•Phenolic compounds concentrate in the seedcoat rather than seed.•Catechin, rutin and quercetin-3-glucoside found in highest abundance.•Seedcoat also shows acetylcholinesterase inhibitory ...activity.•PCA showed correlation of AChE inhibition with different phenolics.
Adzuki bean is a minor pulse crop in Australia, but there is potential to expand its production if it can be established as a high-value crop. This study profiled the phenolics in the seed and seedcoat material of nine Australian adzuki bean genotypes using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The most abundant phenolic compounds were catechin, rutin and quercetin-3-glucoside. The total phenolic content of the seedcoat (2714–3764 mg gallic acid equivalents GAE/100 g) was much higher than that of the seed material (60–286 mg GAE/100 g). The seedcoat material also showed moderate anti-acetylcholinesterase activity, which may provide potential anti-Alzheimer benefits. This may support the use of adzuki bean material – particularly the seedcoat – in the functional food market.
With an increasing demand for the efficient use of farmland resources, there is growing interest in value-adding to crops through using them or their by-products in various food processing ...industries. Adzuki bean is one emerging crop which shows promise for use in the value-adding chain; however, there is limited information on the phytochemical contents of various parts of this plant when grown under Australian conditions. Consequently, this study investigated the within-plant partitioning of nutritional and phytochemical constituents in nine newly developed adzuki bean genotypes from Australia. The crop took about 80–85 days to reach maturity and showed moderate to high protein and gross energy contents in both the seed (20–25%, and 16–17 MJ/kg) and leaf (19–24% and 16–18 MJ/kg) material. The leaves also showed high levels of phenolics and antioxidants, which may be linked to improved health or growth rates if fed to livestock. Additionally, the adzuki bean seedcoat contained exceptionally high concentrations of phenolics and antioxidant compounds, indicating high potential health benefits of this crop for humans. However, there was also a significant difference in the level of health-benefitting and nutritional compounds between the different genotypes. These results support the prospect of using adzuki bean as a future high-value crop for the Central Queensland region.
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•Phytochemical constituents are partitioned within the adzuki bean plant.•Seedcoat showed the highest phenolic content and antioxidant capacity.•Vegetative material also showed high phenolic and nutritional content.•Adzuki bean and byproducts show promise for value-added processing.
This study explores the impact of a novel phytogenic product containing citric acid, carvacrol, and cinnamaldehyde on buffel grass (
) seedling emergence. A dilution series of the phytogenic solution ...revealed a concentration range that promoted seedling emergence, with an optimal concentration of 0.5%. Transcriptomic analysis using RNA-seq was performed to investigate gene expression changes in seedlings under the influence of the phytogenic product. The results revealed that the phytogenic treatment significantly altered the gene expression, with a prevalent boost in transcriptional activity compared to the control. Functional analysis indicated the positive alteration of key metabolic pathways, including the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, glycolysis, and pentose phosphate pathways. Moreover, pathways related to amino acids, nucleotide biosynthesis, heme biosynthesis, and formyltetrahydrofolate biosynthesis showed substantial modulation. The study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the phytogenic product's effects on grass seedling establishment and highlights its ability to promote energy metabolism and essential biosynthetic pathways for plant growth.
Pasture dieback is a syndrome of unknown cause affecting grasses in Australia, creating significant economic losses to farmers by reducing available livestock feed and paddock carrying capacity. RC3 ...is a commercial plant growth stimulant tri-sodium salt of trimercapto-S-triazine (TMT) and potassium humate as active ingredients. TMT is commonly used for soil and wastewater remediation by capturing and binding heavy metals, while potassium humate is an organic compound used as a plant growth promoter. We investigated the ability of RC3 to restore soil health and productivity under pasture dieback conditions. RC3 was applied on pasture dieback affected paddock replicate plots once, at a rate of 4 mL/m2, and soil core samples were taken weekly to analyse microbial communities. Plants were collected regularly to measure dry matter and plant morphometrics. Twenty weeks after a single application, dry matter increased in RC3 plots by 900 kg/ha compared to control plots, and at week 48, eleven months after the single application, RC3 plots showed a trend of more grass and dicot species than the control. Morphometric measures suggest minor improvements in dicotyledon plants. Alpha diversity did not change with the application of RC3. Temporal correlation analysis shows that RC3 steadily reduced the presence of genera predominant in poor soils and with extreme environmental conditions over time and prevented the decline of beneficial genera, such as Marmoricola, Actinomadura, Dactylosporangium, and mle1-7.
