Contamination of Plant Foods with Nicotine: An Overview

It is well known that, the explorer "Christopher Columbus" encountered tobacco in the 1400s during his earliest journey to the New World. Tobacco plant is native to North America and other parts of the Western Hemisphere. Furthermore, plant of tobacco contains nicotine and its use has a history that dates back to the earliest records of settlers arriving in America. Moreover, American Indians introduced these settlers to the tobacco plant. In various recent publications elevated nicotine concentrations have been reported to occur in many different foods and plant derived commodities (such as fungi, tea, fruit teas, spices and medicinal plants). Whereas, it is recorded that, high nicotine contaminations are also present in many plant derived products. Up till now, the causes of these contaminations are unknown and they are found in both conventional and in organic products. Thus, field and in vitro experiments are required to elucidate the origin for these nicotine contaminations. Therefore, this work aims to highlight on the nicotine contamination in some different food plants

Chemical Traits of Fermented Alfalfa Brown Juice: Its Implications on Physiological, Biochemical, Anatomical, and Growth Parameters of Celosia

K

Selenium and Nano-Selenium Biofortification for Human Health

Selenium is an essential micronutrient required for the health of humans and lower plants, but its importance for higher plants is still being investigated. The biological functions of Se related to human health revolve around its presence in 25 known selenoproteins (e.g., selenocysteine or the 21st amino acid). Humans may receive their required Se through plant uptake of soil Se, foods enriched in Se, or Se dietary supplements. Selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) have been applied to biofortified foods and feeds. Due to low toxicity and high e ciency, Se-NPs are used in applications such as cancer therapy and nano-medicines. Selenium and nano-selenium may be able to support and enhance the productivity of cultivated plants and animals under stressful conditions because they are antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic agents, with antioxidant capacity and immune-modulatory efficacy. Thus, nano-selenium could be inserted in the feeds of fish and livestock to improvise stress resilience and productivity. This review offers new insights in Se and Se-NPs biofortification for edible plants and farm animals under stressful environments. Further, extensive research on Se-NPs is required to identify possible adverse effects on humans and their cytotoxicity.Peer Reviewe

Demographics and clinical characteristics of alcohol-related admissions in a tertiary care hospital in Qatar: Does age matter?

Background: Alcohol consumption is a major cause of acute and chronic health conditions associated with comorbidities and traumatic injuries, despite its partial prohibition in some countries. Moreover, alcohol-related hospital admissions increase the burden on the healthcare system. More than 80% of the population in Qatar comprises expatriates. This study aimed to analyze the demographics and clinical characteristics of subjects with alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits/hospitalization with respect to different age groups in a single tertiary hospital in Qatar. Methods: It is a retrospective observational study of adult patients who visited the ED at Hamad General Hospital between January 2013 and March 2015 and were screened positive for alcohol use. Collected data included sociodemographic characteristics, blood alcohol concentration (BAC), pattern of admission, previous medical history, laboratory investigations, treatment, hospital course, and mortality. Data were compared with respect to the distribution of age groups such as 55 years. Results: In total, 1506 consecutively admitted patients screened positive for alcohol use were included in the study; the majority of them were males (95.6%), non-Qatari nationals (71.1%), and aged 35-44 years (30.9%). The age groups 35-44 years and 45-54 years showed the highest median BAC ([0.24 interquartile range (IQR: 0.14-0.33)] and [0.24 (IQR: 0.13-0.33)], respectively) as compared to the other age groups (P = 0.001). The pattern of hospital admission, sociodemographic status, presence of comorbidities, laboratory investigations, and mortality showed specific age-related distribution. Particularly, young adults were more likely to have a previous ED visit due to trauma, whereas older patients' previous hospital admissions were mostly related to various underlying comorbidities. Conclusion: This study highlighted the patterns of age and clinico-epidemiological status of patients with alcohol-attributable hospital admissions. Our study showed that alcohol consumption was higher among the working-age group. Further studies are needed to investigate changes in the alcohol consumption patterns that may help plan for allocation of health resources and prevention of alcohol-related problems.qscienc

<i>Meta</i>-Topolin as an Effective Benzyladenine Derivative to Improve the Multiplication Rate and Quality of In Vitro Axillary Shoots of Húsvéti Rozmaring Apple Scion

In vitro mass propagation of apple plants plays an important role in the rapid multiplication of genetically uniform, disease-free scions and rootstocks with desired traits. Successful micropropagation of apple using axillary shoot cultures is influenced by several factors, the most critical of which is the cytokinin included in the culture medium. The impact of medium composition from single added cytokinins on shoot proliferation of apple scion Húsvéti rozmaring cultured on agar-agar gelled Murashige and Skoog medium fortified with indole butyric acid and gibberellic acid was investigated. The optimum concentration for efficient shoot multiplication differs according to the type of cytokinin. The highest significant multiplication rate (5.40 shoots/explant) was achieved using 2.0 μM thidiazuron while the longest shoots (1.80 cm) were observed on the medium containing benzyladenine at a concentration of 2.0 μM. However, application of either thidiazuron or benzyladenine as cytokinin source in the medium resulted in shoots of low quality, such as stunted and thickened shoots with small leaves. In the case of benzyladenine riboside, the 8 μM concentration was the most effective in increasing the multiplication rate (4.76 shoots/explant) but caused thickened stem development with tiny leaves. In the present study, meta-topolin was shown to be the most effective cytokinin that could be applied to induce sufficient multiplication (3.28 shoots/explant) and high-quality shoots along with shoot lengths of 1.46 cm when it was applied at concentrations of 4 μM. However, kinetin was the least active cytokinin; it practically did not induce the development of new shoots. The superior cytokinin for in vitro axillary shoot development of apple scion Húsvéti rozmaring with high-quality shoots was the meta-topolin, but it may be different depending on the variety/genotype under study

