Environmental factors affecting the lipid metabolism in Rosmarinus officinalis L

The effect of some environmental factors on the lipid metabolism was studied in two chemotypes of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Epicuticular hydrocarbons (EH), epicuticular fatty acids (EFA), whole leaf fatty acids (WLFA) and essential oils (EO) were extracted and analysed by GC-MS during winter 1991–1992 and related to temperature and moisture variations. Leaf fresh and dry wts were determined along with some morphophysiological parameters such as specific leaf weight (SLW) and specific leaf area (SLA). Leaf areas were calculated by image analysis and statistically processed as for chemical data. The results indicated that in R. officinalis the response to some environmental factors, with particular reference to temperature and moisture, was an increase in epicuticular hydrocarbons and a decrease in epicuticular fatty acids, leaf fatty acids and essential oils. Qualitative changes in the chemical composition of the above lipid classes were found to be correlated with temperature changes. From a chemosystematic viewpoint, a clear separation between the two chemotypes was achieved only when epicuticular hydrocarbons and essential oils were considered as chemosystematic characters.     

Wild Sicilian Rosemary: Phytochemical and Morphological Screening and Antioxidant Activity Evaluation of Extracts and Essential Oils

To identify the best biotypes, an extensive survey of Sicilian wild rosemary was carried out by collecting 57 samples from various sites, followed by taxonomic characterization from an agronomic perspective. All the biotypes collected were classified as Rosmarinus officinalis L. A cluster analysis based on the morphological characteristics of the plants allowed the division of the biotypes into seven main groups, although the characteristics examined were found to be highly similar and not area‐dependent. Moreover, all samples were analyzed for their phytochemical content, applying an extraction protocol to obtain the nonvolatile components and hydrodistillation to collect the essential oils for the volatile components. The extracts were characterized by LC‐UV‐DAD/ESI‐MS, and the essential oils by GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses. In the nonvolatile fractions, 18 components were identified, namely, 13 flavones, two organic acids, and three diterpenes. In the volatile fractions, a total of 82 components were found, with as predominant components α‐pinene and camphene among the monoterpene hydrocarbons and 1,8‐cineole, camphor, borneol, and verbenone among the oxygenated monoterpenes. Cluster analyses were carried out on both phytochemical profiles, allowing the separation of the rosemary samples into different chemical groups. Finally, the total phenol content and the antioxidant activity of the essential oils and extracts were determined with the Folin–Ciocalteu (FC) colorimetric assay, the UV radiation‐induced peroxidation in liposomal membranes (UV‐IP test), and the scavenging activity of the superoxide radical (O$\rm{{_{2}^{{^\cdot} -}}}$ ). The present study confirmed that the essential oils and organic extracts of the Sicilian rosemary samples analyzed showed a considerable antioxidant/free radical‐scavenging activity.     

Root-Associated Endophytic Bacterial Community Composition of Asparagus officinalis of Three Different Varieties

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L) is an economically important crop, rich in nutrients, and is also conducive to solving ecological and environmental problems. Plants may acquire benefits from root-associated endophytic bacteria. However, the composition of the endophytic bacterial community associated with the roots of asparagus is poorly elucidated. In this study, the nine root samples of asparagus from three different varieties including Asparagus officinalis var. Grande (GLD), A. officinalis var. Jinglvlu3 (JL3) and A. officinalis var. Jingzilu2 (JZL) were investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology of the 16S rDNA V5-V7 hypervariable region of endophytic bacteria. A total of 16 phyla, 29 classes, 90 orders, 171 families, and 312 genera were identified. Endophytic bacteria diversity and bacteria structure was different among the three varieties and was influenced by rhizosphere soil properties and varieties. In the GLD variety, the main phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. The main phylum in JL3 and JZL varieties was Proteobacteria. The observations showed that GLD had the highest diversity of endophytes as indicated by the Shannon index (GLD > JZL > JL3). The order of the endophytes richness was GLD > JL3 > JZL. The PCA and PCoA analysis revealed the microbial communities were different between three different asparagus varieties, and the microbial composition of GLD and JZL was more similar. This report provides an important reference for the study of endophytic microorganisms of asparagus. Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s12088-021-00926-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

