Photosystem 2 is more tolerant to high temperature in apple (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Malus domestica</Emphasis> Borkh.) leaves than in fruit peel

Tolerance of photosystem 2 (PS2) to high temperature in apple (Malus domestica Borkh. cv. Cortland) leaves and peel was investigated by chlorophyll a fluorescence (OJIP) transient after exposure to 25 (control), 40, 42, 44, and 46 °C in the dark for 30 min. The positive L-step was more pronounced in a peel than in leaves when exposed to 44 °C. Heat-induced K-step became less pronounced in leaves than in peel when exposed to 42 °C or higher temperature. Leaves had negative L-and K-steps relative to the peel. The decrease of oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) by heat stress was higher in the peel than in the leaves. OJIP transient from the 46 °C treated peel could not reach the maximum fluorescence (F_m). The striking thermoeffect was the big decrease in the relative variable fluorescence at 30 ms (V_I), especially in the leaves. Compared with the peel, the leaves had less decreased maximum PS2 quantum efficiency (F_v/F_m), photochemical rate constant (K_P), F_m and performance index (PI) on absorption basis (PI_abs) and less increased minimum fluorescence (F₀) and non-photochemical rate constant (K_N), but more increased reduction of end acceptors at PS1 electron acceptor side per cross section (RE₀/CS₀) and per reaction center (RE₀/RC₀), quantum yield of electron transport from Q_A ⁻ to the end acceptors (ϕ _R0) and total PI (PI_abs,total) when exposed to 44 °C. In conclusion, PS2 is more thermally labile than PS1. The reduction of PS2 activity by heat stress primarily results from an inactivation of OEC. PS2 was more tolerant to high temperature in the leaves than in the peel.     

Responses of plants in polar regions to UVB exposure: a meta-analysis

We report a meta‐analysis of data from 34 field studies into the effects of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation on Arctic and Antarctic bryophytes and angiosperms. The studies measured plant responses to decreases in UVB radiation under screens, natural fluctuations in UVB irradiance or increases in UVB radiation applied from fluorescent UV lamps. Exposure to UVB radiation was found to increase the concentrations of UVB absorbing compounds in leaves or thalli by 7% and 25% (expressed on a mass or area basis, respectively). UVB exposure also reduced aboveground biomass and plant height by 15% and 10%, respectively, and increased DNA damage by 90%. No effects of UVB exposure were found on carotenoid or chlorophyll concentrations, net photosynthesis, F_v/F_m or Φ_PSII, belowground or total biomass, leaf mass, leaf area or specific leaf area (SLA). The methodology adopted influenced the concentration of UVB absorbing compounds, with screens and natural fluctuations promoting significant changes in the concentrations of these pigments, but lamps failing to elicit a response. Greater reductions in leaf area and SLA, and greater increases in concentrations of carotenoids, were found in experiments based in Antarctica than in those in the Arctic. Bryophytes typically responded in the same way as angiosperms to UVB exposure. Regression analyses indicated that the percentage difference in UVB dose between treatment and control plots was positively associated with concentrations of UVB absorbing compounds and carotenoids, and negatively so with aboveground biomass and leaf area. We conclude that, despite being dominated by bryophytes, the vegetation of polar regions responds to UVB exposure in a similar way to higher plant‐dominated vegetation at lower latitudes. In broad terms, the exposure of plants in these regions to UVB radiation elicits the synthesis of UVB absorbing compounds, reduces aboveground biomass and height, and increases DNA damage.     

Historical ozone concentrations and flavonoid levels in herbarium specimens of the Antarctic moss Bryum argenteum

Depletion of stratospheric ozone since the mid 1970s has led to significant increases in ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation over Antarctica. The detrimental effects of UVB on plants are many, but plants produce photoprotective flavonoids that reduce cellular damage. We used herbarium samples of the moss Bryum argenteum collected in Antarctica to compare the levels of flavone aglycones in plants collected before and after the formation of the ozone hole. The interpretation of historical data is difficult, because environmental conditions immediately before sample collection are unknown. Factors such as cloud cover can have a significant influence on UVB dose at ground level, modifying the flavonoid content of the specimen and adding considerable variability to the results. Nevertheless, our results revealed significant relationships between total flavone concentration and pooled year classes ( P = 0.001). Furthermore, regression analysis showed a significant negative relationship of total flavone concentration and the level of ozone immediately before the time of collection ( P = 0.016). In addition, the ratio of luteolin (an ortho -dihydroxylated flavone) to apigenin (a monohydroxylated flavone) increased significantly with several environmental parameters. These included (a) increasing modelled midday UVB radiation ( P = 0.002), (b) increasing modelled midday UVB/PAR ratio ( P < 0.001), and (c) decreasing ozone concentration ( P < 0.001). We emphasise the utility of this ratio in interpreting the historical ozone trends rather than relying on changes in total flavone concentrations alone. These results illustrate that herbarium specimens may reveal historical levels of UVB radiation.     

