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Backgrounds: Various physiological functions and reaction cascades, as well as disease progression in the living systems, are controlled by the activity of specific proteolytic enzymes. We conducted the study to evaluate protease activity by assessing peptide fragments from either conserved or labeled red blood cells (RBCs) with aminofluorescein (AF) in the reaction media. Methods: RBCs were incubated in media containing trypsin. Subsequently, the concentration of peptide fragments in the reaction media, resulted by the digestion with trypsin from conserved cells, was estimated by 3‐(4‐carboxybenzoyl)quinoline‐2‐carboxaldehyde (CBQCA) as an amine‐reactive fluorogenic reagent. In a second approach, we conjugated AF to the conserved RBCs and then exposed AF‐labeled RBCs to trypsin. This was followed by directly measuring the fluorescence intensity (FI) in the reaction media to estimate the concentration of AF‐labeled peptide fragments resulting from the enzyme's activity. Results: Show a concentration‐ and time‐dependent increase in FIs, reflecting the activity of trypsin as a proteolytic enzyme. The FIs increased significantly by 4 to 5 folds in samples treated with different enzyme concentrations, and by over 11 folds after 2 h incubation in media containing a 50 μL trypsin, as evidenced by CBQCA assays. Conclusion: These fast and affordable approaches could be applied with high reliability for the general estimation of protease activity in samples and customized for diagnostic purposes and prognostic evaluation in various diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiliadenus montanus(Vahl.) Brullo is a wild herb that grows in narrow parts of Jordan and is locally named Hneedeh. Despite being used for treating mild abdominal and respiratory ailments, Hneedeh is still locally known on a very small scale, and its healing capabilities are still waiting for a solid scientific justification. No previous studies were made to explore the antibacterial potential of Jordanian Hneedeh as well as its chemical composition despite being researched by scientists from neighboring countries. For this reason, this research aimed to unveil the active compounds behind the medicinal properties of wild C. montanus collected from Garissa-Jordan by analyzing the essential oil using the GC MS system. Also, the antibacterial activity was explored in two extracts (methanolic and ethanolic) collected from the succulent branches of C. montanus was examined using Microdilution and Disc Diffusion Assays. Data revealed the presence of 23 compounds grouped into eight classes and oxygenated monoterpenes were the predominant class (40.36%).Terpinen-4-ol, which is known for its super curative antibacterial and antitumoral powers, was indicated to be the major chemical compound in the essential oil of Hneedeh as it comprised (23.3%) of the essential oil, which disagreed with other previous studies made on the same plants growing in neighboring counties. Moreover, both extract types restricted growth in most tested bacterial types. The results recorded in the Microdilution Assay showed that the inhibitory effect of both extract types was stronger thanthose obtained in the antibiotic treatment (control) in E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Meanwhile, both methanolic and ethanolic extracts were as effective as the antibiotic when administrated to Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella sp. at similar minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) values. Moreover, Disc Diffusion Assay showed that both extract types could prevent the development of six bacteria types while no effect was recorded in Klebsiella pneumoniae. However, E coli bacteria was the most affected strain. The presence of the oxygenated monoterpenes, especially Terpinen-4-ol at premium levels, might be the causal agent behind the remarkable antibacterial powers of C. montanus extract. To our knowledge, this is the first time that C. montanus which grows wild in the village of Ghareesa is reported to contain Terpinen-4-ol as the main active ingredient, which is unlike results reported in other studies conducted on similar plant species growing in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hubble-bubble smoking is a common smoking practice spreading fast among young adults, even in western countries. People think it is less toxic than cigarette smoking. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of oxidative stress markers and antioxidants in the blood of hubble-bubble (HB) smokers compared to controls as a sign of toxicity since disease process is caused by abnormal antioxidant capacity. Methods: Blood samples were collected by authorized personnel from recruited healthy volunteers (28 habitual HB smokers and 18 nonsmokers). The levels of oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonyl), antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and lipids were measured. Results: The protein carbonyl level in the HB smokers’ group (2.58 mmol/gm of protein) was significantly higher than in the control group (2.58 ±0.8 vs. 2.04 ±0.8 mmol/gm of protein), while the CAT level in the HB smokers’ group was significantly lower than the control group (22545.4±504 vs 24772.0±344.6 mU/ml). Also, a clear difference in GPx level was found between study groups (1091.6±122 vs. 3144.9± 409mU/ml). However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding the SOD and MDA levels