In recent years carotenoids have represented a good alternative for the pharmaceutical and food industries and especially for the human health, they prevent different diseases, such cancer, macular degradation and cataracts. The use of post-harvest residues represents a good alternative for obtaining analytes of interest.The application of enzymatic pretreatment over plant matrices has resulted in an increase in the level of extraction and lowered operating costs. Today, the use of organic solvents such as hexane in this process is frequent, however, new investigations with novel environmentally friendly solvents (non-toxic) promise new cleaner technologies. The aim of this review is to present some methodologies and technologies used today to obtain carotenoids from plant residues, industrial and post-harvest materials.

Soil and air inhalation and/or ingestion are important vehicles for these parasites. To our knowledge, the results obtained in the present study represent the first QMRAs for cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis due to soil and air inhalation/ingestion in Mexico. In addition, this is the first evidence of the microbial air quality around these parasites in rural zones.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are gastrointestinal disease-causing organisms transmitted by the fecal-oral route, zoonotic and prevalent in all socioeconomic segments with greater emphasis in rural communities. The goal of this study was to assess the risk of cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis of Potam dwellers consuming drinking water from communal well water. To achieve the goal, quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) was carried out as follows: (a) identification of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts in well water samples by information collection rule method, (b) assessment of exposure to healthy Potam residents, (c) dose-response modelling, and (d) risk characterization using an exponential model. All well water samples tested were positive for Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The QMRA results indicate a mean of annual risks of 99:100 (0.99) for cryptosporidiosis and 1:1 (1.0) for giardiasis. The outcome of the present study may drive decision-makers to establish an educational and treatment program to reduce the incidence of parasite-borne intestinal infection in the Potam community, and to conduct risk analysis programs in other similar rural communities in Mexico.

The use of halophytes such as Salicornia bigelovii represents an alternative with economic potential for desert agriculture and coastal areas. However, the success in the establishment of commercial plots has been limited by the low germination percentages of this species. Propagation using plant cuttings represents a viable and rapid alternative to this problem. The formation of functional roots is fundamental in the propagation of plant cuttings and has been achieved through the application of chemical growth regulators. The application of chitosan in some crops has evidenced to be an alternative for the germination process and an enhancer of harvest performance; however, there are no studies that evaluate its effect on the halophyte S. bigelovii. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of marine-derived chitosan and indole butyric acid as root-promoting agents in cuttings of Salicornia bigelovii. The concentrations (individually and combined) of chitosan at 100 and 50% and indole butyric acid were applied at a rate of 0.937 and 1.25 g kg‑1. A completely randomized design of nine treatments and f ive repetitions was used and 225 experimental units were evaluated. The following variables were measured: root length, fresh weight and total dry weight of the root, and number and length of new shoots. The results showed that the most eff icient treatment was 100% chitosan + 0.937 g kg-1 indole butyric acid, promoting the production of photosynthetic shoots up to 800%. These results indicate that it is feasible to achieve the propagation of Salicornia by means of cuttings using marine-derived chitosan as a growth promoter.

Ruíz Alvarado y E.O. Rueda-Puente. ECOFISIOLOGÍA Y BIOQUÍMICA DE Salicornia bigelovii (Torr.) POR EFECTO DE QUITOSANO-AIB BAJO CONDICIONES DEL DESIERTO DE SONORA. ECOPHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY OF Salicornia bigelovii (TORR.) BY EFFECT OF CHITOSAN-AIB EFFECT UNDER SONORA DESERT CONDITIONS.