Activity of spinosad on stored-tobacco insects and persistence on cured tobacco stripst

Every year raw tobacco and manufactured tobacco products are lost to two major storage pests, the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (F) and the tobacco moth, Ephestia elutella (Hiibner). Post-harvest management of both insects is achieved through sanitation, insect monitoring and fumigation with phosphine. However, insect resistance to phosphine and control failures have been reported, and fumigants are under constant regulatory pressure. Here we report the evaluation of spinosad, a bioinsecticide derived from the fermentation of the soil micro-organism Saccharopolyspora spinosa Mertz & Yao. Spinosad was first registered in 1997 and is now widely used as a field pest control agent on many crops, including tobacco. The insecticidal activity of the fermentation product (technical spinosad, TS) was measured by diet incorporation assays against L serricorne and E elutella larvae. Mortality levels were determined on newly hatched larvae and over the whole insect life cycle. For both species, no emergence of adult insects was observed in cured tobacco sprayed with 50mg TS kg(-1) and inoculated with eggs or newly hatched larvae. These results indicated that spinosad has potential for the control of both species in stored tobacco, since 100% control of both pests could be achieved at 50 mg TS kg(-1), and with almost full control (90-95%) at 10 mg kg(-1). We also monitored the stability of the product on cured tobacco. The original concentration of the main active component of TS, spinosyn A, did not change significantly over 18 months, indicating no loss of spinosad during a typical leaf storage period of time. Bioassays against larvae confirmed that the bioinsecticidal activity of spinosad was retained.     

Induction of flavonoid production by UV-B radiation in Passiflora quadrangularis callus cultures

Callus cultures from several species of Passiflora were initiated in vitro, and their capacity to produce four glycosyl flavonoids (orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, isovitexin) was analysed. The aim of the present work was to examine the possible role of UV-B irradiation and elicitation with methyl jasmonate (MJ) on the production of these compounds in callus cultures. All the species tested (P. incarnata, P. quadrangularis, P. edulis) formed friable callus from leaf explants after 4 weeks on medium supplemented with kinetin and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Among them, P. quadrangularis turned out to have a faster growth rate and a more friable texture, and was therefore chosen for experiments with elicitors. In callus cultures only small amounts of isoorientin were found, while the concentration of the other flavonoids was below the detection limit. UV-B irradiation of calluses was able to increase the production of all four glycosyl flavonoids. After a 7-day exposure of cultures to UV-B light, the production of isoorientin reached concentrations similar to those found in fresh leaves from glasshouse-grown plants. Elicitation with methyl jasmonate also enhanced orientin, vitexin and isovitexin concentrations, even though the stimulation was about 6-fold weaker for orientin and vitexin and about 40-fold for isovitexin, than that exerted by UV-B treatment. Callus cultures treated with the UV-B dose which most enhanced flavonoid production showed a higher antioxidant activity compared to untreated calluses, with an increase ranging from 28% to 76%. Results show that the secondary metabolite biosynthetic capacity of Passiflora tissue cultures can be enhanced by appropriate forms of elicitation.     

Irbic acid, a dicaffeoylquinic acid derivative from Centella asiatica cell cultures

3,5-O-dicaffeoyl-4-O-malonilquinic acid (1) (irbic acid) has been isolated for the first time from cell cultures of Centella asiatica and till now it has never been reported to be present in the intact plant. Evidence of its structure was obtained by spectroscopic analyses (MS/NMR). Besides 1, cell cultures produce also the known 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid, chlorogenic acid, and the triferulic acid 2 (4-O-8′/4′-O-8″-didehydrotriferulic acid). Biological activities were evaluated for compound 1, which showed to have a strong radical scavenging capacity, together with a high inhibitory activity on collagenase. This suggests a possible utilization of this substance as a topical agent to reduce the skin ageing process.     

Antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of wild, edible, and medicinal fennel from different Mediterranean countries

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is a typical aromatic plant of the Mediterranean area, long used as a medicinal and spice herb. Fennel is also well-known for its essential oil, which has been extensively studied for many years owing to its commercial importance. In this work, the antioxidant activity and the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as the quantitative determination of individual flavonoids and phenolic acids of wild, edible, and medicinal fennel from different Mediterranean countries, have been determined. The antioxidant activity was measured as the free radical (DPPH), hydroxyl radical, and superoxide anion scavenging activities. Wild fennel was found to exhibit a radical scavenging activity, as well as a total phenolic and total flavonoid content, higher than those of both medicinal and edible fennels.     

Looking for prognosticators in ovine anaplasmosis: discriminant analysis of clinical and haematological parameters in lambs belonging to differently susceptible breeds experimentally infected with Anaplasma ovis

Background

A study was carried out to evaluate the response of different native sheep breeds to experimental infection with Anaplasma ovis, the most prevalent sheep tick-borne pathogen in Apulia (Southern Italy). Thirty-four lambs belonging to a Northern European breed (Suffolk) and two Southern Italian breeds (Comisana and Altamurana) were infected. Eleven clinical as well as haematological parameters were monitored at different temporal resolutions on the same subjects before and after the infection, resulting in a data set of 435 observations. The present work, aiming to further the research, presents the results of a multivariate analysis carried out to identify which parameters out of the eleven considered are the most reliable parameters to be considered as markers of the disease phenotype as well as prognosticators of practical clinical importance.

Results

Data were analysed by discriminant analysis. Out of the eleven considered variables (red blood cells, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin content, haemoglobin concentration, white blood cells, neutrophils, leukocytes, platelets, rectal temperature), only seven were included in the step-wise model since significantly increasing the Mahlanobis distance between the two closest groups. Both discriminant functions resulted to be highly significant (P < 0.0001) and the percentage of variation accounted for by the first discriminant function was 63.6% of the variance in the grouping variable.

Conclusions

Taken together, the observed results stress the marked differentiation among the three breeds in terms of physio-pathological phenotypes indicating packed cell volume and red blood cell count as the most informative parameters in the routine clinical practice for A. ovis infection in sheep.     

Stimulation of nicotine demethylation by NaHCO(3) treatment using greenhouse-grown burley tobacco

Experiments were conducted in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) to investigate the effect of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO(3)) on the conversion of nicotine to nornicotine, a secondary alkaloid that can form the tobacco-specific nitrosamine N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN). The results showed that, under optimum conditions, NaHCO(3) stimulated nicotine conversion in converter plants to the maximum level predetermined by the genetic background. The conversion level in NaHCO(3)-treated leaves was 2-3 times higher than that in control leaves. For young seedlings the optimum concentration of sodium bicarbonate was 0.8% aqueous solution, and for adult plants the optimum concentration was 1%. Lower concentrations resulted in partial stimulation, whereas higher concentration damaged leaf tissue and resulted in a lower conversion level. Studies with different temperatures (from 22 to 43 degrees C) showed that 37 degrees C was optimal. This temperature allowed the least amount of time, 2-3 days for mature leaves and 4-6 days for green leaves, for the major converters to reach >95% of nicotine conversion. An examination of leaves from different growth stages and stalk positions showed that the amount of time needed for conversion was longer for young leaves and shorter for mature leaves. Treatment of leaves with NaHCO(3) affords a rapid and convenient means of identifying and removing nornicotine converter plants during growth in the greenhouse or field.