Article
Plant Sciences
Vanya Rangelov Kozhuharov, Kalin Ivanov, Stanislava Ivanova
Summary: This study identified plants containing higenamine through literature search and highlighted their widespread use in Eastern folk medicine with numerous health benefits. Professional athletes may unknowingly consume these plants, so they should avoid consuming higenamine-containing plants during and outside of competition periods.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emilio Corti, Sara Falsini, Cristina Gonnelli, Giuseppe Pieraccini, Besiana Nako, Alessio Papini
Summary: Soil salinity negatively impacts agricultural products, affecting their quality, yield, and aesthetic traits. This study investigates the potential use of salt-affected vegetables as a source of nutraceuticals. The experiment reveals that salt levels higher than 68 mM render rocket plants non-compliant with EU regulations, making them waste products. However, the study also finds a significant increase in glucosinolates levels in these salt-affected plants, which presents an opportunity for recycling them as a source of this bioactive compound. Additionally, at 34 mM NaCl, rocket plants not only maintain their aesthetic traits but also show a significant enrichment in glucosinolates, making them appealing to the market and offering improved nutraceutical aspects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
A. Anand Ganapathy, V. M. Hari Priya, Alaganandam Kumaran
Summary: This paper reviewed 97 medicinal plants with PDE5 inhibitory effect, of which 77 were selected based on their traditional use as aphrodisiacs. Isoflavones and biflavones were identified as the major active constituents responsible for action, while Icariin and Icariside II were found to be the most effective inhibitors from natural sources. Traditional medicines containing extracts of Ginkgo biloba, Kaempferia parviflora, Clerodendrum colebrookianum, Eurycoma longifolia, and Vitis vinifera were also found to inhibit the PDE5 enzyme.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hasan Altug, Seyda Erdogan
Summary: Due to high rates of plastic production, plastic waste accumulation has rapidly increased in different ecosystems worldwide. The understanding of microplastic pollution levels in different ecosystems has improved with recent studies. To prevent further microplastic pollution, it is crucial to identify the sources. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), where domestic and industrial wastewater containing microplastic particles are collected and treated, play a significant role in estimating the release of plastic waste into the environment. This study aimed to investigate the removal rate of microplastics and mesoplastics in a WWTP in Yozgat, Turkey.
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ilaria Roato, Giorgia Chinigo, Tullio Genova, Luca Munaron, Federico Mussano
Summary: The use of mesenchymal stem cells for regenerative purposes has become common in various diseases, including in the dental and maxillofacial field. Different sources of MSCs from the oral cavity have been proposed as promising candidates for tissue engineering, with potential applications in treating periodontal disease and dental pulp regeneration.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wamidh H. Talib, Safa Daoud, Asma Ismail Mahmod, Reem Ali Hamed, Dima Awajan, Sara Feras Abuarab, Lena Hisham Odeh, Samar Khater, Lina T. Al Kury
Summary: Cancer, the second leading cause of death, is often treated with therapies that lack selectivity and have serious side effects. This review discusses how plant-derived natural products with diverse chemical structures and low toxicity have the potential to be more effective anticancer therapies by targeting multiple cancer hallmarks. The majority of the natural products discussed in this review inhibit cancer by targeting multiple hallmarks, and some have progressed to clinical applications. Overall, this research provides a solid foundation for designing combination anticancer therapies using plant-derived natural products.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Liliya Kazantseva, Jose Becerra, Leonor Santos-Ruiz
Summary: This review discusses the latest anti-cancer compounds extracted from traditional medicinal plants, focusing on osteosarcoma research and their cellular and molecular mechanisms of action. These compounds have shown the potential to kill osteosarcoma cells through various pathways and can be used as chemotherapeutic drugs and sensitizers in combination treatments.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Adedeji Nelson Ademakinwa, Mayowa Oladele Agunbiade
Summary: In this study, banana peel was used as a low-cost immobilized enzyme catalyst for the production of l-DOPA. Through optimization using response surface methodology, the productivity of the immobilized enzyme was improved.
SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Pauline Edorh Tossa, Morgan Belorgey, Soyol Dashbaldan, Cezary Paczkowski, Anna Szakiel
Summary: This study aimed to analyze the content of steroids and triterpenoids in flowers, inflorescences, and leaves of several plants using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that some flowers are rich in phytosterols and bioactive triterpenoids, which can be used in functional foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetics.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Magdalena Wojciak, Marcin Feldo, Piotr Stolarczyk, Bartosz J. Plachno
Summary: Carnivorous plants use specialized traps to attract and capture small animals or protozoa, which are then killed and digested. The plants absorb the nutrients from the captured organisms to support their growth and reproduction. This review focuses on the secondary metabolites found in Nepenthaceae and Droseraceae, which have been studied using advanced identification techniques. The identified compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, naphthoquinones, and volatile organic compounds, have shown significant biological activity, highlighting the potential pharmaceutical applications of carnivorous plants.
