The gall mite Aceria pallida can be phoretic on the psyllid Bactericera gobica to overwinter. Phoresy is often considered as a pattern of phoront–vector mutualism. The phoront A. pallida benefits ...from phoresy during the overwintering season, but no advantages to the vector B. gobica were found during this period. Therefore, this mutualism may occur during the growing season. Because both species share the same host plant and habitat after detachment, interspecific interactions are very likely to occur. To determine whether such interactions were positive or negative, we studied relationships between A. pallida and B. gobica egg abundances on leaves. Our study suggests positive interactions between two pests during the growing season. Outcomes of positive relationships between gall diameter and mite abundance in the gall provided a way to rapidly estimate mite abundances in the field by measuring gall diameters. The gall mite Aceria pallida and the psyllid Bactericera gobica are serious Goji berry pests. The mite can be phoretic on the psyllid to overwinter, but it is unclear whether the vector can obtain benefits from the phoront during the growing season. After detachment, the mite shares the same habitat with its vector, so there are very likely to be interspecific interactions. To better understand whether the interactions are positive or negative, information on relationships between abundances of A. pallida and B. gobica on leaves is needed. Here, B. gobica abundance was represented by the egg abundance because the inactive nymphs develop on the same sites after hatching. (1) We found a positive linear relationship between the gall diameter and the mite abundance in the gall (one more millimeter on gall diameter for every 30 mites increase), which provided a way to rapidly estimate mite abundances in the field by measuring gall diameters. (2) There was a positive relationship between the abundance of mites and psyllid eggs on leaves. (3) Both species had positive effects on each other’s habitat selections. More importantly, the interactions of the two species prevented leaf abscission induced by B. gobica (leaf lifespan increased by 62.9%), increasing the continuation of the psyllid population. Our study suggests positive interactions between two pests during the growing season. The positive relationship between A. pallida and B. gobica egg abundances highlights the increasing need for novel methods for Goji berry pest management. In practice, A. pallida control can be efficient by eliminating its vector B. gobica. Both pests can be controlled together, which reduces chemical usage.
This study compares the microbial diversity and content of bioactive compounds in dried goji berries available on the Polish market to those of the most highly valued goji berries from the Ningxia ...region in China. The content of phenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids were determined, as well as the antioxidant capacities of the fruits. The quantitative and qualitative composition of the microbiota inhabiting the fruits was assessed using metagenomics by high-throughput sequencing on the Illumina platform. The highest quality was demonstrated by naturally dried fruits from the Ningxia region. These berries were characterized by a high content of polyphenols and high antioxidant activity, as well as high microbial quality. The lowest antioxidant capacity was shown by goji berries cultivated in Poland. However, they contained a high amount of carotenoids. The highest microbial contamination was found in the goji berries available in Poland (>10
CFU/g), which is important in terms of consumer safety. Despite the widely accepted benefits of consuming goji berries, both the country of cultivation and the preservation method may influence their composition, bioactivity, and microbial quality.
The biofortification of basal laying hen feed with natural matrices can improve the beneficial potential of eggs produced without relying on artificial fortification. The present study aimed to ...evaluate the effects of hen diet supplementation with dried Moringa leaves (DML) and goji berries (DGB) on egg functional properties in terms of cholesterol and carotenoid content. Forty Lohman Brown Classic laying hens were randomly divided into four groups. The control group (G1) received the basal poultry diet, group G2 received a diet with 5% DML + 10% DGB, group G3 received a diet with 3% DML + 7% DGB, and group G4 received a diet with 15% DML. HPLC-DAD analysis showed that feed supplementation positively influenced the egg carotenoid content, with a valuable increase in xanthophylls concentration, especially lutein (+333.24% in G4, +258.15% in G2, +189.24% in G3, compared to G1). The same trend was also followed by the β-carotene concentration (+181.38% in G3 and +116.01% in G4, compared to G1). Furthermore, the eggs obtained from G3 showed the lowest cholesterol content (−47.08%). Additionally, the performed antioxidant assays showed maximum activity in G2 (+39.11 compared to G1 for the DPPH test) and in G4 (+31.11 compared to G1 for the ABTS test). In conclusion, the G2 experimental diet could be potentially used in poultry industries to produce “functional eggs”.
Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.) is an important economic crop widely grown in China. The effects of salt-alkaline stress on metabolites accumulation in the salt-tolerant Ningqi1 wolfberry fruits were ...evaluated across 12 salt-alkaline stress gradients. The soil pH, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3− contents decreased at a gradient across the salt-alkaline stress gradients. Based on the widely-targeted metabolomics approach, we identified 457 diverse metabolites, 53% of which were affected by salt-alkaline stress. Remarkably, soil salt-alkaline stress enhanced metabolites accumulation in wolfberry fruits. Amino acids, alkaloids, organic acids, and polyphenols contents increased proportionally across the salt-alkaline stress gradients. In contrast, nucleic acids, lipids, hydroxycinnamoyl derivatives, organic acids and derivatives and vitamins were significantly reduced by high salt-alkaline stress. A total of 13 salt-responsive metabolites represent potential biomarkers for salt-alkaline stress tolerance in wolfberry. Specifically, we found that constant reductions of lipids and chlorogenic acids; up-regulation of abscisic acid and accumulation of polyamines are essential mechanisms for salt-alkaline stress tolerance in Ningqi1. Overall, we provide for the first time some extensive metabolic insights into salt-alkaline stress tolerance and key metabolite biomarkers which may be useful for improving wolfberry tolerance to salt-alkaline stress.
In this study, the changes in drying characteristics and volatile profiles of goji berries under different AC voltages (14, 18, 22, 26, and 30 kV) were investigated using an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) ...needle-plate electrode system. The results showed that increasing voltage significantly increased the drying rate, rehydration capacity, and lightness value of goji berry, decreased the drying time and browning degree (BI). The ordered structure in the secondary structure of goji berry proteins increased with increasing voltage. A total of 87 volatile compounds were identified in the dried goji berry under different drying voltages. Alcohols were the main volatile compounds. The short drying time can effectively reduce microbial contamination, resulting in the lowest content of alcohols in the dried goji berry products after drying at 30 kV. These findings reveal the drying characteristics and flavor formation mechanism of goji berries during electrohydrodynamic drying.
•The voltage affected the drying characteristics of goji berry in an EHD system.•The secondary structure of proteins was more stabilized after the EHD drying of goji berry.•Electrohydrodynamic drying affected the chemical and volatile components of goji berry.•The EHD drying provides a more optimal drying method for the goji berry.
The present study emphasize the effect of R. crispus and L. barbarum 6% aqueous extract on blood sugar level in Alloxan induced diabetes in rats. The rats were divided in five groups: one ...non-diabetic control and four experimental groups with induced diabetes mellitus after 40 mg/kg b.w. intravenous administration of 2% Alloxan. One group was kept as diabetic control and in the other three groups was administered 6% aqueous extracts of R. crispus, L. barbarum or a combination of the extracts during seven weeks. The better results were obtained in case of L. barbatum (goji) extract administration followed by the R. crispus (yellow dock) extract. The combination of the two extracts has proven to have a weaker effect than the extracts given separately.
•Extraction and purification methods of Goji berries LBP component are reported.•Structural characterization of arabinogalactan proteins from Goji berries is reported.•Pharmacological activities of ...Goji berries glycoconjugates are reported.•Mechanisms underlying the Goji berries glycoconjugates bioactivity are evaluated.
In the last decades, glycoconjugates from Lycium barbarum L. fruit (Goji berry) have received a great attention for their potential health-promoting effects. The present review includes a survey of extraction and purification methods of these bioactive molecules (L. barbarum polysaccharides, LBPs), along with a dissertation on the structural characterisation of the carbohydrate component. Furthermore, an overview of in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies concerning the hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects of isolated LBP fractions, is reported. The evidence suggests that these purified components of the Goji berry may be potentially useful as adjuvants in the treatment of diabetes and its correlated illnesses.
