Antioxidant Action of Mangrove Polyphenols against Gastric Damage Induced by Absolute Ethanol and Ischemia-Reperfusion in the Rat

Rhizophora mangle, the red mangrove, has long been known as a traditional medicine. Its bark has been used as astringent, antiseptic, hemostatic, with antifungic and antiulcerogenic properties. In this paper, we aimed to evaluate the antioxidant properties of a buthanolic fraction of the R. mangle bark extract (RM) against experimental gastric ulcer in rats. Unib-Wh rats received pretreatment of R. mangle after the induction of gastric injury with absolute ethanol and ischemia-reperfusion. Gastric tissues from both methods were prepared to the enzymatic assays, the levels of sulfhydril compounds (GSH), lipid peroxides (LPO), and the activities of glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured. The RM protected the gastric mucosa in both methods used, ethanol-induced gastric ulcer and ischemia-reperfusion, probably, by modulating the activities of the enzymes SOD, GPx, and GR and increasing or maintaining the levels of GSH; in adittion, LPO levels were reduced. The results suggest that the RM antioxidant activity leads to tissue protection; thus one of the antiulcer mechanisms present on the pharmacological effects of R. mangle is the antioxidant property

Osmoprotectants play a major role in the Portulaca oleracea resistance to high levels of salinity stress—insights from a metabolomics and proteomics integrated approach

IntroductionPurslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is a non-conventional food plant used extensively in folk medicine and classified as a multipurpose plant species, serving as a source of features of direct importance to the agricultural and agri-industrial sectors. This species is considered a suitable model to study the mechanisms behind resistance to several abiotic stresses including salinity. The recently achieved technological developments in high-throughput biology opened a new window of opportunity to gain additional insights on purslane resistance to salinity stress—a complex, multigenic, and still not well-understood trait. Only a few reports on single-omics analysis (SOA) of purslane are available, and only one multi-omics integration (MOI) analysis exists so far integrating distinct omics platforms (transcriptomics and metabolomics) to characterize the response of purslane plants to salinity stress.MethodsThe present study is a second step in building a robust database on the morpho-physiological and molecular responses purslane to salinity stress and its subsequent use in attempting to decode the genetics behind its resistance to this abiotic stress. Here, the characterization of the morpho-physiological responses of adult purslane plants to salinity stress and a metabolomics and proteomics integrative approach to study the changes at the molecular level in their leaves and roots is presented.Results and discussionAdult plants of the B1 purslane accession lost approximately 50% of the fresh and dry weight (from shoots and roots) whensubmitted to very high salinity stress (2.0 g of NaCl/100 g of the substrate). The resistance to very high levels of salinity stress increases as the purslane plant matures, and most of the absorbed sodium remains in the roots, with only a part (~12%) reaching the shoots. Crystal-like structures, constituted mainly by Na+, Cl−, and K+, were found in the leaf veins and intercellular space near the stoma, indicating that this species has a mechanism of salt exclusion operating on the leaves, which has its role in salt tolerance. The MOI approach showed that 41 metabolites were statistically significant on the leaves and 65 metabolites on the roots of adult purslane plants. The combination of the mummichog algorithm and metabolomics database comparison revealed that the glycine, serine, and threonine, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways were the most significantly enriched pathways when considering the total number of occurrences in the leaves (with 14, 13, and 13, respectively) and roots (all with eight) of adult plants; and that purslane plants employ the adaptive mechanism of osmoprotection to mitigate the negative effect of very high levels of salinity stress; and that this mechanism is prevalent in the leaves. The multi-omics database built by our group underwent a screen for salt-responsive genes, which are now under further characterization for their potential to promote resistance to salinity stress when heterologously overexpressed in salt-sensitive plants

Phytochemical study of citrus, the resistence to Xylella fastidiosa and interaction with Oncometopia facialis.

