Local plants as potential sources of tannins in Egypt. Part VI (Moraceae to Rosaceae)

This study is a continuation of the previous parts and also deals with the colour tests, free sugars and phenolic aglycones of thirty four plants, ranging from the familyMoraceae toRosaceae, with the aim of identifying the type of tannins present.

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Zusammenfassung Diese Arbeit ist eine Weiterführung der vorangegangenen Mitteilungen und befaßt sich ebenfalls mit Farbreaktionen, freien Zuckern und phenolischen Aglykonen von weiteren 34 Pflanzen (Morraceae bis Rosaceae) mit dem Ziel, den Typ des jeweils vorliegenden Tannins zu identifizieren.

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Resume Suite du travail précédent. Réactions colorées, sucres libres, aglycones phénoliques de 34 autres espèces végétales (Moracées à Rosacées). Essai d'identification des tannins présents dans chaque échantillon.

     

Is nitric oxide a hormone?

Nitric oxide (NO) is a simple ubiquitous signaling molecule and plays important roles in almost every biological system. Recent evidences suggest that NO may act as an endocrine molecule. The aim of this review is considering available literature on endocrine roles of NO and/or its metabolites, i.e. nitrite and nitrate. Existing data suggest the idea that NO is a hormone that after production in tissues, it is stabilized and transported as nitrite and/or S-nitrosothiols in the blood to target cells.     

Local plants as potential sources of tannins in Egypt,part. IV (Aceraceae to Flacourtiaceae)

Continuing a previous study, the leaves and barks of thirty one plants collected from the botanical gardens in Cairo, were subjected to detailed studies with the aim of identifying the type of tannins present in each plant. The study included colour tests and paper chromatography of both the free sugars and phenolic aglycones. The plants recorded here are those ranging fromAceraceae toFlacourtiaceae.

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Zusammenfassung In Fortsetzung dieser Reihe wurden die Blätter- und Rindermaterialien von 31 Pflanzen, gesammelt aus den botanischen Gärten in Kairo, auf ihre Gerbstoffe untersucht. Mit Hilfe der Papierchromatographie wurden sowohl die freien Zucker als auch die phenolischen Komponenten dieser Pflanzen identifiziert.In dieser Mitteilung wurden die Untersuchungsergebnisse der Pflanzen der Familien Aceraceae bis Flacourtiaceae gegeben.

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Résumé En poursuivant nos études précédentes, les feuilles et les écorses de 31 plantes cueillies dans les jardins de Caire, ont été soumises à des études détaillées. En vue d'identifier le type des tannins présent dans chaque plante, les études contenaient des expériments par chromatographie sur papier concernant les sucres natifs et les aglycones phénoliques. Les plantes qui ont été rapportées ici sont celles des familles Aceraceae à Flacourtiaceae.

     

Neopestalotiopsis clavispora and Pseudopestalotiopsis camelliae-sinensis causing grey blight disease of tea (Camellia sinensis) in Malaysia

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a popular and extensively consumed beverage in Malaysia along with many other countries around the world. Grey blight is one of the...     

Evaluating long-term annual sediment yield estimating potential of GIS interfaced MUSLE model on two micro-watersheds

Use of an event scale MUSLE model for obtaining accurate long-term annual sediment yield estimates from micro-watersheds was evaluated. Such estimates are extremely important for designing appropriate soil/water conserving measures. For easy extraction and inputting of model input parameters, the proposed model was interfaced to an Arc-View/Spatial Analyst geographic information system. Application of this GIS interfaced MUSLE model on two gauged (pine and oak forest) hilly micro-watersheds viz., Salla Rautella (0.47 km2) and Naula (0.42 km2), in Almora district of Uttaranchal, India showed that it could estimate annual sediment yields with absolute mean relative errors ranging between 12-14%. Even long-term average sediment yields for Salla Rautella (observed: 9.58 tons and estimated: 10.92 tons) and Naula: (Observed: 23.89 tons and estimated: 26.61 tons) micro-watersheds could be quite realistically simulated by the proposed model.     

Therapeutic Intervention with Dietary Chitosan Nanoparticles Alleviates Fish Pathological and Molecular Systemic Inflammatory Responses against Infections

