The chemical characteristic and distribution of brassinosteroids in plants

Brassinosteroids represent a class of plant hormones with high-growth promoting activity. They are found at low levels in pollen, anthers, seeds, leaves, stems, roots, flowers, grain, and young vegetative tissues throughout the plant kingdom. Brassinosteroids are a family of about 60 phytosteroids. The article gives a comprehensive survey on the hitherto known brassinosteroids isolated from plants. The chemical characteristic of brassinosteroids is also presented

Fitoremediacja - alternatywa na czyste środowisko

Postęp przemysłowy i cywilizacyjny, oprócz bezsprzecznych korzyści, niesie za sobą degradację środowiska. Obiecujące możliwości w procesach remediacji – usuwania różnego rodzaju zanieczyszczeń z atmosfery, gleby i wody daje zastosowanie roślin. W fitoremediacji wykorzystuje się naturalną zdolność wybranych gatunków roślin do wzrostu i rozwoju w ekosystemach skażonych substancjami organicznymi i nieorganicznymi, a także ich pobierania i detoksykacji. Naturalne fitoremediatory powinny charakteryzować się rozwiniętym systemem korzeniowym, szybkim wzrostem, dużą produkcją biomasy, tolerancją na skażenia oraz zdolnością akumulowania kilku zanieczyszczeń jednocześnie. Ze względu na sposób, w jaki rośliny wpływają na oczyszczanie skażonych ekosystemów, wyróżnia się główne techniki fitoremediacji: fitoekstrakcję, fitodegradację, fitostabilizację, fitoewaporację i ryzofiltrację. W rzeczywistości jednak mechanizmy usuwania czy detoksykacji zanieczyszczeń są bardziej złożone i często wynikają z połączenia różnego rodzaju metod. Fitoremediacja – jak każda metoda – posiada niewątpliwe zalety, jak również pewne ograniczenia, ale generalnie uważana jest za metodę przyjazną środowisku, tanią, mało inwazyjną i akceptowalną społecznie. Technika ta jest powszechnie postrzegana jako alternatywa dla ingerujących w środowisko metod fizyko-chemicznych, które mogą przyczyniać się do wtórnych zanieczyszczeń gleby, wody oraz powietrza. Fitoremediacja znajduje szerokie zastosowanie na zdegradowanych terenach poprzemysłowych, gdzie pomaga przywrócić je do takiego stanu, aby mogły być użytkowane jako obszary rekreacyjne lub mieszkalne.Wojewódzki Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej w Białymstok

Wpływ brassinosteroidów na kultury glonu Chlorella vulgaris poddane działaniu wybranych fitohormonów i czynników stresowych

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Comprehensive Overview of the Brassinosteroid Biosynthesis Pathways: Substrates, Products, Inhibitors, and Connections

Brassinosteroids (BRs) as a class of steroid plant hormones participate in the regulation of numerous developmental processes, including root and shoot growth, vascular differentiation, fertility, flowering, and seed germination, as well as in responding to environmental stresses. During four decades of research, the BR biosynthetic pathways have been well studied with forward- and reverse genetics approaches. The free BRs contain 27, 28, and 29 carbons within their skeletal structure: (1): 5a-cholestane or 26- nor-24a-methyl-5a-cholestane for C27-BRs; (2) 24a-methyl-5a-cholestane, 24b-methyl- 5a-cholestane or 24-methylene-5a-cholestane for C28-BRs; (3) 24a-ethyl-5acholestane, 24(Z)-ethylidene-5a-cholestane, 25-methyl-5a-campestane or 24- methylene-25-methyl-5a-cholestane for C29-BRs, as well as different kinds and orientations of oxygenated functions in A- and B-ring. These alkyl substituents are also common structural features of sterols. BRs are derived from sterols carrying the same side chain. The C27-BRs without substituent at C-24 are biosynthesized from cholesterol. The C28-BRs carrying either an a-methyl, b-methyl, or methylene group are derived from campesterol, 24-epicampesterol or 24-methylenecholesterol, respectively. The C29-BRs with an a-ethyl group are produced from sitosterol. Furthermore, the C29 BRs carrying methylene at C-24 and an additional methyl group at C-25 are derived from 24- methylene-25-methylcholesterol. Generally, BRs are biosynthesized via cycloartenol and cycloartanol dependent pathways. Till now, more than 17 compounds were characterized as inhibitors of the BR biosynthesis. For nine of the inhibitors (e.g., brassinazole and YCZ-18) a specific target reaction within the BR biosynthetic pathway has been identified. Therefore, the review highlights comprehensively recent advances in our understanding of the BR biosynthesis, sterol precursors, and dependencies between the C27-C28 and C28-C29 pathways

Suppression of Chlorella vulgaris Growth by Cadmium, Lead, and Copper Stress and Its Restoration by Endogenous Brassinolide

