Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Japar Sidik Bujang, Muta Harah Zakaria, Shiamala Devi Ramaiya
Summary: Maize floral pollen has a rich composition of nutrients and phytochemical properties, making it a valuable source for human food resources and nutraceutical products.
Review
Food Science & Technology
Wyller Max Ferreira da Silva, Dianini Huttner Kringel, Estefania Julia Dierings de Souza, Elessandra da Rosa Zavareze, Alvaro Renato Guerra Dias
Summary: In recent years, there has been an increase in research on essential oils as alternatives to synthetic chemical additives in food, with particular attention being paid to basil essential oil due to its various biological activities. The extraction methods and compounds of basil essential oil are influenced by factors such as cultivar type, cultivation date, place and conditions, seasonal variation, and harvest methods. The biological activities of basil essential oil are dependent on chemical constituents like estragole, linalool, eugenol, eucalyptol, and bergamotene, which can act independently or synergistically.
FOOD AND BIOPROCESS TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cornelia-Ioana Ilie, Eliza Oprea, Elisabeta-Irina Geana, Angela Spoiala, Mihaela Buleandra, Gratiela Gradisteanu Pircalabioru, Irinel Adriana Badea, Denisa Ficai, Ecaterina Andronescu, Anton Ficai, Lia-Mara Ditu
Summary: This paper evaluated the chemical and biological properties of bee pollen samples from Romania. The results showed that the bee pollen had significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, making it a potential prebiotic and antitumor agent.
Article
Plant Sciences
Marta Dmitruk, Monika Strza, Malgorzata Bozek, Bozena Denisow
Summary: Urban green areas are crucial in establishing valuable spaces for pollinators. This study investigated the nectar and pollen of six Cotoneaster species in Lublin city, Poland, and found that these species can provide abundant nectar and pollen in spring and early summer. C. macrophyllus, C. lucidus, and C. horizontalis are recommended for optimizing food resource management in urban areas. Honeybees and bumblebees are the main visitors to these plants, highlighting their value for urban beekeepers and bumblebee conservation. However, additional high-yielding pollen plants should be introduced to compensate for insufficient nutrient intake from pollen in spring.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Anja Novoselic, Dora Klisovic, Igor Lukic, Marina Lukic, Karolina Brkic Bubola
Summary: The study found that adding an appropriate amount of olive leaf during olive oil extraction can increase oil yield, extractability, pigments concentration, and positive sensory attributes. However, excessive addition of leaf may have negative effects on the phenolic composition of the oil.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kessia do Socorro Miranda Mesquita, Bruna de Souza Feitosa, Jorddy Neves Cruz, Oberdan Oliveira Ferreira, Celeste de Jesus Pereira Franco, Marcia Moraes Cascaes, Mozaniel Santana de Oliveira, Eloisa Helena de Aguiar Andrade
Summary: Peperomia Ruiz and Pav, the second largest genus of the Piperaceae, was studied for seasonal and circadian variations in the chemical composition of its essential oils and aromas. The study found that the chemical composition is influenced by the period and time of collection. Clinical toxicity testing revealed that the essential oil extracted from dry material collected in July had the highest toxicity value.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Siluana Katia Tischer Seraglio, Mayara Schulz, Patricia Brugnerotto, Bibiana Silva, Luciano Valdemiro Gonzaga, Roseane Fett, Ana Carolina Oliveira Costa
Summary: Citrus honey is a globally important monofloral honey with pleasant sensorial characteristics and beneficial compounds. However, high market demand may lead to fraud, while susceptibility to contamination and inadequate processing are also potential concerns.
FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alexandru Ciocarlan, Lucian Lupascu, Aculina Aricu, Ion Dragalin, Violeta Popescu, Elisabeta-Irina Geana, Roxana Elena Ionete, Nicoleta Vornicu, Octavian G. Duliu, Gergana Hristozova, Inga Zinicovscaia
Summary: The study demonstrates that lavender essential oil exhibits good antibacterial activity against various bacteria and fungi. Lavender plant material, residual water, and ethanolic extracts from solid waste residue also show high antimicrobial activity.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nicholas E. Tew, Katherine C. R. Baldock, Ian P. Vaughan, Stephanie Bird, Jane Memmott
Summary: Residential gardens serve as important habitats for insect pollinators, but individual gardening practices impact their floral composition. A study in Bristol, UK, surveyed 59 gardens and found variations in the quantity of nectar sugar supplied by each garden, with higher production in affluent neighborhoods and a peak supply in July. The turnover in species composition among gardens provides a relatively stable and continuous nectar supply for insect pollinators in urban landscapes.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oberdan Oliveira Ferreira, Jorddy Neves Cruz, Angelo Antonio Barbosa de Moraes, Celeste de Jesus Pereira Franco, Rafael Rodrigues Lima, Taina Oliveira Dos Anjos, Giovanna Moraes Siqueira, Lidiane Diniz do Nascimento, Marcia Moraes Cascaes, Mozaniel Santana de Oliveira, Eloisa Helena de Aguiar Andrade
Summary: This study reviews the chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from Amazon species collected and studied in the last 10 years. Essential oils from Amazon species exhibit various biological activities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal properties.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Chuan Ma, Beibei Ma, Jianke Li, Yu Fang
Summary: This study investigated the quality changes of royal jelly produced by migratory honeybees at different floral periods. Metabolomics and proteomics analysis revealed variations in the metabolic and proteomic profiles of royal jelly. Minor sugars and a major royal jelly protein were identified as the main components contributing to the altered profiles. The water content, crude protein, and a specific acid content met the international standards regardless of floral periods. Moreover, changes in antioxidants resulted in significant differences in the antioxidant activity of royal jelly.
FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wenjie Yu, Fengjie Sun, Ruixin Xu, Meng Cui, Yongquan Liu, Quanyuan Xie, Limin Guo, Chenxian Kong, Xin Li, Xiali Guo, Liping Luo
Summary: This study comprehensively investigated the physicochemical parameters, chemical composition, and antioxidant capacity of Castanopsis honey (CH), as well as evaluated its anti-inflammatory effects. The results showed that CH has high quality and contains various compounds and phenols, which exhibit significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
Review
Food Science & Technology
Malika Chbani, Said El Harkaoui, Ina Willenberg, Bertrand Matthaus
Summary: The physicochemical parameters, nutritional composition, and therapeutic effects of Opuntia ficus-indica seed oil extracted by different extraction techniques were reviewed. The oil content of cactus seeds ranges from 3.4% to 14.4% and contains linoleic acid and oleic acid as major fatty acids. The dominant triacylglycerols are LLL, LLO, LLP, and OOL. Gamma-tocopherol constitutes more than 90% of the total tocopherols. The main phytosterol is beta-sitosterol, accounting for 71.6% to 79.1% of the total content. The major volatile compounds are aldehydes. Cactus seed oil is also rich in phenolic compounds, with vanillin, syringaldehyde, and ferulaldehyde as the main components.
FOOD REVIEWS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Charlotte Descamps, Muriel Quinet, Anne-Laure Jacquemart
Summary: The study found that elevated temperatures and water stress have significant impacts on the floral resources of the bee-pollinated species Borago officinalis, including reductions in nectar volume and total nectar sugars produced per flower, as well as decreases in pollen weight per flower and increases in pollen polypeptide concentration. Both temperature rise and water stress also led to an increase in total amino acid concentration and essential amino acid percentage in nectar, while the relative percentage of different amino acids in both pollen and nectar were modified under stresses. These modifications may have implications for plant-pollinator interactions, plant pollination success, and insect nutritional needs.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Gaku Kudo, Akari Shibata
Summary: The study found that male-biased sex allocation was common in early-flowering populations, while the number of male and perfect flowers did not correlate with seed predation rate. Fruit-set success was positively correlated with the number of perfect flowers, indicating a significant impact of perfect flowers on fruit set.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Kleber Del-Claro, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi
Article
Ecology
Gudryan J. Baronio, Vinicius Lourenco Garcia de Brito, Anselmo Nogueira, Andre Rodrigo Rech
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Eduardo Soares Calixto, Denise Lange, Judith Bronstein, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi, Kleber Del-Claro
Summary: Plants allocate defenses to decrease costs and maximize benefits against herbivores. Optimal Defense Theory predicts that continuously expressed defenses are expected in structures of high value, while induced defenses are expected in structures of low value. This study showed that extrafloral nectar production and ant recruitment varied according to the plant structure on which EFNs are located, supporting predictions from ODT.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Leticia Rodrigues Novaes, Eduardo Soares Calixto, Marcos Lima de Oliveira, Larissa Alves-de-Lima, Odenir de Almeida, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2020)
Article
Entomology
B. de Sousa-Lopes, E. S. Calixto, H. M. Torezan-Silingardi, K. Del-Claro
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ana Carolina Pereira Machado, Gudryan Jackson Baronio, Favizia Freitas de Oliveira, Caroline Tito Garcia, Andre Rodrigo Rech
Summary: The study highlights the importance of maintaining native vegetation in agricultural landscapes for bee distribution and reproduction. While richness and abundance of bee species vary among different seasons and vegetation types, the composition of bee communities is more dependent on seasonality and vegetation types.
JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Andre Rodrigo Rech, Jeff Ollerton, Bo Dalsgaard, Leonardo Re Jorge, Brody Sandel, Jens-Christian Svenning, Gudryan J. Baronio, Marlies Sazima
Summary: This study found that historical climate instability favored autogamy, while pollinators currently modulate the level of cross-pollination.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Maria L. S. O. Lima, Carolyne B. Braga, Tiago B. Becher, Mikel Odriozola-Gimeno, Miquel Torrent-Sucarrat, Ivan Rivilla, Fernando P. Cossio, Anita J. Marsaioli, Catia Ornelas
Summary: Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine compounds are demonstrated to generate singlet oxygen in cells and have potential for use in cancer treatment through photodynamic therapy, making them a new tool for theranostics.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel F. Kawano, Bruna Z. Costa, Katherine L. Romero-Orejon, Hugo C. Loureiro, Dosil P. de Jesus, Anita J. Marsaioli
Summary: In this study, a 5-hexyl-2-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole was synthesized and enantiomers were successfully separated using capillary electrophoresis. The experiment demonstrated that one enantiomer exhibited higher affinity for the chiral selector.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rosane Segalla, Fabio Pinheiro, Gudryan J. Baronio, Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
Summary: The study found a significant male-biased sex ratio in endemic gymnosperm Zamia boliviana populations from the Brazilian savanna, with environmental factors not explaining the redundancy in reproductive characteristics. The differential reproductive expenditure between sexes is suggested as the main driver of sex ratio variation in this species.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Diego V. Anjos, Alejandro Tena, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi, Apostolos Pekas, Arne Janssen
Summary: Ants in citrus orchards can help in controlling pests but also facilitate the outbreak of honeydew-producing pests. They have effects on the abundance of pests with different life-cycle stages and also impact the abundance of natural enemies, especially generalist and winged ones of honeydew-producing pests. The identity of the most abundant ant species plays a role in affecting the abundance of natural enemies.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
G. J. Baronio, C. S. Souza, N. N. A. Silva, N. P. Moura, A. Leite, A. M. M. Santos, M. I. S. Maciel, C. C. Castro
Summary: The study found a positive relationship between floral visitor abundance and native vegetation cover, but found a dual (hyperbolic) response when considering only native bee abundance. Apis mellifera (L.) Africanized was the most abundant species and had the highest number of interactions; however, when removed from the network analysis, the relationship between vineyards and native bees became more specialized.
Article
Ecology
Marsal D. Amorim, Pietro K. Maruyama, Gudryan J. Baronio, Cristiano S. Azevedo, Andre R. Rech
Summary: Floral traits play a role in determining the effectiveness of different animal pollinators along a generalization/specialization continuum. This study investigates the contributions of hummingbirds to the pollination of various plant species in the Brazilian grasslands. The results suggest that hummingbirds can contribute to pollination independently of the fit to bird pollination syndrome, highlighting their importance as under-appreciated generalized pollinators in certain communities.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rosane Segalla, Fabio Pinheiro, Gudryan J. Baronio, Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
Summary: Dioecy in cycads requires obligatory outcrossing for reproductive success. Research on the endemic cycad Zamia boliviana in South America showed a seasonally synchronous pattern in reproductive phenology, with significant overlap in phases of emergence, pollen release, and strobili receptivity between sexes, populations, and years. This study provides new biological data on the temporal distinction between the lifespan of polliniferous and ovuliferous strobili and the necessary overlap between the release and receptivity of pollen.
PLANT SPECIES BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Priscila Bruno Cardoso, Eduardo Soares Calixto, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi, Kleber Del-Claro
Summary: In plant-ant mutualisms, the behavior of visiting ants can deter hummingbirds and disrupt pollination, directly influencing fruit production. However, this influence is species-specific, with large predatory ants having a negative impact on hummingbird behavior while mid-sized ants show no effects.