迷迭香植物精油对白纹伊蚊的驱避作用及其化学成分

应用水蒸气蒸溜法和超临界二氧化碳萃取法提取生长于云南的迷迭香茎叶植物精油,测试2种精油对白纹伊蚊Aedes albopictus Skuse的驱避作用,并利用GC/MS联用仪分析2种精油的化学成分。结果表明:超临界二氧化碳提取的迷迭香精油对白纹伊蚊的驱避时间是(5.82±1.13)h,达到国标驱避剂评价的B级标准。2种精油化学成分中都含有驱纹活性物质:柠檬烯、樟脑、Eucalyptol、(+)-4-Carene、1-methyl-4-(1-methyle thylidene)-cyclohexene、Beta-pinene等,且驱蚊活性成分在挥发油中占有较高比例,显示该植物精油在驱蚊方面有一定开发价值。     

乌檀的化学成分研究

从珍稀药用植物乌檀(Nauclea officinalis)的枝叶中分离得到1个甾醇类、3个三萜类、2个酚类和1个生物碱类化合物。通过光谱分析,分别鉴定为豆甾-4-烯-3-酮(1)、铁冬青酸(2)、常春藤皂苷元(3)、3-羰基奎诺瓦酸(4)、2,5-二甲氧基苯甲酸(5)、3,4,5-三甲氧基苯甲酸(6)和Strictosamide(7)。7个化合物均是首次从乌檀中得到。     

Modeling habitat distribution of Cornus officinalis with Maxent modeling and fuzzy logics in China

Aims Predicting suitable habitat distribution is an effective way to protect rare or endangered medicinal plants. Cornus officinalis is a perennial tree growing in forest edge and its air-dried pericarp is one of the traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) with significant medicinal values. In recent years, C. officinalis has undergone severe degeneration of its natural habitat owing to growing market demands and unprecedented damage to the forests. Moreover, the degeneration of suitable habitat has threatened the supply of medicinal materials, and even led to the extinction of some engendered medicinal plant species. In this case, there is a great risk to introduce and cultivate medicinal plants if planners determine the suitable cultivation regions based on personal subjective experience alone. Therefore, predicting suitable potential habitat distribution of medicinal plants (e.g. C. officinalis) and revealing the environmental factors determining such distribution patterns are important to habitat conservation and environmental restoration.Methods In this article, we report the results of a study on the habitat distribution of C. officinalis using maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling and fuzzy logics together with loganin content and environmental variables. The localities of 106 C. officinalis in China were collected by our group and other researchers and used as occurrence data. The loganin content of 234 C. officinalis germplasm resources were tested by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and used as content data. 79 environmental variables were selected and processed with multicollinearity test by using Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) to determine a set of independent variables. The chosen variables were then processed in the fuzzy linear model according to the cell values (maximum, minimum) of localities with estimated loganin content. The SDMtoolbox was used to spatially rarefy occurrence data and prepare bias files. Furthermore, combined Maxent modeling and fuzzy logics were used to predict the suitable habitat of C. officinalis. The modeling result was validated using null-model method.Important findings As a result, six environmental factors including tmin3, prec3, bio4, alt, bio12 and bio3 were determined as key influential factors that mostly affected both the habitat suitability and active ingredient of C. officinalis. The highly suitable regions of C. officinalis mainly distribute in a 'core distribution zone' of the east-central China. The statistically significant AUC value indicated that combined Maxent modeling and fuzzy logics could be used to predict the suitable habitat distribution of medicinal plants. Furthermore, our results confirm that ecological factors played critical roles in assessing suitable geographical regions as well as active ingredient of plants, highlighting the need for effective habitat rehabilitation and resource conservation.     