Pasture production is vital in cattle farming as it provides animals with food and nutrients. Australia, as a significant global beef producer, has been experiencing pasture dieback, a syndrome of ...deteriorating grassland that results in the loss of grass and the expansion of weeds. Despite two decades of research and many remediation attempts, there has yet to be a breakthrough in understanding the causes or mechanisms involved. Suggested causes of this phenomenon include soil and plant microbial pathogens, insect infestation, extreme heat stress, radiation, and others. Plants produce a range of phytomolecules with antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, growth-promoting, and immunostimulant effects to protect themselves from a range of environmental stresses. These products are currently used more in human and veterinary health than in agronomy. In this study, we applied a phytogenic product containing citric acid, carvacrol, and cinnamaldehyde, to investigate its ability to alleviate pasture dieback. The phytogenic liquid-based solution was sprayed twice, one week apart, at 5.4 L per hectare. The soil microbial community was investigated longitudinally to determine long-term effects, and pasture productivity and plant morphometric improvements were explored. The phytogenic liquid significantly improved post-drought recovery of alpha diversity and altered temporal and spatial change in the community. The phytogenic liquid reduced biomarker genera associated with poor and polluted soils and significantly promoted plant and soil beneficial bacteria associated with plant rhizosphere and a range of soil benefits. Phytogenic liquid application produced plant morphology improvements and a consistent enhancement of pasture productivity extending beyond 18 months post-application. Our data show that phytogenic products used in the livestock market as an alternative to antibiotics may also have a beneficial role in agriculture, especially in the light of climate change-related soil maintenance and remediation.
Sesame is an emerging crop of interest in Australia and has attracted widespread interest due to the health-benefitting properties of its bioactive compounds, including fatty acids, lignans, and ...polyphenols. This study aimed to investigate the impact of drought stress on these bioactive compounds, using eleven cultivars of black sesame seeds grown in Australia. Specific varieties responded positively to water deficit (WD) conditions, showing increased levels of TPC, FRAP, CUPRAC, and lignans. Varieties 1, 4, 7, and 12 showed significantly increased FRAP values ranging from 158.02 ± 10.43 to 195.22 ± 9.63 mg TE/100 g DW in the WD treatment compared to the well-watered (WW) treatment, whereas varieties 7, 10, 12, 13, and 18 demonstrated the highest CUPRAC values of all varieties (2584.86 ± 99.68-2969.56 ± 159.72 mg TE/100 g) across both WW and WD conditions, with no significant variations between irrigation regimes. Moreover, lignan contents (sesamin and sesamolin) were higher in varieties 1, 2, 5, and 8 grown in WD conditions. Compared to the optimal unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio (Σ UFA/Σ SFA ratio) of 0.45, all sesame genotypes showed superior ratios (ranging between 1.86 and 2.34). Moreover, the ω-6/ω-3 PUFA ratio varied from 33.7-65.5, with lower ratios in varieties 2, 4, 5, 8, and 18 under WD conditions. The high levels of phenolic compounds and healthy fats suggest the potential of black sesame to be incorporated into diets as a functional food. Furthermore, the enhanced phytochemistry of these cultivars in WD conditions is promising for widespread adoption. However, larger trial studies to confirm these findings across different geographic locations and seasons are warranted.
Adzuki bean has recently been proposed as a viable dual-purpose (grain-and-graze) crop for the Northern regions of Australia because of its successful use in semi-arid regions and its nitrogen ...fixation capacity to improve soil fertility and animal nutrition. However, there are very few studies on the phytochemical composition and nutritional value of the non-seed material. This study investigated the phenolic composition of the parts grown in the vegetative phase (leaves and stems) of nine Australian adzuki bean varieties for the first time. The total phenolic content (TPC) of the stem material (157–406 mg GAE/100 g) was 23–217% higher than that of commercial livestock feed, while the TPC of the leaf material (1158–1420 mg GAE/100 g) was 9–11 times higher. Using tandem liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), the major phenolic compounds identified were rutin, luteolin, salicylic acid, and quercetin-3-glucoside. The leaf and stem materials showed high levels of apparent in vitro dry matter digestibility, with no significant difference in total gas or methane production compared to lucerne hay. The results suggest that adzuki bean vegetative materials could be a high-value livestock fodder and support pursuing further in-depth studies into their nutritional value for livestock.
