iPBS-Retrotransposons-based genetic diversity and relationship among wild annual Cicer species

Lack of requisite genetic variation in cultivated species has necessitated systematic collection, documentation and evaluation of wild Cicer species for use in chickpea variety improvement programs. Cicer arietinum has very narrow genetic variation, and the use of a wild relative in chickpea breeding could provide a good opportunity for increasing the available genetic variation of cultivated chickpea. Genetic diversity and the relationship of 71 accessions, from the core area of chickpea origin and domestication (Southeastern Turkey), belonging to five wild annual species and one cultivated species (Cicer arietinum) were analysed using iPBS-retrotransposon and ISSR markers. A total of 136 scorable bands were detected using 10 ISSR primers among 71 accessions belonging to 6 species, out of which 135 were polymorphic (99.3 %), with an average of 13.5 polymorphic fragments per primer, whereas iPBS detected 130 bands with 100 % polymorphism with an average of 13.0 bands per primer. C. echinospermum and C. pinnatifidum were the most diverse among species, whereas C. arietinum exhibited lower polymorphism. The average polymorphism information contents (PIC) value for both marker systems was 0.91. The clustering of the accessions and species within groups was almost similar, when iPBS and ISSR NeighborNet (NNet) planar graphs were compared. Further detailed studies are indispensable in order to collect Cicer germplasm, especially C. reticulatum, from southeastern Turkey particularly, from Karacada? Mountain for preservation, management of this species, and to study their genetic diversity at molecular level. This study also demonstrates the utility and role of iPBS-retrotransposons, a dominant and ubiquitous part of eukaryotic genomes, for diversity studies in wild chickpea and in cultivated chickpea.     

Enumerating the phytic acid content in maize germplasm and formulation of reference set to enhance the breeding for low phytic acid

Phytic acid (Myoinositol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 hexakisphosphate) is a ubiquitous compound present in plants. It is an important constituent in seed reducing the bioavailability of phosphorous and mineral nutrients when fed to monogastric animals like swine, poultry, fish etc. Hence, identification of maize germplasm with reduced phytic acid content is imperative to formulate the breeding programs to evolve low phytate lines. Towards this, three hundred and thirty-eight maize germplasm accessions available at Department of Millets, TNAU, were raised and screened for phytic acid content which varied from 2.77 to 16.70 mg/g of seed. Based on the variability present, a reference set with fifty-eight genotypes for phytic acid was formulated. The reference set was formed with random genotypes selected from the base population to follow a normal distribution (skewness; 0.17, kurtosis; 0.61 and K–S test for normality Dn = 0.70) for phytic acid. The non-significant difference between the means of the base and the reference ensured the entire representation of the base in the formulated reference for phytic acid. Among all the lines in the reference set, the lowest phytic acid content were observed in the lines UMI-113 (2.77 mg/g) followed by UMI-300-1 (3.17 mg/g), UMI-467 (5.50 mg/g) and UMI-158 (6.58 mg/g) could be used as donors for low phytic acid in breeding programs. The principal component analysis for studying the extent of variability in the reference, revealed six major principal components that exhibited 80.40% of variation with flowering traits, ear height and phytic acid as a major contributor for variability. The characters namely plant stand, germination percentage, kernel yield, ear length, ear diameter and number of kernels per row were found to be positively correlated with the phytic acid and this emphasizes the negative pleiotropic effects of low phytic acid lines in germination and seed set. Thus this formulated reference set enables the breeders to handle minimum population for further grouping the genotypes to analyse their heterotic potential combined with low phytic acid.     

Class-based stratification matrix for physical leaf traits in phenetic relations of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal accessions

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal is a promising herb with many pharmaceutical and therapeutic uses ranging from immunomodulation to anticarcinogenicity. It is commonly known as Indian ginseng, as it is comparable to Panax ginseng, which is a widely studied and utilized herb. There are limited studies on the genetic diversity of W. somnifera from the northeastern region of the Indian Subcontinent. This paper describes the characterization of wild accessions collected from Tamil Nadu State. A total of 15 accessions collected from wild populations were studied for their physical leaf traits such as leaf fresh weight (g), dry weight (mg), leaf dry matter content (mg g^?1), specific leaf area (mm² mg^?1), leaf size (mm²), total carbon and nitrogen, and total withaferin-A content in leaves. An attempt was made to correlate physical leaf traits with withaferin-A content. The molecular traits, which were treated in a presence–absence matrix, failed to group the hyper-withaferin-A accessions. The quantified physical leaf traits were converted into a presence–absence matrix using a novel method of class-based stratification. The phenetic relations inferred from the Fitch–Margoliash algorithm applied to physical leaf trait data resulted in grouping of accessions with high withaferin-A content. These traits were used in the selection of promising accessions which can be further used for breeding programmes.     

