Comparison of allometric relationships and morphological differences in Tilia cordata Mill. outer leaves exposed to different environmental conditions

The study is based on four leaf parameters: leaf width (LW), lobe length (LL), leaf size (LS) and leaf shape which is calculated as LW to leaf length (LW/LL) ratio. Under different environmental conditions, LL is an isometric character, LW shows positive allometry, whereas LW/LL shows negative allometry. Regression analysis results indicated that there is no significant difference either in slopes or in regression coefficients between investigated sites. Thus, in this study, we found that allometric relationships between leaf parameters and LS are character specific and that they tended not to differ significantly between Tilia cordata Mill. outer leaves exposed to different environmental conditions. Also, there are no significant interpopulation differences for both principal component PC1 and PC2 scores. The stepwise discriminant functional analysis results allowed us to identify a set of two leaf parameters (LS and LL) with a moderate discriminating ability (59.8%). T. cordata outer leaves are significantly larger and broader in the reference area (R-leaves) than leaves from polluted (P-leaves) site. The data also indicated that there is a relatively larger petiole size in R-leaves than in P-leaves. We found that in P-leaves, LW increased faster with increasing LS than in R-leaves.     

Palynological evaluation of selected honeys from Romania

Fifty-four honey samples collected over two consecutive harvest seasons (2009–2010) from different floristic areas of Romania were analysed. A melissopalynological analysis including qualitative and quantitative analyses was carried out in order to identify the principal pollen types in Romanian honeys and therefore, the important plants exploited by Apis mellifera in this country. Seventy-seven pollen types from 35 botanical families were identified. The main pollen forms were: Brassica napus-type, Tilia, Helianthus annuus, Robinia pseudoacacia, Prunus, Castanea sativa, Fragaria-type and Plantago-type. Honey samples were classified as: acacia honey (Robinia pseudoacacia), lime honey (Tilia), rape honey (Brassica napus-type), sunflower honey (Helianthus annuus), cherry honey (Prunus). Three of them were honeydew honeys whereas the others were all polyfloral. The results from this study can be used as a palynological baseline data of Romanian artisanal honeys.     

Anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of ethanol extract from Houttuynia cordata poultice

Houttuynia cordata (HC) has been commonly used as many traditional remedies in local areas of Japan. Although many pharmacological activities of HC have been reported, the mechanism underlying the effect of HC remains unknown. We conducted the interview survey in Japan to verify how HC was actually used. The interview survey revealed that HC poultice (HCP) prepared from smothering fresh leaves of HC was most frequently used for the treatment of purulent skin diseases including furuncle and carbuncle with high effectiveness. Ethanol extract of HCP (eHCP) showed anti-bacterial effects against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and showed an anti-biofilm activity against MRSA. eHCP showed dose-dependent inhibition of S. aureus lipoteichoic acid (LTA)-induced interleukin-8 and CCL20 production in human keratinocyte without any cytotoxicity. These results suggest that HCP is effective for skin abscess and its underlying mechanism might be the complicated multiple activities for both bacteria and host cells.     

Developmental stages and fine structure of surface callus formed after debarking of living lime trees (Tilia sp.)

Wounding of trees by debarking during the vegetative period sometimes results in the formation of callus tissue which develops over the entire wound surface or on parts of it. This light and transmission electron microscopy study of living lime trees found that the formation of such a surface callus is subdivided into three stages. During the first stage, numerous cell divisions take place in regions where differentiating xylem remains at the wound surface after debarking. This young callus tissue consists of isodiametric parenchymatous cells. Cambium cells, sometimes also remaining at the wound surface, collapse and do not contribute to callus formation. During the second stage, cells in the callus undergo differentiation by forming a wound periderm with phellem, phellogen and phelloderm. In the third stage, a cambial zone develops between the wound periderm and the xylem tissue laid down prior to wounding. This process is initiated by anticlinal and periclinal divisions of a few callus cells only. Later this process extends tangentially to form a continuous belt of wound cambium. Subsequently, this cambium produces both wound xylem and wound phloem and thus contributes to further thickening.     