Wolfberry is very difficult to dry as its surface is covered by thin wax layer. Chemical dipping is frequently used to dissolve it and enhance drying. In current work, cold plasma (CP) was employed ...and its pretreatment effect (15, 30, 45, 60 s) on drying time, color, rehydration ratio, total phenolic content, total flavonoids content as well as micro-, and ultrastructure of wolfberry dried by hot air drying was explored and compared with that of unpretreated and the pretreated samples using sodium carbonate (SC) solution. Suitable CP processing time could shorten the drying time by 50%. CP pretreatment increased rehydration ratio of dried wolfberry by 7–16%. The L*, a*, and b* of dried wolfberry treated by CP were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than samples without pretreatment, and CP pretreatment decreased ΔE by 18–27%. Phytochemical contents of dried samples increased in the beginning and then decreased with the increase in CP treatment time. Microstructure and ultrastructure observations showed that the cell wall, cell membranes were disintegrated with increase of CP treatment time. Ultrastructure alteration probably facilitated the release and diffusion of moisture and phytochemical compounds entrapped in cells and by thus enhanced the drying and phytochemicals extraction.
•Suitable cold plasma processing time could shorten the drying time by 50%.•Polyphenol content in dried berries increased then decreased with cold plasma duration.•ΔE decreased and rehydration rate increased for dried wolfberries pretreated by cold plasma.•Cold plasma etched micro-holes on the surface of wolfberries.•Alteration of cell ultrastructure changed drying behavior and polyphenol retention.
•Black goji berries total anthocyanins, flavonoids and phenolics were predicted by HSI.•SPA, CARS and PCA, WT were compared to obtain conventional features for prediction.•CNN models for regression ...were proposed and compared.•CNN and DAE were used and compared as feature extraction methods for prediction.•Proposed deep learning approaches could be used to determine chemical compositions.
Black goji berry (Lycium ruthenicum Murr.) has great commercial and nutritional values. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) was used to determine total phenolics, total flavonoids and total anthocyanins in dry black goji berries. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) were designed and developed to predict the chemical compositions. These CNN models and deep autoencoder were used as supervised and unsupervised feature extraction methods, respectively. Partial least squares (PLS) and least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) as modelling methods, successive projections algorithm and competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) as wavelength selection methods, and principal component analysis (PCA) and wavelet transform (WT) as feature extraction methods were studied as conventional approaches for comparison. Deep learning approaches as modelling methods and feature extraction methods obtained good and equivalent performances to the conventional methods. The results illustrated that deep learning had great potential as modelling and feature extraction methods for chemical compositions determination in NIR-HSI.
Abstract
Goji berry tea, a traditional herbal tea, is the main ate mode of goji berry in Asia, yet few studies in comparison with red goji berry tea and black goji berry tea are carried out. This ...study investigated the effects of water temperature and soak time on the colour, phytochemicals, and the antioxidant capacity 2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), and the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of two goji berry tea. A comparison of the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities between black and red goji berry tea was conducted. Results showed that both red and black goji berry tea were rich in phytochemicals, giving high antioxidant ability. The levels of bioactive compounds and the antioxidant activity of the two goji berry tea increased as the increases in soak temperature and time. Black goji berry tea had higher phytochemicals and antioxidant property than those of red goji berry tea. Infused at 100° water for the same time, the levels of total polysaccharides (150 mg/100 ml), total polyphenols (238 mg/ml), and antioxidant capacity (550 μmol/100 ml) of black goji berry tea were 3.5, 2, and 5 times higher, respectively, in comparison with red goji berry tea. The results of this study demonstrate that hot drink of goji berry in China is a good habit and black goji berry tea may be a better choice.
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