Essential oil variation and antioxidant capacity of Mentha pulegium populations and their relation to ecological factors

Mentha pulegium L. is an aromatic herb belonging to the Lamiaceae family, a wild plant which is distributed in different areas of Iran. In this research, we evaluated the variability of essential oil content and compositions of 12 M. pulegium populations. Essential oils were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods. The essential oils content varied from 0.22 to 1.63% w/w within different populations. Twenty-nine compounds were identified which represent 83.4–98.7% of the total essential oil. The most significant essential oil compounds among the studied population were identified using the principal components analysis (PCA-biplot). According to the PCA-biplot, the major compounds were pulegone (2.5–51.7%), menthone (0.2–25.3%), limonene (0.0–35.4%), 1,8-cineol (0.0–33.4%), piperitenone oxide (0.2–55.2%), and trans-piperitone epoxide (0.0–28.5%). Besides, hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that the studied populations were classified into two main clusters based on the essential oil components. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that some environmental factors could influence the phytochemical constituents as well as the antioxidant activity. The temperature and altitude were effective environmental factors with regards to 1–8 cineol, limonene and menthone content, while average rainfall was the most effective factor with respect to trans-piperitone epoxide, piperitenone oxide, and pulegone content. Our results consequently showed that environmental factors had a significant effect on the essential oil content and its antioxidant activity in M. pulegium populations.     

The Circadian Clock Gene Circuit Controls Protein and Phosphoprotein Rhythms in Arabidopsis thaliana

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Apelin-36, a potent peptide,protects against ischemic brain injury by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway

Apelin is an endogenous ligand of G protein-coupled receptor-apelin and angiotensin-1-like receptor (APJ). The biological effects of apelin–APJ system are reported in multiple systems including cardiovascular, endocrinal, and gastrointestinal system. Previous studies had shown that apelin-13 is a potential protective agent on cardiac ischemia; however, the role of apelin in the central nervous system remained unknown. In this study, we investigated therapeutic effects of apelin-36, a long form of apelin, in ischemic brain injury models. We found that apelin-36 reduced cerebral infarct volume in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model and the neonatal hypoxic/ischemic (H/I) injury model. Apelin-36 improved neurological deficits in the MCAO model and promoted long-term functional recovery after H/I brain injury. We further explored the protective mechanisms of apelin-36 on H/I brain injury. We clearly demonstrated that apelin-36 significantly reduced the levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Bax, two well-established apoptotic markers after H/I injury, indicating the anti-apoptotic activity of apelin-36 in ischemic injury. Since apelin-36 increased the level of phosphorylated Akt after H/I injury, we treated neonates with a specific PI3K inhibitor LY294002. We found that LY294002 decreased the phosphorylated Akt level and attenuated protective effects of apelin-36 on apoptosis. These suggested that the PI3K/Akt pathway was at least in part involved in the anti-apoptotic mechanisms of apelin-36. Our findings demonstrated that apelin-36 was a promising therapeutic agent on the treatment of ischemic brain injury.     

海南主要陆域自然保护地兰科植物多样性与生境的关联分析

为了掌握海南主要陆域自然保护地内野生兰科植物的物种多样性现状以及制约其发展的关键生境因子,对该地区进行兰科植物资源调查并分析兰科植物多样性的空间分布格局,进一步采用典范对应分析(CCA)探索生境因子对兰科植物组成的影响,最后运用广义线性模型(GLM)框架下的负二项回归拟合兰科植物丰富度和多度对生境变异的响应。结果表明:(1)共发现兰科植物67属193种,为海南兰科植物分布的绝对中心。(2)水平方向上,霸王岭兰科植物丰富度高但居群相对拥挤,而五指山最大的海拔落差带来了更加多样化的小生境类型和宽阔的生存空间,孕育了种类丰富且分布均匀的兰科植物资源。(3)垂直方向上,中海拔地区兰科植物种类最为丰富且种间竞争较为激烈,高海拔地区则存在明显的优势类群。(4)海拔变化对兰科植物物种组成变异有着非常高的解释率,而喀斯特和河谷地貌的显著影响也不容忽视。(5)多因子综合作用共同影响着兰科植物的多样性,其中坡度、河谷地貌、喀斯特地貌的显著正效应和枫香林的显著负效应受其他协变量的影响较小,是驱动兰科植物丰富度和多度变化的关键生境因子。综上所述,中高海拔地区以及特殊地貌(如河谷和喀斯特地貌)应作为兰科植物多样性的优先保护区域。     