Article
Agronomy
Maria Mazanko, Evgeniya Prazdnova, Varvara Statsenko, Anzhelica Bren, Dmitry Rudoy, Tatiana Maltseva, Vladimir Chistyakov, Michael Chikindas
Summary: Oil cakes of camelina sativa, brassica juncea, and lavandula angustifolia were found to have prebiotic properties on the microbiome of chickens. They enhance the acid-forming properties of lactic acid bacteria, lower the pH of the medium, and reduce the number of harmful bacteria. Oil cakes at 1% and 2% concentrations are promising sources for the development of prebiotic feed for agriculture.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Kun Liu, Bingbing Chen, Aihu Feng, Jiao Wu, Xuebing Hu, Jianer Zhou, Yun Yu
Summary: This research successfully synthesized a low-cost, naturally sustainable, and high-performance electrode material NAPC/G, which has a high specific surface area, rich pore structure, and good conductivity. Benefit from the abundant ion adsorption sites and improved conductivity, the electrode material exhibits high specific capacitance and good cycle stability.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aiping Yang, Yu Hong, Fengjuan Zhou, Ling Zhang, Youjuan Zhu, Chang Wang, Yang Hu, Li Yu, Lihong Chen, Xiachang Wang
Summary: One of the biggest concerns in global health today is antibiotic resistance, highlighting the need to find alternative solutions. This study focuses on investigating endophytic microorganisms from medicinal plants in Fenghuang Mountain in order to discover new antibiotics. The research demonstrates the potential of these microbes to produce a variety of natural products, making them an important source for new antibiotics.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natalia Rutkowska, Piotr Drozdzynski, Malgorzata Ryngajllo, Olga Marchut-Mikolajczyk
Summary: For thousands of years, plants have been used for medicinal purposes. However, the industrial production of plant-beneficial compounds faces challenges, such as seasonal dependence and extraction difficulties, which have led to the endangerment of many plant species. There is a growing need to develop sustainable production processes to meet the increasing demand for compounds used in cancer treatment. Endophytic microorganisms residing within plant tissues have great industrial potential as they can produce similar or even identical compounds as their hosts. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of biosynthesis in plants and the actual producers of these bioactive compounds is crucial for scaling up endophyte production.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Charlie J. G. Loewen, Donald A. Jackson, Cindy Chu, Karen M. Alofs, Gretchen J. A. Hansen, Andrew E. Honsey, Charles K. Minns, Kevin E. Wehrly
Summary: This study used a network approach to classify fish communities in lakes and compared the effects of biogeographical factors on community assembly. Results showed that fish assemblages reflected postglacial colonization, climate, and geological setting patterns. Bioregions were also impacted by non-native species.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rosalia Pineiro, Olivier J. Hardy, Carolina Tovar, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Filipe Garrett Vieira, M. Thomas P. Gilbert
Summary: Research has shown that tree species in African rainforests left genetic signatures during the dry ice age periods, reflecting the past fragmentation of the forests and population evolutionary history. Different tree species have varying recolonization abilities after forest fragmentation, leading to different levels of genetic admixture between populations.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
B. Gori, T. Ulian, H. Y. Bernal, M. Diazgranados
Summary: Despite its biodiversity, Colombia faces poverty and food insecurity. This study examines the diversity and distribution of edible plants in Colombia using spatial and taxonomic analysis, highlighting the importance of these resources for addressing food security. The Andean humid forests were identified as major biodiversity hotspots, and specific areas were identified for further investigation and conservation efforts.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Pedro Leon-Lobos, Javiera Diaz-Forestier, Rodrigo Diaz, Juan L. Celis-Diez, Mauricio Diazgranados, Tiziana Ulian
Summary: This paper reviews the usage patterns of native Wild Edible Plants (WEPs) in Chile and discusses their potential as future crops and sources of food products. The study found that there are 330 documented food plant species in Chile, representing 7.8% of the total flora. Some of these native WEPs have the potential to become important sources of nutritious and healthy products in the food industry.
