1,083 research outputs found
Biotic and Abiotic Stressors in Plant Metabolism
No full textPlants are subject to a variety of biotic and abiotic stress that affect their metabolism, physiology, morphology, and growth [...
Editorial: Pathoblockers and antivirulence agents of plant-origin for the management of multidrug resistant pathogens
No full textMission & scope. Frontiers in Microbiology is a leading journal in its field, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research across the entire spectrum of microbiology. Field Chief Editor Paul D. Cotter at Teagasc Food Research Centre is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide
Introduction by Manuela Gieri
No full textIn the introduction to the volume, the author outlines the development of Italian cinema from its early days to the present
Plant Secondary Metabolites: An Opportunity for Circular Economy
No full textMoving toward a more sustainable development, a pivotal role is played by circular economy and a smarter waste management. Industrial wastes from plants offer a wide spectrum of possibilities for their valorization, still being enriched in high added-value molecules, such as secondary metabolites (SMs). The current review provides an overview of the most common SM classes (chemical structures, classification, biological activities) present in different plant waste/by-products and their potential use in various fields. A bibliographic survey was carried out, taking into account 99 research articles (from 2006 to 2020), summarizing all the information about waste type, its plant source, industrial sector of provenience, contained SMs, reported bioactivities, and proposals for its valorization. This survey highlighted that a great deal of the current publications are focused on the exploitation of plant wastes in human healthcare and food (including cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food additives). However, as summarized in this review, plant SMs also possess an enormous potential for further uses. Accordingly, an increasing number of investigations on neglected plant matrices and their use in areas such as veterinary science or agriculture are expected, considering also the need to implement "greener" practices in the latter sector
Phytochemical Profile and In Vitro Bioactivities of Plant-Based By-Products in View of a Potential Reuse and Valorization
No full textWastes and by-products of plant origin are of particular interest to develop a circular economy approach, which attempts to turn them into resources. In this work, thirty-seven neglected plant matrices, including agricultural residues, pest plants, and by-products from the herbal and food industry were extracted and tested for their in vitro anti-tyrosinase, antioxidant, and antibacterial activity against the phytopathogens Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae ATCC 19310 and Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskense ATCC 27822. Antioxidant activity ranged from 0.3 to 5 mg of Tr. eq/mL of plant extract, and extract of Castanea sativa pericarp (Csp), Rosa damascena buds (post-distillation) (Rod), and Prunus amygdalus exocarp and mesocarp (Pam) were the most powerful ones. Csp was also capable of inhibiting tyrosinase (IC50 = 16.5 µg/mL), as well as three distillation by-products, namely: Cupressus sempervirens (Css) (IC50 = 95.5 µg/mL), Salvia officinalis (Sco) (IC50 = 87.6 µg/mL), and Helichrysum italicum (Hei) (IC50 = 90.1 µg/mL). Five residues from distillation showed antibacterial activity against C. michiganensis (MICs ranging from 0.125 to 1 mg/mL), namely: Salvia sclarea L. (Sas), Salvia rosmarinus Schleid (Sar), Sco, Hei, and Css. The 1H NMR fingerprinting of the bioactive matrices was acquired, detecting primary and secondary metabolites (rosmarinic acid, shikimic acid, sclareol, and hydroxycinnamic acids)
Attenuation of neuroinflammation in microglia cells by extracts with high content of rosmarinic acid from in vitro cultured Melissa officinalis L. cells
No full textPlant cell culture is a biotechnology cultivation method that permit to cultivate plants in a short period of time and to obtain extracts with a high degree of standardization and high safety profile. The aim of our study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activity of a standardized Melissa officinalis L. phytocomplex extract (MD) obtained with an in vitro plant cell culture. The MD has been chemically characterized and the content of total polyphenols was 5.17± 0.1% w/w, with a content of rosmarinic acid (RA), its main constituent, of 4.02± 0.1% w/w. MD was tested in an in vitro model of neuroinflammation, in which microglia cells (BV2) were stimulated with Lipopolysaccharides (LPS; 250 ng/mL) for 24 h and its pharmacological activity was compared with that of RA. MD (10 μg/mL) and RA (0.4 μg/ml) reduced pro-inflammatory factors (NF-kB, HDAC, IL-1ß) in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells and counteracted the toxic effect produced by activated microglia medium on neuronal cells. This work shows the efficacy of MD on reducing microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and promoting neuroprotection, highlighting the innovative use of in vitro plant cell cultures to obtain contaminant-free extracts endowed with marked activity and improved quali-quantitative ratio in the constituents’ content