Brassinosteroids play a significant role in the amelioration of various abiotic and biotic stresses. In order to elaborate their roles in plants subjected to heavy metals stress, Chlorella vulgaris cultures treated with 10−8 M brassinolide (BL) were exposed to 10−6–10−4 M heavy metals (cadmium, lead and copper) application. Under heavy metals stress, the growth and chemical composition (chlorophyll, monosaccharides, and protein content) have been decreased during the first 48 h of cultivation. The inhibitory effect of heavy metals on C. vulgaris cultures was arranged in the following order: copper > lead > cadmium. C. vulgaris cultures treated with BL in the absence or presence of heavy metals showed no differences in the endogenous level of BL. On the other hand, treatment with heavy metals results in BL level very similar to that of control cell cultures. These results suggest that the activation of brassinosteroids biosynthesis, via an increase of endogenous BL, is not essential for the growth and development of C. vulgaris cells in response to heavy metals stress. Simultaneously, BL enhanced the content of indole-3-acetic acid, zeatin, and abscisic acid in cultures treated with heavy metals. Levels per cell of chlorophylls, protein, and monosaccharides are all increased by BL treatment when compared to nontreated control cells. Application of BL to C. vulgaris cultures reduced the accumulation of heavy metals stress on growth, prevented chlorophyll, monosaccharides, and protein loss, and increased phytochelatins content. The arrested growth of C. vulgaris cells treated with heavy metals was restored by the coapplication of BL. It suggested that BL overcame the inhibitory effect of heavy metals. From these results, it can be concluded that BL plays the positive role in the alleviation of heavy metals stress

Phytochemical screening of Pulsatilla species and investigation of their biological activities

© 2019, The Author(s). We previously demonstrated that extracts from Echinacea purpurea material varied substantially in their ability to activate macrophages in vitro and that this variation was due to differences in their content of bacterial components. The purpose of the current study was to identify soil conditions (organic matter, nitrogen, and moisture content) that alter the macrophage activation potential of E. purpurea and determine whether these changes in activity correspond to shifts in the plant-associated microbiome. Increased levels of soil organic matter significantly enhanced macrophage activation exhibited by the root extracts of E. purpurea (p \u3c 0.0001). A change in soil organic matter content from 5.6% to 67.4% led to a 4.2-fold increase in the macrophage activation potential of extracts from E. purpurea. Bacterial communities also differed significantly between root materials cultivated in soils with different levels of organic matter (p \u3c 0.001). These results indicate that the level of soil organic matter is an agricultural factor that can alter the bacterial microbiome, and thereby the activity, of E. purpurea roots. Since ingestion of bacterial preparation (e.g., probiotics) is reported to impact human health, it is likely that the medicinal value of Echinacea is influenced by cultivation conditions that alter its associated bacterial community

The Mineral Profile of Polish Beers by Fast Sequential Multielement HR CS FAAS Analysis and Its Correlation with Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity by Chemometric Methods

Beer is the most common alcoholic beverage worldwide, and is an excellent source of macro- and microelements, as well as phenolic compounds. In this study, a fast method for the determination of Na, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, and Cu in beer was developed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The precision of this method was between 0.8 and 8.0% (as the relative standard deviation (RSD)), and limits of detections were in the range of 0.45 (Mn)–94 µg/L (Na). Among the macroelements tested in the beer samples, K was found at the highest concentration, whereas Na was found at the lowest concentration level. Beer also turned out to be a good source of Mg and K. The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, while the antioxidant activity was estimated by the ABTS method. The results show remarkable variations in the mineral content, TPC, and antioxidant activity across the beer types and brands. Moreover, the relations between the type, color, refraction index, antioxidant activity, extract, alcohol, mineral, and the total phenolic contents were investigated using the factor analysis of mixed data (FAMD) combined with hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC).This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The equipment used in this work was partly supported by EU funds (the project with contract number POPW.01.03.00-20-004/11).Elżbieta Zambrzycka-Szelewa: [email protected] Nalewajko-Sieliwoniuk: [email protected] Zaremba: [email protected] Bajguz: [email protected] Godlewska-Żyłkiewicz: [email protected]żbieta Zambrzycka-Szelewa - Faculty of Chemistry, University of BialystokEdyta Nalewajko-Sieliwoniuk - Faculty of Chemistry, University of BialystokMariusz Zaremba - Faculty of Chemistry, University of BialystokAndrzej Bajguz - Faculty of Biology, University of BialystokBeata Godlewska-Żyłkiewicz - Faculty of Chemistry, University of BialystokBrowary Polskie. Raport: Podsumowanie Analizy Wybranych Wskaźników Wpływu Przemysłu Piwowarskiego na Polską Gospodarkę i Otoczenie. 2018. Available online: https://browary-polskie.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Raport-Deloitte.pdf (accessed on 21 March 2020). (In Polish)Buiatti, S. Beer composition: An overview. 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Recognition of the geographical origin of beer based on support vector machines applied to chemical descriptors. Food Control 2012, 23, 258–262.Moura-Nunes, N.; Brito, T.C.; da Fonseca, N.D.; de Aguiar, P.F.; Monteiro, M.; Perrone, D.; Torres, A.G. Phenolic compounds of Brazilian beers from different types and styles and application of chemometrics for modeling antioxidant capacity. Food Chem. 2016, 199, 105–113.Polak, J.; Bartoszek, M.; Stanimirova, I. A study of the antioxidant properties of beers using electron paramagnetic resonance. Food Chem. 2013, 141, 3042–3049.Szabó, E.; Sipos, P. Mineral and polyphenol contents of self-brewed and commercial beer samples. J. MacroTrends Appl. Sci. 2014, 2, 1–9.Pohl, P. Determination and fractionation of metals in beer—a review. Food Addit. Contam. 2008, 25, 693–703.United States Environmental Protection Agency. 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Editorial : An update on brassinosteroids : homeostasis, crosstalk, and adaptation to environmental stress

