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The wastewater after washing rice grains is known as washed rice water (WRW). WRW is often recommended for reuse as plant fertilizer, but little is known about the difference in the nutrient and microbial contents of WRW between white and brown rice. The study aims to answer this question and determine how much the nutrient contents in the WRW would change with fermentation and how fermentation would affect the phosphorus (P)- and potassium (K)-solubilization bacteria in the WRW. Medium-grained rice was washed at a volumetric rice-to-water ratio of 1:3 for 90 seconds at 0.357 × g. WRW was then fermented for 0 (fresh), 3, 6, and 9 days. The rice grains and WRW were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3-), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and boron (B), as well as for total microbial population and P- and K-solubilizing bacteria. Brown rice grains had 26 to 324% higher P, K, Mg, and Zn than white rice. Nutrient contents in the WRW increased with increasing fermentation, except for C, which decreased with fermentation. At 9 days of fermentation, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and B in the white rice water increased by 4 to 207%, which were also higher than in the brown rice water. The microbial population increased with fermentation for 3 days, then decreased after that, following the same C trend in the WRW from both rice types. P-and K-solubilization by bacteria in the WRW from both rice types increased with fermentation. The P solubilization was 25% higher in brown rice water, while the K solubilization was 67% higher in white rice water. Fermented rice water from white and brown rice was revealed to potentially improve plant growth and increase overall soil health due to their plant nutrient and microbial contents.

The benefits of washed rice water (WRW) as a plant fertilizer, particularly over a consecutive application period, are not well studied. An experiment was therefore carried out to determine: the continuous effects of applying unfermented (F0) and 3-day fermented (F3) WRW on the: (1) soil chemical properties, soil bacterial count, and the growth and plant nutrient content of a test crop, choy sum (Brassica chinensis var. parachinensis), grown on three contrasting soil textures (sandy clay loam, clay, and silt loam); (2) nutrient leaching losses from these three soils due to the continuous application of WRW; (3) crops’ improvement in water use, if any, in terms of its water productivity (WP) and water use efficiency (WUE); and (4) the relationship between soil bacterial count and plant growth parameters. The effects of F0 and F3 were compared with conventional NPK fertilizer and a control (only tap water; CON). Two factors, treatments and soil types, were used factorially in a randomized complete block design for three consecutive planting cycles. Results showed that NPK and F3 produced a significantly (p < 0.01) higher plant growth in terms of fresh and dry leaf weights and total leaf area by 5 to 61%, compared to that obtained in the other treatments. Furthermore, plants receiving either NPK or F3 had a significantly higher plant nutrient content (P, K, Ca, Mg, and Cu) in the third planting cycle. Clay soil treated with F3, NPK, and F0 had significantly higher NH4+, P, Ca, Mg, Zn, and B, by 19 to 152% relative to the other soils, irrespective of treatments. Soil nutrient leaching losses of P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, and B decreased with successive planting cycles for all treatments. However, soils treated with either F3 or F0 experienced higher leaching of NH4+ and NO3− by 37 to 259% and 13 to 34%, respectively, relative to the NPK and CON. Plants treated with either NPK or F3 also had higher WP by 21 to 42% than the other treatments. For all the treatments, plants’ WUE increased with successive planting cycles; however, there was no significant difference between the treatments. F3 stimulated a significantly higher growth and yield of choy sum due to its nutrient and bacterial contents, and the continuous increase in plant growth with successive planting cycles indicated the carryover effects of the treatments, particularly by F3.

Lignosulfonate (LS) is a commonly used to promote plant growth. However, the underlying growth promoting responses of LS in plant remain unknown. Therefore, this study was undertaken to elucidate the underlying growth promoting mechanisms of LS, specifically calcium lignosulfonate (CaLS). Addition of 100 mg/L CaLS in phytohormone-free media enhanced recalcitrant indica rice cv. MR219 callus proliferation rate and adventitious root formation. Both, auxin related genes (OsNIT1, OsTAA1 and OsYUC1) and tryptophan biosynthesis proteins were upregulated in CaLS-treated calli which corroborated with increased of endogenous auxin content. Moreover, increment of OsWOX11 gene on CaLS-treated calli implying that the raised of endogenous auxin was utilized as a cue to enhance adventitious root development. Besides, CaLS-treated calli showed higher nutrient ions content with major increment in calcium and potassium ions. Consistently, increased of potassium protein kinases genes (OsAKT1, OsHAK5, OsCBL, OsCIPK23 and OsCamk1) were also recorded. In CaLS treated calli, the significant increase of calcium ion was observed starting from week one while potassium ion only recorded significant increase on week two onwards, suggesting that increment of potassium ion might be dependent on the calcium ion content in the plant cell. Additionally, reduced callus blackening was also coherent with downregulation of ROS scavenging protein and reduced H2O2 content in CaLS-treated calli suggesting the role of CaLS in mediating cellular homeostasis via prevention of oxidative burst in the cell. Taken together, CaLS successfully improved MR219 callus proliferation and root formation by increasing endogenous auxin synthesis, enhancing nutrients uptake and regulating cellular homeostasis.

