The immortelle (
(Roth) G. Don) is a typical perennial plant of natural vegetation in the Mediterranean region, and due to secondary metabolites with several biological properties (anti-inflammatory, ...antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-proliferative), it has become an important species for essential oil production, especially in the cosmetic industry. To increase the production of highly priced essential oils, it has been moved to cultivated fields. However, due to the lack of highly characterized planting material, there is a great need for genotype identification, and to provide a link with chemical profiles and geographic origin as a basis for the identification of local superior genotypes. The aims of the study were to characterize the ITS (ribosomal internal transcribed spacer) regions, ITS1 and ITS2, in samples from the East Adriatic region to determine the possibility of using these regions for plant genetic resources identification. Genetic variation was observed when comparing the ITS sequence variants of samples from the North-East Adriatic and the South-East Adriatic. Some rare and unique ITS sequence variants can be helpful for identifying specific populations from different geographical regions.
Mediterranean plant
represents a rich source of versatile bioactive compounds with potential benefits for human health. Despite extensive research on the plant's active constituents, little attention ...has yet been paid to characterizing the relationship between its intra-specific genetic diversity and metabolite profile. The study aimed to determine metabolic profile of
ssp.
(
) and ssp.
(
) cultivated on the experimental plantation in Slovenia and to compare the chemical composition of extracts regarding the solvent extraction process. Extracts were prepared upon conventional extract preparation procedures: maceration with 50 % methanol or ethanol and cold or hot water infusion and analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection-Electrospray Ionization-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-QTOF-MS). One hundred compounds were identified in the samples, among them several isomers and derivatives were reported for the first time, while caffeoylquinic acids and pyrones were the most abundant. Semi-quantitative comparison revealed that the extraction procedure had a greater impact on the chemical profile than genetic variability. All
extracts showed a higher total phenolic content compared to
, while the antioxidant potential evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil test was not proportionally higher. In addition, hot water extracts proved to be comparably active as alcoholic ones, confirming high commercial potential of
as herbal functional beverages.
The aim of this study was to assess changes in mental health, gut microbiota composition, and stress marker serum cortisol due to COVID-19 lockdown in asymptomatic individuals. Healthy adults ...participated in anthropometric measurements, blood and stool sample collection pre-lockdown and post-lockdown (n = 38, 63.2% females), lifestyle and psychological questionnaires were included in pre-lockdown measurement and lockdown survey (n = 46, 67.4% females). Subjects reported significantly higher body dissatisfaction (p = 0.007) and anxiety (p = 0.002), and significantly lower positive affect (p = 0.001) during lockdown compared with pre-lockdown. According to perceived stress, 51.6% of females and 20% of males experienced moderate to high stress. This was reflected in serum cortisol levels that significantly increased only in females (p = 0.006) post-lockdown and correlated with perceived stress (p = 0.037) and anxiety (p = 0.031). In addition to psychological measures, changes in gut microbiota composition were observed. Gut microbial alpha diversity significantly decreased (p = 0.033), whereas relative abundance of Proteobacteria significantly increased (p = 0.043) post-lockdown. Depression during lockdown was moderately positively correlated with changes in Bacteroidetes abundance (p = 0.015) and negatively with changes in Firmicutes abundance (p = 0.008). Alistipes abundance post-lockdown was moderately positively correlated with anxiety (p = 0.004) and negative affect (p = 0.005) during lockdown. Despite a small sample size and not being able to perform objective measurements during lockdown, the results confirm the effect of lockdown on mental health and gut microbiota composition that could have a great impact on our health (ClinicalTrials identifier: NCT04347213).
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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•Daily dose of HE proved to be effective in increasing the speed at which basic cognitive operations are performed.•HE has clear effects on circulating levels of protein BDNF.•Regular ...intake of HE would be beneficial to preserve cognitive function in elder age.•HE intake can influence the bacterial diversity that positively corelates to NPY levels.