Article
Ecology
Carolina Tovar, Andrea F. Carril, Alvaro G. Gutierrez, Antje Ahrends, Lluis Fita, Pablo Zaninelli, Pedro Flombaum, Ana M. Abarzua, Diego Alarcon, Valeria Aschero, Selene Baez, Agustina Barros, Julieta Carilla, M. Eugenia Ferrero, Suzette G. A. Flantua, Paul Gonzales, Claudio G. Menendez, Oscar A. Perez-Escobar, Anibal Pauchard, Romina C. Ruscica, Tiina Sarkinen, Anna A. Sorensson, Ana Srur, Ricardo Villalba, Peter M. Hollingsworth
Summary: Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on the vegetation in the Andes, particularly in high-elevation areas and temperate regions. Temperate deciduous forests and grasslands in the Central and Southern Andes are projected to experience the greatest losses in suitable climatic space under a worst-case scenario. There are challenges and uncertainties in modeling species and biome responses to climate change, highlighting the need for a region-wide approach to address knowledge gaps and improve understanding and monitoring in these important biomes.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Heidi Kreibich, Anne F. Van Loon, Kai Schroeter, Philip J. Ward, Maurizio Mazzoleni, Nivedita Sairam, Guta Wakbulcho Abeshu, Svetlana Agafonova, Amir AghaKouchak, Hafzullah Aksoy, Camila Alvarez-Garreton, Blanca Aznar, Laila Balkhi, Marlies H. Barendrecht, Sylvain Biancamaria, Liduin Bos-Burgering, Chris Bradley, Yus Budiyono, Wouter Buytaert, Lucinda Capewell, Hayley Carlson, Yonca Cavus, Anais Couasnon, Gemma Coxon, Ioannis Daliakopoulos, Marleen C. de Ruiter, Claire Delus, Mathilde Erfurt, Giuseppe Esposito, Didier Francois, Frederic Frappart, Jim Freer, Natalia Frolova, Animesh K. Gain, Manolis Grillakis, Jordi Oriol Grima, Diego A. Guzman, Laurie S. Huning, Monica Ionita, Maxim Kharlamov, Dao Nguyen Khoi, Natalie Kieboom, Maria Kireeva, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Waldo Lavado-Casimiro, Hong-Yi Li, Maria Carmen LLasat, David Macdonald, Johanna Mard, Hannah Mathew-Richards, Andrew McKenzie, Alfonso Mejia, Eduardo Mario Mendiondo, Marjolein Mens, Shifteh Mobini, Guilherme Samprogna Mohor, Viorica Nagavciuc, Thanh Ngo-Duc, Thi Thao Nguyen Huynh, Pham Thi Thao Nhi, Olga Petrucci, Hong Quan Nguyen, Pere Quintana-Segui, Saman Razavi, Elena Ridolfi, Jannik Riegel, Md Shibly Sadik, Elisa Savelli, Alexey Sazonov, Sanjib Sharma, Johanna Sorensen, Felipe Augusto Arguello Souza, Kerstin Stahl, Max Steinhausen, Michael Stoelzle, Wiwiana Szalinska, Qiuhong Tang, Fuqiang Tian, Tamara Tokarczyk, Carolina Tovar, Thi Van Thu Tran, Marjolein H. J. Van Huijgevoort, Michelle T. H. van Vliet, Sergiy Vorogushyn, Thorsten Wagener, Yueling Wang, Doris E. Wendt, Elliot Wickham, Long Yang, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, Gunter Bloschl, Giuliano Di Baldassarre
Summary: Risk management can reduce the impacts of floods and droughts, but faces difficulties in managing unprecedented events of a greater magnitude. Improved risk management and integrated management can help lower the impacts of more hazardous events.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nicola Kuhn, Marcus P. Spiegel, Carolina Tovar, Katherine J. Willis, Marc Macias-Fauria
Summary: This study analyzed the relationship between root depth and vegetation sensitivity in drylands, and found a significant negative correlation. Deeper roots provided greater resistance to climate variability and the link between deeper roots and groundwater depth suggested that accessing groundwater resources was key for dryland vegetation's resilience to climate change.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maria J. Monge-Salazar, Carolina Tovar, Jose Cuadros-Adriazola, Jan R. Baiker, Daniel B. Montesinos-Tubee, Vivien Bonnesoeur, Javier Antiporta, Francisco Roman-Danobeytia, Beatriz Fuentealba, Boris F. Ochoa-Tocachi, Wouter Buytaert
Summary: We analyzed and compared the vegetation, hydrology, groundwater chemistry, and soil characteristics of a natural wetland and an artificial wetland in the southern Andes, Peru, to understand their interrelationships and the impacts on ecosystem service provisioning.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Anne M. Visscher, Filip Vandelook, Eduardo Fernandez-Pascual, Laura Victoria Perez-Martinez, Tiziana Ulian, Mauricio Diazgranados, Efisio Mattana
Summary: This study explores differences in seed traits between tropical and temperate regions, highlighting larger relative embryo size and limited embryo growth in tropical species. The lack of data on tropical species poses challenges for global models and plant conservation applications.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Udayangani Liu, Maraeva Gianella, Patricia Davila Aranda, Mauricio Diazgranados, Cesar Mateo Flores Ortiz, Rafael Lira-Saade, Silvia Bacci, Efisio Mattana, William Milliken, Olivia Mitrovits, Hugh W. Pritchard, Isela Rodriguez-Arevalo, Michael Way, China Williams, Tiziana Ulian