首云铁矿废弃土壤对2种景天属植物生长的影响

为评价景天属（Sedum）植物在矿山废弃地植被恢复中的应用潜力,以2种景天：德国景天（S. hybridum ‘Immergrunchen’）和胭脂红景天（S. spurium ‘Coccineum’）的扦插苗为试验材料,通过盆栽试验研究其在北京首云铁矿废弃土壤（包括采矿区土壤、排土场土壤、尾矿砂）2个生长季内的各项生长指标,以确定其在各废弃土壤上的适应性,并运用相关分析和典范对应分析,探讨影响2种景天生长的主要土壤理化性质。结果表明：①2种景天在采矿区土壤、排土场土壤和尾矿砂上的存活率分别为40%~66%、68%~90%、33%~46%;②不同废弃土壤对2种景天的地上部分和地下根系的各项生长指标均产生了显著的抑制作用,但德国景天在采矿区土壤的适应性较好,可作为采矿区修复的推荐品种,胭脂红景天在排土场土壤的生长表现较好,可作为排土场的修复品种;③影响景天属植物生长的土壤因子为通气孔隙度和土壤含水量,其中通气孔隙度的解释率为12.4%,土壤含水量的解释率为8.6%。     

庙岛群岛南五岛灌木群落结构及其对环境因子的响应

该研究对山东省庙岛群岛南五岛灌木植被及环境因子进行调查,运用TWINSPAN等级划分法和多元分析技术研究调查区域内灌木的植被分布、群落结构及其与环境因子间的关系。结果显示:(1)调查期间庙岛群岛南五岛共发现灌木27种,隶属于15科23属,荆条、扁担木、酸枣为优势种。(2)灌木群丛主要被划分为6个群丛,即桑群丛、刺槐-柘树群丛、酸枣群丛、扁担木群丛、荆条群丛、紫穗槐群丛。(3)应用典范对应分析(CCA)并采用向前引入法对环境因子进行逐步筛选,Monte Carlo置换检验结果显示,乔木层盖度、土壤pH是影响庙岛群岛南五岛灌木空间分布的关键环境因子。研究认为,CCA二维排序结果与TWINSPAN分类结果较为一致,庙岛群岛南五岛森林灌木群落主要分布于乔木层盖度适中、偏酸性土壤的环境下。     

黑河河岸植被与环境因子间的相互作用

2009-2010年,对黑河流域河岸植被分季节进行了详细调查,并实地测定各样点环境因子数据,采用PC-ORD和Canoco软件对数据进行分类排序与环境因子的指示种分析:(1)黑河河岸带植被分为4个植被型和6个群系,位于黑河上游的高山苔草+矮嵩草群系植被种类和数量最为丰富,草本层盖度最大,也是唯一没有乔木分布的群系;金露梅+沙棘+膜荚黄芪+针茅群系是灌木层密度和盖度最大的群系,草本植物种类相对较丰富;位于湿地的沙枣+水柏枝+芦苇+香蒲群系,土壤养分含量最高;(2)影响黑河河岸带植被分布的主要环境因子是海拔、降水、温度、土壤有机质、含水率以及全氮含量,其中,海拔、降水和温度为最重要的影响因子,土壤影响因子中土壤含水率>有机质>全氮,而全磷和速效氮没有显著影响;(3)在黑河河岸带共有20种植物是环境因子指示种,柽柳和苦豆子是温度、降水指示种,胡杨对海拔和降水有很强的指示作用,草本植物中没有土壤含水率和海拔指示种,而在乔灌木中没有土壤有机质指示种,这为气候、土壤条件的变化提供了很好的参考价值。