Introduction Policosanol, an extract from sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.), has been heavily researched in Cuba in several human populations for its cholesterol-lowering properties. In addition to improving serum lipids, policosanol reduces LDL oxidation, decreases platelet aggregation, decreases smooth muscle proliferation, and improves symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Side effects are...

Target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP) is a fairly new PCR-based molecular marker technique which uses gene-based information for primer design. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of TRAP markers for assessing genetic diversity and interrelationships in sugarcane germplasm collections. Thirty genotypes from the genera Saccharum, Miscanthus, and Erianthus were used ...

The genus Saccharum consists of two wild and four cultivated species. Novel interspersed sequences were isolated from cultivated sugar cane S. officinarum. These sequences were accumulated in all four cultivated species and their wild ancestral species S. robustum, but were not detected in the other wild species S. spontaneum and the relative Erianthus arundinaceus. The species-specific accumul...

Sampling efforts conducted in several provinces from Thailand disclosed three new species of tetranychid mites. Two of them belong to the genus Tetranychus, namely Tetranychus occultaspina sp. nov. and Tetranychus truncatissimus sp. nov. and the third species belongs to the genus Schizotetranychus, Schizotetranychus krungthepensis sp. nov. They were collected on Ipomoea aquatica, Bambusa multip...

La caña de azúcar del género Saccharum officinarum se destina principalmente a la producción azúcar, sin embargo, los residuos que genera en las diversas etapas es un problema escala mundial debido al impacto ambiental, puesto varias industrias desechos no son dispuestos adecuadamente, desaprovechando su potencial. Por tanto, el presente trabajo revisión enfoca buscar mediante bibliográfica ent...

The objective of this study was to determine phytochemical characteristics, chemiluminescence antioxidant capacities, and neuroprotective effects on PC12 cells for methanol extracts of Spatholobus suberectus, Uncaria rhynchophylla, Alpinia officinarum, Drynaria fortunei, and Crataegus pinnatifida. The C. pinnatifida extract (CPE) afforded the greatest yield and total phenolic content. The S. su...

We evaluated the genetic diversity of 77 clones of sugarcane used in crosses made by the Brazilian interuniversity network for the development of the sugar/energy sector (RIDESA) breeding program. Characterization of the genotypes was carried out at the ratoon stage, based on eight morphological traits and seven agronomic traits. Diversity analysis was carried out beginning with the Ward-Modifi...

The 45S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) units are separated by an intergenic spacer (IGS) containing the signals for transcription and processing of rRNAs. For the first time, we sequenced and analyzed the entire IGS region from three original species within the genus Saccharum, including S. spontaneum, S. robustum, and S. officinarum in this study. We have compared the IGS organization within three origi...

In late 1999 and early 2000, an outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) occurred in and around Los Santos, on the Azuero Peninsula of southwestern Panamá. This HPS episode, resulting in 22% case fatality, was linked to the Costa Rican pigmy rice rat, Oligoryzomys fulvescens costaricensis, which harbored a then undescribed hantavirus, Choclo virus. In addition, Cherrie's cane rat, Zygodo...