Population aging has led to an increased interest in various dietary supplements in order to preserve cognitive function. The aim of our study was to examine the effects of Hericium erinaceus supplementation (HE) on cognitive function and serum levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY). An 8-week double-blind comparative study involved 33 subjects, randomly assigned to a HE group and a placebo (P) group. Anthropometric measurements and analyses of selected biochemical parameters were performed before and after the intervention. Simultaneously, faecal samples were collected to determine gut microbiota and chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) levels. Cognitive function was assessed using two non-verbal speed tests. In the HE group, a significant improvement in cognitive ability was observed when the corresponding cognitive scores at baseline, CHI3L1 level, age, and gender were considered. Moreover, in the HE group there was a significant increase in gut microbiota diversity that was positively correlated to NPY levels. The mechanism that could help to explain the results on the relationship between the active ingredients of the H. erinaceus and the cognitive parameters could point to the CHI3L1 activity that may enhance bioavailability of the bioactive ingredients. Supplementing the diet with HE was recognised as a safe and well-tolerated intervention with a neurocognitive benefit.
In order to collect all existing phenotypic variation of fig accessions grown in Slovenia and to plan the conservation strategy by establishment of national collection in the northern part of ...Adriatic coast, the survey of family yards and Slovenian orchards was performed. Two main fig growing regions were included into the field inventory: littoral zone (Slovene Istria) and hinterland zone (Goriška Brda and Vipava Valley). All collected material was morphologically characterized according to internationally accepted descriptors for
Ficus carica L., and some new descriptors for leaves and fruits were introduced. For identification the patterns of morphological variation within the fig germplasm principal component analysis (PCA) was used and cluster analysis was performed to decide the ultimate number of clusters by which the accessions could be assessed. Twenty-five Slovenian accessions were compared with fig varieties from a private fig collection in Croatia in order to assess the degree of similarity of figs grown on a broader region of Istria. Altogether 38 accessions were evaluated for 74 phenotypic characters. The results of morphological evaluation confirmed the usefulness of phenotypic markers for fig genetic resources characterization developed by
IPGRI and CIHEAM (2003), but some new variables that in our study shoved high discrimination value could be added. Results of morphological evaluation contributed to the selection of accessions for the first national Slovenian fig gene bank. The national gene bank and fig data base will make a fundamental contribution to further genetic improvement of fig crops in Slovenian agriculture.
Helichrysum arenarium (L.) Moench (Asteraceae) is a self‐compatible, insect‐pollinated herb occurring in sand grasslands, and is declining and endangered in many parts of its European distribution ...range. A recovery plan of H. arenarium has been conducted in southern Belgium, involving plant translocations. We developed multiplex genotyping protocol for nine microsatellite markers previously published for Helichrysum italicum and two newly developed microsatellite markers for H. arenarium. Eleven polymorphic loci were associated (pooled) in two multiplex panels, to assess the genetic status of the only small remaining population in Belgium and of three large German populations used as seed source for propagating transplants. The small Belgian population was characterized by high clonality, with only two, however heterozygous, genets detected. The three large German populations showed high genetic diversity (He ranging from 0.635 to 0.670) and no significant inbreeding coefficient values, despite expectations of geitonogamous selfing. Management practices (grazing livestock) increasing seed dispersal distances, inbreeding depression at early stages of development, and mechanisms preventing or delaying selfing might be hypothesized to explain the observed patterns. The two Belgian genotypes remained within genetic variation range of German populations so that the high genetic differentiation between Belgian and German populations (FST values ranging from 0.186 to 0.206) likely resulted from genetic drift effects and small sample size. Transplants obtained from seeds sampled from the three large source populations from Germany constitute a highly diverse, noninbred gene pool, and are thus of high genetic quality for plant translocations.
Helichrysum arenarium (Asteraceae) is a self‐compatible, insect‐pollinated herb from sand grasslands, and is declining and (critically) endangered in Europe. Genetic assessment using microsatellite markers of the only small remaining population in Belgium and of three large German populations revealed high clonality, with only two, however heterozygous, genets detected in the small Belgian population, and high genetic diversity and no significant inbreeding coefficient values, despite expectations of geitonogamous selfing, in the three large German populations, which will be used for plant translocations.
Despite the known effects of diet on gut microbiota composition, not many studies have evaluated the relationship between distinct dietary patterns and gut microbiota. The aim of our study was to ...determine whether gut microbiota composition could be a useful indicator of a long-term dietary pattern. We collected data from 89 subjects adhering to omnivorous, vegetarian, vegan, and low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that were equally distributed between groups and homogenous by age, gender, and BMI. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed with a metabarcoding approach using V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. K-means clustering of gut microbiota at the genus level was performed and the nearest neighbor classifier was applied to predict microbiota clustering classes. Our results suggest that gut microbiota composition at the genus level is not a useful indicator of a subject's dietary pattern, with the exception of a vegan diet that is represented by a high abundance of
. Based on our model, a combination of 26 variables (anthropometric measurements, serum biomarkers, lifestyle factors, gastrointestinal symptoms, psychological factors, specific nutrients intake) is more important to predict an individual's microbiota composition cluster, with 91% accuracy, than the dietary intake alone. Our findings could serve to develop strategies to educate individuals about changes of some modifiable lifestyle factors, aiming to classify them into clusters with favorable health markers, independent of their dietary pattern.