Influences of crude extract of tea leaves,Camellia sinensis,on streptozotocin diabetic male albino mice

Natural remedies from medicinal plants are considered to be effective and safe alternative treatment for diabetes mellitus. The aim of the present study was to investigate the hypoglycemic activity of the crude tea leaves extract on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. The average body weight of animals with diabetes and their percentage changes of body weight gain after 15 and 30 days were significantly lower than that of the normal control mice. In diabetic mice, supplementation with tea leaves extract decreased the loss of body weight. After 15 and 30 days, significant increases in the levels of serum glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, creatinine, urea, uric acid, glutamic pyruvic acid transaminase (GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic acid transaminase (GOT) were noted in STZ-diabetic mice fed with normal diet. Also, the values of total protein in this group were statistically declined after 15 and 30 days. The levels of serum glucose and GPT were significantly elevated after 15 and 30 days in diabetic mice supplemented with tea leaves extract. Moreover, the level of serum GOT was notably increased after 30 days. Insignificant alterations were observed in the levels of serum triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, creatinine, urea and uric acid in diabetic mice supplemented with tea leaves extract. Thus, the present results have shown that tea leaves extract has the antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, and antihyperproteinemic effects and consequently may alleviate liver and kidney damage associated with STZ-induced diabetes in mice.     

北美盐角草(Salicornia bigelovii Torr.)化学成分的研究(英文)

从北美盐角草中分离得到6个化合物,运用波谱手段分别鉴定为东莨菪内酯(1),杜松脑(2),金丝桃苷(3),槲皮素(4),异鼠李素-3-O-β-D-葡萄糖苷(5)和β-谷甾醇(6)。其中,化合物1和2为该属植物中首次分离得到,化合物4和6为首次从该种植物中得到。     

地菍的化学成分(英文)

为了研究野牡丹科药用植物地菍(Melastoma dodecandrum)的化学成分,采用柱层析方法分离鉴定了15个化合物,通过波谱分析及对比文献等方法鉴定为4-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖基-3,3',4'-三甲氧基鞣花酸(1),槲皮素3-O-刺槐二糖苷(2),8-C-吡喃葡萄糖基-5,7,3',4'-四羟基黄酮(3),3-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖基-4',5,7-三羟基黄酮(4),6-C-吡喃葡萄糖基-4',5,7-三羟基黄酮(5),3-hydroxy-22(29)-hopen-23-oic acid(6),2,3-dihydroxy-9(11)-fernen-23-oic acid(7),3β-sitosterol laminaribioside(8),姜糖酯B(9),3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside-glycerol1-alkanoates(10),胡萝卜苷(11),β-谷甾醇(12),二十八烷醇(13),二十四烷酸(14)以及三十四烷(15)化合物结构。所有化合物均为首次从该植物中分离得到。     

野菊花60%乙醇提取物的酚类成分组成及其清除自由基和防霉变能力分析

对野菊[Dendranthema indicum (L. ) Des Moul. ]花的60%乙醇提取物中酚类成分的组成与含量进行了分析,并研究了该提取物对· O2-、· OH和DPPH自由基的清除能力以及防牛奶霉变的能力.结果表明,野菊花60%乙醇提取物主要含有黄酮类成分和一定量的酚酸类成分;酚酸类成分中绿原酸和咖啡酸的含量分别为20.74 mg·g-1和1 420.57 μg·g-1;总黄酮含量为490.50 mg·g-1,其中槲皮素、木犀草素、芹菜素、刺槐素和蒙花苷的含量分别为31.05、22.67、23.09、30.71和107.23 mg·g-1,分别占总黄酮含量的6.33%、4.62%、4.71%、6.26%和21.86%.该提取物对· O2-、· OH和DPPH自由基均有一定的清除能力,在实验设置的浓度范围内,对3种自由基的清除率与该提取物浓度基本呈正相关关系,回归方程分别为y=0.273x+38.540、y=1.208x+2.761和y=2.032x+45.330,IC50分别为41.98 μg·mL-1、39.11 mg·mL-1和2.30 mg·mL-1,其中对DPPH自由基的清除能力最强,且其IC50略高于VC.在牛奶中添加一定量的野菊花60%乙醇提取物(质量体积分数0.012 5%～0.2%),牛奶中的各级霉斑数量、病情指数以及霉菌孢子数均低于空白处理组,且该提取物的这种防霉变能力与其浓度呈一定的正相关关系;其中0.2%的野菊花60%乙醇提取物的防霉变能力高于质量体积分数0.01%山梨酸钾.实验结果显示,野菊花60%乙醇提取物具有较高的抗氧化能力和显著的防霉变能力,可作为食品防腐剂进行开发利用.     

