1,721,027 research outputs found
Valorization of Brassicaceae phytochemical diversity
No full textBrassicaceae include many important edible and economic plants which are commonly known as the “mustard“ plant family due to the sharp flavour of their typical sulphur metabolites, the glucosinolates (GLSs). Investigation of GLSs has shown that structural types are genera/species/cultivars specific distributed and the chemical profiles are often characterized by one or two major components [1]. In some cases, compositional analysis of GLSs could be used to define the taxonomic position of less known brassica plants. As an example, the study of the GLSs profile of a poorly studied cultivar of B. oleracea, traditionally cultivated in a restricted area in South Italy and locally known as “mugnolo”, allowed to obtain relevant information which permitted to classify it as B. oleracea var. italica [2]. The present communication will describe the phytochemical diversity of some Brassicaceae and highlight its implications on bioactivity. In fact, biological diversity of plants also relies on chemical diversity mainly based on their secondary metabolites which, in addition to ecological properties, may display important pharmacological activities. Based on our chemical and biological characterization of brassica food plants, discussion will include examples of rare and less studied species/cultivars of Brassicaceae which, due to the presence of certain phytochemicals, have an added value in the promotion of a good health
Glossy mutants of maize. IX. Chemistry of glossy-4, glossy-8, glossy-15 and glossy-18 surface waxes
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Agronomic evaluation and essential oil content of garlic (Allium sativum L.) ecotypes grown in Southern Italy.
No full textPlant biodiversity: phytochemicals and health
No full textAbstract Biodiversity may be defined as the variability
occuring among living organisms and affecting
all species of animals and plants, their genetics and
their environment. Biological diversity of plants also
relies on the chemical diversity deriving from their
specialized metabolites which possess a wide range of
different chemical structures as a result of plant
evolution. They are responsible for the plant ecological
properties and are required for the plant-environment
interactions. In addition, many of them display
important pharmacological properties. In the recent
years, the growing interest in using plant metabolites
to treat diseases in humans and animals and the high
request of health products originating from natural
sources rather than synthetic has revived the research
on plant biodiversity to identify new bioactive
molecules. Based on our studies on the chemical and
biological characterization of rare or less studied plant
species, the present paper aims to describe a selection
of botanical species with phytopharmaceutical importance
in order to highlight the chemical polymorphism
deriving from their biodiversity along with its implications
on bioactivity
Absence of long chain aldehydes in the wax of the Glossy II mutant of maize
No full textWax from the glll mutant of maize lacks aldehydes, which constitute 20 % in the normal genotype. The absence of aldehydes is not associated with a block in the synthesis of alcohols. Moreover in contrast to the wild type, glll wax is characterized by a higher content of C16 and C18 free acids, with a clear defect in the synthesis of C24, C26 and C28 homologues. The results from this study are taken as evidence that the wild type elongation-decarboxylation I (EDI) pathway, leading to the synthesis of all the wax classes of compounds except esters, may be split into an early (EDIa) and a late (EDIb) group of reactions. Mutant glll is apparently defective at the EDIa, governing the synthesis of C24-C28 fatty acyl chains. © 1985
Quality assessment of commercial spagyric tinctures of harpagophytum procumbens and their antioxidant properties
Full text linkPreparations from the dried tubers of Harpagophytum procumbens (Burch.) DC ex Meisn, commonly known as devil’s claw, are mainly used in modern medicine to relieve joint pain and inflammation in patients suffering from rheumatic and arthritic disorders. This paper describes for the first time the chemical profile of a commercial spagyric tincture (named 019) prepared from the roots of the plant. For comparison purposes, a commercial not-spagyric devil’s claw tincture (NST) was also analyzed. Chemical investigation of the content of specialized metabolites in the three samples indicated that harpagoside was the main compound, followed by the two isomers acteoside and isoacteoside. Compositional consistence over time was obtained by the chemical fingerprinting of another spagyric tincture (named 014) from the same producer that was already expired according to the recommendation on the label of the product. The two spagyric preparations did not show significant compositional differences as revealed by HPLC and MS analyses, except for a decrease in harpagide content in the expired 014 tincture. Moreover, their antioxidant capacities as assessed by 2,2’-di-phenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2.2’-azin-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) methods resulted in very similar IC50 values. The expired 014 tincture showed instead a lower IC50 value compared to the 019 and NST tinctures with the ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay, indicating a higher ferric-reducing antioxidant ability. Overall, these results indicated that the two preparations could generally maintain good stability and biological activity at least for the four years from the production to the expiration date
Differential response of phytoparasitic nematode species to essential oils
No full textEssential oils (EOs) has been widely reported for their biocidal activity on root-knot
nematodes and on the pine wilt nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, but only few have been
investigated on other nematode species. An in vitro study was conducted for a comparative
evaluation of effects of EOs from Artemisia herba-alba, Citrus sinensis, and Rosmarinus officinalis, as
well as of their main components (thujone, limonene, 1,8-cineole, -pinene and camphor) on three
phytonematode species with a different feeding and reproduction habitus, i.e. M. incognita, P. vulnus
and X. index. Infective juveniles of M. incognita, mixed stages of P. vulnus and adult females of
X. index were exposed for 24, 48 or 96 hours to 4, 10, 20 and 30 g mL-1 solutions of EOs or their
components and then checked for their mortality. Juveniles of M. incognita and females of X. index
resulted highly sensitive to the EOs of A. herba-alba and R. officinalis, but scarcely or poorly affected
by the EO of C. sinensis. In contrast, specimens of P. vulnus resulted less sensitive than M. incognita
and X. index to EOs of A. herba-alba and R. officinalis, but showed a higher sensitivity to C. sinensis
EO. In the assays on major EO components, activity of limonene was almost nil on all three nematode
species, as well as a limited mortality occurred also in -pinene solutions. Activity of thujone and
1,8-cineole was much higher on M. incognita than on P. vulnus and X. index, whereas all the three
nematode species were limitedly affected by camphor. The high nematicidal activity of tested EOs
and their large availability make them a potential source of new nematicides. As the activity of EOs’
components was never as high as that of the whole EOs, a synergistic action of the EO
multicomponent mixture may be hypothesized
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