<i>In vitro</i> antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial activities of five international <i>Calibrachoa</i> cultivars

<p>The total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents in leaf extracts of <i>Calibrachoa x hybrida</i> (<i>C.h.</i>) (Solanaceae) international cultivars, as well as their overall antioxidant activities using DPPH and linoleic acid assays, were investigated. Furthermore, the antifungal and the antibacterial activities were examined against a wide spectrum of micro-organisms. DPPH and linoleic acid assays ranged from 62.1 to 80.1% and of 74.1–93.4%, respectively. <i>C.h</i>. Superbells® Trailing Rose (CHST), <i>C.h.</i> Superbells® Frost Fire, <i>C.h</i>. Superbells® Strawberry Punch, <i>C.h</i>. Superbells® Dreamsicle and <i>C.h.</i> Superbells® Plum (CHSP) varied in their antifungal and the antibacterial activities against a wide spectrum of micro-organisms. CHSP exhibited the highest antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial activities followed by CHST. These activities might be attributed to the presence of phenolic, flavonoid and tannin compounds, indicating that these cultivars might be potential sources of therapeutic substances.</p

Egyptian herbal tea infusions' antioxidants and their antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against cancer cells

<div><p>The antioxidant, antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against different human cancer cells were investigated in local and recently introduced plants of <i>Mentha</i> sp., <i>Rosmarinus officinalis</i> L. (ROL) and <i>Origanum majorana</i> L. (OML). ROL exhibited the highest antioxidant activities (IC₅₀ 8.4 ± 0.2 μg/mL) followed by OML and mint species such as <i>Mentha suaveolens</i> ‘apple mint’ and <i>Mentha longifolia</i> L. exhibiting moderate antioxidant activities. HPLC analysis of leaf extract revealed that rosmarinic acid is the main component followed by caffeic acid. Herbal leaf extracts varied in their proliferation inhibition and cytotoxicity against HeLa, MCF-7 and Jurkat cancer cells in a dose-dependent matter. The highest antiproliferative inhibition and cytotoxic activity were detected in ROL and OML followed by mint. Local herbs might have a potential role as anticancer natural medicines in addition to their high antioxidant activities due to the presence of different phenolics in their aqueous tea extracts.</p></div

<i>In vitro</i> antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of six international basil cultivars

<div><p>The total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents in leaves extracts of <i>Ocimum basilicum</i> (OB) (Lamiaceae) international cultivars, as well as their overall antioxidant activities using DPPH and linoleic acid assays, were investigated. Furthermore, the antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against line HeLa, MCF-7, Jurkat, HT-29, T24, MIAPaCa-2 cancer cells and one normal human cell line HEK-293 were examined. DPPH and linoleic acid assays ranged from 75.8% to 93.3% and from 74.5% to 97.1%; respectively. <i>O. b.</i> ‘purple ruffle’, <i>O. b.</i> ‘dark opale’, <i>O. b.</i> ‘genovese’, <i>O. b.</i> ‘anise’, <i>O. b.</i> ‘bush green’ and <i>O. b.</i> L. (OBL) varied in their antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities, influenced cell cycle progression and stimulated apoptosis in most cancer cells. OBL exhibited the highest antioxidant and antiproliferative activities. OB extracts not only improve taste but also have certain anticancer activity against diverse cancer cells due to the presence of compounds such as rosmarinic acid, chicoric acid and caftaric acid. Thus, OB represents a potent source of anticancer materials.</p></div

Ethnobotany at a local scale: diversity of knowledge of medicinal plants and assessment of plant cultural importance in the Polokwane local municipality, South Africa

<p>Unravelling the pattern of traditional plant usages in a society is necessary to inform interventions for biodiversity conservation. In the present study, we documented traditional knowledge of plant usages and analysed the pattern of culturally important plants along a phylogeny of South Africa’s medicinal plants. Data were collected through interviews, field visits and group discussions, and cultural importance was assessed using two metrics: use value (UV_<i>s</i>) and quality use value of species (QUV_<i>s</i>). K statistic was used to assess how UV_<i>s</i> and QUV_<i>s</i> values are distributed on a phylogeny. Overall, 50 medicinal plant species in 35 botanical families were reported. Fabaceae and Celastraceae contain more medicinal species than any other family, perhaps because of a wider distribution in the study area. Although there was no evidence that knowledge of medicinal uses varies significantly according to informant status, sex, ethnic group and age category, or residence time of the informant in the study area, traditional healers show a wider range of medicinal knowledge than any other informants. Culturally important plants are not significantly clustered on the phylogeny, suggesting <i>a priori</i> a limited value of phylogeny in identifying culturally valuable plants. However, this potential limitation could be driven by the local focus of the present study. We call for further investigations at a broader scale to establish potential phylogenetic signals in plant cultural importance.</p

Pairwise intraspecific and interspecific distances in the barcode loci of all 161 plant species.

<p>Pairwise intraspecific and interspecific distances in the barcode loci of all 161 plant species.</p

Within genera polymorphic sites identified for <i>rbcL</i> and <i>matK</i>.

<p>(*) indicating other polymorphic sites not shown in both markers. (1) indicating 111-6bp deletion, (2) indicating 117-6bp deletion.</p

Genetic distances in barcode loci at three taxonomic levels.

<p>Genetic distances in barcode loci at three taxonomic levels.</p

Comparison of two loci tested on several genera.

<p>No.: Number, Sp.: Species, Seq.: Sequence, Len.: Length, Hap.: Haplotype, Nuc. Div.: Diversity, Segre.: Segregation.</p

Assessing the phylogenetic dimension of Australian <i>Acacia</i> species introduced outside their native ranges

<div>Abstract<p>Biological invasion is a long process that starts with humans introducing intentionally (most of the time) species into a new environment to benefit from the ecosystem services that these species provide. Increasing evidence suggests that species providing ecosystem services might be phylogenetically closer than expected, but only a few studies actually demonstrate this. Also, recent studies indicate that naturalized and invasive species are two functionally distinct groups, but evidence that they are also two phylogenetically distinct groups is mixed. Using the set of Australian <i>Acacia</i> species known to have been introduced intentionally by humans to several parts of the world for the ecosystem services they provide, we first tested whether there is a phylogenetic pattern in the subset of introduced species. We found that species moved beyond Australia are phylogenetically more closely related than expected at random, suggesting that the ecosystem services that guide human-mediated introduction of these species into new areas (e.g. famine food, medicines, fuel, fodder, ornament) may be shared between closely related species. We also found that naturalized non-invasive and naturalized invasive species are closely related and both are not a phylogenetically random subset of introduced species based on mean phylogenetic distance, suggesting that naturalization and invasion processes may be phylogenetically mediated. Collectively, our study indicates that phylogeny might play different roles at different stages of the biological invasion process.</p></div

Identification success of Egyptian horticultural crops based on Blast1 method.

<p>Identification success of Egyptian horticultural crops based on Blast1 method.</p