This work describes sixteen substances isolated by C. limonia: xanthyletin, seselin, xanthoxyletin, trans-kellactone, trans-decursidinol, junosmarin, scopoletin, isoscopoletin, demethylsuberosin, xanthoarnol, clausarin, limonianin, 5,4 - dihydroxy-6-(3 -methyl-2 -buthenyl)-2 ,2 -dimethylpyrano(5 ,6 -7,8)flavanone, β- sitosterol, estigmasterol e campesterol. Three of them are especially important: 5,4 -dihydroxy-6-(3 -methyl-2 -buthenyl)-2 ,2 -dimethylpyrano(5 ,6 -7,8)flavanone that was unknown in the literacy, trans-kellactone and trans-decursidinol that weren t found previously in the Rutaceae family but at Apiaceae family. The chemical constituents isolated by the upper and low parts from the grafted plant (C. sinensis on C. limonia) and from ungrafted C. limonia were compared. It indicated that the grafted plant has a metabolic translocation process. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of many substances isolated from plants of Rutaceae family was related. The test was against the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa that causes Citrus Variegated Chlorosis. The successful classes the pyranocoumarins and flavones whose MIC was 1,0 mg/mL. We have studied the plant-insect interaction and discovered that the grafted plant (C. sinensis on C. limonia) undergoes chemical alteration of the volatile compounds and essential oils when it is in contact with the sharpshooter. The sharpshooters Oncometopia facialis belongs to the Cicadellidae family and carries the Xylella fastidiosa. This chemical alteration was greater in the volatile compounds than in the essential oils of the plants. Different amounts of Hesperidin were found in the grafted plant when different species of Citrus were analized: C. limonia without CVC, C. reticulata without CVC, C. sinensis on C. limonia with and without CVC. The C. limonia presented the lower amount of the secondary metabolic and the C. sinensis on C. limonia presents the higher amount. The higher amounts of Hesperidin were found in sick plants witch corresponds the metabolic alteration that occurs when the plant is infected by the bacteria.Neste trabalho estão descritas dezesseis substâncias isoladas de C. limonia: xantiletina, seselina, xantoxiletina, trans-kelactona, trans-decursidinol, junosmarina escopoletina, isoescopoletina, demetilsuberosina, xantoarnol, clausarina, limonianina, 5,4 -diidróxi-6-(3 -metil-2 -butenil)-2 ,2 -dimetilpirano(5 ,6 -7,8) flavanona, β-sitosterol, estigmasterol e campesterol; sendo uma destacada, a 5,4 - diidróxi-6-(3 -metil-2 -butenil)-2 ,2 -dimetilpirano(5 ,6 -7,8) flavanona, por ser inédita na literatura; e duas, a trans-kelactona e trans-decursidinol, não isoladas anteriormente em plantas da família Rutaceae, apenas na família Apiaceae. Uma comparação entre os constituintes químicos isolados da parte superior e inferior da planta enxertada C. sinensis sobre C. limonia e do C. limonia não enxertado foi realizada, indicando que a planta enxertada possui um processo de translocação metabólita. São relatadas as Concentrações Mínimas Inibitórias de diversas substâncias, todas isoladas de plantas da família Rutaceae, contra a bactéria causal da Clorose Variegada dos Citros, Xylella fastidiosa. As classes promissoras foram as piranocumarinas e flavanonas, sendo a Xantiletina e a Catequina, com MIC igual a 1,0 mg/mL. Foi realizado um estudo de interação planta-inseto, o qual indicou que a planta enxertada C. sinensis sobre C. limonia apresenta uma alteração na composição química dos seus voláteis e em seus óleos essenciais quando em contato com as cigarrinhas Oncometopia facialis, pertencentes a família Cicadellidae, as quais são transmissores de Xylella fastidiosa, correspondendo a uma resposta da planta ao ataque. A modificação dos constituintes químicos e suas porcentagens foi mais perceptível nos voláteis do que nos óleos essenciais das plantas. A planta enxertada também sofreu uma alteração em um metabólito secundário, a Hesperidina, quando foi feita a análise do teor desta substância em diferentes espécies de Citrus, C. limonia sem CVC, C. reticulata sem CVC, C. sinensis sobre C. limonia com e sem CVC. O C. limonia foi a espécie que apresentou menor quantidade de Hesperidina e C. sinensis sobre C. limonia foi o que apresentou o maior teor. O estudo comparativo da quantidade de Hesperidina da planta enxertada com e sem sintomas de CVC indicou que esta possui uma maior quantidade da substância quando doente, correspondendo a uma alteração metabólita que ocorre na planta quando infectada pela bactéria

Analysis of biodiesel and biodiesel–petrodiesel blends by high performance thin layer chromatography combined with easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry

6 p. : il.High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) combined with on-spot detection and characterization via easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI-MS) is applied to the analysis of biodiesel (B100) and biodiesel–petrodiesel blends (BX). HPTLC provides chromatographic resolution of major components whereas EASI-MS allows on-spot characterization performed directly on the HPTLC surface at ambient conditions. Constituents (M) are detected by EASI-MS in a one component–one ion fashion as either [M + Na]+ or [M + H]+. For both B100 and BX samples, typical profiles of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) detected as [FAME + Na]+ ions allow biodiesel typification. The spectrum of the petrodiesel spot displays a homologous series of protonated alkyl pyridines which are characteristic for petrofuels (natural markers). The spectrum for residual or admixture oil spots is characterized by sodiated triglycerides [TAG + Na]+. The application of HPTLC to analyze B100 and BX samples and its combination with EASI-MS for on-spot characterization and quality control is demonstrated

Insights from a Multi-Omics Integration (MOI) Study in Oil Palm (Elaeis gineensis Jacq.) Response to Abiotic Stresses: Part One?Salinity.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the number one source of consumed vegetable oil nowadays. It is cultivated in areas of tropical rainforest, where it meets its natural condition of high rainfall throughout the year. The palm oil industry faces criticism due to a series of practices that was considered not environmentally sustainable, and it finds itself under pressure to adopt new and innovative procedures to reverse this negative public perception. Cultivating this oilseed crop outside the rainforest zone is only possible using artificial irrigation. Close to 30% of the world?s irrigated agricultural lands also face problems due to salinity stress. Consequently, the research community must consider drought and salinity together when studying to empower breeding programs in order to develop superior genotypes adapted to those potential new areas for oil palm cultivation. Multi-Omics Integration (MOI) offers a new window of opportunity for the non-trivial challenge of unraveling the mechanisms behind multigenic traits, such as drought and salinity tolerance. The current study carried out a comprehensive, large-scale, single-omics analysis (SOA), and MOI study on the leaves of young oil palm plants submitted to very high salinity stress. Taken together, a total of 1239 proteins were positively regulated, and 1660 were negatively regulated in transcriptomics and proteomics analyses. Meanwhile, the metabolomics analysis revealed 37 metabolites that were upregulated and 92 that were downregulated. After performing SOA, 436 differentially expressed (DE) full-length transcripts, 74 DE proteins, and 19 DE metabolites ffected by this stress, with at least one DE molecule in all three omics platforms used. The Cysteine and methionine metabolism (map00270) and Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis (map00010) pathways were the most affected ones, each one with 20 DE molecules