Effect of various culture conditions on shoot multiplication and GC–MS analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plumbago zeylanica</Emphasis> accessions for plumbagin production

Plumbago zeylanica, a pharmaceutically important medicinal plant, contains a wide range of phytocompounds. Culture parameters like carbon source, nitrogen source, and culture media are essential for the development and growth of explants. In this investigation, the influence of various carbon sources (sucrose, glucose, and fructose at 3% concentration), nitrogen source (ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate) and plant tissue culture media (MS medium, Gamborg’s B5 medium, White medium and Nitsch medium) on shoot multiplication of five different accessions was studied. Optimum growth of all five accessions was observed in MS media containing 3% sucrose and ammonium nitrate as a source of carbon and nitrogen. Out of five accessions, IC-524441 showed the highest shoot multiplication. Further, methanolic extracts of all accessions (grown in MS media containing 3% sucrose and ammonium nitrate as nitrogen source) were prepared and comparison of extracts in DPPH assay indicated that accession number IC-524441 was the most effective free radical scavenging agent. Total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin content ranges were from 20 to 70 µg/ml, 40 to 100 µg/ml and 55 to 120 µg/ml, respectively, and the highest amount was found in accession number IC-524441. Sucrose and ammonium nitrate content may be responsible for increased antioxidant activity, flavonoids content, phenolic content, and tannin content in accession number IC-524441. GC–MS of ethyl acetate extract of all five accessions of P. zeylanica was conducted (grown in MS media containing 3% sucrose and ammonium nitrate as nitrogen source). GC–MS analysis of the aerial part showed the presence of various phytocompounds, which include 1,4-naphthalenedione, 3-eicosene, 5-eicosene, phthalic acid, o-anisic acid, thioctic acid, 1-octadecene, 5-t-butyl-cycloheptene, 2-benzoyl-1,2-dihydro-1-isoquinolinecarbonitrile, octadecanal, silane, 3-methoxy-2-methyl-2-(1-phenyl-ethylamino)-propionic acid, and 1-nonadecene. Accession number IC-524441 contains the highest amount of plumbagin, i.e. 14.19?±?0.5 µg/ml as compared to the others.     

Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of genetic differentiation and diversity in the USDA rice mini-core collection

A rice mini-core collection consisting of 217 accessions has been developed to represent the USDA core and whole collections that include 1,794 and 18,709 accessions, respectively. To improve the efficiency of mining valuable genes and broadening the genetic diversity in breeding, genetic structure and diversity were analyzed using both genotypic (128 molecular markers) and phenotypic (14 numerical traits) data. This mini-core had 13.5 alleles per locus, which is the most among the reported germplasm collections of rice. Similarly, polymorphic information content (PIC) value was 0.71 in the mini-core which is the highest with one exception. The high genetic diversity in the mini-core suggests there is a good possibility of mining genes of interest and selecting parents which will improve food production and quality. A model-based clustering analysis resulted in lowland rice including three groups, aus (39 accessions), indica (71) and their admixtures (5), upland rice including temperate japonica (32), tropical japonica (40), aromatic (6) and their admixtures (12) and wild rice (12) including glaberrima and four other species of Oryza. Group differentiation was analyzed using both genotypic distance Fst from 128 molecular markers and phenotypic (Mahalanobis) distance D(2) from 14 traits. Both dendrograms built by Fst and D(2) reached similar-differentiative relationship among these genetic groups, and the correlation coefficient showed high value 0.85 between Fst matrix and D(2) matrix. The information of genetic and phenotypic differentiation could be helpful for the association mapping of genes of interest. Analysis of genotypic and phenotypic diversity based on genetic structure would facilitate parent selection for broadening genetic base of modern rice cultivars via breeding effort.     

