Multiplication et bulbaison in vitro du glaïeul (Gladiolus grandiflorus Hort.)

In vitro Multiplication and Bulb Formation of (Gladiolus grandiflorus Hort.). In order to set up a new bulb formation and micropropagation of gladiolus in vitro, trials were undertaken using two ornemental gladiolus cultivars 'Peter pears' and 'White friend ship'. The explants used are apical buds with 2 to 3 mm length taken from the cormes. In vitro initiation and multiplication were done for the two cultivars on Murashige and Skoog medium to which 2 mg. l-1 of BA and 0.5 mgl-1 of AIB were added. In vitro root development and bulb formation have been occurred in MS Agar Agar medium with 0.5 mg.l-1 of AIB 30 days later than the same MS medium containing 6% of saccharose and without Agar

Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Lavandula dentate extracts

Le but de ce travail consiste à étudier la composition des huiles essentielles et des polyphénols des racines, des tiges et des feuilles de la Lavande dentée et d’évaluer leurs potentialités antioxydantes. L’analyse et la quantification des huiles essentielles a montré que les feuilles sont les plus riches en huiles essentielles (0.89 mg/g MS) suivies par les tiges (0.68 mg/g MS) et enfin les racines (0,23 mg/g MS). Le constituant majeur de l’HE des racines est: le β-ocimène. D’autre part, le limonène représente le composé majeur de l’HE des tiges. Quant à l’HE des feuilles, elle est dominée par le camphre. D’autre part, nos résultats ont montré que les organes de la lavande montrent des teneurs en polyphénols totaux élevées et variables selon l’organe étudié. En effet, les extraits des racines sont caractérisés par le contenu le plus élevé en polyphénols. D’autre part, l’étude de l’activité antioxydante des extraits des différents organes a indiqué que les extraits de la racine sont particulièrement les plus actifs et que leur analyse par RP-HPLC a montré que ces derniers sont riches essentiellement en acide rosmarinique. Finalement, les extraits de la Lavande dentée et particulièrement ceux de la racine peuvent être considérés comme des sources alternatives d’antioxydants naturels puissants qui peuvent être utilisés en industrie agroalimentaire et pharmaceutique.In this study, Lavandula dentata organs (roots, stems and leaves) were investigated for their essential oils, total phenolics, flavonoids contents and antioxidant activities. Essential oil yields were 0.22% in roots, 0.68 % in stems and 0.89 % in flowers. Major components of the oils were β-ocimene, limonene and 1,8 cineol in roots, stems and leaves and flowers, respectively. In all organs, total phenolics content ranged from 42.57 to 16.17 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry weight (mg GAE/g DW).The antioxidant activities of Lavandula dentata extracts obtained from the three organs were assessed using two tests (DPPH and reducing power). The root extract was strongly effective as DPPH radical scavenger and reducing agent. Thus, the identification of individual target polyphenolic compounds of roots was performed by RP-HPLC. The major phenolic compound detected in roots was rosmarinic acid. This activity was high enough for the plant to be a new and natural source of strongly antioxidant substances for use as natural additives in food and pharmaceutical industry

Antioxidant and antimicrobial phenolic compounds from extracts of cultivated and wild-grown Tunisian Ruta chalepensis

The antioxidant and antibacterial activities of phenolic compounds from cultivated and wild Tunisian Ruta chalepensis L. leaves, stems, and flowers were assessed. The leaves and the flowers exhibited high but similar total polyphenol, flavonoid, and tannin content. Moreover, two organs showed strong, although not significantly different, total antioxidant activity, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging ability, and reducing power. Investigation of the phenolic composition showed that vanillic acid and coumarin were the major compounds in the two organs, with higher percentages in the cultivated organs than in the spontaneous organs. Furthermore, R. chalepensis extracts showed marked antibacterial properties against human pathogen strains, and the activity was organ- and origin-dependent. Spontaneous stems had the strongest activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. From these results, it was concluded that domestication of Ruta did not significantly affect its chemical composition and consequently the possibility of using R. chalpensis organs as a potential source of natural antioxidants and as an antimicrobial agent in the food industry

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Shares Features of Both Pathogenic and Non-pathogenic Lentiviral Infections.

