Root-knot nematodes, genus Meloidogyne, are among the most plant damaging pathogens worldwide. The action of natural products against plant pathogens has been investigated to assess their effectiveness in the control of diseases. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the phytochemistry potential of the Ficus species for the control of Meloidogyne javanica. In vitro inhibitory activity assays were performed with crude ethanolic extracts of leaves and branches from 10 Ficus species. Among these, Ficus carica extracts exhibited strong paralysis activity against second stage juveniles (J2) (EC50 = 134.90 μg ∙ ml–1), after 72 hours. In addition, high efficacy was observed in egg-hatching inhibition at different embryonic stages. Microscopy analysis revealed severe morphological alterations in the nematode tissues at the J2 stage, as well as immotility of juveniles released from eggs in the presence of F. carica extracts. The efficacy of the treatments for the other species was very low. These differences were supported by the variation in the compound classes, mainly for alkaloids and metabolite profiles by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) when F. carica was compared with the other species. The results indicated that F. carica is a promising source for the isolation and identification of molecules capable of acting in the control of M. javanica.

Anestrus is essential to an unsuccessful pregnancy in dairy cows. One of the many factors that influences anestrus is the inactive ovary. To characterize in detail the plasma metabolic pro- file, anestrus cows suffering from inactive ovaries were compared with those with natural estrus. The Holstein cows 60 to 90 day postpartum in an intensive dairy farm were assigned into inactive ovaries groups (IO, n=20) and natural estrus group (CON, n=22) according to estrus signs and rectal palpation of ovaries. Plasma samples from two groups of cows were collected from the tail vein to screen differential metabolites using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques and multivariate statistical analysis and pathways. The results showed that 106 compounds were screened by GC/MS and 14 compounds in the IO group were decreased by analyzing important variables in the projection values and p values of MSA.Through pathway analysis, 14 compounds, mainly associated with carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid meta- bolism, were identified to results in IO, which may seriously affect follicular growth. Metabolo- mics profiling, together with MSA and pathway analysis, showed that follicular growth and development in dairy cows is related to carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism by a single or multiple pathway(s).

The chemical composition of commercial thyme oils, freshly hydrodistilled EO (essetntial oil) from dried thyme herb and thymol, the main thyme oil constituent, were analyzed in the aspect of possible cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 breast cancer and normal L929 mouse fibroblast cell lines. Based on the GC-MS analysis, it was found that the commercial essential oils revealed similarities in their chemical composition. The content of main components such as thymol, linalool and α-pinene was almost equal. Interestingly, the EO obtained by hydrodistillation from Thymi herba showed considerable differences in the percentage content of some main constituents. The reason for the differences may be caused by the intraspecific chemical variability of T. vulgaris L. Four types of tested EOs can be classified as a ‘thymol’ chemotype, with thymol as the predominant compound. The thymol alone and the freshly hydrodistilled EO demonstrated the highest cytotoxic effect against used cell lines. The difference in IC50 values suggests more sensitive L929 cells are more sensitive in both the CCK-8 assay (except EOs Kawon) and the NRU assay.