and models of age dependences of the allometric coefficient of trees, characterized by high indicators of adequacy to the initial data, have been proposed for the first time. As part of the linear plantings of the surveyed streets, 45 species of trees were identified, including 13 species of the indigenous fraction of the local flora belonging to 24 genera and 17 families. Dominant are Populus bolleana Lauche, Acer platanoides L., Betula pendula Roth, Acer pseudoplatanus L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Picea pungens Engelm. The plantings are dominated by species of European (48,85%), North American (22,49%) and Central Asian (18,02%) origin. The most numerous in trees is the age group of 4049 years. The vital condition of 41% of trees with a fast and medium growth rate is assessed as good with minor signs of weakening, and 59% of plants are marked as severely weakened or dying. For slow-growing trees, 91% of the sample consists of healthy plants with minor signs of weakening.

Contribution of phenolics to the antioxidant potential of propolis from Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetragonula pegdeni and its correlation to the dominant plant sources in different regions in Thailand

Propolis is a natural product produced by bees and has antioxidant properties that depend on the local flora and the bee species. Propolis from two dominant stingless bee species in Thailand, Tetragonula laeviceps and Tetragonula pegdeni were collected from four locations in Ratchaburi province and one location in Chiangmai province, with different dominant plants at each location. Samples were extracted in methanol (MeOH) and sequentially partitioned with hexane, dichloromethane (DCM), and MeOH. All partitioned extracts were examined by three antioxidant methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing ability (FRAP) assays. For the DPPH, the MeOH-partitioned extract of T. laeviceps from Bankha district (MPE7) was the most active [50% effective concentration (EC50) of 75.62 µg/mL), while the DCM-partitioned extract of T. pegdeni from Suan phueng district (DPE2) was the most active in the ABTS and FRAP assays (EC50 of 22.06 µg/mL and 10.23 mM/g, respectively). DPE2 also showed the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents (98.94 µg gallic acid equivalents/mg dry weight and 286.07 µg quercetin equivalents/mg, respectively). High performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the identification and quantification of 12 phenolic compounds, with the highest concentration of vitexin in MPE7 and MPE5. Interestingly, kaempferol (5.16 µg/mg) was only detected in DPE2. The different antioxidant properties among sites are expected due to the specific flora in each location. Furthermore, the bioactivity of propolis extracts differs significantly between bee species in a similar location, suggesting that they have different flora preferences. These results verify the potential of extracts to effectively scavenge radicals.

Perception of riverside folk about environmental degradation in the Igaraçu river, Piauí, Brazil

Co-development of knowledge is a useful tool for addressing the management of complex social-ecological systems like the ribeirinhos (riverine communities) of Brazil. Incorporating local knowledge and environmental perception of ribeirinhos into assessments of river degradation can lead to management outcomes that better support human and ecosystem health. In the state of Piauí, Brazil, riverine people depend on the Igaraçu River for various subsistence needs. However, river pollution has increased. The objective of this study was to comprehend the perceptions of ribeirinhos regarding the environmental degradation of the Igaraçu River in Piauí and how they believed it affected their life and ecosystem. We conducted interviews with 79 informants to gather insights on environmental degradation, its causes, and consequences. The results were analyzed using a Loyalty Level (LL) metric. The majority of respondents (67.86%, n=38) perceived that degradation was indeed taking place. They attributed the primary causes of degradation to discarded garbage (LL= 74.41) and the discharge of polluted water (LL= 11.60). Informants reported that local fauna and flora (LL= 35.70) were being impacted by water contamination. However, despite their reliance on the river for sustenance, including food, water, and the harvesting of forest products, they did not perceive any significant harm to their livelihoods. This study demonstrates that individuals who have a direct dependency on local natural resources can offer firsthand data regarding environmental changes. However, additional efforts are required to assist local communities (those who directly utilize the local environment) in developing a deeper understanding of how environmental degradation impacts both the present and future of their communities, as well as their connection to the local ecosystem.