While RBL-2H3 cells may be useful as a model for mast cell IgE-mediated degranulation, other aspects may not be representative and they may share similarities with basophils rather than with other histamine-releasing cell types.

Summary1. Increased intensification in agricultural grasslands has led to well-documented declines in the associated flora. Manipulation of field margins for biodiversity enhancement in arable systems has been extensively investigated. However, there is a paucity of corresponding long-term research within intensively managed grasslands. 2. We investigated a combination of establishment and management methods to enhance botanical diversity of newly established field margins in intensively managed grasslands. Three methods of field margin establishment were investigated including fencing, natural regeneration by rotavation, or seeding with a wildflower mixture. Subsequent sward management by either grazing or mowing was tested at three margin widths. Success of establishment was addressed in terms of persistence of species richness, plant community composition and incidence of noxious weeds. 3. Seeding with a wildflower mixture was the most successful establishment method to enhance plant species richness and this effect persisted throughout the 7 years of the experiment (x = 16AE4 ± 0AE43 SE plant species richness per 1 · 3 m 2 quadrat). Mown (x = 6AE01 ± 0AE30 SE) and rotavated (x = 9AE7 ± 0AE34 SE) treatments contained significantly fewer plant species; grazed controls contained 9AE83 ± 0AE24 species. 4. Grazing led to a significant, but modest increase in species richness in fenced and rotavated plots compared to the mowing treatment, but had no effect in seeded plots. Grazing also led to an increased frequency and cover of competitive grasses in the seeded treatment. 5. Although margin width was not found to significantly influence species richness, there was increased herb cover and reduced abundance of noxious weeds in the wider seeded margins. 6. Synthesis and applications. The choice of establishment method and subsequent management of grassland field margins significantly affected their conservation value. The botanical diversity of margins within intensively managed pasture can be enhanced by sowing wildflower seed mixtures. This diversity can be maintained over time through appropriate management, i.e. either the reduction of high grazing pressure by seasonal fencing, or annual mowing. Management approaches that involve minimal change are currently adopted in many agri-environment schemes (such as fencing and ⁄ or the cessation of nutrient inputs) but did not produce swards of conservation value in this study.

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RESUMO: "Atividade hipoglicemiante de duas espécies de Bauhinia brasileira: Bauhinia forfi cata L. and Bauhinia monandra Kurz.". Extratos aquosos das folhas de Bauhinia forfi cata L. e Bauhinia monandra Kurz (10% p/v) foram testados em camundongos normoglicêmicos, objetivando averiguar a sua atividade hipoglicemiante. Ambos os extratos mostraram atividade hipoglicemiante na metodologia empregada. Ainda, foi possível isolar de B. forfi cata L. dois fl avonóides, quercetina-3,7-O-dirhamnosido e kaempferol-3,7-O-dirhamnosido, sendo as estruturas estabelecidas por técnicas clássicas de RMN. Apenas o derivado da quercetina foi identifi cado no extrato aquoso de Bauhinia monandra por CLAE.Unitermos: Bauhinia forfi cata, Bauhinia monandra, Leguminosae, atividade hipoglicemiante, fl avonoides, CLAE. ABSTRACT:The hypoglycemic activity of aqueous extracts from Bauhinia forfi cata L. and Bauhinia monandra Kurz leaves (10% w/v) was evaluated in normoglycemic mice. Both extracts have shown hypoglycemic activity using this methodology. It was also possible to isolate two fl avonoids from B. forfi cata L., 3,7-di-O-α-rhamnopyranosylquercetin and 3,7-di-O-α-rhamnopyranosylkaempferol (kaempferitrin), whose structures were elucidated by usual NMR techniques. Only the quercetin derivative was identifi ed in B. monandra aqueous extract by HPLC.

A vast majority Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) are traditionally administered as individually prepared water decoctions (tang) which are rather complicated in practice and their dry extracts show technological problems that hamper straight production of more convenient application forms. Modernised extraction procedures may overcome these difficulties but there is lack of clinical evidence supporting their therapeutic equivalence to traditional decoctions and their quality can often not solely be attributed to the single marker compounds that are usually used for chemical extract optimisation. As demonstrated by the example of the rather simple traditional TCM formula Danggui Buxue Tang, both the chemical composition and the biological activity of extracts resulting from traditional water decoction are influenced by details of the extraction procedure and especially involve pharmacokinetic synergism based on co-extraction. Hence, a more detailed knowledge about the traditional extracts' chemical profiles and their impact on biological activity is desirable in order to allow the development of modernised extracts that factually contain the whole range of compounds relevant for the efficacy of the traditional application. We propose that these compounds can be identified by metabolomics based on comprehensive fingerprint analysis of different extracts with known biological activity. TCM offers a huge variety of traditional products of the same botanical origin but with distinct therapeutic properties, like differentially processed drugs and special daodi qualities. Through this variety, TCM gives an ideal field for the application of metabolomic techniques aiming at the identification of active constituents.