Over the last three decades, there have been significant advances in the understanding of brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis and signaling, particularly in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. BRs regulate a variety of morphogenetic and physiological processes throughout plant life. Notably, BR biosynthesis and signaling are interconnected with the signaling pathways of other phytohormones and environmental stresses. Gathering knowledge about these aspects in monocot and dicot crops is of particular importance as it may allow modulation of these processes and enable the development cultivars better adapted to ongoing climate change. This Research Topic, providing An Update on Brassinosteroids: Homeostasis, Crosstalk, and Adaptation to Environmental Stress is aimed at introducing the latest findings in the regulation of BR metabolism, the interconnection of the BR signalosome with phytohormonal and stress signaling pathways, and the BR-mediated adaptation of plants to environmental conditions. The Research Topic includes five reviews and one original research article. [fragm. tekstu

Possibilities of Utilising Biomass Collected from Road Verges to Produce Biogas and Biodiesel

Grass collected as part of roadside maintenance is conventionally subjected to composting, which has the disadvantage of generating significant CO2 emissions. Thus, it is crucial to find an alternative method for the utilisation of grass waste. The aim of this study was to determine the specific biogas yield (SBY) from the anaerobic mono-digestion of grass from road verges and to assess the content of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) in grass in relation to the time of cutting and the preservation method of the studied material. The biochemical biogas potential (BBP) test and the FAMEs content were performed on fresh and ensiled grass collected in spring, summer, and autumn. The highest biogas production was obtained from fresh grass cut in spring (715.05 ± 26.43 NL kgVS−1), while the minimum SBY was observed for fresh grass cut in summer (540.19 ± 24.32 NL kgVS−1). The methane (CH4) content in the biogas ranged between 55.0 ± 2.0% and 60.0 ± 1.0%. The contents of ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in biogas remained below the threshold values for these inhibitors. The highest level of total FAMEs was determined in fresh grass cut in autumn (98.08 ± 19.25 mg gDM−1), while the lowest level was detected in fresh grass cut in spring (56.37 ± 7.03 mg gDM−1). C16:0 and C18:0, which are ideal for biofuel production, were present in the largest amount (66.87 ± 15.56 mg gDM−1) in fresh grass cut in autumn. The ensiling process significantly impacted the content of total FAMEs in spring grass, leading to a reduction in total saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and an increase in total unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs). We conclude that grass biomass collected during the maintenance of road verges is a valuable feedstock for the production of both liquid and gaseous biofuels; however, generating energy from biogas appears to be more efficient than producing biodiesel

Phytochemical screening of Pulsatilla species and investigation of their biological activities

The present study aimed to identify biologically active secondary metabolites from the rare plant species, Pulsatilla patens subsp. patens and the cultivated P. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris. Chromatographic fractionation of the ethanolic extract of the roots of P. patens subsp. patens resulted in the isolation of two oleanane-type glycosides identified as hederagenin 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (2.7 mg) and hederagenin 3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranoside (3.3 mg, patensin). HPLC analysis of the methanolic extract of the crude root of P. patens subsp. patens and P. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris revealed the presence of Pulsatilla saponin D (hederagenin 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)-[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1→4)]-α-l-arabinopyranoside). Chromatographic analysis using GC-MS of the silylated methanolic extracts from the leaves and roots of these species identified the presence of carboxylic acids, such as benzoic, caffeic, malic, and succinic acids. The extracts from Pulsatilla species were tested for their antifungal, antimicrobial, and antimalarial activities, and cytotoxicity to mammalian cell lines. Both P. patens subsp. patens and P. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris were active against the fungus Candida glabrata with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 9.37 µg/mL and 11 µg/mL, respectively. The IC50 values for cytotoxicity evaluation were in the range of 32–38 μg/mL for P. patens subsp. patens and 35–57 μg/mL for P. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris for each cell line, indicating general cytotoxic activity throughout the panel of evaluated cancer and noncancer cells