Emilio Hormazabal

• PhD
• University of La Frontera

Background Discarded potato is the most abundant potato waste and represents a worldwide disposal problem to the potato industry. This agricultural waste contains valuable nutrients that could be used as substrate to obtain diverse high value-added microbial products, such as biopigments. The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of discarded po...

The possibility of modifying terpene production in plants is a defensive strategy that has been studied in conjunction with their biosynthetic pathways. A biotic factor such as Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) could modify terpene production in Trifolium pratense L. In this work, the enzymatic production of monoterpenes in Superqueli INIA cultiva...

The antimicrobial activity of metal nanoparticles obtained by biogenic routes has been extensively reported. However, their combined use with other antimicrobial formulations, such as essential oils, remains scarcely explored. In this work, a manganese-ferrite/silver nanocomposite (MnFe2O4/Ag-NC) was synthesized in a two-step procedure: first, MnFe...

Trifolium pratense, is a forage found worldwide, but it is negatively impacted by the clover root borer, Hylastinus obscurus. Methanolic extraction has been reported for isolating formononetin from vegetal tissues, with an antifeeding effect on H. obscurus. However, this methodology is time-consuming and also extracts other secondary metabolites, w...

Potato waste was processed and used as a sole substrate for simultaneously producing antifungals and biopigments using Streptomyces spp. Out of three different Streptomyces isolates, strain SO6 stood out due to its ability to produce antifungals against economically important fungal phytopathogens and intracellular biopigments using potato waste po...

Solanaceae is an important family of plants where many species of this family are source for food, industrial products, ornamental and medicinal uses. Within the family of Solanaceae, the genus Datura is one of the most interesting, in principle for its known medicinal and psychotropic uses against different pathologies. Multiple biological activit...

Alkaloid profiles from Amaryllis belladonna plants collected in Chile were examined by GC-MS to assess their inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) using in vitro and in silico methodologies. The alkaloid extract was roughly separated by column chromatography on silica gel. AChE inhibitory activities from extracts and purified alkaloids...

Hylurgus ligniperda is one of the most important quarantine forest insects associated to pine (Pinus radiate D. Don) logs exported from Chile. Methyl bromide fumigation has been the prominent control method. As the use of this synthetic insecticide leads to serious environmental problems, research to find alternative treatments is urgently needed f...

Galanthamine is an Amaryllidaceae-derived acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used to treat memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. There is evidence that galanthamine, in addition to its effects on acetylcholinesterase, may enhance or inhibit brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which could increase or decrease the therapeut...

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a perennial plant widely used as a forage resource for several animals. This plant is the exclusive host of Hylastinus obscurus (Marsham) which causes irreparable damages to the root system affecting their persistence. It has been reported that the presence of the isoflavonoid formononetin in roots of red clove...

Acetylcholinesterase is an important target for control of neurodegenerative diseases causing cholinergic signaling deficit. Traditionally, galanthamine has been used as an Amaryllidaceae-derived acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, although new Amaryllidaceae plants could serve as source for better acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Therefore, the object...

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the synthesis of ligninolytic enzymes and some diffusible antifungal compounds by white-rot fungi using peels or discarded potato as the sole nutrient source. Methods and results: The strain Trametes hirsuta Ru-513 has been highlighted for its laccase activity (595 ± 33 U l(-1) ), which is able to deco...

The contents of long-chain fatty acids in non-polar root extracts from 1.6 year-old red clover plants of two cultivars (Superqueli INIA and Quiñequeli INIA) and one experimental line (Syn II Pre III), their relationships with H. obscurus populations, and the stimulant or deterrent effects of the root extracts and of individual fatty acids on the we...

Abstract Fungi are an extraordinary and immensely diverse group of microorganisms that colonize many habitats even competing with other microorganisms. Fungi have received recognition for interesting metabolic activities that have an enormous variety of biotechnological applications. Previously, volatile organic compounds produced by fungi (FVOCs)...

Penicillium janczewskii K. M. Zalessky was isolated as an endophytic fungus from the phloem of the Chilean gymnosperm Prumnopitys andina. When grown in liquid yeast extract-malt extract-glucose broth, the fungus produced two main secondary metabolites. The compounds were for the first time isolated from this species and identified by spectroscopic...