or the concentration of the lipid. Conclusions: HB smoking is associated with increased levels of carbonyl proteins, decreased levels of catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in the plasma, which may contribute to several adverse health effects associated with HB smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals represent a growing threat for ecosystems worldwide. In Jordan, several studies have searched the amounts of heavy metals in soils at roadsides of high ways and soils of litter dumps. The conducted studies found that these soils contained worrying levels of heavy metals that have exceeded in many cases the average world safe limit. For example, lead (Pb) level was 79 mg/kg in soils closed to some highways while the world safe limit is only (25 mg/kg). In other studies, cadmium (Cd) concentration was (5.9 mg/kg) while the world safe limit for Cd is only (0.03 mg/kg). Also in some litter dumps in Jordan, soil chromium (Cr) average content was (6.9 mg/kg) while the world safe limit was only (0.1 mg/kg). Lantana camara Linn. is a flowering plant that has recently attracted the attention of researchers due to its novel phytoremediation powers against some heavy metals, which encouraged some countries to grow them in roadsides of highways and litter dumps. Tissue culture is an excellent approach for studying responses of Lantana camara to heavy metals without interference of other factors. In addition, tissue culture is the main method for producing elite plants lines from callus and cell suspension cultures with superior characteristics by genetic transformation. In this study, callus cultures were induced from leaf discs in vitro. Then, responses of Lantana camara callus cultures to different concentrations (0.0, 0.12, 0.2, 0.3 mg/L) of Cr, Pb, or Cd were monitored under in vitro environmentally controlled conditions to exclude the interference of any other factor. The obtained results revealed that callus growth and quality were found to decrease in response to adding heavy metals to the media at all concentrations. Meanwhile, all callus cultures recorded full survival rates (100%) by the end of the experiments and resumed growth after being transferred to normal growth conditions. Amounts of the three experimented heavy metals (Cr, Pb, and Cd) were found to reach the maximum in callus cultures (0.096, 0.109, 0.0193 mg/kg), when pregrown on Murashige and Skoog media (MS media) supplemented with (0.3 mg/L), while maximum Biological Absorption Coefficient (BAC) values of (0.41, 0.6, 0.30) were recorded in callus cultures pregrown in media with (0.12 mg/L) of either Cr, Pb, or Cd, respectively. More work is still needed to improve BAC values obtained in Lantana camara callus cultures. Also, the produced callus cultures can be used in future research for preparing cell suspension cultures to be introduced to genetic transformation to produce Lantana camara plant lines with hyper accumulation powers against these contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is reported all around as one of the major concerning issues due to its adverse impacts on many aspects of life including agriculture. In Jordan such important issue is not researched extensively yet. In this study, (250) undergraduate students in three Jordanian public universities have responded to a questionnaire that asses their attitudes toward the climate change impacts on agriculture. Data revealed that agriculture is highly impacted by climate change from the point view of the students (total mean -4.00). Moreover, students saw that climate change has also impacted, while they saw that climate change negative impacts on animal production were medium (3.62). Meanwhile, most of the participants saw that food industries sector was strongly altered climate change. On other hand, the participants agreed to a medium level with the contents of a proposed educational university course to enrich their knowledge about climate change, while most of them preferred educational seminars to strengthen their recognition about climate change and its consequences on agriculture. Meanwhile, no statistical significant differences were observed at level of (0.05) in the attitudes of undergraduate students towards climate change negative impacts on agriculture attributed to gender, major and academic year. Our results might be helpful for future studies that would investigate the level of environmental awareness of Jordanian people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam is a valuable herbal plant that is frequently collected for medicinal purposes. This study is conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of the in-vitro grown microshoots and callus cultures of this plant against selected strains of bacteria and fungi. Shoot multiplication was obtained in MS medium containing 0.5 mg/L BA + 0.1 mg/L NAA, while callus multiplication was performed on MS medium containing 1.0 mg/L BA + 2.0 mg/L 2,4-D under light conditions. The aqueous and methanolic extracts were prepared from both culture types in addition to in-vivo grown plant material to experiment their antimicrobial activities. Generally, the in-vitro extracts of the microshoots and the callus cultures acted best against bacteria compared to the field plant extract. Moreover, the methanolic extracts were generally found to exhibit far better results and resistance against the tested microbes than the aqueous extracts. C. albicans was the most sensitive species to the microshoots