Cortical development in roots of the aquatic plant Pontederia cordata (Pontederiaceae)

Adventitious roots of marsh-grown Pontederia cordata were examined to determine cortical development and structure. The innermost layer of the ground meristem forms the endodermis and aerenchymatous cortex. The outermost layer of the early ground meristem undergoes a precise pattern of oblique and periclinal cell divisions to produce a single or double layer of prohypodermis with an anchor cell for each radial file of aerenchyma cells. At maturity, endodermal cell walls are modified only by narrow Casparian bands. The central regions of the ground meristem become proaerenchyma and exhibit asymmetric cell division and expansion. They produce an aerenchymatous zone with barrel-shaped large cells and irregularly shaped small cells traversing the aerenchyma horizontally along radii; some crystalliferous cells with raphides are present in the aerenchyma. The walls of the hypodermis are modified early by polyphenols. The outermost layer of the hypodermis later matures into an exodermis with Casparian bands that are impermeable to berberine, an apoplastic tracer dye. The nonexodermal layer(s) of the hypodermis has suberin-modified walls. Radial files of aerenchyma are usually connected by narrow protuberances near their midpoints, the aerenchyma lacunae having been produced by expansion of cells along walls lining intercellular spaces. We are terming this type of aerenchyma development, which is neither schizogenous nor lysigenous, "differential expansion."     

Adjustment of foliage structure and function to a canopy light gradient in two co-existing deciduous trees. Variability in leaf inclination angles in relation to petiole morphology

 Foliar inclination angles, petiole morphology and dry matter partitioning between assimilative and support biomass were studied in shade-intolerant Populus tremula L. and shade-tolerant Tilia cordata Mill. along a natural light gradient across the canopy. The leaves of sub-canopy species T. cordata were on average exposed to lower irradiances, and they were also more horizontal with greater blade inclination angles (ϕ_B, defined as the angle between the leaf fall-line and the horizon; ϕ_B was positive for the leaves inclined upwards, and negative for the leaves inclined downwards) than those in P. tremula. Seasonal average daily integrated quantum flux density (Q _int, mol m^–2 day^–1) and ϕ_B were not related in T. cordata, and only a weak negative effect of Q _int on ϕ_B was detected in P. tremula. Nevertheless, when both species were pooled, there was a strong negative relationship between Q _int and ϕ_B, implying that the leaves became progressively vertical with increasing height in the canopy. Interspecific differences in foliage inclination were mainly related to petiole morphology, in particular to petiole length, rather than to contrasting biomass investment patterns between assimilative and support tissues within the leaf. It was suggested that more horizontal leaves, resulting from the species-specific structure of petioles, partly explain the superior performance of shade-tolerant T. cordata in the understory and the sub-canopy. Received: 13 November 1997 / Accepted: 6 March 1998     

三白草不同部位及鱼腥草挥发油成分的GC-MS比较分析

采用水蒸气蒸馏法提取,气相色谱-质谱联用技术(GC-MS)对三白草不同部位及鱼腥草挥发油化学成分进行定性和定量分析。共分离鉴定出88个化合物,从三白草地上部分鉴定出36个,根茎中鉴定出31个,分别占挥发油总量的73.38%和95.53%,其中仅13个共有成分;从鱼腥草中鉴定出50个化合物,占挥发油总量的74.59%。三白草地上部分与根茎挥发油中化学成分含量和组成有明显差异,且均不含有甲基正壬酮。     

山西历山国家级自然保护区千金榆群落种间分离研究

对山西历山国家级自然保护区普通沟和西峡的千金榆(Carpinus cordata)群落进行野外调查,共记录了40个样方,44个物种,组成946个种对.利用最近邻体法构造N×N最近邻体列联表,以x2检验和种间分离指数S作为区分指标,研究了千金榆群落的种间分离情况.结果表明:(1)946个种对中呈现随机毗邻的最多,有507个种对,占总数的53.59％;呈现正分离的有349个种对,占总数的36.89％;而呈现负分离种对最少,只有90对,占总数的9.52％.(2)群落的建群种或优势种因为有较强的生存能力和竞争能力,往往表现出正分离,例如千金榆、小叶鹅耳枥(Carpinus turczaninowii)、五角枫(Acer mono)、葛罗槭(Acer grosseri)等有较强生存能力的物种与大多数的物种发生正分离;而六道木(Abelia biflora)、东北茶镳子(Ribes mandshuricum)、小花溲疏(Deutziaparviflora),美蔷薇(Rosa bella)和紫花卫矛(Euonymus porphyries)等群落中的伴生种或小灌木,与部分物种形成负分离.其余物种之间发生随机毗邻的较多.(3)对千金榆群落44×44列联表进行全面分离,结果表明群落内的44个物种相互交错分布,不是全面分离.此外,种间分离的结果也揭示该群落处于演替初期,受岩石风化崩塌的影响较严重,人为干扰因素较轻.     

中药博落回的药理实验研究

博落回对四氯化碳、半乳糖胺所致急性肝损伤模型,均有显著改善肝脏功能作用;对四氯化碳所致慢性肝损伤大鼠模型,博落回可显著降低血清LDH水平。降低动物死亡率。提高血清A/G比值,有效保护肝细胞胰。抑制肝脏纤维化;博落回还可显著增强T和B淋巴细胞功能。