Antioxidant and Anticancer Properties of Leaf and Fruit Extracts of the Wild Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.)

In this study the leaves and fruits of wild raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) populations from the central Balkan region were examined to determine the level of secondary metabolites and related antioxidant activity, as well as biological activity, upon existing ethnobotanical evidence, primarily linked to gastrointestinal disorders. The values obtained for total phenols ranged from 59.68 to 96.83 mg GA g-1 and 24.29 to 38.71 mg GA g-1 in leaf and fruit extracts, respectively. The highest values of tannins and anthocyanins were determined for leaf extracts from a population of east Serbia at a level of 1.27 mg mL-1 and 9.00 mg mL-1. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging capacity of the extracts on DPPH. Higher antioxidant activity was detected in the leaf extracts than in the fruit extracts. Leaf and fruit extract were the most effective against Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739). Anticancer activity was studied on a human colorectal cancer cell line HCT-116. Leaf extracts exhibited anticancer activity with IC50/24 h 162.38 μg mL-1 and IC50/48 h 95.69 μg mL-1. Wild raspberry leaf and fruit extracts contain numerous secondary metabolites providing marked antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity

Antimicrobial and antioxidative activity of various leaf extracts of Amphoricarpos vis. (Asteraceae) taxa

The antimicrobial and antioxidative activities of diethyl ether, 80% methanol and 50% acetone extracts of the leaves of three Amphoricarpos taxa: A. neumayerianus, A. autariatus ssp. autariatus and A. autariatus ssp. bertisceus (Asteraceae) from the Balkan Peninsula were investigated. The antimicrobial activity was determined by the broth microdilution assay against eight bacterial and eight fungal species. The in vitro antioxidative activity was assessed by the DPPH assay, The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also determined. The most sensitive bacterial species were Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. The best antibacterial potential was obtained for the methanol extract of A. neumayerianus, while the diethyl ether extract of tins species showed the lowest effect. In general, the tested extracts showed higher activity than the commercial antibiotics streptomycin and ampicillin. Also, all micromycetes were sensitive to the tested extracts. The most sensitive was Trichoderma viride. The highest and lowest antifungal effect was determined in A. a. sspo autariatus for the diethyl ether and acetone extracts, respectively. The highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined in the methanol extract of A. a. autariatus. The best antioxidative activity was shown by the methanol extract of A. a. ssp. autariatus as comparing to matching extracts from the other two taxa

Rhizome and root yield of the cultivated Arnica montana L., chemical composition and histochemical localization of essential oil

Arnica montana (L) is a medicinal plant whose flower heads are widely used for the topical treatment of bruises and sprains in phytopharmaceutical preparations. Despite being cultivated for flower heads production for a long time, the quantity and quality of its underground parts have not received much attention. In this study underground parts of a three-year cultivation trial have been estimated for yield potential and chemical composition of essential oil in two consecutive years. Yields of rhizome dry mass were about 208 kg ha(-1) and 647 kg ha(-1), and root dry mass were about 330 kg ha(-1) and 525 kg ha(-1) in the second and third year of growing period, respectively. The chemical composition of the essential oil from root and rhizome, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection and GC-mass spectrometry. At the end of second year essential oils from rhizome and root, yielded on average about 4.05% and 1.89%, and at the end of third year, they yielded 2.43% and 1.85%, respectively. The composition of essential oils was independent regarding cultivation trial factors with small differences regarding years. Aromatic hydrocarbons were predominant group of essential oil constituents (about 84% in average) and were identified as thymol derivates. Main individual components were 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene, thymol methyl ether and 2,6-diisopropylanisole. Furthermore, histochemical localization of essential oils in rhizome and root was carried out. Secretory structures responsible for essential oil synthesis and accumulation were studied using light, scanning and transmission microscopy. Secretory tissue is localized in the cortical region of the root and rhizome in form of idioblastic secretory cells and secretory cavities, respectively. Histochemical analyses confirmed the lipid nature of secreted material. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Effective Improvement of the Oxidative Stability of <i>Acer truncatum</i> Bunge Seed Oil, a New Woody Oil Food Resource, by Rosemary Extract