Washed rice water (WRW) is said to be a beneficial plant fertilizer because of its nutrient content. However, rigorous scientific studies to ascertain its efficiency are lacking. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fermenting WRW on the bacterial population and identification, and to measure how fermentation affects the nutrient composition of WRW. Rice grains were washed in a volumetric water-to-rice ratio of 3:1 and at a constant speed of 80 rpm for all treatments. The treatments were WRW fermented at 0 (unfermented), 3, 6, and 9 days. Bacterial N fixation and P and K solubilization abilities in the fermented WRW were assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The isolated bacterial strains and the WRW samples were also tested for catalase and indole acetic acid (IAA) production ability. Significantly greater N fixation, P and K solubilization, and IAA production were recorded after 3 days of fermentation compared with other fermentation periods, with increases of 46.9–83.3%, 48.2–84.1%, 73.7–83.6%, and 13.3–85.5%, respectively, in addition to the highest (2.12 × 108 CFU mL−1) total bacterial population. Twelve bacteria strains were isolated from the fermented WRW, and the gene identification showed the presence of beneficial bacteria Bacillus velezensis, Enterobacter spp., Pantoea agglomerans, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia at the different fermentation periods. All the identified microbes (except Enterobacter sp. Strain WRW-7) were positive for catalase production. Similarly, all the microbes could produce IAA, with Enterobacter spp. strain WRW-10 recording the highest IAA of up to 73.7% higher than other strains. Generally, with increasing fermentation periods, the nutrients N, S, P, K, Mg, NH4+, and NO3− increased, while pH, C, and Cu decreased. Therefore, fermentation of WRW can potentially increase plant growth and enhance soil health because of WRW’s nutrients and microbial promotional effect, particularly after 3 days of fermentation.

Background Clinacanthus nutans extracts have been consumed by the cancer patients with the hope that the extracts can kill cancers more effectively than conventional chemotherapies. Our previous study reported its anti-inflammatory effects were caused by inhibiting Toll-like Receptor-4 (TLR-4) activation. However, we are unsure of its anticancer effect, and its interaction with existing chemotherapy. Methods We investigated the anti-proliferative efficacy of polar leaf extracts (LP), non-polar leaf extracts (LN), polar stem extract (SP) and non-polar stem extracts (SN) in human breast, colorectal, lung, endometrial, nasopharyngeal, and pancreatic cancer cells using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, MTT assay. The most potent extracts was tested along with gemcitabine using our established drug combination analysis. The effect of the combinatory treatment in apoptosis were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Annexin V assay, antibody array and immunoblotting. Statistical significance was analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc Dunnett’s test. A p-value of less than 0.05 (p Results All extracts tested were not able to induce potent anti-proliferative effects. However, it was found that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, PDAC (AsPC1, BxPC3 and SW1990) were the cell lines most sensitive cell lines to SN extracts. This is the first report of C. nutans SN extracts acting in synergy with gemcitabine, the first line chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, as compared to conventional monotherapy. In the presence of SN extracts, we can reduce the dose of gemcitabine 2.38–5.28 folds but still maintain the effects of gemcitabine in PDAC. SN extracts potentiated the killing of gemcitabine in PDAC by apoptosis. Bax was upregulated while bcl-2, cIAP-2, and XIAP levels were downregulated in SW1990 and BxPC3 cells treated with gemcitabine and SN extracts. The synergism was independent of TLR-4 expression in pancreatic cancer cells. Conclusion These results provide strong evidence of C. nutans extracts being inefficacious as monotherapy for cancer. Hence, it should not be used as a total substitution for any chemotherapy agents. However, SN extracts may synergise with gemcitabine in the anti-tumor mechanism.