Antioxidant properties and phenolic profiling by UPLC-QTOF-MS of Ajwah,Safawy and Sukkari cultivars of date palm

Date palm (P. dactylifera) plays a vital role in ethnomedicinal practices in several parts of the world. There are over 2000 cultivars of date palm that differ in chemical composition and extent of bioactivity. The present study was undertaken to comparatively evaluate the antioxidant potential of three cultivars of date palm (Ajwah, Safawy and Sukkari) from Saudi Arabia and analyze their phenolic constituents in order to draw a rationale for their activity. Antioxidant activities of the date cultivars were evaluated by different quantitative methods including 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, total phenolic (TPC), flavonoid (TFC) and tannin content (TTC), while qualitative phenolic composition was determined using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadropole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS). All the three date extracts showed good DPPH radical scavenging (IC₅₀ 103–177 μg/mL) and hydroxyl radical scavenging (IC₅₀ 1.1–1.55 mg/mL) activity and total antioxidant capacity (IC₅₀ 87–192 μg/mL). The reducing power was also comparable to that of ascorbic acid, used as standard in above experiments. All the three samples contain significant amount of major antioxidant components (phenolic, flavonoid and tannin) that successfully correlates with the results of radical scavenging assays. UPLC-QTOF-MS revealed a total of 22 compounds in these date cultivars classified into common phenolics, flavonoids, sterols and phytoestrogens. Significant variation in the degree of antioxidant activity of these three date cultivars can be attributed to the difference in the content and composition of phenolic compounds.     

In vitro evaluation of phenolic and osmolite compounds,ionic content,and antioxidant activity in safflower (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carthamus tinctorius</Emphasis> L.) under salinity stress

Carthamus tinctorius L., rich in antioxidant compounds, is a herbal medicine. Biochemical mechanisms of adaptation to salinity stress in safflower are still poorly understood at the cellular level. For this purpose, callus cultures of four different genotypes of safflower were used in this study to evaluate changes in their biochemical (ionic content, proline, and glycine betaine), total phenolics content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFD), antioxidant responses (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl: DPPH assay and carotenoid content), and lipid peroxidation (malon dialdehyde content: MDA) under salinity stress. The calluses derived from hypocotyls were exposed to in vitro salt stress at different concentrations of sodium chloride (0, 100, 200, and 300 mM). A reducing trend was observed in K⁺ and carotenoid reserves of the calluses with increasing NaCl concentration while an increasing trend was observed in Na⁺ content, proline, MDA, TPC, TFD, and DPPH activity under the same conditions. Callus glycine betaine content was found to decrease in the medium containing 100 mM NaCl but increased beyond this concentration up to 300 mM NaCl. Positive and significant correlations were recognized between DPPH and total phenolics as well as DPPH and total flavonoid contents, demonstrating that phenolics are the main contributors to the potential antioxidant activity of safflower at the cellular level. Overall, the salt-tolerant genotypes of Mex.2-137 and Mex.2-138 were found capable of being processed for the production of secondary metabolites via NaCl elicitation.     

Antioxidant activities of the volatile oils and methanol extracts from olive stems

This study was designed to examine the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the volatile oils and methanol extracts of Olea europaea L. (cvs) chemlali and neb jmel stems. GC and GC–MS analyses of the volatile oils resulted in the identification of 38 and 35 compounds, representing 91.1 and 87.4 % of the volatile oils. Phenylethyl alcohol was found in the volatile oil of each cultivar, which was also the major volatile component of cv. chemlali and cv. neb jmel stems. Besides benzyl alcohol, methyl salicylate and 3-ethenylpyridine were the main volatile compounds of cv. chemlali, while nonanal, 3-ethenylpyridine and benzyl alcohol of cv. neb jmel stems were also the main constituents. Significant differences were also found in total tannin contents among two cultivars, representing 8.10 mg CEQ/g DW in cv. chemlali and 20.47 mg CEQ/g DW in cv. neb jmel. The highest contents of total phenols and o-diphenols were observed in stems extracts of cv. neb jmel (78.26, and 9.56 mg/100 g, respectively). The HPLC profiles for methanol extracts from stems of cv. chemlali and cv. neb jmel showed that oleuropein, vanillic acid and gallic acid were the predominant free phenolic compounds. Antioxidant activities of the volatile oils and the methanolic extract from stems parts were evaluated by DPPH and ABTS⁺ radical-scavenging activity assays. In all tests, methanolic extracts obtained from stems parts showed better antioxidant activity than volatile oils. Principal components analysis of the phenolics content and antioxidant activities showed discrimination between methanol extracts of the two cultivars.     