Acer truncatum Bunge is a versatile, oil-producing, woody tree natively and widely distributed in northern China. In 2011, The People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Health certified Acer truncatum seed oil (Aoil) as a new food resource. Unsaturated fatty acids account for up to 92% of the entire Aoil. When Aoil is processed or stored, it can easily oxidize. In this study, the effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extract on the oxidation stability of Aoil were analysed from multiple angles. The results of radical scavenging ability, malondialdehyde, and free fatty acid reveal that rosemary crude extract (RCE), rosmarinic acid (RA), and carnosic acid (CA) can significantly inhibit the oxidation of Aoil, and CA has the best oxidative stability for Aoil among the tested components of the crude rosemary. The delayed oxidation ability of CA for Aoil was slightly weaker than that of tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), but stronger than that of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and α-tocopherol (α-T), which was confirmed by microstructures, kinematic viscosity, Aoil weight change, and functional group. Additionally, CA-enriched Aoil had the smallest content of volatile lipid oxidation products. Moreover, lecithin-CA particles were added to enhance the oxidative stability of Aoil. These findings show that CA is a potent antioxidant, capable of successfully preventing Aoil oxidation

Unraveling the Phytochemical Profile Variability and Antioxidant Activities of Different Parts of Ammi visnaga (L) Collected from Taounate Region

Ammi visnaga is a very popular medicinal plant well known for its biological properties afforded by its dense chemical composition highly dependent on environmental factors. The present study was designed to examine the antioxidant potencies using four complementary assays (Total phenolic content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), dihydroxycinnamic acid derivative content (HCA), and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC)) as well as the phenolic profile of different parts of Moroccan Ammi visnaga. The obtained results showed that the flower extract registered the highest amount of TPC (49,71 ± 0,12 mg GAE/g) and antioxidant activity TAC (62.07 ± 2.98 mg AAE/g). Concerning the phenolic profile, the most abundant individual phenolic compounds found in high amounts are chlorogenic acid (56.03%, 11.23% and 32.29 for stem, leaves and flowers, respectively), isorhamnetin_3-O-rutinoside (17.86%, 12.16% and 19.01% for stem, leaves and flowers, respectively), isorhamnetin_3-O-glucoside (15.96%, 10.69%, 10.37% for stem, leaves and flowers, respectively), quercetin_3-O-glucoside (1.61%, 21.11% and 2.85% for stem, leaves and flowers, respectively), kaempferol_3-O-glucoside (1.04%, 3.17% and 7.40% for stem, leaves and flowers, respectively) and isorhamnetin (0.57% 7.59% and 2.77% for stem, leaves and flowers, respectively). The outcomes of this study showed that different parts of A. visnaga contain several bioactive compounds with unique biological properties, so the data required further validation using experimental models

Genetic diversity and relationships among species of the genus Thymus L. (section Serpyllum)

