Mineral and Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant Activity of Herbal Material from Two Temperate Astragalus Species

Only a few species of the large Astragalus genus, widely used for medicinal purposes, have been thoroughly studied for phytochemical composition. The aim of our research was to investigate the rarely studied species A. glycyphyllos L. and A. cicer L. for the distribution of mineral elements and phytochemicals in whole plants at two growth stages and in morphological fractions. We also investigated the capacity of the plant extracts to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and to chelate ferrous ions. Chemical composition and antioxidant properties depended on species, maturity, and plant part. Herbal material of A. glycyphyllos was richer in Fe, total phenolics, and flavonoids, whereas extracts of A. cicer showed a higher antioxidant activity. Young plants had more isoflavones, showed greater quenching of DPPH radicals, and exhibited better mineral profiles than flowering plants. Among plant parts, leaves were the most valuable plant material according to most characteristics investigated. Isoflavone concentration in flowers was lower than in leaves and stems. None of the Astragalus samples contained detectable amounts of the alkaloid swainsonine. The study demonstrates the potential of plant material from two Astragalus species as a valuable source of iron, phenolic substances including isoflavones, free-radical scavengers, and Fe2+ chelators for pharmaceutical use

Seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field: effects on germination, plant growth, and the amount of flavonoids in the leaves of Red clover (Trifolium pratense)

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L) is used as a dietary supplement for alleviation of menopausal symptoms or treatment of prostatic diseases. Commercial extracts of red clover contain estrogenic isoflavones, with formononetin (F) and biochanin A (BA) found in the largest amounts. The aim of study was to estimate the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment, using radio-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF, 10 and 15 min) and cold plasma (CP, 5 and 7 min), on germination, growth and biochemical traits of seedlings of two cultivars of red clover – ‘Vyčiai’ and ‘Sadūnai’. The impact of treatments on morphological traits, and concentration of isoflavones F and BA (detected by HPLC analysis) was estimated in leaves of plants grown in the experimental plots for 5 months. The germination tests in vitro revealed that CP treatments increased germination rate, and this effect was more pronounced for ‘Vyčiai’ (germination rate increased up to 24%). EMF treatments did not affect germination indices, only EMF (15 min) reduced germination percentage of ‘Sadūnai’ by 12%. The induced changes in plant morphometric parameters were dependent on cultivar of red clover. The average number of stems per one plant for ‘Vyčiai’ was increased from 26 to 40% in all treated groups, in comparison to control, but the number of stems of ‘Sadūnai’ cultivar was not affected by seed treatments. Dry weight of ‘Vyčiai’ plants in CP (5 min) and EMF (15 min) groups was by 37 and 43% larger, dry weight of stems was by 36 and 42%, dry weight of leaves – by 49 and 34% larger in comparison to control, respectively. Positive morphometric changes induced by seed treatments in morphometric traits of ‘Sadūnai’ were less pronounced in comparison to ‘Vyčiai’ cultivar. [...]Biochemijos katedraGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro filialas Žemdirbystės institutasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Effect of seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field on red clover germination, growth and content of major isoflavones

Published 27 April 2020Pre-sowing treatment of red clover seeds with cold plasma (CP) and electromagnetic field (EMF) was applied aiming to evaluate changes induced in germination and early seedling growth under controlled laboratory conditions, and to estimate treatment effects on plant growth, biomass production, nutritional value and the amounts of major leaf secondary metabolites under long-term field experimental conditions. The effects of seed treatment using radio-frequency EMF (5, 10, 15 min) and CP (2, 5, and 7 min) on seed germination kinetics, morphometric parameters of seedlings were assessed for two cultivars of red clover – ‘Vyčiai’ and ‘Sadūnai’. Long-term observations revealed that the effects of seed treatments persist for the entire vegetation season, while the observed effects on germination (CP increased germination rate by 4-20%) do not provide sufficient information to predict the impact on plants on a longer time scale. The effects on morphometric parameters were dependent on plant cultivar, and were much stronger (up to 24% for ‘Sadūnai’ and 49% for ‘Vyčiai’) after growing the plants in the field for 5 months in comparison to the effects (absent or below 10%) observed in the early growth stages. A minor improvement of nutritional value per biomass unit was observed for ‘Vyčiai’. Protein yield per plant increased substantially (up to 70%). Pre-sowing seed treatment with CP and EMF had an obvious impact on the amounts of major isoflavones in leaves, and the nature of these changes strongly depended on the vegetation stage of plants (before flowering or at flowering stage). CP treatment for 5 min was found to be the most effective in this respect in not flowering plants, inducing a strong increase in biochanin A/formononetin ratio in leaves of both cultivars. However, an opposite effect was observed in the flowering plants, where the CP and EMF treatments decreased biochaBiochemijos katedraGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslo centrasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Response of red clover (Trifolium pratense) to seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field: effects on germination, plant development and phytoestrogen content