Metabolomic Study of Dactylis glomerata Growing on Aeolian Archipelago (Italy)
No full textThe Aeolian Islands (Italy) are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea comprising seven main islands, among which are two active volcanoes. The peculiar geological features and the wide variety of environments and soils have an important impact on native plants, and in particular, the Aeolian populations of Dactylis glomerata (a perennial cool-season bunchgrass) exhibit remarkable phenotypic variability. Considering that environmental drivers also strongly affect the production of plant metabolites, this work aimed at comparing the metabolomic profiles of D. glomerata (leaves) harvested at different altitudes on four islands of the Aeolian archipelago, namely: Lipari, Vulcano, Stromboli and Panarea. Samples were analyzed by (1)H NMR profiling, and data were treated by PCA. Samples collected on Stromboli were very different from each other and from the samples collected in the other islands. Through an Orthogonal Partial Least Squares (OPLS) model, using altitude as the y variable, it emerged that the concentration of proline, glycine betaine, sucrose, glucose and chlorogenic acid of D. glomerata growing on Stromboli decreased at increasing altitude. Conversely, increasing altitude was associated with an increment in valine, asparagine, fumaric acid and phenylalanine
Identification of a Collagenase-Inhibiting Flavonoid from Alchemilla vulgaris Using NMR-Based Metabolomics
No full textThis paper describes the use of1H NMR profiling and chemometrics in order to facilitate the selection of medicinal plants as potential sources of collagenase inhibitors. A total of 49 plants with reported ethnobotanical uses, such as the healing of wounds and burns, treatment of skin-related diseases, rheumatism, arthritis, and bone diseases, were initially chosen as potential candidates. The in vitro collagenase inhibitory activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of these plants was tested. Moreover, their phytochemical profiles were analyzed by1H NMR and combined with the inhibitory activity data by an orthogonal partial least squares model. The results showed a correlation between the bioactivity and the concentration of phenolics, including flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, and tannins, in the extracts. Considering the eventual false-positive effect on the bioactivity given by tannins, a tannin removal procedure was performed on the most active extracts. After this procedure, Alchemilla vulgaris was the most persistently active, proving to owe its activity to compounds other than tannins. Thus, this plant was selected as the most promising and further investigated through bioassay-guided fractionation, which resulted in the isolation of a flavonoid, quercetin-3- O - β -glucuronide, as confirmed by NMR and HRMS spectra. This compound showed not only a higher activity than other flavonoids with the same aglycone moiety, but was also higher than doxycycline (positive control), the only Federal Drug Administration-approved collagenase inhibitor. The approach employed in this study, namely the integration of metabolomics and bioactivity-guided fractionation, showed great potential as a tool for plant selection and identification of bioactive compounds in natural product research
Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. extract inhibits the early step of herpes simplex type 1 and type 2 replication
No full textHerpes simplex virus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) cause several clinically relevant syndromes in both adults and neonates. Despite the availability of efficient anti-HSV agents, the search for new therapeutic approaches is highly encouraged due to the increasing drug resistance of virus strains. Medicinal plants represent a source of potential bioactive compounds. In this context we evaluated the anti-herpetic activity of Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br., a plant widely used in traditional Indian medicine. The hydroalcoholic extract prepared from roots was characterized by NMR and HPLC analysis and assayed in vitro by CPE reduction and virus infectivity assays to define its anti-viral effect. The extract's mechanism of action was investigated by virucidal and time-of-addition assays and by in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory assay. The extract exhibited a remarkable anti-herpetic activity at 100 mg/mL, at non-cytotoxic concentration, through multiple mechanisms: it reduced the infectivity of viral particles released from infected cells possibly through its anti-ER α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and it inhibited the beginning stage of HSV infection acting as a virucide agent and/or preventing virus attachment to the host cell surface
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