Diversity characterization and association analysis of agronomic traits in a Chinese peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) mini-core collection

Association mapping is a powerful approach for exploring the molecular basis of phenotypic variations in plants.A peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.)mini-core collection in China comprising 298 accessions was genotyped using 109 simple sequence repeat(SSR)markers,which identified 554 SSR alleles and phenotyped for 15 agronomic traits in three different environments,exhibiting abundant genetic and phenotypic diversity within the panel.A model-based structure analysis assigned all accessions to three groups.Most of the accessions had the relative kinship of less than 0.05,indicating that there were no or weak relationships between accessions of the mini-core collection.For 15 agronomic traits in the peanut panel,generally the Q t K model exhibited the best performance to eliminate the false associated positives compared to the Q model and the general linear model-simple model.In total,89SSR alleles were identified to be associated with 15 agronomic traits of three environments by the Q t K model-based association analysis.Of these,eight alleles were repeatedly detected in two or three environments,and 15 alleles were commonly detected to be associated with multiple agronomic traits.Simple sequence repeat allelic effects confirmed significant differences between different genotypes of these repeatedly detected markers.Our results demonstrate the great potential of integrating the association analysis and marker-assisted breeding by utilizing the peanut mini-core collection.     

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of Twenty-Four Vitis vinifera Grapes

Grapes are rich in phytochemicals with many proven health benefits. Phenolic profiles, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of twenty-four selected Vitis vinifera grape cultivars were investigated in this study. Large ranges of variation were found in these cultivars for the contents of total phenolics (95.3 to 686.5 mg/100 g) and flavonoids (94.7 to 1055 mg/100 g) and antioxidant activities (oxygen radical absorbance capacity 378.7 to 3386.0 mg of Trolox equivalents/100 g and peroxylradical scavenging capacity14.2 to 557 mg of vitamin C equivalents/100 g), cellular antioxidant activities (3.9 to 139.9 µmol of quercetin equivalents/100 g without PBS wash and 1.4 to 95.8 µmol of quercetin equivalents /100 g with PBS wash) and antiproliferative activities (25 to 82% at the concentrations of 100 mg/mL extracts).The total antioxidant activities were significantly correlated with the total phenolics and flavonoids. However, no significant correlations were found between antiproliferative activities and total phenolics or total flavonoids content. Wine grapes and color grapes showed much higher levels of phytochemicals and antioxidant activities than table grapes and green/yellow grapes. Several germplasm accessions with much high contents of phenolics and flavonoids, and total antioxidant activity were identified. These germplasm can be valuable sources of genes for breeding grape cultivars with better nutritional qualities of wine and table grapes in the future.     

美国花生微核心种质资源纯化系的引进与表型评价

花生种质资源是花生新品种选育和重要农艺性状遗传研究的基础材料。引进国外优异花生种质资源,并对其进行鉴定和评价对发掘优良花生种质、丰富我国花生资源遗传多样性以及合理利用种质资源进行遗传改良具有重要意义。本研究于2014-2015年连续2年在河北保定对104份引进的美国花生微核心种质资源纯化系进行了农艺性状考察和抗病性鉴定。鉴定结果表明,美国微核心种质纯化系多为匍匐型,主茎高变异范围为24.50~89.50 cm,侧枝长为39.37~99.23 cm,单株果数和单株果重分别为8.75~46.33个和8.49~29.54 g,百果重为80.76~216.72 g,单株粒数为18.25~58.00个,单株粒重为9.89~33.36 g,百仁重为25.52~74.18 g,出仁率为52.58%~76.08%。抗病性鉴定表明,部分美国微核心种质资源纯化系高抗褐斑病和网斑病,性状优良。该研究结果为花生新品种选育与遗传研究提供了优异材料和参考信息。     

Genetic diversity and geographical differentiation of Iranian landrace,cultivars, and exotic chickpea lines as revealed by morphological and microsatellite markers

Assessment of the extent of genetic variability within chickpea is fundamental for chickpea breeding and conservation of genetic resources and is particularly useful as a general guide in the choice of parents for breeding hybrids. To establish genetic diversity among 60 accessions of chickpea comprising landraces, internationally developed improved lines, and cultivars, genetic distances were evaluated using 14 simple sequence repeat markers. These markers showed a high level of polymorphism; a total of 59 different alleles were detected, with a mean of 4.2 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.31 to 0.89. All the markers, with the exception of TAA170, TA110, GA34, and Ts35, were considered to be informative (PIC > 0.5), indicating their potential usefulness for cultivar identification. Based on the UNJ clustering method, all accessions were clustered in five groups, which indicated the probable origin and region similarity of Iranian landraces over the other cultivars. It also represents a wide diversity among available germplasm. The result has firmly established that introduction of genetic materials from exotic sources has broadened the genetic base of the national chickpea breeding program. As further implications of the findings, this study can be useful for selective breeding for specific traits and in enhancing the genetic base of breeding programs.     

