Phenotypic and genetic variation of Jatropha curcas L populations from different countries

Jatropha populations from Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines were evaluated on inland soils at Uni¬versity Agriculture Park, Universiti Putra Malaysia with the main objectives are to select superior plants with high seed and oil yields production for commercial planting and to study inter-populations variation in morphological, seed and oil yields characteristics. Analysis of variance shows that all traits had significant variation among popu¬lations. Phenotypic correlations between seed yield per plant was positively and highly significantly correlated with days to flowering, number of inflorescences, number of fruits per plant, number of seeds per plant, seed yield per hectare, seed oil yield per plant, and seed oil yield per hectare. Seed yield per plant was highly significant negatively correlated with seed oil content. Cluster analysis based on standardized agro-morphological data, divided the Jatropha populations into three clusters through non-hierarchical clustering. Cluster I, II, III consisted of one, two and three populations respectively. Highly significant genotypic differences were obtained among the Jatropha populations for various traits measured. The relative large variations were observed for all traits except number of tertiary branches in first year of harvesting. The variation was large enough to suggest that six Jatropha populations could present appropriate genotypes to be used in intensive breeding programs

A 12-week double-blind randomized clinical trial of vitamin D₃ supplementation on body fat mass in healthy overweight and obese women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin D concentrations are linked to body composition indices, particularly body fat mass. Relationships between hypovitaminosis D and obesity, described by both BMI and waist circumference, have been mentioned. We have investigated the effect of a 12-week vitamin D3 supplementation on anthropometric indices in healthy overweight and obese women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial, seventy-seven participants (age 38±8.1 years, BMI 29.8±4.1 kg/m²) were randomly allocated into two groups: vitamin D (25 μg per day as cholecalciferol) and placebo (25 μg per day as lactose) for 12 weeks. Body weight, height, waist, hip, fat mass, 25(OH) D, iPTH, and dietary intakes were measured before and after the intervention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum 25(OH)D significantly increased in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group (38.2±32.7 nmol/L vs. 4.6±14.8 nmol/L; P<0.001) and serum iPTH concentrations were decreased by vitamin D3 supplementation (-0.26±0.57 pmol/L vs. 0.27±0.56 pmol/L; P<0.001). Supplementation with vitamin D3 caused a statistically significant decrease in body fat mass in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group (-2.7±2.1 kg vs. -0.47±2.1 kg; P<0.001). However, body weight and waist circumference did not change significantly in both groups. A significant reverse correlation between changes in serum 25(OH) D concentrations and body fat mass was observed (r = -0.319, P = 0.005).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Among healthy overweight and obese women, increasing 25(OH) D concentrations by vitamin D3 supplementation led to body fat mass reduction.</p> <p>This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01344161.</p