Enhancement of Calli Production from Three Cultivars of Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem artichoke (JA) family (Asterceae) is a perennial species known for its tubers rich in inulin, a valuable source of fructose for diabetics.This study aimed to establish an applicable protocol for calli induction and production from different explants of Jerusalem artichoke (Balady, Fuza and Alba) cultivars. For this purpose; leaf, stem and root explants derived from in vitro growing plantlets were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS medium) augmented with different combinations of benzyl adenine (BA) and naphthalenacetic acid (NAA).The highest percentage of calli induction (100%) was recorded with all tested media except MS free growth regulators medium and MS fortified with 1mg L-1 BA. On the other hand, the maximum value of calli fresh weight was obtained by culturing stem explants on MS supplemented with 1 mg L-1 BA + 2 mg L-1 NAA for all cultivars. NAA for all cultivars. Moreover and concerning calli growth dynamic for each cultivar, the recorded data clearly showed that gradually increase in calli fresh weights by week reaching the maximum value at eighth week for all used explants cultured on the best medium for calli initiation. The results proved that Balady cultivar recorded the best results for calli induction and production compared with Fuza and Alba cultivars. In the same context, stem explant was the superior explant when it compared with root and leaf explants for all examined cultivars. Moreover and concerning calli growth dynamic for each cultivar, the recorded data clearly showed that gradually increase in calli fresh weights by week reaching the maximum value at eighth week for all used explants cultured on the best medium for calli initiation. The results proved that Balady cultivar recorded the best results for calli induction and production compared with Fuza and Alba cultivars. In the same context, stem explant was the superior explant when it compared with root and leaf explants for all examined cultivars. MS medium fortified with 1 mg L-1 BA + 2 mg L-1 NAA was the most suitable medium compared to the other tested media for inducing calli and to enhance calli production from stem explant for all cultivars

Sustainable Applications of Nanofibers in Agriculture and Water Treatment: A Review

Natural fibers are an important source for producing polymers, which are highly applicable in their nanoform and could be used in very broad fields such as filtration for water/wastewater treatment, biomedicine, food packaging, harvesting, and storage of energy due to their high specific surface area. These natural nanofibers could be mainly produced through plants, animals, and minerals, as well as produced from agricultural wastes. For strengthening these natural fibers, they may reinforce with some substances such as nanomaterials. Natural or biofiber-reinforced bio-composites and nano–bio-composites are considered better than conventional composites. The sustainable application of nanofibers in agricultural sectors is a promising approach and may involve plant protection and its growth through encapsulating many bio-active molecules or agrochemicals (i.e., pesticides, phytohormones, and fertilizers) for smart delivery at the targeted sites. The food industry and processing also are very important applicable fields of nanofibers, particularly food packaging, which may include using nanofibers for active–intelligent food packaging, and food freshness indicators. The removal of pollutants from soil, water, and air is an urgent field for nanofibers due to their high efficiency. Many new approaches or applicable agro-fields for nanofibers are expected in the future, such as using nanofibers as the indicators for CO and NH3. The role of nanofibers in the global fighting against COVID-19 may represent a crucial solution, particularly in producing face masks

Nano-Management Approaches for Salt Tolerance in Plants under Field and In Vitro Conditions

Soil salinity is a serious global problem that threatens a high percentage of the global soils. Salinity stress can create ionic, oxidative, and osmotic stress, along with hormonal imbalances, in stressful plants. This kind of stress was investigated on agricultural productivity at different levels, starting in vitro (plant tissue culture), through hydroponics, pots, and field conditions. Several approaches were studied for managing salinity stress, including using traditional materials (e.g., gypsum, sulfur), organic amendments (e.g., compost, biochar, chitosan), and applied manufactured or engineered nanomaterials (NMs). Application of nanomaterials for ameliorating salinity stress has gained great attention due to their high efficiency, eco-friendliness, and non-toxicity, especially biological nanomaterials. The application of NMs did not only support growing stressful plants under salinity stress but also increased the yield of crops, provided an economically feasible nutrient management approach, and was environmentally robust for sustainable crop productivity. Nano-management of salinity may involve applying traditional nano-amendments, biological nanomaterials, nano-enabled nutrients, nano-organic amendments, derived smart nanostructures, and nano-tolerant plant cultivars. Producing different plant cultivars that are tolerant to salinity can be achieved using conventional breeding and plantomics technologies. In addition to the large-scale use of nanomaterials, there is an urgent need to address and treat nanotoxicity. This study aims to contribute to this growing area of research by exploring different approaches for nano-management of current practices under salinity stress under field and in vitro conditions. This study also raises many questions regarding the expected interaction between the toxic effects of salinity and NMs under such conditions. This includes whether this interaction acts positively or negatively on the cultivated plants and soil biological activity, or what regulatory ecotoxicity tests and protocols should be used in research