Summary: The Millennium Seed Bank collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the UK houses a vast diversity of useful plants, with 13,598 species from 3696 genera and 325 families. This collection represents over half of the total accessions and one third of the species, covering all continents, realms, biomes, hotspots, and countries. The most common use category for these plants is medicinal, followed by environmental, material, and human food value. While the majority of conserved species are not globally threatened, there is a need for more partnerships to improve geographic coverage and capture a wider range of species, especially those with restricted distribution and recalcitrant seeds. Future planning should focus on capturing spatial distribution patterns and developing advanced conservation methods like cryopreservation.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nicola Kuhn, Carolina Tovar, Katherine J. Willis, Marc Macias-Fauria
Summary: This study investigated how root traits vary across different water availability gradients in a dry South African biome. The results showed that in drier regions, roots had greater maximum depth, length, dry matter content, and root to shoot ratio. These root traits played a significant role in determining overall plant characteristics.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Laura Kor, Mateo Fernandez-Lucero, Diego Arturo Granados Florez, Terence P. Dawson, Mauricio Diazgranados
Summary: This study evaluates the integration of scientific and local knowledge in the conservation of useful plants in Colombia using the Important Plant Areas (IPA) approach. The results show that working with local communities can enhance the understanding of useful plants for spatial conservation planning. Additionally, participatory approaches should go beyond community-based conservation and data collection to inform global conservation program design.
Article
Plant Sciences
Carolina Tovar, Lucia Hudson, Francisco Cuesta, Rosa Isela Meneses, Priscilla Muriel, Oriane Hidalgo, Luis Palazzesi, Carlos Suarez Ballesteros, Eleanor Hammond Hunt, Mauricio Diazgranados, D. J. Nicholas Hind, Felix Forest, Stephan Halloy, Nikolay Aguirre, William J. Baker, Stephan Beck, Julieta Carilla, Paul Eguiguren, Elaine Francoso, Luis E. Gamez, Ricardo Jaramillo, Luis Daniel Llambi, Olivier Maurin, Inga Melcher, Gemma Muller, Shyamali Roy, Paul Vinas, Karina Yager, Juan Viruel
Summary: This study investigates the diaspore morphological traits of Compositae in the high-Andean region and explores their relationship with abiotic and biotic factors as well as species distribution patterns. The results show that most Compositae species have small achenes and high dispersal investment, with dispersal investment increasing with elevation and achene length increasing towards lower latitudes. Diaspore traits are closely associated with the distribution patterns of Compositae species.
Letter
Plant Sciences
S. Pironon, A. Cantwell-Jones, F. Forest, J. Ball, M. Diazgranados, R. Douglas, J. Hawkins, M. -j. r. Howes, T. Ulian, B. Vaitla, D. Collar
Article
Plant Sciences
Aoife Cantwell-Jones, Jenny Ball, David Collar, Mauricio Diazgranados, Ruben Douglas, Felix Forest, Julie Hawkins, Melanie-Jayne R. Howes, Tiziana Ulian, Bapu Vaitla, Samuel Pironon
Summary: This study predicts the B-vitamin profiles for over 6,000 edible plants lacking nutritional data and identifies many species as promising key sources of B vitamins, some of which are threatened in the wild and absent from seed banks. This highlights the importance of safeguarding edible plant diversity to ensure nutrition for future generations.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
David Satori, Carolina Tovar, Aisyah Faruk, Eleanor Hammond Hunt, Gemma Muller, Christopher Cockel, Nicola Kuehn, Ilia J. Leitch, Ermias Lulekal, Laura Pereira, Philippa Ryan, Katherine J. Willis, Samuel Pironon
Summary: Climate change is predicted to disproportionately affect sub-Saharan Africa, threatening smallholder agriculture and deepening food insecurity. Introducing more climate-resilient crops through breeding with crop wild relatives is crucial. Evaluation of 29 major crops' crop wild relatives, their traits, conservation status, and setting new priorities for their conservation and breeding programs is important in building agricultural resilience in a changing climate.
PLANTS PEOPLE PLANET
(2022)