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L) is used as a dietary supplement for alleviation of menopausal symptoms or treatment of prostatic diseases. Commercial extracts of red clover contain estrogenic isoflavones, with formononetin (F) and biochanin А (ВЛ) found in the largest amounts. The aim of study was _to estimate the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment, using radio-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF, 10 and 15 min) and cold plasma (CP, 5 and 7 min), on germination, growth and biochemical traits of seedlings of two cultivars of red clover - "Vyčiai' and 'Sadūnai'. The impact of treatments on morphological traits, and concentration of isoflavones F and BA (detected by H PLC analysis) was estimated in leaves of plants grown in the experimental plots for 5 months. The germination tests in vitro revealed that CP treatments increased germination rate, and this effect was more pronounced for 'Vyčiai' (germination rate increased up to 24%). EMF treatments did not affect germination indices, only EMF (15 min) reduced germination percentage of 'Sadūnai' by 12%. The induced changes in plant morphometric parameters were dependent on cultivar of red clovcr. The average number of stems per one plant for 'Vyčiai' was increased from 26 to 40% in all treated groups, in comparison to control, but the number of stems of'Sadūnai' cultivar was not affected by seed treatments. Dry weight of'Vyčiai' plants in CP (5 min) and EMF (15 min) groups was by 37 and 43% larger, dry weight of stems was by 36 and 42%, dry weight of leaves -by 49 and 34% larger in comparison to control, respectively. Positive morphometric changes induced by seed treatments in morphometric traits of 'Sadūnai' were less pronounced in comparison to 'Vyčiai' cultivar.[...]Biochemijos katedraBotanikos sodasGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslo centrasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Seed treatment with cold plasma and electromagnetic field improves germination, plant growth and increases the amount of phytoestrogens in the leaves of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L) is widely used as a fodder plant as well as a dietary supplement marketed for use in alleviation of menopausal symptoms or treatment of prostatic diseases. Commercial extracts of red clover contain estrogenic isoflavones, with formononetin (F) and biochanin A (BA) found in the largest amounts. We studied the effects of pre-sowing seed treatment, using radio-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF, 10 and 15 min) and cold plasma (CP, 5 and 7 min), on germination, growth and biochemical traits of seedlings of two cultivars of red clover – ‘Vyčiai’ and ‘Sadūnai’. The impact of treatments on morphological traits, nutritive value (crude protein content, digestibility, etc. measured by near-infrared spectroscopy) and concentration of isoflavones F and BA (by HPLC analysis) was estimated in leaves of plants grown in the experimental plots for 5 months. The germination tests in vitro revealed that CP treatments increased germination rate, and this effect was more pronounced for ‘Vyčiai’ (germination rate increased up to 24%). EMF treatments did not affect germination indices, only EMF (15 min) reduced germination percentage of ‘Sadūnai’ by 12%. Treatments induced changes in plant morphometric parameters were dependent on cultivar of red clover. The average number of stems per one plant for ‘Vyčiai’ was increased from 26 to 40% in all treated groups, in comparison to control, whereas the number of stems of ‘Sadūnai’ cultivar was not affected by seed treatments. Dry weight of ‘Vyčiai’ plants in CP (5 min) and EMF (15 min) groups was by 37 and 43% larger, dry weight of stems was by 36 and 42%, dry weight of leaves – by 49 and 34% larger in comparison to control, respectively. Treatment induced positive morphometric changes for ‘Sadūnai’ were less pronounced and EMF (10 min) induced decrease in dry weight (-20%) of plants and weight of leaves (-14%).[...]Biochemijos katedraBotanikos sodasGamtos mokslų fakultetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslo centrasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVilniaus universitetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta