Ecological niche modeling of customary medicinal plant species used by Australian Aborigines to identify species-rich and culturally valuable areas for conservation

Customary medicinal plant species used by Australian Aborigines are disappearing rapidly with its associated knowledge, due to the loss of habitats. Conservation and protection of these species is important as they represent sources of novel therapeutic phytochemical compounds and are culturally valuable. Information on the spatial distribution and use of customary medicinal plants is often inadequate and fragmented, posing limitations on the identification and conservation of species-rich areas and culturally valuable habitats.In this study, the habitat suitability modeling program, MaxEnt, was used to predict the potential ecological niches of 431 customary medicinal plant species, based on bioclimatic variables. Specimen locality records were obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal and from Australia's Virtual Herbarium (AVH).Ecological niche models of 414 predicted species, which had 30 or more occurrence points, were used to produce maps indicating areas that were ecologically suitable for multiple species (concordance of high predicted ecological suitability) and having cultural values. For the concordance map, individual species niche models were thresholded and summed. To derive a map of culturally valuable areas, customary medicinal uses from Customary Medicinal Knowledgebase (CMKb) (www.biolinfo.org/cmkb) were used to weight individual species models, resulting in a value within each grid cell reflecting its cultural worth.Even though the available information is scarce and fragmented, our approach provides an opportunity to infer areas predicted to be suitable for multiple species (i.e. concordance hotspots) and to estimate the cultural value of a particular geographical area. Our results also indicate that to conserve bio-cultural diversity, comprehensive information and active participation of Aboriginal communities is indispensable.     

Popular Use, Chemical Composition and Trade of Cerrado's Medicinal Plants (Goiás, Brazil)

This survey was done to register information of cerrado's medicinal plants sellers, who trade in downtown Anápolis (Brazil). The information obtained was pertaining to medicinal purposes, the most used portion of the plants, ecological lore and the best selling plants. A cluster analysis was performed to group the plants by medicinal use and by their chemical composition, obtained in the current literature. To verify if differences in chemical compounds correspond to differences in medicinal use, a Mantel test was applied to assess the correlation in those grouping. The results showed a low but significant correlation between medicinal use and chemical composition of the plants, nevertheless, there is still little published information on the pharmacological potential of cerrado's plant. Trade of cerrado's medicinal plants has local economic importance for a low income and illiterate population and the urbanization of the activity caused the loss of some traditional knowledge, like ecological information about the plants. A traveling salesman of medicinal plants (raizeiro) seems to have the most traditional lore, but he was not found to the interview. The excessive use of roots for medicinal purposes can be a threat to cerrado biome coupled with other human pressures in this ecosystem. Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is endangered as much as the ecosystem that originated it.     

东北野生五味子种群特征及其与环境因子的关系

五味子(Schisandra chinensis)是著名的传统中药材,主要分布在我国东北地区. 受过度采摘和毁林开荒等不科学利用方式的影响,野生五味子资源急剧恶化. 沿长白山山脉和小兴安岭山脉调查了17个野生五味子种群,分析了种群特征、环境因子特征及二者的相关关系. 结果表明:①五味子果实质量与纬度呈极显著负相关,基径与海拔呈显著正相关,而种群密度空间分布规律不明显;五味子果实质量、基径和种群密度间不存在显著相关性. ②五味子果实千粒质量和基径平均值分别为(69.05±12.80) g和(0.61±0.13)cm,种群密度大,约50%五味子种群密度达到4级(>1.5～2.0株/m2). ③五味子野生种群采样点的土壤pH(5.34～6.98)呈酸性;w(SOC)(SOC为土壤有机碳)在4.42%～18.47%之间,差异较大;w(TN)、w(TK)和w(TP)平均值分别为0.72%±0.28%、1.74%±0.31%和0.10%±0.03%. ④年降水量在474~928mm之间;年日照时长变化幅度小,在2219.3～2703.7h之间;年均气温和年均相对湿度的平均值分别为(3.46±1.44) ℃和68.9%±2.7%. 主成分分析表明,五味子果实质量受环境因子影响显著,其中年均气温的影响最大,其次是w(TP)、w(TN)、w(SOC)和年降水量;而基径和种群密度受环境因子的影响不显著. 对野生五味子种群生长限制因子的分析结果可为该种群保护、人工栽培与调控奠定理论基础.      