A rapid in vitro propagation system leading to the formation of shoots, calli, roots, cell suspensions and plantlets was developed for the Andean medicinal plant Fabiana imbricata (Solanaceae). Massive propagation of shoots and roots was achieved by the temporary immersion system (TIS), morphogenesis and maintenance of cell suspensions by standard...

Seven compounds belonging to different structural skeletons were isolated from Microsphaeropsis olivacea grown in liquid and solid media. The enalin derivative 7-hydroxy-2,4- dimethyl-3(2H)-benzofuranone is reported for the first time, while additional spectroscopic information is provided for the acetates of botrallin and ulocladol. The activity o...

Background Enteric red mouth disease and Saprolegniasis, which are caused by the bacteria Yersinia ruckeri and the oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica, respectively, are important illnesses that affect salmonid farming. Sanitary problems in farms are addressed by the prevention of disease outbreaks or by the treatment of diseases with chemicals. Enviro...

Poplars are frequently attacked by aphids. The differential susceptibility of poplar hybrids to the aphid Chaitophorus leucomelas Koch (Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae) has been described, but the mechanism underlying this pattern is unknown. This work tested the hypothesis that poplar resistance to this aphid is associated with the presence of volatiles...

Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser) is native evergreen specie from Chile and Argentina used in traditional medicine. In this study, chemical composition as well as its in vitro antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus of essential oil from leaves of this species was...

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is known for its ability to produce and release al-lelopathic compounds, which have potential for controlling weeds and diseases. Previous reports have shown the fungitoxic effects of allelochemicals present in wheat. Thus, these compounds can be exuded by roots to protect the tissues directly affected by Gaeumannomyces...

The antifungal activity of molecular identified Chilean saprobiontic fungi, Trichoderma viride, Schizophyllum commune and Trametes versicolor, on the fungal plant pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum, and the saprotrophic mould Mucor miehei was investigated using two types of inhibition bioassay: (1) bi-compartmented Petri dishes and (...

It is possible to incorporate a lot of natural antioxidants into the human organism by consuming berries which can prevent diseases generated by the action of free radicals. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and thus protect the organism from the oxidative damage of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Berries stand out as one of the richest so...

Thraustochytriidae sp. AS4-A1, a native strain with high similitude to Ulkenia sp., able to produce docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n − 3, DHA) and astaxanthin (3,3′-dihydroxy-β,β-carotene-4,4′-dione, ASX) was cultivated in growth media based on liquid residues from potato chip processing, and residual mash recovered from a brewery by-product (RB). DHA...

It is possible to incorporate a lot of natural antioxidants into the human organism by consuming berries which can prevent diseases generated by the action of free radicals. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and thus protect the organism from the oxidative damage of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Berries stand out as one of the richest so...

This work presents the fatty acid composition of copepod species in southern Chile: two of them that are ectoparasites on Eleginops maclovinus (Caligus rogercresseyi and Lepeophtheirus mugiloidis) and one free-living species (Tigriopus sp.). C. rogercresseyi females from different hosts (Salmo salar and E. Maclovinus). Fatty acid methyl esters were...

In Chile, the horn fly, Hematobia irritans (L., 1758), is a major pest of grazing cattle and affects livestock production during the summer. Previous studies in Europe and the United States have shown that cattle flies, including H. irritans, are differentially attracted to individual cattle within herds and that volatile semiochemicals are respons...

Thirty-eight endophytic fungi were isolated from eight Chilean gymnosperms. Isolates were characterized and grouped according to culture characteristics, colony growth, and conidia morphology. Thirteen isolates were identified: Acremonium bacillisporum, A. bactrocephalum, A. strictum, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Chaetomium funico...

BACKGROUND: ‘Murtilla’, ‘mutilla’ or ‘murta’ (Ugni molinae Turcz) is a native Chilean species that produces a small berry fruit with a special aroma, whose volatile compounds have not yet been identified. The fruit may be consumed raw and also as jams, juice, canned products, confections and liquor. RESULTS: At the beginning and end of the storage,...

Two endophytic fungi isolated from the phloem of the Chilean gymnosperm Prumnopitys andinawere cultured in liquid potato-dextrose medium. The secondary metabolites were isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods. The fungus E-3 which could not be identified yielded 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)phenol, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and the isochromanone mellein....