Lignosulfonate (LS) is a by-product obtained during sulfite pulping process and is commonly used as a growth enhancer in plant growth. However, the underlying growth promoting mechanism of LS on shoot growth remains largely unknown. Hence, this study was undertaken to determine the potential application of eco-friendly LS chelated ion complex (NaLS and CaLS) to enhance recalcitrant indica rice MR219 shoot growth and to elucidate its underlying growth promoting mechanisms. The NaLS was shown to be a better shoot growth enhancer as compared to CaLS, with optimum concentration of 300 mg/L. Subsequent comparative proteomic analysis revealed an increase of photosynthesis-related proteins and stress regulator proteins abundance in NaLS-treated rice as compared to MSO (control). Consistently, biochemical analyses showed a significant increase of rubisco activity, total chlorophyll, total sugar and total protein contents in NaLS-treated rice, implying NaLS role in empowering photosynthesis activities that led to plant growth enhancement. In addition, low level of peroxidase activity, malondialdehyde content and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity were also observed in NaLS-treated rice. These results suggest that NaLS plays a role in modulating cellular homeostasis to provide a conducive cellular environment for plant growth. Taken together, NaLS improved shoot growth of recalcitrant MR219 rice by upregulation of photosynthetic activities and reduction of cellular stress leading to better plant growth.

This study was undertaken to evaluate growth-promoting effects of Pluronic F-68 (PF-68) on recalcitrant MR 219 rice callus. Our study shows that calli grown on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.04% PF-68 significantly increased callus proliferation by 58.80% (fresh weight) and 23.98% (dry weight) while root formation from callus was enhanced by 28.57%. Enhanced callus proliferation was supported by biochemical analysis, whereby highest amount of soluble sugar (1.77 mg/mL) and protein (0.17 mg/mL) contents were recorded in calli grown on 0.04% PF-68. Furthermore, enhanced expression of sucrose synthase (2.65-folds) and NADH-dependent glutamate synthase (1.86-folds) genes in calli grown on 0.04% PF-68 also correlates with enhanced callus proliferation. In contrast, high concentration of PF-68 (0.10%) recorded highest amount of phenolic (0.74 mg/mL), flavonoid (0.08 mg/mL), and hydrogen peroxide content (0.06 mg/mL) as compared to other treatment groups indicates activation of plant defence mechanism towards stress. Similarly, high expression of 4-coumarate:CoA ligase 3 (1.28-folds), chalcone-flavonone isomerase (1.65-folds) and ascorbate peroxidase (1.61-folds) genes were observed in calli grown on 0.10% PF-68 further supports increasing stress caused by the high concentration of PF-68. Taken together, our study revealed that optimum concentration of PF-68 could improve recalcitrant rice callus proliferation via enhanced sugar metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis which are crucial towards plant growth and development. However, at high concentration, PF-68 induces stress in plant which enhance the production of secondary metabolite to maintain cellular homeostasis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13205-020-2118-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Biodiversity decline in rapidly expanding oil palm plantations is of global concern. Many studies have demonstrated that fauna species diversity is lower in oil palm plantations than forests. However, information about the flow-on effects of these declines in species diversity on ecosystem functioning is scarce for oil palm plantations. Litter decomposition performed by soil organisms is a vital ecosystem function that regulates nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Some studies have found a high level of redundancy among litter decomposing species. In order to evaluate the effects of the conversion of forests to oil palm plantations on decomposition, we investigated the abundance and biomass of soil macro-invertebrates at sites in two oil palm plantations and a secondary forest in Malaysia. Biodiversity of soil macro-invertebrates were lower in the oil palm plantations than in the secondary forest. The abundance and biomass of surface–living litter transformers was lower in oil palm plantations than forest, probably due to the isolated piles of frond litter that occur in plantations, instead of the more continuous litter layer observed in forests. However, we found dense populations of wood (litter)–feeding termites in the thick rachises of fronds heaped on the ground surface. A pantropical earthworm species, Pontoscolex corethrurus, which buries the litter through cast deposition, abounded more in the oil palm plantations than in the secondary forest. These characteristics of soil macro-invertebrates have also been reported in other oil palm plantations. Thus, we conclude that the conversion of forests to oil palm plantations may reduce diversity of soil macro-invertebrates, increase the heterogeneity of macro-invertebrates distribution and decrease populations of some functional groups of soil macro-invertebrates. However, overall, forest conversion does not appear to have a negative impact on the decomposition process to a great extent, owing to the colonization of plantation sites by other groups of decomposer animals that are favored by disturbance and/or the great amount of localized input of fresh fronds pruned at the time of fruit harvesting.