The virus-host relationship in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infected chimpanzees is thought to be different from that found in other SIV infected African primates. However, studies of captive SIVcpz infected chimpanzees are limited. Previously, the natural SIVcpz infection of one chimpanzee, and the experimental infection of six chimpanzees was reported, with limited follow-up. Here, we present a long-term study of these seven animals, with a retrospective re-examination of the early stages of infection. The only clinical signs consistent with AIDS or AIDS associated disease was thrombocytopenia in two cases, associated with the development of anti-platelet antibodies. However, compared to uninfected and HIV-1 infected animals, SIVcpz infected animals had significantly lower levels of peripheral blood CD4+ T-cells. Despite this, levels of T-cell activation in chronic infection were not significantly elevated. In addition, while plasma levels of β2 microglobulin, neopterin and soluble TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (sTRAIL) were elevated in acute infection, these markers returned to near-normal levels in chronic infection, reminiscent of immune activation patterns in 'natural host' species. Furthermore, plasma soluble CD14 was not elevated in chronic infection. However, examination of the secondary lymphoid environment revealed persistent changes to the lymphoid structure, including follicular hyperplasia in SIVcpz infected animals. In addition, both SIV and HIV-1 infected chimpanzees showed increased levels of deposition of collagen and increased levels of Mx1 expression in the T-cell zones of the lymph node. The outcome of SIVcpz infection of captive chimpanzees therefore shares features of both non-pathogenic and pathogenic lentivirus infections.This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and by the Wellcome Trust.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLOS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.100514

Zn treatment effects on biological potential of fennel bulbs as affected by in vitro digestion process

Zn treatment effects on the stability of polyphenols, MDA (malondialdehyde) content, antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibition activities of two varieties of fennel bulbs were studied by using an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model. Likewise, the effect of Zn on viability cells of E. coli was also performed. The results revealed that high amounts of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds were released during the digestion process, especially after the intestinal phase. Additionally, the antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibitory activity were affected by the gastrointestinal digestion process and seems to be correlated with total phenol contents. On the other hand, the viability of E. coli was not affected by the activity of our tested bulbs during passage through the artificial digestion model, but the treated bulbs activity contribute relatively to the inhibition growth of bacteria. The survival of E. coli in fennel bulbs was challenged with simulated gastrointestinal fluids and the results showed that the E. coli strains, despite having experienced a viability reduction at the intestinal phase, were able to overcome the exposure to the gastrointestinal synthetic fluids. This E. coli ability reinforces the need for good hygienic measures to assure safe fresh produce, even for those that are rich in antibacterial compounds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anti-inflammatory actions of (-)-epicatechin in the adipose tissue of obese mice.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are major public health concerns. Visceral adipose tissue inflammation is considered a significant contributor to obesity-associated T2D development. We previously showed that the flavan-3-ol (-)-epicatechin (EC) can mitigate insulin resistance in mice fed a high fat diet (HFD). This study investigated the capacity of EC to inhibit visceral adipose tissue inflammation occurring as a consequence of HFD consumption in C57BL/6J mice, and characterized the underlying mechanisms. In association with the development of obesity and insulin resistance, HFD consumption caused inflammation in the visceral adipose tissue as evidenced by activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB and increased tissue levels of the macrophage marker F4/80, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and the chemokine MCP-1. EC supplementation mitigated all these events. In addition, we observed activation of the three branches of the unfolded protein response (UPR), and upregulation of NADPH oxidases NOX4 and NOX2 in visceral fat of mice fed HFD. These can account, at least in part, for the associated oxidative stress and activation of the redox sensitive NF-κB. Notably, EC supplementation mitigated this and the release of pro-inflammatory proteins from metabolically stressed adipocytes. Attenuation of adipocyte endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and oxidative stress by EC could contribute to decreased inflammation and improved visceral adipose tissue insulin sensitivity. Our results support the concept that consumption of EC-rich foods could mitigate obesity-associated insulin resistance through attenuation of adipose tissue inflammation

Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activities of different aerial parts extracts of Ferula communis L.

The present study aimed to assess antioxidant activities of three organs (flower, fruit, and stem) extracts of Tunisian Ferula (F.) communis. Various experimental models were used to characterize the antioxidant activities in vitro as well as on ROS-induced fluorescence using dichlorofluorescein technique from phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated human myeloid cell line HL-60. Results showed that the antioxidant activities varied considerably with organs. Thus, flower exhibited higher DPPH-scavenging ability, reducing and chelating power than stem and fruit. Also, antioxidant capacities using ORAC method and a cell-based assay showed that fruit and stem exhibited statistically similar antioxidant activities. Moreover, F. communis contains high amounts of flavonoids with various health benefits attributed to their antioxidant potential. Likewise, to obtain biologically relevant information, the antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated on cellular models implicating the antioxidant activities; this test generally showed that F. communis flower extracts have the highest antioxidant capacities correlated to the highest total phenolic content. The identification of phenolic compounds in F. communis extracts using RP-HPLC revealed that resorcinol, ferulic, and syringic acids together with coumarin were the major molecules. © 2018 Società Botanica Italian