This study aimed at assessing the biological activities of
seeds using cytotoxicity, phytochemical, antiparasitic screening, and antioxidant assays. Mature fruits of
.
were harvested from Fort Hare ...University's Research Farm located in Alice, South Africa. The collected seeds were pulverized in a standard process and taken to the laboratory for crude extraction and further treatments. Cytotoxic, antimalarial, and trypanocidal effects of crude extracts obtained from ethanol and water were tested, while the total phenolic, proanthocyanidin, and flavonoid contents of the aqueous extracts as well as their pharmacological activities were determined in vitro using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl ethanol (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Although the extracts showed mild antiparasitic (antiplasmodial and trypanocidal) effects, results from the cytotoxic experiment revealed that
.
is not toxic to human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells when tested using 50 µg/mL of extracts. It was observed that the seeds were remarkably rich in phenol (3730.1 ± 15.52 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g) compared to flavonoids (63.03 ± 1.95 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g) and proanthocyanidin (18.92 ± 1.09 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g). Also, the antioxidant activities of the extracts were comparable to those of the standard antioxidant drugs (rutin and gallic acid) used, in a concentration-dependent manner. There was a direct relationship between phenolic acid content and antioxidant effects. It is therefore suggested that
seeds be incorporated into human diets as a supplement to promote healthy living. Pharmaceutical industries with a particular interest in natural phenolic acids should consider using seeds of
as pharmaceutical precursors.
The rising incidence of cancer is a major concern globally being a leading cause of early mortality in most countries. This burden is projected to increase to 28.4 million cases worldwide by 2040 and ...yet, may be worsened by continuous exposure to risk factors due to a sheer shift from consumption of natural nutrients. To reverse this trend, it is imperative to source novel anticancer metabolites from plants that could minimize carcinogenic effects by suppressing the proliferation and survival of cancer cells.
This study aimed at characterizing and quantifying index anticancer and antioxidant metabolites, in the cultivars of T. portulacastrum.
The Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (UHP-LCMS) was used to quantify and characterize index anticancer and antioxidant metabolites in shoot, root and whole plant extracts of Trianthema portulacastrum (T01,T02,T03,T04,T05,T06). The biological activity of the tested samples was monitored on the xCELLigence Real Time Cell Analyzer to determine the cytotoxicity of the extracts as a function of cell index at a specific time post dose using the concentration range of 0.16–2.5 %.
Based on the responses observed 48 h post exposure, all extracts showed high levels of cytotoxicity as determined by the xCELLigence apart from the root extracts. Rapid decreases in cell index (CI) values observed at higher extract percentages are highly indicative of cell death. These biological activities may be attributed to different anticancer metabolites such as epigallocatechin, glucaric acids, byakangelicin, xanthotoxin, apaensin, acetoxy-6-gingerol among other compounds of significant therapeutic benefits that were quantified with UHP-LCMS.
These findings suggest that T. portulacastrum contains diverse anticancer metabolites which could be leveraged to develop plant-based anticancer drugs or novel chemicals with extended therapeutic utility.
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Nanoengineered nanoparticles have a significant impact on the morphological, physiology, biochemical, cytogenetic, and reproductive yields of agricultural crops. Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles ...like Ag, Au, Cu, Zn, Ti, Mg, Mn, Fe, Mo, etc. and ZnO, TiO
2
, CuO, SiO
2
, MgO, MnO, Fe
2
O
3
or Fe
3
O
4,
etc. that found entry into agricultural land, alter the morphological, biochemical and physiological system of crop plants. And the impacts on these parameters vary based on the type of crop and nanoparticles, doses of nanoparticles and its exposure situation or duration, etc. These nanoparticles have application in agriculture as nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, nanoremediator, nanobiosensor, nanoformulation, phytostress-mediator, etc. The challenges of engineered metal and metal oxide nanoparticles pertaining to soil pollution, phytotoxicity, and safety issue for food chains (human and animal safety) need to be understood in detail. This review provides a general overview of the applications of nanoparticles, their potentials and challenges in agriculture for sustainable crop production.
The development of antiretroviral therapy has brought a tremendous relief to the world as it minimizes mortality, reduces HIV transmission, and suppresses progression in infected patients. However, ...the orthodox antiretroviral therapy is faced with limitations which have necessitated a continuous search for more novel plant-based antiviral compounds, which can bypass the existing barriers created by drug resistance and target more viral proteins. Despite the edibility and enormous pharmacological benefits of T. portulacastrum, little is known about its nutrient profiles and potential use as a natural source of antiviral drug. This study focuses on the full feed analysis and anti-HIV potential of two biotypes of T. portulacastrum. Ethanolic extracts of both biotypes of T. portulacastrum (T01 and T02) had significant inhibitory effects on the level of replication of the HIV-1. Both extracts induced the inhibition of at least 50% of the HIV-1 viral load at considerably low IC
values of 1.757 mg/mL (T01) and 1.205 mg/mL (T02) which is comparable to the AZT standard. The protein composition ranged between 8.63-22.69%; fat (1.84-4.33%); moisture (7.89-9.04%); fibre (23.84-49.98%); and carbohydrate content (38.54-70.14%). Mineral contents of tested T. portulacastrum varied considerably in different parts of the plant. Nitrogen N mineral ranged between 13.8-36.3 mg/g; sodium Na (2.0-14.0 mg/g); potassium K (14.0-82.0 mg/g); magnesium Mg (2.8-7.1 mg/g); calcium Ca (9.1-24.7 mg/g); phosphorus P (1.3-3.6 mg/g); iron Fe (193.5-984.0 ppm); zinc Zn (42.5-96.0 ppm); manganese Mn (28.5-167.5 ppm); and copper Cu (2.0-8.5 ppm). These mineral values are comparable or higher than values quoted for common vegetables, suggesting that T. portulacastrum is a nutrient-dense vegetable that could provide alternative sources of antiviral nutrients to HIV-infected individuals. Further studies are recommended to unravel key metabolites responsible for high nutrient profiles and antiretroviral effects in T. portulacastrum.