This paper highlights the application of hyperspectral sensing in conjunction with imbalance approaches and machine learning (ML) algorithms to monitor the nutrients status of mature oil palm. As an alternative to the traditional foliar analysis, hyperspectral spectroscopy have portrayed a promising direction in appraising nutrients status of oil palm since the former approach is expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive for the vast area of oil palm plantations. The aims of this study were to i) identify the spectral features that characterized leaf calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) sufficiency levels of mature oil palm as affected by N fertilizer and ii) examine the performance of ML classifiers (Logistic Model Tree (LMT) and Naive Bayes (NB)), as well as imbalance approaches (Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling TEchnique (SMOTE), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost) and combination of SMOTE and Ada-Boost (SMOTE+AdaBoost)) in classifying the Ca, K, Mg, N and P sufficiency levels from different frond numbers using the spectral features obtained in objective i. N fertilizers ranging from 0 to 6 kg N palm−1 were applied to the mature Tenera palm stands (12 and 15 years old) for three consecutive years. Spectral regions relevant to the classification of Ca, Mg and N status were the visible (Vis), near-infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) while NIR and SWIR and Vis and SWIR were essential for P and K. The best discrimination of Ca, K, Mg, N and P sufficiency levels was via the LMT-SMOTE+AdaBoost model with balance accuracies (AccBalance) ranging from 76.13 to 100.00%. In general, the AccBalance of the nutrients tended to decrease as frond gets older. In summary, for assessment of oil palm nutrient status via remote sensing platforms, frond 9 was more appropriate than frond 17.

Figure S1. The matrix plots from Combenefit reported the HSA and Bliss synergy/antagonism score ± standard deviation for each combination treatment of SN and gemcitabine at different concentrations. Each combination was colored according to the scale where red and blue represent antagonism and synergy, respectively and the asterisk(s) indicate the level of significance (* p

A common practice of chlorophyll (chl) determination has been using the chemical analysis that is destructive and time-consuming. A current prospective alternative method such hyperspectral remote sensing offers a non-destructive measurement of chl which provides a result in the rapid and real-time manner. Therefore, the ultimate aims of this study were to propose the chls (chl a, chl b, total chl content (TCC) and relative chl content (RCC)) sufficiency levels via Jenks Natural Breaks (JNB) classification and recommend the best subset of chl-sensitive wavelengths, frond number and classifier for classifying the chls according to the designated sufficiency levels via hyperspectral remote sensing platform. In order to achieve the objectives, an experiment was conducted on mature Tenera palm stands (12 and 15 years old) with N treatments varied from 0 to 2 kg. The Jenks Natural Breaks (JNB) classification was proposed to determine the chl sufficiency levels. Feature selection was carried out to select the chl-sensitive wavelengths while Decision Tree (DT) and Random Forest (RF) classifiers were used to classify the chl sufficiency levels using the selected wavelengths. Results from this study showed that the chl-sensitive wavelengths mostly belong to the red-edge region and importantly, they were frond age-dependent. Generally, the classification accuracy tended to decrease as frond gets older. The RF performed the best in discriminating the chl sufficiency levels with accuracy ranging from 92.79 to 98.77% compared to 56.30–90.48% achieved by DT. In the nutshell, the execution of frond 9 was more ideal than frond 17 for monitoring chl content of mature oil palm via remote sensing and RF portrayed promising insight in assessing chls content of mature oil palm.

Background: Clinacanthus nutans (CN) is a small shrub native to tropical Asia known for their anti-oxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and anti-viral activities. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of CN extract on human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK-Blue™-4) in a proteomic perspective. Materials and Methods: Comparative proteomic profiling through two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis was performed on HEK-Blue™-4 treated with CN leaf polar extract. Results: We successfully identified seven upregulated proteins, of which five promoted the growth of the HEK-Blue™-4 cells. Interestingly, a potent antioxidant enzyme which neutralizes reactive oxygen or nitrogen species, peroxiredoxin-1 was also upregulated in HEK-Blue™-4 cell lines after treatment with CN leaf polar extract. Conclusion: CN leaf polar extract promotes the growth of HEK-Blue™-4 cells and induced the expression of peroxiredoxin-1, which protects the cells from reactive oxygen species during the inflammation process.