Effects of Various Growth Regulators on in Vitro Rootingof Globe Artichoke （Cynara scolymus L.）

Since micropropagation is useful tool to get healthy initial material, main target of many researches on this subject is todevelop and/or optimize an efficient protocol for artichoke cultivars. In this study, influences of different doses of growth regulatorsindole-3-butyric acid （IBA）, naphthalene acetic acid （NAA）, gibberellin （GA3） in combination with/without activated charcoal （AC）,putrescine acid and jasmonic acid, added to Murashige and Skoog （MS） basal medium have been investigated on the rooting of globeartichoke （Cynara scolymus L.）. Artichoke offshoots from 4-year-old mother plants of globe artichoke cultivars Sakiz andBayrampasa were used. Results showed that the highest rooting percentage 63.35% and 36.6% was obtained in Sakiz andBayrampasa, respectively, from the 5 mg/L GA3 with 1 g/L AC added to MS medium.

Anti-Aging Effect of <i>Cynara cardunculus</i>L. var. <i>Cynara scolymus</i>L. Extract in D-Galactose-Induced Skin Aging Model in Rats

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of 2% Cynara scolymus L. extracts in reverse disturbances of collagen metabolism and inflammation in D-galactose induced skin aging model in rats. D-galactose induced aging reproduced in 48 animals of main group, and 12 rats in control group. All animals in main group were randomized for 4 groups: I. aging + saline, II - IV. different manufacturers 2% artichoke extracts (with content of chlorogenic acid 2.5%) in a dose of intradermal injection 0.13 mg twice at weeks during 4 weeks. Influence of artichoke extracts restored skin relative weight and led to an increase of solubility in neutral salt and acid, and decreased pepsin solubility collagen fraction, restored the hexosamine/collagen (hydroxyproline) ratio and decreased the activity of nuclear transcription factor (NF-kB). Local prolonged treatment with artichoke extracts improved collagen metabolism and attenuated the progression of inflammation in D-galactose induced skin aging model.

Effect of fosfomycin,Cynara scolymus extract,deoxynivalenol and their combinations on intestinal health of weaned piglets

Weaning is a challenging stage of pig farming.Animals undergo environmental,social and dietary changes leading to weaning stress syndrome.In order to compensate for the detrimental effects of weaning stress,antibiotics and natural extracts are used as feed additives,sometimes without fully understanding the interactions between them or even with low concentrations of mycotoxins that are frequently present in feed.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fosfomycin(FOS),Cynara scolymus extract(CSE),deoxynivalenol(DON) and their combined administration on intestinal health of weaned piglets.The experiment was designed as a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement with 3 factors(FOS,CSE and DON treatments),2 levels each(presence and absence) and 3 repeats.Weaned piglets(n=24)were randomly divided in groups to receive the different treatments,namely DON administered in diet(50 μg/kg BW),FOS administered into the drinking water(30 mg/kg BW),CSE administered in diet(15 mg/kg BW) and all their combinations.After 15 d,the animals were euthanized and gastrointestinal tract samples were immediately taken to evaluate gastrointestinal pH,Enterobacteriaceae to lactic acid bacteria(E:L) ratio,volatile fatty acid(VFA) concentrations,disaccharidase(lactase,sucrase and maltase)activity,histology(intestinal absorptive area [IAA] and goblet cells count) and mucus ability to adhere pathogenic Escherichia coli.From our results,FOS and CSE treatments,individually or combined,produced a lower E:L ratio,an enhanced production of butyrate,increased disaccharidase activity(particularly maltase),and a greater IAA and goblet cells count along with an increase in pathogenic bacteria adherence to intestinal mucus.Deoxynivalenol did not show interactions with the other factors and its administration produced decreases on VFA,disaccharidase activity and goblet cells count.In conclusion,weaning piglets receiving diets containing FOS,CSE or both exhibited evident beneficial intestinal effects compared to animals receiving diets free from these compounds.On the contrary,the presence of DON at sub-toxic concentrations produced detrimental effects on intestinal health.The knowledge of the physiological and pathological gut changes produced by these compounds contributes to understand their potential productive consequences.

Influence of Mycorrhizal Inoculation on the Salt Tolerance of Artichoke Hybrid Seedlings

The role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in the alleviation of salinity stress induced by sodium chloride （NaCI） was investigated. Three artichoke hybrids, Madrigal F1, Opal FI, and Concerto FI （Nunhems company）, were grown in pot in controlled environment with two different mycorrhizal treatments （with or without Glomus viscosum）. Two months after inoculation, the fungus established well on roots of the Madrigal and Opal plants with higher colonization and dependency values, instead the Concerto plants showed lower mycorrhizal dependency and colonization rate. Mycorrhizal symbiosis generally improved plant vegetative growth and sustained plant physiology increasing stomatal conductance and SPAD values. The root systems of two months old artichoke plantlets, both inoculated and non inoculated, were placed in distilled water enriched with different salt concentrations （0, 100, 150, 200, 250 mM NaCI） to study the wilting response. A visual rating system was developed defining various wilting indexes （TO, no wilting; T1, foliar damage on less than 50% of vegetal tissues of basal leaves; T2, initial wilting and foliar damage on more than 50% of vegetal tissues of basal leaves; T3, foliar damage on the apical leaves; and T4, total wilting）. Mycorrhizal plants reached later the wilting indexes than non-mycorrhizal plants. Electrolyte leakage by leaves after salinity imposition was higher in non-mycorrhizal plants and the vegetal tissues were severely damaged especially in the basal leaves. The greater tolerance observed in the mycorrhizal plants could be in agreement with the improvement in growth stimulated by mycorrhizal symbiosis, which leads to the dilution of toxic ions.