Citruses are the worlds’ second fruit crops by volume next to banana. It is one of the most important commodity in tropical Africa as source of foreign currency, raw material for agro-industries and source of employm...Citruses are the worlds’ second fruit crops by volume next to banana. It is one of the most important commodity in tropical Africa as source of foreign currency, raw material for agro-industries and source of employment. The production and productivity of citrus in tropical Africa including Ethiopia are critically threatened by a number of diseases. Among others, pseudocercospora leaf and fruit spot of citrus caused by a fungus Pseudocercospora angolensis is the most destructive disease of citrus. Literature reviews have been made by searching the available information on leaf and fruit spot of citrus. Journal articles, research papers, workshop proceedings, Thesis research, manuals, and quarantine regulations were among the information sources of the review. The disease is widespread in 22 African countries including Ethiopia with a single report around Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. Scattered research efforts have been made by different researchers in Africa mainly dealing with its geographic distribution, biology, and management practices. Fungicides, plant extracts/essential oils, and host resistance are among the research efforts made for the control of P. angolensis. Even though the disease is not yet reported to the rest of the world, it becomes a serious concern as an important quarantine pest thereby critically affecting the world trade and germplasm exchange of the citrus industry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compile the scattered information on various aspects of leaf and fruit spot of citrus mainly to avail the information for researchers, development workers and policy people. Moreover, this review will suggest future research and development direction towards better understanding and sustainable management practices of the disease.展开更多
Air pollution adversely affects skin,leading to skin inflammation and premature skin aging.Plant derived antioxidant compounds have been considered to be promising in discovery of effective agents for the protection o...Air pollution adversely affects skin,leading to skin inflammation and premature skin aging.Plant derived antioxidant compounds have been considered to be promising in discovery of effective agents for the protection of skin from the damage by air pollutants.Our previous studies demonstrated that Averrhoa carambola fruit(known as star fruit)is rich in flavonoid C-glycosides with unique structures and potent antioxidant activity.Thus,the star fruit extract(SFE)and main flavonoid C-glycoside components,carambolasides I,J,and P(1-3),carambolaflavone B(4),and isovitexin 2″-O-α-l-rhamnoside(5),were investigated for the activity against air pollutant stress in human epidermis.As a result,SFE and compounds 1-5 exhibited significant inhibitory activity against protein carbonylation in oxidative-stressed stratum corneum with the best activity being shown by compound 3.SFE and compounds 2-5 were also active against engine exhaust-induced protein carbonylation in stratum corneum.When further evaluated,SFE and com-pound 3 significantly inhibited gene expression of the key inflammation mediators IL-1αand COX-2 in PM-stressed keratinocytes.The results indicated that SFE and the flavonoid C-glycosides are potentially effective against air pollutant-induced skin inflammation and premature aging.展开更多
Brazil is the center of diversity and dispersion of species of the genus Passiflora.Two species of passion fruit Passiflora tenuifila BRS VT(passiflora garlic)and another of Passiflora setacea BRS PC were used in this...Brazil is the center of diversity and dispersion of species of the genus Passiflora.Two species of passion fruit Passiflora tenuifila BRS VT(passiflora garlic)and another of Passiflora setacea BRS PC were used in this study.The plants were grown on the Embrapa Cerrados experimental farm.The fruits were washed,minimally cut and their constituents separated.Both species differed in the proportion of wet mass between husk,seed,and pulp.As expected,both species had a higher proportion of husks and seeds and a lower amount of pulp.A semi-purification procedure for the proteins present in the seeds and husks was described and the molecular aspects were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE).The quantification of soluble proteins was performed using the Bradford method.The analysis of the soluble protein extracted from the seeds and husks showed that these values are up to 70 times higher for the seeds of P.tenuifila and 28.5 times for P.setacea,in the husks.It was verified that both species present a similar protein profile,observed by the intense and diverse bands found in the polyacrylamide gel,mainly in the range of 32 to 19 kDa.This work opens up an unexplored field of tracking bioactive proteins and/or peptides including forms of nanostructure systems that protect other bioactive molecules.The objective of this work was to present an analytical procedure to semi-purify seed proteins of two Passiflora species and use electrophoresis as an analysis tool for further screening of their protein profiles and selection of a molecular marker to differentiate them.展开更多