extracts followed by gram-positive bacteria at MIC values of (3.125, 6.25) mg/mL. Meanwhile, E. coli bacteria were most sensitive to the microshoot extracts as they were completely inhibited at MIC value of (0.78 mg/mL). Moreover, the results of the callus extracts showed that C. albicans was the most sensitive at MIC values of (1.56 and 3.125) mg/mL, followed by gram-positive bacteria. On the other hand, gram-negative bacteria were the most resistant microbes to all experimented extract types in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of different drying methods on chemical and physical characteristics of date palm (Phoenix dacylifera L. cv. Medjool) fruits was assessed. Drying methods were natural(control), sun, fan, and forced warm air.Fruit moisture content prior drying ranged between 30 and 60%. Fruit from natural dryinghad lighter color, lower firmness and optimal moisture content (23-25%) ,compared to the other treatments. Additionally, phenolic compounds, fructose, sucrose and mineral content from natural drying were significantly higher than those from other treatments,except for potassium concentration. Overall,the natural drying method was the best method for 'Medjool' date compared to the other three treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artemisia herba-alba is a wild aromatic medicinal shrub which grows in the arid areas of North Africa and the Middle East. It is heavily subjected to loss and threats due to heavy grazing, cultivation and collection by the people who used it in folk medicine. In vitro propagation was experimented with different combinations of plant growth regulators to develop a suitable protocol to propagate this plant. In vitro microshoots of A. herba-alba were initiated from seeds. A maximum germination of seeds (94 %) was obtained using Paper-Bridge inserted in half Murashige and Skoog (MS) media and supplemented with 15 g/L of sucrose and 1.0 mg/L Gibberellic Acid (GA3). Proliferation of the in vitro plant was experimented at different concentrations (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg/L) of 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin, or 6-(gamma, gamma-Dimethylallylamino) purine (2iP). Rooting was experimented at different concentrations (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg/L) of, Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or alpha-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The maximum proliferation of the A. herba-alba (23.6) microshoots was obtained when MS medium was supplemented with 1.0 mg/l 2iP and 1.5 mg/L GA3 . The maximum root number (18.8) and length (14.08 cm) was achieved using 0.5 mg/L IBA. Both IAA and NAA failed to promote root induction. The rooted plants acclimatized successfully with 50 % of survival and were grown in the greenhouse. These results indicate the enormous potential of A. herba-alba for a large-scale multiplication, and it represents the first step to conserve its germplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study aims to introduce endangered Thymbra spicata L. to cryopreservation and to assess genetic stability of shoot tips after cryopreservation using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) technique. For the cryopreservation experiments, vitrification and droplet vitrification techniques were examined. In the first vitrification experiment, highest survival (80%) and regrowth (35%) rates were obtained in shoot tips exposed to 2- stepwise application of Plant Vitrification Solution (PVS) technique. Results of the second experiment showed that, 60 min. was the best duration for loading the explants with the loading solution before exposure to PVS2 as it yielded the highest survival and regrowth rates ( 85, 45% ) after cryopreservation. Moreover, in the third experiment, 2 M glycerol + 0.4 M sucrose had proven to be the best formula as a loading solution compared to the results obtained in the other combinations. Additionally, in the fourth experiment, the highest survival and regrowth percentages (75, 35%) were obtained in explants treated with PVS2 compared to results obtained in tips treated with other PVS solution types. In droplet vitrification experiment, the highest survival and regrowth rates (80, 35%) were recorded in explants exposed to PVS2 for (45 min.). Meanwhile, no genetic differences were detected in the shoot tips before and after cryopreservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is a medicinal plant that is native to Jordan as well as to most of Mediterranean region. Wild fennel is considered an aromatic medicinal plant and is used in cooking as a spice, and in folk medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal and respiratory tract diseases. Due to the high international demand for this plant, the extensive uncontrolled collection of wild fennel became highly threatened species. In the present study, two cryopreservation techniques (vitrification and encapsulation-dehydration) were experimented as approaches for long term conservation of in vitro grown shoot tips of wild fennel. The results obtained from vitrification experimental part showed that survival and regrowth rates varied with type of loading solution, and the maximum survival (80%) and regrowth (65 and 60%) rates were recorded in shoot tips (STs) preloaded with either (2M glycerol + 0.4M sucrose) or (5% Dimethylsulfoxide, DMSO + 0.5 M sucrose), respectively. Also, data revealed that survival and regrowth rates of wild fennel STs