Marine bio-sourced chitosan nanoparticles (CSNP) are antimicrobial and immunomodulatory agents beneficial for fish medicine. Herein, dietary CSNP was investigated for the amelioration of the systemic inflammatory responses of an induced fish model. One hundred and forty-four rainbow trout were assigned to one pathogen-free and non-supplemented group (negative control), and three challenged groups: non-supplemented (positive control), CSNP-preventive, and CSNP-therapeutic. After a feeding experiment extended for 21 days, the organosomatic indices (OSI) and molecular aspects were assessed. After a challenge experiment extended for further 28 days, CSNP-therapeutic intervention was assessed on fish survival and systemic inflammatory responses on pathology, histo-morphology, and molecular aspects. With CSNP administration, OSI nonsignificantly decreased and the relative expression of targeted inflammatory-mediator genes was significantly increased. The CSNP-therapeutic fish showed an RPS of 80% as compared to the positive control group, and CSNP-therapeutic administration retained the highest gene expression augmentation up to 28 days after the challenge. Notably, the splenic reticulin fibers framework of the CSNP-therapeutic group retained the highest integrity among the groups during the infection. After recovery, reticulin fibers density in the CSNP-therapeutic samples was significantly higher than in the negative control group, which indicates high innate immunity. Thus, CSNP showed promising biotherapeutic features enhancing fish resistance against infections.     

Alpha‐lipoic acid: An inimitable feed supplement for poultry nutrition

Alpha‐lipoic acid (ALA) is a multifunction antioxidant that is produced in small amount by cells as well as its dietary provision facilitates fatty acid mobilization, energy expenditure as well as can scavenge free radicals in poultry birds. It exists in oxidized as well as reduced form, characterized by growth promoting, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidative, immunostimulatory, and hypocholesterolemic properties when fed as dietary supplement to farm animals particularly chicken birds. Recently, several studies reported that dietary supplementation of ALA can influence growth performance indicators, immunological, biochemical characteristics, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress as well as increase antioxidant potential and storability of poultry meat and meat products. Accordingly, this paper adds the reviews and discusses the outcomes of studies documenting the effect of lipoic acid dietary fortification on growth performance, biochemical, and immunological characteristics as well as the effects on lipid peroxidation of fresh meat and meat‐based products. Furthermore, this paper also describes the possibilities of utilization of ALA as a feed additive in poultry nutrition to improve the growth performance of poultry as well as meat quality of resultant chicken birds.     

Effect of Ozone Treatment on Cultures of Nannochloropsis oculata, Isochrysis galbana, and Chaetoceros gracilis

This research evaluated ozone treatment of three unicellular algal species commonly used in the culture of marine larvae. Isochrvsis galbana and Nannochloropsis oculata were found to be resistant to total residual oxidants (TRO); whereas, Chaetoceros gracilis was relatively sensitive to TRO. Isochrvsis galbana remained in log-phase growth after treatment with 0.05 mg/L to 0.50 mg/L TRO, and N. oculata exhibited strong growth after being exposed to TRO levels up to 0.67 mg/L. Only TRO levels of 0.92 mg/L and 0.90 tng/L reduced cell counts of N. oculata and I. galbana , respectively. Furthermore, algal cultures having higher concentrations at the time of ozone treatment may respond more favorably to the treatment. Initially, C. gracilis was reduced in cell count at TRO levels above 0.06 mg/L, but log-phase growth was resumed 2 d after exposure to TRO levels as high as 0.31 mg/L. It is concluded that I. galbana and N. oculata can be successfully treated with ozone in the mass production stages without hampering the timely production of concentrated cultures. Although C. gracilis was found to be relatively sensitive, ozone treatment of starter cultures can be performed routinely with this species. We have demonstrated that ozone treatment of algal cultures is a feasible technique, but studies need to be conducted on ozone treatment of other species of unicellular algae and on ozone treatment of varying concentrations of algae in order to enhance the applications of this technique. Also, in order to determine the extent of disinfection of algal cultures, bacterial and viral composition of the cultures should be evaluated in future studies.     

Quercetin triglycoside from Capparis spinosa.

In addition to rutin, quercetin 3-O-glucoside and quercetin 3-O-glucoside-7-O-rhamnoside, the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Capparis spinosa yielded the new flavonoid quercetin 3-O-[6'"-alpha-L-rhamnosyl-6"-beta-D-glucosyl]-beta-D-glucoside (1).     

Evaluation of microbial and chemical insecticides for the control ofSpodoptera exigua (Lep., Noctuidae) on soybean plants

Field experiments have been carried out to evaluate the potency of the biological control agentBacillus thuringiensis (Dipel), the pyrethroid Fenvalerate and their combinations for the control of the lesser cotton leafwormSpodoptera exigua on soybeans in Qualubia governorate. Molasses was combined with all treatments to enhance their effectiveness. One spray application with either Dipel or Fenvalerate showed an obvious reduction in larval counts ofS. exigua, associated with a significant increase in the crop yield but in varying degrees, in correlation with the tested dose. Treatments with combinations of both biological and chemical insecticides at the lowest tested doses (62 g ofB. t. +50 ml of Fenvalerate/feddan) showed to be highly potential, and caused 2.8 fold increase in the crop yield. It may be recommended that a combination of both preparations may be used for the control ofS. exigua.