Bioavailability of Potentially Toxic Elements in Foraged Fruits from a Former Industrial Site

Samples of foraged fruits from a former industrial site have been analyzed for potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (i.e., As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn). The foraged fruit (blackberries, rosehips, and sloes) was gathered over two seasons along with samples of soil from the same sampling areas. All samples were acid digested, using a microwave oven, and then analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The concentration levels of the selected elements in foraged samples varied between not detectable limits and 24.6 μg/g (Zn). The soil-to-plant transfer factor was assessed for the PTEs. In all cases, the transfer values obtained were less than 1.00, indicating that the majority of the PTEs remains in the soil and that the uptake of PTEs from soil to plant at this site is not significant.     

Large Scale Purification of Alpha-1 Trypsin Inhibitor from Human Plasma

A convenient large scale purification of the alpha-1 trypsin inhibitor from human plasma was achieved by conventional salting out and column chromatography methods. The pure inhibitor complexes 0.68 μgs of bovine trypsin per ug inhibitor, and 0.60 μgs human trypsin per μg inhibitor. The inhibitor is homogeneous by equilibrium chromatography, disc electrophoresis, and ultracentrifugation. Conditions for its storage with minimal loss of activity are described. The advantages of the present preparation are higher potency, long-term stability, and large scale.     

The memory of water: Archaeobotanical evidence of wetland plants from Modena (Emilia-Romagna,northern Italy) and palaeoecological remarks

Modena, founded by the Romans (183 BC), has always been conditioned by water in all its urban history. In the city, numerous archaeobotanical investigations have been carried out in order to reconstruct the natural landscape and human–environment interactions over time. During these investigations, four archaeological sites (two Roman and two medieval) have revealed deposits with a marked character of palaeobiocoenosis, largely resulting from the natural environment surrounding the sites, due to natural “seed rain”. These deposits are characterized by widespread evidence of plants related to water, constituting a valuable archive to investigate habitats which currently have become very rare and threatened, if they have not completely disappeared. The present paper aims to reveal the peculiarities of the Roman/medieval archaeocarpological floristic lists (through a comparison with the flora over the last two centuries in the area of Modena) and highlight the possible causes explaining the presence or the demise of several taxa, considering also the palaeoecological reconstruction of the environment in which they have been found.     

Antagonistic effect of two isolates of Trichoderma harzianum against postharvest pathogens of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Pathogenicity test of all fungi (14 different isolates) isolated from both infected tomato fruits and the surface wash of other healthy fruits had different pathogenicity rates. The genus Rhizopus sp. was the most pathogenic one followed by Fusarium sp. Trichoderma harzianum isolates (T3 and T4) had a different pattern of antagonism against the tested pathogens. In dual plate test of the antagonistic action of T3 and T24 against the postharvest pathogens, clear zone size ranged between 1 and 4 and 3 and 6 mm by T3 and T24, respectively. The antagonists (T3 and T24) didn't show inhibition zone against Rhizopus sp., but they could overgrow it by 100% after 9 days of incubation. Mostly, all the other postharvest isolates showed high degree of overgrowth by T3 than T24. The two antagonists failed to overgrow Aspergillus species except for A. niger (3) which was overgrown by T3. Volatile and non-volatile metabolite tests indicated that mycelial growth of Penicillium stekii was significantly inhibited by T3 and T24 more than the other tested pathogens. The inhibition of A. niger (1) was 12% by non-volatile metabolites of T24 produced after 1 day incubation, and reached to 97% inhibition by the metabolites of 3 days. Interestingly, inhibition of Aspergillus sp. by volatile compounds of T3 and T24 was 2% and 20%, respectively, whereas the inhibition of the same pathogen by non-volatile compounds reached 75% and 87%, respectively. The results of slice assay clearly indicate that T. harzianum (T3 and T24) could provide a complete protection to tomato slices from the infection of the tested pathogens. After 3 days of incubation, Trichoderma suppressed the linear growth of these pathogens on tomato slices and the percentage of suppression was significant and ranged between 80 and 100%, except with Rhizopus sp. the suppression reached 33% only.     

Serological detection of Sharka quarantine disease (Plum pox virus) on stone fruit trees in Golestan province

Sharka disease is one of the most damaging diseases of fruit trees in the world, which is caused by Plum pox virus (PPV) that belongs to the genus Potyvirus in the family Potyviridae. Each year, this virus decreases the yield and causes substantial economic damages to its host plants worldwide. This virus is quarantined in Iran but in recent years, suspicious symptoms of the disease were observed in different grown areas, such as Golestan province. During 2010, 420 samples with mosaic, chlorosis, necrosis, ring pattern, blotches, etc. symptoms were collected from the gardens in Golestan province that included 100 samples from plum, 100 from peach and 240 from nectarine. These samples were evaluated using a double-antibody sandwich-ELISA (DAS-ELISA) method and a polyclonal antibody. The results of this survey indicated that among the total of 420 samples, none of them showed positive reaction in DAS-ELISA test.     