were determined by the type of plant vitrification solution, as the highest survival and regrowth rates (85 and 60%, respectively) were obtained in STs cryoprotected with plant vitrification solution type 2 (PVS2) before exposure to Liquid Nitrogen (LN). Moreover, the best regrowth rate (65%) was recorded in encapsulated STs of wild fennel with 21.1% moisture content obtained after chemical dehydration in MS liquid media supplemented with 0.75 M sucrose for 1 day followed by air dehydration for 6 hrs. However, more research is still needed to optimize the pretreatments protocols prior exposure to LN in terms of ingredients, concentration and duration to improve regrowth rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ziziphora tenuior L. is one of the important medicinal plants that belong to the Lamiaceae family. It is a rare species with a promising medicinal potential and grows wild in the southern part of Jordan. Unfortunately, this plant might be totally extinct from the wild due to over-exploitation. Two cryopreservation techniques (encapsulation-dehydration and encapsulation-vitrification) were applied for in vitro conservation of this valuable medicinal plant, and after that the explants were tested for their genetic stability using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) technique. In the encapsulation-dehydration experiment, the results revealed that 40% of the cryopreserved shoot tips survived when they were dehydrated chemically on 0.75 M sucrose in MS supplemented media for one day and exposed to air dehydration for 6 hrs. Moreover, the best recovery rate (20%) was obtained when either 0.5 M or 0.75 M sucrose MS supplemented media were used as preculture media for the shoot tips for one day, followed by air dehydration for 4 or 6 hrs. Meanwhile, in the encapsulation-vitrification experiment, the highest survival (37.5%) and recovery (10%) percentages of the cryopreserved shoot tips were obtained when the encapsulated shoot tips were pretreated for 60 min. with the loading solution before being exposed to PVS2 vitrification solution and LN. AFLP technique had clearly showed that, there were no genetic variations between the shoot tips of Ziziphora tenuior L., before and after cryopreservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of University of Jordan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Medicinal and aromatic plants are those containing special chemical components that enable them to relief pain, release pleasant aromas, and improve food flavors. Meanwhile, medicinal and aromatic plants are under real jeopardy due to the uncontrolled collection of these plants as a result of being extensively used in herbal medicine and food industry. So conservation action for these natural resources is of high priority. Plants conserved under in situ conservation conditions are exposed to natural disasters, pests and pathogens in addition to the fluctuating government policies. Also ex situ conservation is very difficult to be applied as adequate samples have to be collected for the conservation of genetic diversity. In vitro conservation is offering a strong and a multi package of techniques that do so good when other conservation methods are not feasible. Slow growth conservation is a very simple in vitro technique based on reducing the growth rates of the tissue cultured plant for short or mid- term storage and yet increasing the intervals between subcultures. In this conservation type, several techniques are used separately or in combinations to slow down the growth rate of the stored explants, such as, addition of elevated levels of osmotic agents or ABA in addition to storage under minimal growth conditions such as low temperature and dark incubation. Cryopreservation is another conservation technique that is usually described as the most reliable tool for long-term storage of plant germplasm and reported to be advantageous over most other conservation methods in terms of simplicity, applicability to a wide range of genotypes and ability to maintain the genetic stability of plant material. Thanks to the use of cryopreservation techniques, such as, encapsulation-dehydration, vitrification, encapsulation-vitrification, and droplet-vitrification, many medicinal plant species are conserved indefinitely for the next generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silybum marianum L. is a wild medicinal herbal plant found in Jordan. In vitro propagation of this medicinal crop was achieved by using explants from seedlings produced in vitro from seeds. Seeds were surface-sterilized and inoculated on the surface of hormone-free Murashige and Skoog, 1962 (MS) medium until full germination occurred. MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l kinetin and 0.1 mg/l NAA was used for multiplication of mother stock obtained from developed seedlings. Proliferation was experimented with different levels (0.0, 0.4, 1.0, 1.6 or 2.0 mg/l) of kinetin, BA, or 2ip. Highest proliferation of S. marianum was obtained when BA and 2ip were used at (2.0 and 0.4 mg/l; respectively). Kinetin gave highest proliferation at 1.6 mg/l. Rooting was experimented at different levels (0.0, 0.4, 1.0, 1.6 or 2.0 mg/l) of IBA, IAA and NAA. Highest root number (4.0) and length (6.14 cm) was achieved at 1.0 mg/l NAA, and no roots were shown on MS media supplemented with IAA or IBA. Rooted transplants were acclimatized ex vitro successfully with 70% survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]