Pasture dieback is a rapidly expanding decaying pasture syndrome that affects millions of hectares of agricultural land in Queensland, Australia, making it useless for the cattle industry and ...decimating farmers’ income and welfare. Since the syndrome was first identified in the early 1990s, farmers and agronomists have tried various methods for pasture recovery, including slashing, burning, ploughing and resowing grass, fertilising, destocking, and overstocking. In most cases, after a minimal initial improvement, the grass reverts to dieback within a few weeks. Here, we present an application of potassium humate, a well-known plant growth stimulator, as a possible long-term recovery option. Humate was applied once at the rate of 12 ml per m2. Humate application did not alter the alpha or beta diversity of soil bacterial communities, nor did it change the mineral profile in the soil. However, humate application altered soil microbiota–mineral temporal interactions and introduced subtle changes in the microbial community that could assist pasture recovery. A single humate application increased paddock plant biomass significantly up to 20 weeks post-application. Eleven months after the single application, the paddock was grazed to the ground by the cattle just before the rainfall season. After pasture regrowth, the humate-treated plots significantly improved root morphometric indicators for both grass and dicots and increased the ratio of grass/weeds by 27.6% compared to the water-treated control. While this treatment will not resolve the dieback syndrome, our results invite more research to optimise the use of humate for maximum economic benefit in paddock use under pasture dieback syndrome conditions.
Abstract Background and aims Phytogenic bioactive plant products have shown promise in mitigating Australian pasture dieback (PDB) syndrome, a complex condition that adversely affects pasture ...productivity and sustainability. PDB is characterised by the progressive decline of grass, resulting in reduced soil organic matter. Recent studies have indicated that soil microbial communities play a crucial role in the remediation of affected pastures. In our previous research, the application of a phytogenic secondary metabolic product demonstrated a positive impact on soil microbial diversity, and it significantly increased pasture biomass. Building upon our previous study, we aimed to further investigate the mechanisms underlying pasture improvement through phytogenic treatment by spraying. Methods Here, we conducted a shotgun metagenomic investigation of the soil microbiome functional pathways affected by the phytogenic treatment. Results The application of phytogenic treatment to the PDB-affected soil resulted in a notable increase in soil microbial functional richness and diversity and showed alterations in beta diversity. Among the 65 significantly altered functional pathways, 54 showed an increase, while 11 decreased in response to the phytogenic treatment. The treatment altered the soil’s functional capacity towards increased production of biomolecules, including amino acids, lipids, and cofactors, thus enhancing the soil’s nutritional value. Furthermore, the phytogenic treatment significantly increased pathways involved in soil detoxification and carbon sequestration, suggesting its potential to promote soil health and carbon storage. Conclusion Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in improving the soils affected by pasture dieback. These insights will help develop sustainable strategies for pasture production.
Nigella sativa, an annual herbaceous flowering plant of the Ranunculaceae family, is considered an important medicinal plant due to the presence of several bioactive compounds in its seeds, including ...both volatile and non-volatile compounds. The cultivation of numerous genotypes of N. sativa is seen in different parts of the world with varying compositions of such chemical compounds. Since the variation in composition determines the quality grade of the seeds, this study was carried out to explore the compositional variation of twelve different genotypes of N. sativa cultivated in Central Queensland, Australia. The results showed total phenolic content (TPC), FRAP and CUPRAC (antioxidants), and thymoquinone in the range of 291–529 mg GAE/100 g DW, 703–966 mg TE/100 g DW, 2533–3416 mg TE/100 g DW, and 219–349 mg/100 g DW, respectively. The highest values of TPC, thymoquinone, FRAP, and CUPRAC were observed in genotypes AVTKS#E, AVTKS#F, AVTKS#4, and AVTKS#D, respectively. The lowest values of TPC and FRAP were observed in genotype AVTKS#24, and the CUPRAC and thymoquinone were lowest in genotype AVTKS#23 and AVTKS#1, respectively. Monomeric anthocyanins were absent in the methanolic seed extracts of all nigella genotypes. There was a strong positive correlation among the TPC, CUPRAC, and FRAP. However, despite thymoquinone being reported as a strong antioxidant in the literature, there was no significant correlation of thymoquinone with TPC or CUPRAC, and only a weak positive correlation with FRAP. Overall, the genotypes with comparatively higher values of thymoquinone, TPC, and antioxidant capacity (both FRAP and CUPRAC) showed particular potential for breeding programs.