Influence of lanthanum on the accumulation of trace elements in chloroplasts of cucumber seedling leaves

Influence of La³⁺ on the accumulation of trace elements (⁷⁵Se, ⁵⁶Co, ⁸³Rb, ⁴⁸V, ^95mTc, and ⁶⁷Ga) in chloroplasts of cucumber seedling leaves was studied by a radioactive multitracer technique. At the same time, chloroplast contents of different concentrations of La³⁺ treatment were calculated. It was observed that chloroplast contents peaked at 0.02 mM La³⁺ treatment and that the uptake and distribution of these trace elements in chloroplasts of cucumber seedling leaves are different under different La³⁺ treatments. With the increase of lanthanum concentrations from 0.002 to 2 mM, the uptake percentages of ⁷⁵Se, ⁵⁶Co, and ⁸³Rb presented an obvious increase and then sharply decreased in contrast to the nonlanthanum treatment, whereas there appeared a sharp decrease and then restored control level in the uptake of ⁴⁸V. The other two trace elements, namely ^95mTc and ⁶⁷Ga, were accumulated only in the presence of 0.02 mM La³⁺. The results indicate that lanthanum treatments to growing the cucumber lead to the change of trace element uptake in the chloroplasts of leaves, which suggest that lanthanum might influence the accumulation of trace elements in chloroplasts of cucumber seedling leaves by regulation of various ion transport mechanisms, thus affecting the photosystem of leaves.     

Antiparasitic activity of flavonoids and isoflavones against Cryptosporidium parvum and Encephalitozoon intestinalis

Flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds found in plants, have demonstrated activity against several parasites and can augment the efficacy of other drugs by either increasing the uptake or decreasing the efflux of these drugs. We evaluated 11 of these compounds alone or in combination in order to test the hypothesis that flavonoids are effective against Cryptosporidium parvum and Encephalitozoon intestinalis. Using in vitro cell culture assays, HCT-8 cells or E6 cells were infected with C. parvum and E. intestinalis, respectively, and treated with compounds at doses ranging from 1 to 200 microM. We found that six compounds were active against C. parvum. Naringenin and genistein had the greatest activities with EC(50) of 15 and 25 microM, respectively. Two compounds, quercetin and apigenin, had activity against E. intestinalis at EC(50) of 15 and 50 microM, respectively. The EC(50) of trifluralin, a dinitroaniline compound, was decreased significantly when combined with genistein in an in vitro assay, suggesting that compounds may be used alone on in combination with other moderately active drugs to increase efficacy. In addition, induction of apoptosis by these compounds was studied but not observed to be a significant mechanism of action.     

Glycosylation of flavonoids with a glycosyltransferase from Bacillus cereus

Microbial glycosyltransferases can convert many small lipophilic compounds such as phenolics, terpenoids, cyanohydrins and alkaloids into glycons using uridine-diphosphate-activated sugars. The main chemical functions of glycosylation processes are stabilization, detoxification and solubilization of the substrates. The gene encoding the UDP-glycosyltransferase from Bacillus cereus, BcGT-1, was cloned by PCR and sequenced. BcGT-1 was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) with a his-tag and purified using a His-tag affinity column. BcGT-1 could use apigenin, genistein, kaempferol, luteolin, naringenin and quercetin as substrates and gave two reaction products. The enzyme preferentially glycosylated at the 3-hydroxyl group, but it could transfer a glucose group onto the 7-hydroxyl group when the 3-hydroxyl group was not available. The reaction products made by biotransformation of flavonoids with E. coli expressing BcGT-1 are similar to those produced with the purified recombinant enzyme. Thus, this work provides a method that might be useful for the biosynthesis of flavonoid glucosides and for the glycosylation of related compounds.