This study aimed to determine the composition of the essential oil of Mentha x villosa and to evaluate its biological effects in vitro on adult worms of S. mansoni. Rotundifolone (70.96 %), limonene (8.75 %), trans-caryophyllene (1.46 %), and β-pinene (0.81 %) were shown to be the major constituents of this oil. Adult worms of S. mansoni were incubated with different concentrations of the essential oil (1, 10, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 µg/mL) and of its constituents rotundifolone (0.7, 3.54, 7.09, 70.96, 177.4, 354.8, and 700.96 µg/mL), limonene (43.75 µg/mL), trans-caryophyllene (7.3 µg/mL), and β-pinene (4.03 µg/mL). No schistosomicidal activity was identified at the trans-caryophyllene and β-pinene concentrations studied. However, use of the essential oil (10 µg/mL), rotundifolone (7.09 µg/mL), and limonene (43.75 µg/mL) resulted in decreased worm motility continuing until 96 hours of observation. At higher concentrations (100 and 70.96 µg/mL, respectively), both the essential oil and rotundifolone caused mortality among adult worms of S. mansoni. The positive control praziquantel caused the death of all parasites after 24 h of evaluation. The results from this study suggest that the essential oil of Mentha x villosa presents schistosomicidal efficacy.

No abstract

Sequencing Multiple Brazilian Acinetobacter Genomes genes associated with the synthesis of the capsular antigens were noticeably more variable in the ST113 and ST79 strains. Indeed, several resistance and virulence genes were common to the ST79 and ST113 strains only, despite a greater genetic distance between them, suggesting common means of genetic exchange. Our comparative analysis reveals the spread of multiple STs and the genomic plasticity of A. baumannii from different hospitals in a single metropolitan area. It also highlights differences in the spread of resistance markers and other MGEs between the investigated STs, impacting on the monitoring and treatment of Acinetobacter in the ongoing and future outbreaks.

Few studies have examined the cellular immune response of ticks, and further research on the characterization of the hemocytes of ticks is required, particularly on those of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) because of the medical and veterinary importance of this tick. The aims of this study were to characterize the morphology and the ultrastructure of the different types of hemocytes of adult R. sanguineus and to determine the population abundance and the ultrastructural changes in the hemocytes of ticks infected with Leishmania infantum. The hemocytes were characterized through light and transmission electron microscopy. Within the variability of circulating cells in the hemolymph of adult R. sanguineus, five cell types were identified, which were the prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, spherulocytes, and adipohemocytes. The prohemocytes were the smallest cells found in the hemolymph. The plasmatocytes had polymorphic morphology with vesicles and cytoplasmic projections. The granulocytes had an elliptical shape with the cytoplasm filled with granules of different sizes and electrodensities. The spherulocytes were characterized by several spherules of uniform shapes and sizes that filled the entire cytoplasm, whereas the adipohemocytes had an irregular shape with multiple lipid inclusions that occupied almost the entire cytoplasmic space. The total counts of the hemocyte population increased in the group that was infected with L. infantum. Among the different cell types, the numbers increased and the ultrastructural changes occurred in the granulocytes and the plasmatocytes in the infected group of ticks.