Diversity characterization and association analysis of agronomic traits in a Chinese peanut （Arachis hypogaea L.） mini-core collection

Association mapping is a powerful approach for exploring the molecular basis of phenotypic variations in plants. A peanut （Arachis hypogaea L.） mini-core collection in China comprising 298 accessions was genotyped using lo9 simple sequence repeat （SSR） markers, which identified 554 SSR alleles and phenotyped for 15 agronomic traits in three different environments, exhibiting abundant genetic and phenotypic diversity within the panel. A model-based structure analysis assigned all accessions to three groups. Most of the accessions had the relative kinship of less than o.05, indicating that there were no or weak relationships between accessions of the mini- core collection. For 15 agronomic traits in the peanut panel, generally the Q ＋ K model exhibited the best performance to eliminate the false associated positives compared to the Q model and the general linear model-simple model. In total, 89 SSR alleles were identified to be associated with 15 agronomic traits of three environments by the Q＋K model-based association analysis. Of these, eight alleles were repeatedly detected in two or three environments, and 15 alleles were commonly detected to be associated with multiple agronomic traits. Simple sequence repeat allelic effects confirmed significant differences between different genotypes of these repeatedly detected markers. Our results demonstrate the great potential of integrating the association analysis and marker-assisted breeding by utilizing the peanut mini-core collection.     

Nutritional value of raw and micronised field beans (Vicia faba L. var. minor) with and without enzyme supplementation containing tannase for growing chickens

An experiment examined the effects of two field bean cultivar samples with different tannin contents, the effect of heat treatment (micronising) and the effect of dietary supplementation of a proprietary enzyme preparation containing tannase, pectinase, and xylanase activities on metabolisable energy (ME), total tract dry matter digestibility (DMD) and ether extract digestibility (EED), nitrogen retention (NR), tannin degradability, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, and endogenous mucin losses excretion in broiler chickens. The Control diet contained per kg 221 g crude protein and 12.83 MJ ME. Four additional diets contained 300 g/kg of each of the two untreated or micronised experimental field bean cultivar samples. Each diet was then split into two batches and one of them was supplemented with 3400 units tannase per kg diet resulting in 10 diets in total. Each diet was fed to seven pens with two randomly selected male broilers each. Birds fed the high tannin bean sample had a lower weight gain (p < 0.001), and a lower determined apparent ME (p < 0.05), and DMD (p < 0.001) but a higher tannin degradability (p < 0.001). Compared to the Control diet, feeding field beans increased (p < 0.001) the weights of the proventriculus and gizzard of the birds, and also increased endogenous mucin losses (p < 0.05). Supplementing diets with the tannase-containing enzyme preparation improved dietary ME (p < 0.001), DMD (p < 0.001), NR (p < 0.001) and DEE (p < 0.05), but did not change tannin degradability. Heat treatment of the beans reduced the degradability of condensed tannins and increased endogenous mucin losses (p < 0.05). The differences in the feeding value of the different field bean samples were not improved by heat treatment, but enzyme supplementation improved the feeding value of all diets regardless of the bean samples or heat treatment. Further research is warranted to study the effectiveness of tannase supplementation in poultry diet formulations by dose response trials with purified tannase preparations.     

Antioxidant activities of different parts of Gnetum gnemon L.

Analyses on biological activities of Gnetum gnemon were done to determine the total phenolic and antioxidants of the plant. Four parts of G. gnemon were used in this study, which were leaf, bark, twig, and seeds of the plant. All parts were extracted in methanol, ethanol, hexane, chloroform and hot water using reflux. The total phenolic content of the plant extracts were determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu method. The results demonstrated that the bark from hot water extract showed the highest total phenolic at 10.71?±?0.01 mg GAE/ FDW, while the lowest was chloroform extract of seed at 2.15?±?0.01 mg GAE/ FDW. The antioxidant activity of the plant extracts were determined by using DPPH and FRAP assays, respectively. The DPPH results showed that all plant extracts demonstrated weak free radical scavenging activity tested at the final concentration of 300 μg/ml. In contrast, the methanolic twig extract showed strong reducing power activity (FRAP) at 83.55?±?1.05%, while the hot water seed extract showed the least activity at 41.86?±?4.22% tested at the final concentration of 300 μg/ml. However, there were no correlation between total phenolics and both antioxidant assays tested.     

