Search

Objective(s): Influenza A virus (IAV) is a contagious illness. Different species of Scutellaria genus are used as a traditional remedy to reduce influenza symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the antiinfluenza capacity of several species of Iranian Scutellaria and identify active compounds of the most potent species for the first time. Materials and Methods: Some Iranian species of Scutellaria were collected from different regions of Iran, including S. pinnatifida with mucida, viridis, and alpina subspecies; S. tournefortii; S. tomentosa; S. persica. They were fractionated to chloroform and methanol. The total phenols and flavonoids of samples were examined by the folin-ciocalteau and aluminum-flavonoid complex methods, respectively. The 50% cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) on MDCK cells and non-cytotoxic concentrations (NCTC) were determined by MTT assay. The percentage of cell protection against IAV and their effect on virus titer were investigated in pre-, post-, and co-penetration treatment groups. Phytochemicals of the most effective species were isolated by various chromatographic methods and identified by different spectroscopic methods. Results: Methanol fraction of S. pinnatifida subsp. viridis demonstrated the highest amounts of flavonoid content and best activity against influenza A virus in all combination treatments, which reduced the virus titer by 5 logs with no cytotoxicity. Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-Oglucoside, apigenin-4'-methoxy-7-O-glucoside, luteolin, and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were purified and identified from this species. Conclusion: Scutellaria pinnatifida subsp. viridis can be introduced as a source of flavonoids with acceptable anti-influenza activity. S. tomentosa also showed potent antiviral effects and is a candidate for elucidation in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Varietal preference of mango fruit borer (Autocharis albizonalis Hampson) was determined in regard to the Phenol content of the fruit in Department of Plant Physiology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal. Total estimation of Phenol was carried out with the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent. It was determined that pulp phenol level of the fruits of the mango cultivars ranged from 5.707 mg kg-1 to 23.57 mg kg-1 at marble stage, 2.537 mg kg-1 to 13.493 mg kg-1 at egg stage and from 1.023 mg kg-1 to 11.023 mg kg-1 at maturity stage of the fruit. The variations in pulp phenol level of mango cultivars under study were significant at all three stages indicating inherent differences in this respect among the cultivars. Himasagar at marble stage had phenol content 21.060 mg kg-1 in the pulp. Gradually, the phenol content declined to 11.023 mg kg-1 in the pulp at maturity when infestation of the pest on the variety reached its highest. The correlation study of fruit borer infestation revealed that its infestation was strongly associated with pulp phenol level of fruit maturity (r=0.78) and egg stage (r=0.73) where as it did not have any association with pulp phenol level at marble stage (r=0.44). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental conditions influence crop productivity and quality, making breeding for improvement of a particular trait challenging. Similarly, relationships among traits may make trait improvement difficult, especially if selection for high levels of one trait results in low levels of the other(s). Therefore, understanding the influence of environment and relationships among traits is necessary in trait selection and crop improvement. The objective of this study was to investigate the variability and correlations among antioxidant activity (AOA), total phenolic content (TP), and specific gravity (SPG) in potato cultivars and advanced breeding selections. This research included investigation of genotype x environment (GxE), using four cultivars (Atlantic, Red LaSoda, Russet Norkotah, and Yukon Gold) grown for 3 years (2005, 2006, and 2007) in nine states (CA, ID, MI, MN, NJ, NC, OR, TX, and WI), and two broader genotype studies using 15 advanced breeding selections grown in Texas in 2005 and 60 advanced selections and five cultivars grown in Texas in 2009. Two methods, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), were used to evaluate AOA, and total phenolic (TP) content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteau method. Significant effects of cultivar, year, location and their interactions on AOA, TP, and SPG were observed, as well as significant trait differences among cultivars within and between locations. The correlations between AOA and TP were significantly positive, while between AOA and SPG, and between TP and SPG were weak and negative in the GxE study. Correlations between AOA and SPG, and between TP and SPG in the two genotype studies were not significant. The weak relationships observed in the GxE study between AOA and SPG, and between TP and SPG may have been due to the small sample size and/or the cultivar Atlantic consistently exhibiting the lowest values of AOA and TP, and highest SPG in all locations. Results from the genotype studies suggest that breeding for high AOA and TP to increase the nutritional value of potato cultivars can be done without compromising tuber quality in terms of specific gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]