Variety,mulch and stage of inoculation effects on incidence of tomato spotted wilt virus disease in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) vectored by thrips is one of the major diseases affecting cucumber yield. Control of thrips is an underlying factor in its management. A study was conducted to determine the effect of time of inoculation, variety and mulch on disease incidence. Four varieties were inoculated with TSWV at cotyledon, 3 – 4 leaf and flower bud stages in a RCBD experiment replicated four times in a greenhouse. In the field, a 2×8 factorial design where two cucumber varieties were raised on seven types of mulches (red, yellow, silver, clear, black, white, and straw) with unmulched plots as controls was used. Variety Marketer was more tolerant to the disease compared to other varieties. Most varieties were generally tolerant to TSWV at cotyledonous but susceptible at 3 – 4 leaf and flower bud stages. Silver and clear mulches significantly suppressed thrip populations, yield and quality under field conditions.     

Laboratory studies on extracts of Melia fruit and Neem fruit on B. brassicae,B. tabaci and their predators and parasites

Abstract

The biological effect of plant extracts on the two predators C. carnea and C. undecimpunctata was studied in the laboratory. Treated B. brassicae was offered to the newly hatched larvae of the two predators. The rate of prey consumption and duration of the larval instars of the two predators were slightly affected as a result of the treatments of the plant extracts. Adults of the aphid parasite D. Rapae and the whitefly parasite E. Mundus were exposed to the plant extracts via feeding on treated honey droplets or parasitized treated hosts. Mortality percentages of D. Rapae fed on honey contaminated with plant extracts were 50 and 80% for extracts of Melia fruits in ethanol and in petroleum ether, respectively. Mortalities in parasites developed in hosts treated with plant extracts of Neem fruits in ethanol and Melia flowers in petroleum ether in were 33.3 and 81.5%, respectively. Similar results were obtained when E. Mundus received the same treatments of the plant extracts.     

Prunus necrotic ringspot virus: incidence on stone and pome fruits and diversity analysis

Stone fruits and pome fruits are cultivated commercially worldwide. In India, they are grown in temperate regions, which mainly includes Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and some North-Eastern states. In this study, an attempt has been made to identify the Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) infecting stone and pome fruits in India and to characterise them on the molecular level. Surveys were conducted in the temperate fruit-growing areas and incidence of PNRSV was detected by serological and molecular means in almond, apple, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum and wild cherry. Further diversity analysis of PNRSV was performed using bioinformatics tools such as clustalW, DNA Data Bank of Japan, MultAlin and Recombination Detection Programme. PNRSV was detected in plum, peach, cherry, almond, nectarine, wild cherry and apple. In the diversity analysis study on the basis of coat protein gene, it was found that the isolates showed identity levels from 82 to 100%. In a plum isolate, a stretch of amino acids from 207 to 221 was found variable from Indian and other isolates. In one of the Indian apple isolates, “NR” repeats at 41–44 position (characteristic of PV-32 group, Group I) were identified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Indian isolates are falling in Group-I. Movement protein was also amplified from peach and multiple alignment studies showed that N-terminus was mostly conserved, whereas the C-terminal was highly variable.     

Wild plants eaten in childhood: a retrospective of Estonia in the 1970s–1990s

In this ethnobotanical study, the authors provide the first quantitative analysis of the use of wild edible plants in Estonia, describing the domains and assessing the food importance of different species. The information was collected using free‐listing written questionnaires and concerned plants used by the respondents in their childhood. As part of a major study, this article covers the responses of professionals with some botanical education at vocational or university level, to ensure the greatest possible reliability without using voucher specimens. Fifty‐eight respondents provided information on the use of 137 plant taxa, corresponding to approximately 6% of the native and naturalized vascular plants of Estonia. According to use frequency, the most typical wild food plant of Estonia is a fruit, eaten raw as a snack. The results clearly signal that the majority of famine and food shortage plants had already been forgotten by the end of the 20^th century, but new plants have been introduced as green vegetables for making salads. Despite changes in the nomenclature of the plants, the use of wild food plants in Estonia was still thriving at the turn of the 20^th century, covering many domains already forgotten in urbanized modern Europe. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 172 , 239–253.     

Extracts of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) fruits improve liver steatosis and injury in mice by preventing lipid accumulation and cell death

ABSTRACT

Bilberry has been reported to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We studied the effect of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) fruits extracts (BEs) on the pathogenesis caused by lipid accumulation in fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). 5 μg/ml of BEs was enough to suppress lipid accumulation in the fatty liver model of the mouse hepatic AML12 cells. BEs increased cell viability and anti-oxidant capacity, presumably by activating (phosphorylating) Akt/STAT3 and inducing MnSOD/catalase. BEs also significantly reduced Rubicon and induced p62/SQSTM1, possibly contributing to reduce cellular lipids (lipophagy). When the mice were fed supplemented with BEs (5% or 10%, w/w), hepatic steatosis, injury, and hypercholesterolemia/hyperglycemia were significantly improved. Furthermore, histological and cytokine studies indicated that BEs possibly suppress hepatic inflammation (hepatitis) and fibrosis. Therefore, BEs improved liver steatosis and injury, and potentially suppress fibrosis by suppressing inflammatory response, which therefore may prevent the progression of fatty liver to NASH.