文摘Citruses are the worlds’ second fruit crops by volume next to banana. It is one of the most important commodity in tropical Africa as source of foreign currency, raw material for agro-industries and source of employment. The production and productivity of citrus in tropical Africa including Ethiopia are critically threatened by a number of diseases. Among others, pseudocercospora leaf and fruit spot of citrus caused by a fungus Pseudocercospora angolensis is the most destructive disease of citrus. Literature reviews have been made by searching the available information on leaf and fruit spot of citrus. Journal articles, research papers, workshop proceedings, Thesis research, manuals, and quarantine regulations were among the information sources of the review. The disease is widespread in 22 African countries including Ethiopia with a single report around Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. Scattered research efforts have been made by different researchers in Africa mainly dealing with its geographic distribution, biology, and management practices. Fungicides, plant extracts/essential oils, and host resistance are among the research efforts made for the control of P. angolensis. Even though the disease is not yet reported to the rest of the world, it becomes a serious concern as an important quarantine pest thereby critically affecting the world trade and germplasm exchange of the citrus industry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compile the scattered information on various aspects of leaf and fruit spot of citrus mainly to avail the information for researchers, development workers and policy people. Moreover, this review will suggest future research and development direction towards better understanding and sustainable management practices of the disease.
基金supported by an NSFC grant (No.31470423) and a special fund for natural resources affairs (2019KJCX027) from Forest Administration of Guangdong Province,China.
文摘Air pollution adversely affects skin,leading to skin inflammation and premature skin aging.Plant derived antioxidant compounds have been considered to be promising in discovery of effective agents for the protection of skin from the damage by air pollutants.Our previous studies demonstrated that Averrhoa carambola fruit(known as star fruit)is rich in flavonoid C-glycosides with unique structures and potent antioxidant activity.Thus,the star fruit extract(SFE)and main flavonoid C-glycoside components,carambolasides I,J,and P(1-3),carambolaflavone B(4),and isovitexin 2″-O-α-l-rhamnoside(5),were investigated for the activity against air pollutant stress in human epidermis.As a result,SFE and compounds 1-5 exhibited significant inhibitory activity against protein carbonylation in oxidative-stressed stratum corneum with the best activity being shown by compound 3.SFE and compounds 2-5 were also active against engine exhaust-induced protein carbonylation in stratum corneum.When further evaluated,SFE and com-pound 3 significantly inhibited gene expression of the key inflammation mediators IL-1αand COX-2 in PM-stressed keratinocytes.The results indicated that SFE and the flavonoid C-glycosides are potentially effective against air pollutant-induced skin inflammation and premature aging.
文摘Brazil is the center of diversity and dispersion of species of the genus Passiflora.Two species of passion fruit Passiflora tenuifila BRS VT(passiflora garlic)and another of Passiflora setacea BRS PC were used in this study.The plants were grown on the Embrapa Cerrados experimental farm.The fruits were washed,minimally cut and their constituents separated.Both species differed in the proportion of wet mass between husk,seed,and pulp.As expected,both species had a higher proportion of husks and seeds and a lower amount of pulp.A semi-purification procedure for the proteins present in the seeds and husks was described and the molecular aspects were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE).The quantification of soluble proteins was performed using the Bradford method.The analysis of the soluble protein extracted from the seeds and husks showed that these values are up to 70 times higher for the seeds of P.tenuifila and 28.5 times for P.setacea,in the husks.It was verified that both species present a similar protein profile,observed by the intense and diverse bands found in the polyacrylamide gel,mainly in the range of 32 to 19 kDa.This work opens up an unexplored field of tracking bioactive proteins and/or peptides including forms of nanostructure systems that protect other bioactive molecules.The objective of this work was to present an analytical procedure to semi-purify seed proteins of two Passiflora species and use electrophoresis as an analysis tool for further screening of their protein profiles and selection of a molecular marker to differentiate them.