(L.) Moench (abbrev. as HA) has a long tradition in European ethnomedicine and its inflorescences are approved as a herbal medicinal product. In the Mediterranean part of Europe,
(Roth) G. Don ...(abbrev. as HI) is more common. Since infusions from both plants are traditionally used, we aimed to compare their antioxidative potential using in vitro assays. Two morphologically distinct HI plants, HIa and HIb, were compared to a commercially available HA product. Genetic analysis using microsatellites confirmed a clear differentiation between HI and HA and suggested that HIb was a hybrid resulting from spontaneous hybridization from unknown HI subspecies. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed the highest amounts of hydroxycinnamic acids and total arzanol derivatives in HIa, whereas HIb was richest in monohydroxybenzoic acids, caffeic acids, and coumarins, and HA contained the highest amounts of flavonoids, especially flavanones. HIa exhibited the highest radical scavenging activity; it was more efficient in protecting different cell lines from induced oxidative stress and in inducing oxidative stress-related genes superoxide dismutase 1, catalase, and glutathione reductase 1. The antioxidative potential of HI was not only dependent on the morphological type of the plant but also on the harvest date, revealing important information for obtaining the best possible product. Considering the superior properties of HI compared to HA, the evaluation of HI as a medicinal plant could be recommended.
The olive (Olea europaea L.) is a leading oil crop in the Mediterranean area. Limited information on the inheritance of agronomic significant traits hinders progress in olive breeding programs, which ...encourages the development of markers linked to the traits. In this study, we report on the development of 46 olive simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, obtained from 577,025 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in developing olive fruits generated in the framework of the Slovenian national olive transcriptome project. Sequences were de novo assembled into 98,924 unigenes, which were then used as a source for microsatellites searching. We identified 923 unigenes that contained 984 SSRs among which dinucleotide SSRs (36 %) were the most abundant, followed by tri- (33 %) and hexa- (21 %) nucleotides. Microsatellite repeat motif GA (37 %) was the most common among dinucleotides, while microsatellite repeat motif GAA was the most abundant trinucleotide SSR motif (16 %). Gene ontology annotations could be assigned to 27 % of the unigenes. A hundred and ten expressed sequence tag-derived-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) with annotated genes were selected for primer designing and finally, 46 (42 %) polymorphic EST-SSRs were successfully amplified and used to validate genetic diversity among 24 olive varieties. The average number of alleles per locus, observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, and polymorphic information content were 4.5, 0.649, 0.604 and 0.539, respectively. Twenty-seven EST-SSRs showed good diversity properties and were recommended for further olive genome investigation.
Trendy high-density olive fields are often monovarietal orchards, mostly using the cultivar Arbequina. However, Arbequina shows a strong self-incompatibility response, and its yields depend on wind ...cross-pollination, which is not always available. With the aim of finding suitable self-compatible cultivars that can replace Arbequina, we evaluated pollen–pistil interaction, fruit set and seed paternity in Arbosana under different pollination treatments: self-pollination, open-pollination and three cross-pollination treatments: × Arbequina, × Sikitita and × Koroneiki. All these cultivars are low-vigor cultivars suitable for high-density orchards, making them potential pollinizers for Arbosana. The results show that Arbosana is also self-incompatible with a strong reduction in fruit set due to a lower fertilization level caused by a strong inhibition of pollen tube growth in self-pollinated flowers. Seed-paternity analyses confirmed the self-incompatibility response of Arbosana and suggest that some fruit obtained in bagged shoots under self-pollination were, in fact, a product of cross-fertilization. In conclusion, we recommend against the use of Arbosana in large monovarietal orchards. On the contrary, good results were obtained under cross-pollination with Sikitita, Arbequina and Koroneiki pollen, allowing us to recommend them as pollinizers for Arbosana in appropriate pollination designs. This is the first time Arbosana self-incompatibility has been reported.
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