Anthocyanin composition and antioxidant activity of the Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) and other berries

The anthocyanin composition and antioxidant activity of the crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum) were studied. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with a diode array detector and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry were used for identification and quantification of individual anthocyanins. Freeze-dried crowberry powder was extracted with 80% methanol containing 0.5% acetic acid and subjected to HPLC. Thirteen kinds of anthocyanins were identified. The major anthocyanins were cyanidin-3-galactoside and delphinidin-3-galactoside, at 8.04 and 8.62 mg/g extract, respectively. The HPLC profile of crowberry extract was similar to bilberry and blueberry. The total content of anthocyanins in crowberry was 41.8 mg/g extract, higher than the other nine major berry species (2.5-38.8 mg/g extract). The antioxidant activity was also evaluated using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethybenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical quenching assays and the ferric reducing activity power assy. Crowberry extract exerted the strongest antioxidant activity. In conclusion, individual anthocyanins in crowberry were identified and then quantified in this study. Additionally, crowberry is suggested to be associated with a reduction in the risk of developing chronic diseases because of its strong antioxidant activity.     

Difference in ultraweak photon emissions between sulfonylurea-resistant and sulfonylurea-susceptible biotypes of Scirpus juncoides following the application of a sulfonylurea herbicide

We examined the ultraweak photon emissions from a paddy weed, Scirpus juncoides , to assess the availability of photon emissions for the identification of weed biotypes resistant to sulfonylurea herbicides. The emission intensity from the plant organs increased when treated with a sulfonylurea herbicide in a concentration-dependent manner. The increment in emissions was higher in the sulfonylurea-resistant biotypes than in the sulfonylurea-susceptible biotypes. The difference between the biotypes was greater in the culms than in the roots and remained so through the vegetative growth stage to the flowering stage. This difference was independent of the seed source or mutations in the acetolactate synthase genes of the resistant biotypes. These results suggest that the determination of ultraweak photon emissions can be a useful method for identifying the sulfonylurea-resistant biotypes of S. juncoides.     

Screening of weed extracts for antifungal properties against Colletotrichum lagenarium,the causal agent of anthracnose in cucumber

The antifungal activity of the leaf extracts from 203 weed species was investigated by performing a bioassay using cucumber plants and Colletotrichum orbiculare. The leaf extracts from four families, namely, Urticaceae, Onagraceae, Commelinaceae, and Solanaceae, showed a relatively stronger inhibition of the anthracnose lesions in cucumber plants when compared with the other families investigated in the study. A remarkable inhibition of anthracnose infection in cucumber leaves was observed with the extracts from the following 19 weed species: Boehmeria nipononivea and Boehmeria longispica, Persicaria scabra, Ranunculus japonicus and Ranunculus sceleratus, Cardamine flexuosa, Oenothera biennis, Aeschynomene indica, Indigofera pseudo‐tinctoria, Torilis scabra, Calystegia japonica, Solanum americanum, Bidens pilosa, Gnaphalium japonicum, Kalimeris yomena, Bromus catharticus, Cynodon dactylon, Alopecurus aequalis, and Scirpus tabernaemontani. In particular, it is noteworthy that the extracts from C. dactylon, K. yomena, and S. americanum completely inhibited anthracnose infection in cucumber.     

新入侵害虫螺旋粉虱的田间药效试验及防效

螺旋粉虱(Aleurodicus disperses Russell)是新入侵我国海南省的l种外来有害生物,对农业生产和生态环境具有较大危害性.田间防治研究结果表明:10%(质量分数,以下各农药浓度均为质量分数)联苯菊酯乳油、10%高效灭百可乳油、4.5%高效氯氰菊酯乳油等3种菊酯类杀虫剂对螺旋粉虱均表现出良好的速效性和持效性,其中又以10%高效灭百可乳油防效最高,为98.32%～100%;40%乐果乳油、30%敌百虫乳油和40%乙酰甲胺磷乳油等3种有机磷类农药的防效以40%乙酰甲胺磷乳油较好,但都低于上述3种菊酯类农药的防效;98%巴丹粉剂速效性较好,持效性较低;18%杀虫双水剂的速效性和持效性均较差.     

Two forms of cytochrome P450 cDNA from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated European eel Anguilla anguilla

ABSTRACT:     The cytochrome P450 (CYP) represents a large group of microsomal monooxygenases that catalyze drugs as well as a host of lethal environmental contaminants such as dioxins, leading to either detoxification and excretion from the animal or generation of carcinogenic intermediates. In the present study two forms of cDNA were cloned (Eu MC1 and Eu MC2) for European eel CYP1A genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. The cDNA of Eu MC1 was 3368 bp long coding 521 amino acid residues, and that of Eu MC2 was 2464 bp long coding 517 amino acid residues. Identities of deduced amino acid sequences between Eu MC1 and Japanese eel CYP1A1 and that between Eu MC2 and the second form of Japanese eel CYP1A were 98% and 97%, respectively, showing decisively that Eu MC1 and Eu MC2 are orthologous to Japanese eel CYP1A1 and the second form of CYP1A, respectively. A striking difference between the two eel species was that the Eu MC1 peptide was two amino acid residues longer than that of the Japanese eel CYP1A1. Existence of two loci of CYP1A in Japanese and European eels may suggest that the two forms of CYP1A exist widely among the eel species, because the divergence between the two eel species has been shown to be close to the basal divergence among eels. The identities in CYP1A may help to estimate genetic distance between European and Japanese eels.     

The evaluation of the curd forming ability of milk replacers

Inadequate milk curd formation in the abomasum of newborn calves causes malnutrition and diarrhea. In order to define the factors of inadequate curd formation, we compared the curd forming ability among 9 kinds of milk replacers, bulk milk (raw milk), and skim milk both in vitro and in vivo . When rennet was added, the raw milk and one milk replacer formed firm curds. The rest of the milk replacers and skim milk did not form any curd. When a solution of HCl was added, raw milk, three milk replacers and skim milk formed the curd at pH 4.5, but the other milk replacers did not. When HCl was added following the rennet, raw milk, one milk replacer and skim milk formed the curd. In vivo , raw milk, two milk replacers and skim milk showed good curd formation whereas the other milk replacers showed poor curd formation inside the abomasums of the calves. This study showed that most of the milk replacers sold in Japan could not form the curd with rennet.     

Isoenzyme polymorphism and segregation in isolates of Phytophthora infestans from Japan

Isoenzyme variation of 198 isolates of Phytophthora infestans collected from many locations in Japan during 1987–90, and of four pre-1987 isolates, was examined using starch gel electrophoresis. A previously unreported allele at malic isoenzyme locus/ME (90) was observed. An association between mating types and isoenzyme genotypes at three isoenzyme loci, glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI-1), peptidase (PEP-1) and ME, was found. At PEP-1, the A2 isolates from Japan had a previously unreported genotype (96/96). Normal segregation at the malic isoenzyme locus occurred in a cross of Japanese and Mexican parents. The results provide evidence of a change in the population genetic structure of P. infestans in Japan.