Dynamics of changes in bioactive molecules and antioxidant potential of Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. Habanero at nine maturity stages

The changes in bioactive molecules (capsaicin, total phenol, total flavonoid, ascorbic acid and β-carotene) and antioxidant potential in Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. Habanero were examined during nine maturity stages (at 7-day interval from fruit set). The rate of in vivo synthesis of these antioxidants increased progressively with advancing maturity. Capsaicin, ascorbic acid, and β-carotene contents increased about 3, 10, and 9 times, respectively, at 63 days after fruit set (DAFS) while the highest value for total phenol (~330 mg CE/100 g), flavonoid (~138 mg RE/100 g), DPPH radical scavenging activity (~82 %), and metal chelating activity (~75 %) recorded in 42–49 DAFS. Bioactive molecules were positively correlated with radical scavenging and metal chelating activities. The results underline the effect of maturity on the bioactive molecules and antioxidant potential suggesting that fruits at the red stage (42–49 DAFS) are optimal from the nutritional point of view.     

Identification of unique alleles and assessment of genetic diversity of rabi sorghum accessions using simple sequence repeat markers

Genetic diversity among 42 sorghum accessions representing landraces (19), advanced breeding lines (16), local cultivars (2) and release varieties (5) with 30 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed 7.6 mean number of alleles per locus showing 93.3% polymorphism and an average polymorphism information content of 0.78 which range from 0.22 (Xtxp12) and 0.91(Xtxp321). The average heterozygosity and effective number of alleles per locus were 0.8 and 6.65 respectively. Cluster analysis based on microsatellite allelic diversity clearly demarcated the accessions into ten clusters. A total of 24 unique alleles were obtained from seven SSR loci in 23 accessions in a size range of 110–380 bp; these unique alleles may serve as diagnostic tools for particular region of the genome of respective genotypes. Selected SSR markers from different linkage groups provided an accurate way of determining genetic diversity at the molecular level.     

Comparison of Protective Effect of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Propolis against Gastric Ulceration in Rats

This study focused on the protective effects of different types of propolis extracts on gastric mucosa in indomethacin-induced rats. The animals were divided into nine groups: control, negative control (ulcer), positive control (omeprazole), and experimental groups, which were summarized by 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg, bw for aqueous-based and ethanol, respectively. According to the histopathological evaluation, more than others, the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg of aqueous-based propolis extracts had different degrees of positive effects on the gastric mucosa. Generally, the biochemical analyses of the gastric tissue showed a correlation with microscopic evaluations. According to the phenolic profile analysis, while pinocembrin (684.34±1.70 μg/ml) and chrysin (540.54±9.06 μg/ml) were the most abundant phenolics in the ethanolic extract, ferulic acid (53.77±0.07 μg/ml) and p-coumaric acid (52.61±0.42 μg/ml) dominated the aqueous-based extract. Also, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and DPPH radical scavenging activity of the ethanolic extract showed almost nine-fold superiority compared to the aqueous-based extracts. Based on data from preclinical data, it was decided that the best doses for the main goal of the study were 200 mg and 400 mg/kg, bw for aqueous-based propolis extract.     

Comprehensive Analysis of Monomeric Phenolics in Dilute Acid Plant Hydrolysates

We carried out a comprehensive analysis of the phenolic compounds in hydrolysate produced by dilute acid pretreatment of 20 potential lignocellulosic biofuel feedstocks, including grasses, hardwoods and softwood, and agaves. We find that the phenolic fraction is dominated by Hibbert's ketones, most of which had not so far been characterized in hydrolysate. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, a range of 43–68 monomeric phenolic compounds were identified in each of the feedstocks, including from 13 to 20 Hibbert's ketones and related structures, which represented 28–82 % of phenolics formed during pretreatment. The total concentration of phenolics ranged from 87 to 1,077 μg/mL (equivalent to 78–969 mg phenolics released per 100 g of biomass used) across the feedstocks studied. While total amount of phenolics produced does not correlate with the Klason lignin in the feedstock, the distribution of compound types produced is reflective of the S and G monolignol ratios of the feedstock. Since phenolic compounds are particularly inhibitory to microbial processes and cellulolytic enzymes, our results indicate there is sufficient variation across feedstocks that design strategies are likely to benefit from both general and targeted approaches to detoxification.