The C_3 and C_4 photosynthetic pathways in dicotyledons were investigated with the four species of Boerhavia occurring in Nigeria using light microscopy. The study is not yet well reported on ...dicotyledons as done for monocotyledons. The features cross-examined were stomata index, stomata size, inter-stomatal distance, stomatal density, interveinal distance, intercellular air spaces, leaf thickness, mesophyll thickness, Kranz tissue, one cell distant count criterion, maximum lateral cell count criterion, vein density and vein distance. Based on these features, these species (B. erecta, B. coccinea and B. repens) were grouped into C_4 while B. diffusa was grouped as a C_3 plant. In particular, interveinal distance less than 166μm and maximum lateral count ranging 2 to 6 will help in grouping C_4 dicotyledons species while those that were greater than these values are useful in grouping C_3 and plants.
Contamination of urban-garden vegetables with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a great problem in developing countries. This study assessed the level of PTEs (Cu, Pb, Cr and Cd) in market-sold ...vegetables in southwest Nigeria and evaluated the estimated daily intake (EDI) to understand the health implications. Level of PTEs in 80% samples exceeded the FAO/WHO permissible limits. The EDI for Pb exceeded the permissible limit by 1.8% and 5.4% in adults and children, respectively. m hazard quotient (HQ) of Pb in adults exceeded USEPA limit by 3-fold. The HQchildren for Cu, Pb and Cr exceeded USEPA limit by 1.5-, 6.9- and 1.5-fold, respectively. Hazard index for adults and children exceeded the recommended value by 11- and 3-fold, respectively. Cancer risk of Pb, Cr and Cd in adults and children exceeded the USEPA limit. Conclusively, consumption of vegetables in this region of Nigeria portends potential human risk to adults and children.
Signaling molecules such as melatonin can modulate drought, which continues to be a serious threat to plant productivity across the world.
Capsicum
is an economically important crop valued for its ...piquancy and nutritional content, but is quite sensitive to drought. This study investigated the effect of two levels of foliar application of melatonin (0 and 50 μM) on growth parameters, pigment accumulation, and osmolyte and inorganic ion content of three
Capsicum
species (
C. frutesence, C. chinense,
and
C. annum
) under well-watered as well as mild and severe drought conditions. Drought exerted negative effects on growth and development of the
Capsicum
spp., as indicated by changes in height, decreased leaf area, biomass, and photosynthetic pigment concentrations. Drought strongly decreased chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoid content, but increased root biomass, total soluble sugar, and proline concentrations of
Capsicum
compared to well-watered plants. In
C. frutesence,
severe drought significantly enhanced Na
+
and SO
4
2−
, while mild drought increased Ca
2+
and SO
4
2−
. Mild and severe drought increased Na
+
, decreased K
+
and Ca
2+
, and had no significant effects on Cl
−
and SO
4
2−
in
C. chinense
and
C. annum.
Foliar application of melatonin had positive but varying effects on
Capsicum
, as indicated by differences in growth, photosynthetic pigments, and ion accumulation. These findings pointed to beneficial effects of foliar application of melatonin in facilitating and improving drought tolerance of
Capsicum
via increased osmolyte accumulation, pigments, and total concentration of inorganic ions under drought conditions.
Twelve morphological parameters from the leaves, fruits, and pedicel of fifteen (15) species of the subtribe Cassiinae were studied using the methods of numerical taxonomy. Characters such as leaflet ...length, leaflet width, and leaflet length/width ratio contributed significantly in the delimitation of the species studied. While C. italica and Ch. mimosoides are the most closely related taxa, C. fistula and C. singueana appear to be the most distantly related as reflected by the cluster coefficients. Further illustrations as revealed by the dendrogram and scatter plot generated placed the 15 studied species into three groups. While we acknowledge the relevance of phylogenetic analysis in taxonomic studies as it is in recent times, we strongly support the application of numerical taxonomy to compliment findings.
Leaf anatomical characters of twelve species from the genus
Cyperus
, a genus known to contain species with both C
3
and C
4
plants, have been investigated. We investigated and established the ...usefulness of all‐inclusive functional leaf anatomical characters for identifying the photosynthetic pathways of these species. The species investigated were
C. articulatus
L.,
C. compressus
L.,
C. difformis
L.,
C. dilatatus
Schum. & Thonn.,
C. distans
L.,
C. esculentus
L.,
C. haspan
L.,
C. imbricatus
Retz.,
C. iria
L.,
C. rotundus
L.,
C. sphacelatus
Rottb. and
C. tenuiculmis
(Boeck.) Hooper, collected from locations in southwestern Nigeria. Standard anatomical procedures for examining epidermal and cross sections of leaves were employed. Our data suggested that a combination of characters, such as the occurrence of Kranz tissue, maximum cell distant count, maximum lateral cell count, interveinal distance, and to some extent leaf and mesophyll thickness, provide a reliable basis for the assessment of the photosynthetic pathways of the investigated species as compared to the isolated characters used previously. The study indicate that
C. difformis
and
C. haspan
are C
3
species while the rest follow the C
4
photosynthetic pathway. A salient feature of this study is the identification of
C. dilatatus
as belonging to the C
4
group.
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