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to assess genetic relations of 32 Thymus populations belonging to seven species of genus Thymus, section Serpyllum, from Serbia. The collected species belong to three subsections: (1) Alternantes Klokov (Th. pulegioides L.), (2) Isolepides (Borbas) Halacsy (Th. glabrescens Wind.. Th. marschallianus Willd., Th. pannonicus All.), and (3) Pseudo-marginati (Braun ex Borbas) Jalas (Th. balcanus Borbas, Th. moesiacus Velen., Th. praecox Opiz). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most of the genetic diversity was attributable to differences among individuals within populations, while the remaining variability was almost equally distributed among species and among populations within species. The pairwise AMOVA analyses further showed that species differentiation was significant in all cases, except between Th. marschallianus and Th. pannonicus. All the individuals belonging to Th. pulegioides (subsection Alternantes) formed a well-supported clade, the most divergent from all other species in this study. This genetic differentiation of Th. pulegioides is supported by its morphological features because it is the only analyzed taxon having hairs only on the stem edges, and can easily be recognized by this character. According to our results, the subsection Isolepides is polyphyletic. Th. glabrescens is clearly separated from the other two species of this subsection (Th. marschallianus, Th. pannonicus). Although morphologically distinguishable by leaf indumentum, individuals belonging to Th. marschallianus and Th. pannonicus could not be differentiated at the molecular level. The species belonging to subsection Pseudomarginati formed a monophyletic clade, although not supported by high bootstrap value. The clade is further divided into three well-supported clades representing distinct species (Th. balcanus, Th. praecox and Th. moesiacus). In our study, the AFLP markers demonstrated that they could be suitable for studying complex genetic relationships, including frequent interspecies hybridization events, although strict reticulate evolutionary history could not be determined. All the population genetic parameters in the section Serpyllum suggest that the reproductive incompatibility between the species is very weak, which indicates a strong reticulating system, especially in the case when two or more species occur sympatrically

Weed and Weeding Effects on Medicinal Herbs

Competition with weeds exerts significant depressive effects on yield and quality features of Medicinal Plants (MPs). According to the crop, the part of plant to be harvested, the environmental features (including cropping technique) and the severity of infestation, yield losses due to the presence of weeds may vary within wide intervals. Furthermore, unlike the majority of other crops, MPs are cultivated with the goal to obtain relevant quantities of specific secondary metabolites, whose final quantity determines the quality level (and, consequently, the market value) of the harvested drug. Almost all papers addressed to this topic agree on the statement that unrestricted weed growth may alter MP production also from the qualitative point of view, that is, determining an overall decrease in the yield of active substances for unit area. In part, this outcome can be attributed to the general decrease of harvestable biomass, but in some cases also modifications of crop metabolic pathways have been observed, resulting in a general unpredictability of the chemical characteristics of the product obtained in weedy fields. Competition with weeds may assume a different severity according to the time and duration of competition period. In the starting phases of cultivation, the outcome of an early weed infestation is expected to be severe, since very often weeds grow much faster than crops. The maximum tolerance period, i.e. the period when weeding operations must be started, varies according to the tolerated loss values, and in annual crops the time span when fields must be kept totally weed-free may cover more than 60% of the entire crop cycle. The tools that are used for weeds removal may affect MPs production in many ways. Chemical treatments have been studied with contrasting results, but an interference of herbicides with the metabolism of secondary products was found in some cases. Furthermore, the interest in growing MPs with organic or environmentally friendly methods is increasing. Hence, besides the traditional (and highly expensive) method of hand-weeding, other non-chemical methods are studied, including mechanical treatments, mulching, flaming, and even grazing by goats or lambs. There is scope for further research, embracing a larger number of MPs and different environments, also including the effects of weeds on MPs metabolic pathways

sPlot:a new tool for global vegetation analyses

Abstract Aims: Vegetation‐plot records provide information on the presence and cover or abundance of plants co‐occurring in the same community. Vegetation‐plot data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies and biodiversity research centers and, thus, are rarely accessible at continental or global scales. Here we present the sPlot database, which collates vegetation plots worldwide to allow for the exploration of global patterns in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity at the plant community level. Results: sPlot version 2.1 contains records from 1,121,244 vegetation plots, which comprise 23,586,216 records of plant species and their relative cover or abundance in plots collected worldwide between 1885 and 2015. We complemented the information for each plot by retrieving climate and soil conditions and the biogeographic context (e.g., biomes) from external sources, and by calculating community‐weighted means and variances of traits using gap‐filled data from the global plant trait database TRY. Moreover, we created a phylogenetic tree for 50,167 out of the 54,519 species identified in the plots. We present the first maps of global patterns of community richness and community‐weighted means of key traits. Conclusions: The availability of vegetation plot data in sPlot offers new avenues for vegetation analysis at the global scale