琉璃苣BoD6D载体的构建及转化

运用植物基因工程手段构建琉璃苣BoD6D转化载体,为提高油料作物油份中γ-亚麻酸含量奠定基础.以琉璃苣基因组DNA为模板克隆BoD6D,构建酵母表达载体并转化酿酒酵母,对酵母进行诱导表达,提取脂肪酸后进行甲酯化反应,利用气相色谱分析脂肪酸含量;同时构建植物双元表达载体,经农杆菌介导通过蘸花法转化拟南芥,最后对转基因拟南...     

维吾尔药神香草调节哮喘大鼠下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴功能紊乱的实验研究

目的：观察维吾尔药（维药）神香草对哮喘大鼠模型神经内分泌免疫网络若干组分的影响。方法：取雄性健康Wistar大鼠50只,随机分为正常对照组,哮喘模型组,神香草低、中、高剂量治疗组。采用致敏和雾化的方法制备哮喘模型。采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）方法检测血清中白介素-4（IL^4）、白介素-6（IL-6）、干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）、皮质酮（CORT）水平;放免法检测血浆中促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）的含量;采用实时定量-聚合酶链反应（RT—PCR）法测定下丘脑促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）mRNA表达水平。结果：哮喘反复发作时,大鼠下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴紊乱,哮喘大鼠下丘脑CRHmRNA表达和血浆ACTH无明显变化,实验各组血清CORT水平升高（P〈0．05）,神香草高剂量组血清CORT含量高于低剂量组（P〈0．05）。细胞因子IFN-γ无明显变化,IL-6、IL-4有下降趋势（P〈0．05）。结论：哮喘反复发作的大鼠存在NEI网络的紊乱;神香草可以增强下丘脑．垂体．肾上腺皮质（HPA）轴的功能,改善细胞因子的平衡。这些可能是其治疗哮喘的机制之一。     

药用野生稻转育后代一个抗白叶枯病新基因的定位

从药用野生稻渗入后代选育的水稻株系B5表现为高抗褐飞虱、白背飞虱和白叶枯病。对B5与籼稻品种明恢63杂交组合的187个重组自交系(RILs)进行了抗白叶枯病接种鉴定,采用分离集团分析法(Bulked Segregant Analysis,BSA),在第1染色体上筛选到与水稻抗白叶枯病基因相连锁RFLP分子标记。利用RILs抗病性表现型鉴定资料和构建的分子标记连锁图谱,将抗白叶枯病基因定位在第1染色体短臂的C904和R596之间,这两个分子标记间遗传距离为1．3cM。该基因对RILs群体抗病性变异的贡献率为52．96％,是一效应值较大的主效基因。这一抗白叶枯病基因不同于已报道的抗白叶枯病基因的位点,因此将其命名为Xa29(t)。     

Simultaneous analysis of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin in Asparagus officinalis byproduct by thin‐layer chromatography

Introduction – Asparagus officinalis L. has several biological activities including antifungal, antiviral and antitumoral activities due to the steroidal saponins. Normally diosgenin and sarsasapogenin are analysed separately by thin‐layer chromatography or high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC‐UV or HPLC‐ELSD), which is time‐consuming and expensive, so we need to find a rapid solution to this problem. Objective – To develop a sensitive, rapid and validated TLC method for simultaneous detection and quantification of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin. Methodology – Samples were prepared by extraction of A. officinalis with 70% aqueous ethanol to get steroidal saponins, and then hydrolysed using 36 mL 2 m hydrochloric acid for 3 h. The hydrolysis product was extracted with chloroform, and then analysed by TLC, the results of which were verified by HPLC and HPLC‐MS. Results – The retention factor (R_f) of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin on TLC plate were 0.49 and 0.6, respectively. After calculation from the regression equation of the standard curve, the contents of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin in the A. officinalis extract were 0.27–0.46 and 0.11–0.32%, respectively. Conclusion – The study showed that thin‐layer chromatography can be applied for the determination of diosgenin and sarsasapogenin in the oldest tissue of A. officinalis, and also can be conducted for screening of sapogenin in other plant or extracts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.