Lead and copper in the sclerotium of the mushroom Pleurotus tuber-regium (Osu): assessment of contribution to dietary intake in southeastern Nigeria

The concentrations of lead and copper in sclerotium of the mushroom Pleurotus tuber-regium widely consumed in Southeastern Nigeria were determined. The specimens purchased from different markets were mineralized with H₂SO₄ and H₂O₂ and analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The concentrations of Pb ranged from 0.2?±?0.1?mg?kg^?1 to 0.8?±?0.5?mg?kg^?1 with approximately 91% of the results being below 1?mg?kg^?1. The concentrations of Cu ranged from 0.5?±?0.2?mg?kg^?1 to 1.2?±?0.6?mg?kg^?1 with 78% of the results below 1?mg?kg^?1. The results were compared with the literature and levels set by regulatory authorities, with the conclusion that the consumption of sclerotium does not pose a toxicological risk. The low Pb content of the studied products would contribute to only about 1% of the provisional tolerable weekly intake of Pb. The Cu contents would contribute to nutritional intake of the metal in the general population. It is recommended that the outer layers of the sclerotia be properly scrapped before use to reduce metal contamination from exogenous sources.     

金华典型中药材产地环境地球化学研究

在金华市主要中药材种植区采集耕作层土壤和中药材样品,分析其重金属含量,并从环境地球化学角度分析中药材重金属超标的原因.结果表明,白术（Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae）、玄参（Radix Scrophulariae）和浙贝母（Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii）中Cd超标率分别为64.3％、40.0％和47.2％,白术、玄参和元胡（Rhizoma Corydalis）中Cu超标率分别为35.7％、10.0％和5.9％.从中药材对重金属的选择性吸收、种植区的土壤环境、地形地貌和气候条件等方面研究发现,气候温暖湿润,地形陡峭,岩石在风化成土过程中淋溶作用强烈,从土壤母质、淋溶层到土壤表层pH值逐渐降低,土壤酸化是导致中药材Cd和Cu含量超标的主要原因.     

萃取富集火焰原子吸收法测定香菇棒中的铅镉

用HNO3-HClO4消解香菇茵棒样品，以DDTC为络合剂，四氯化碳为萃取剂萃取消解液，用HNO3-H2O2混合液反萃取，火焰原子吸收分光光度法测定水相中的铅镉，结果令人满意。     

药用蕨类植物资源研究及其开发利用

对近年来我国部分省、市、地区药用蕨类植物的研究状况作了简要阐述，并根据目前的开发利用现状提出了加强基础研究工作、制定开发战略、加强资源保护和引种栽培的建议，希望它们能够对我国药用蕨类植物的研究及其开发利用提供帮助。     

重庆蛇葡萄属药用植物资源研究

经调查鉴定，重庆蛇葡萄属药用植物有8种8变种，其中乌头叶蛇葡萄、显齿蛇葡萄为重庆新分布种。重点介绍了它们的医疗用途、地理分布、资源状况及其开发前景，为进一步开发利用重庆市丰富的蛇葡萄属植物资源提供科学依据。     

云南西双版纳纳板河自然保护区药用苔藓植物调查研究

对纳板河流域国家级自然保护区药用苔藓植物资源进行了初步调查研究,结果表明：纳板河流域自然保护区共有药用苔藓植物18种,隶属11科15属,约占全国药用苔藓植物总数的31％;记述了纳板河保护区药用苔藓植物的分布及药用功能,提出了合理性开发利用的思路。     

菌渣、鸡粪联合堆肥工艺研究

对以菌渣、鸡粪为主要原料的静态条垛式好氧堆肥工艺进行了研究.结果表明在1次发酵过程中,温度维持在55 ℃以上的时间均超过7 d.堆肥结束时,堆体温度恢复到略高于室温水平,含水率下降15%左右,pH值为7.8左右,总氮含量损失了13.8%～15%,并且主要发生在1次发酵阶段.本文通过对各参数的测定和分析发现,菌渣和鸡粪通过添加酵素菌进行30 d左右好氧发酵,即可获得高质量的堆肥产品,对堆肥工程有指导作用.