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Abstract Background Biochar, a carbon-rich source and natural growth stimulant, is usually produced by the pyrolysis of agricultural biomass. It is widely used to enhance plant growth, enzyme activity, and crop productivity. However, there are no conclusive studies on how different levels of biochar application influence these systems. Methods and results The present study elucidated the dose-dependent effects of biochar application on the physiological performance, enzyme activity, and dry matter accumulation of tobacco plants via field experiments. In addition, transcriptome analysis was performed on 60-day-old (early growth stage) and 100-day-old (late growth stage) tobacco leaves to determine the changes in transcript levels at the molecular level under various biochar application levels (0, 600, and 1800 kg/ha). The results demonstrated that optimum biochar application enhances plant growth, regulates enzymatic activity, and promotes biomass accumulation in tobacco plants, while higher biochar doses had adverse effects. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed a total of 6561 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were up- or down-regulated in the groupwise comparison under different treatments. KEGG pathways analysis demonstrated that carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms (ko00710), photosynthesis (ko00195), and starch and sucrose metabolism (ko00500) pathways were significantly up-regulated under the optimal biochar dosage (600 kg/ha) and down-regulated under the higher biochar dosage (1800 kg/ha). Conclusion Collectively, these results indicate that biochar application at an optimal rate (600 kg/ha) could positively affect photosynthesis and carbon fixation, which in turn increased the synthesis and accumulation of sucrose and starch, thus promoting the growth and dry matter accumulation of tobacco plants. However, a higher biochar dosage (1800 kg/ha) disturbs the crucial source-sink balance of organic compounds and inhibits the growth of tobacco plants.

The applied patents related to Amomum tsaoko food were searched through the Baiten database to understand the layout and development trends of the patents related to Amomum tsaoko food. And the patent analysis method was used to statistically analyze the whole profile of the patents, trends in applications and authorization, territory of applications, applicants, legal status and events, patent value and layout of technical applications. A total of 3225 invention patents of Amomum tsaoko food were searched, including 641 authorized patents and 281 valid patents, which were distributed in Anhui, Jiangsu and Sichuan, etc. The results showed that the research and development of Amomum tsaoko food field began to enter a mature and stable period in 2019, and the authorized patents began to decline from 2015. The majority of patent applicants were enterprises, but the patent invalidation rate was high. There was a lack of patents with technical content, and the market conversion rate of patent economy was low. From the perspective of technical layout, the current active technology of Amomum tsaoko food patent applied to meat products, condiments, bean products, aquatic products and vegetable products, the innovation of health food and its extracts was slightly weak. In terms of health food, Amomum tsaoko had high recognition and attention for its health care efficacy in enhancing immunity, strengthening spleen and appetizing, and lowering blood pressure. The distribution pattern of patents related to Amomum tsaoko food was comprehensively analyzed in this paper, providing reference for the subsequent research and development of Amomum tsaoko food, and helping the upgrading of Amomum tsaoko industry.

BackgroundBiochar application has become one of the most potential tools to improve soil fertility and plant growth for sustainable and eco-friendly agriculture. However, both positive and negative effects of biochar application have been recorded on plant growth and soil fertility.MethodsThis study investigated the impact of different application rates (0, 600, 900, 1200, and 1800 kg/ha) of biochar on the soil nutrient contents, accumulation of nutrients and dry matter in different plant parts, and growth of flue-cured tobacco plants under field conditions.ResultsResults demonstrated that soil organic carbon pool and carbon/nitrogen ratio were increased proportionally with the increasing dosage of biochar, 25.54 g/kg and 14.07 g/kg compared with control 17 g/kg and 10.13 g/kg, respectively. The contents of soil total nitrogen were also significantly increased after biochar application in the middle (1.77 g/kg) and late-growth (1.54 g/kg) stages of flue-cured tobacco than in control (1.60 g/kg and 1.41 g/kg, respectively). The contents of soil nitrate nitrogen were also higher under low (600 and 900 kg/ha) application rates of biochar and reduced when higher (1200 and 1800 kg/ha) dosages of biochar were applied. However, it was observed that varying application rates of biochar had no impact on soil ammonium nitrogen content during the growth period of flue-cured tobacco plants. The nutrient accumulation (N, P, K) in different parts of flue-cured tobacco plants was significantly increased under a low application rate of biochar, which enhanced the soil and plant analyzer development values, effective leaves number, growth, dry matter accumulation, and leaf yield of flue-cured tobacco. In contrast, the high biochar application rate (1200 and 1800 kg/ha) negatively impacted nutrient accumulation and growth of flue-cured tobacco.ConclusionConclusively, the optimum application of biochar (600 and 900 kg/ha) is beneficial for plant growth, soil fertility, accumulation of nutrients, and dry matter in different plant parts. However, excessive biochar application (> 900 kg/ha) could inhibit flue-cured tobacco plant growth. This study provides a theoretical foundation for biochar application in tobacco and other crop production to obtain agricultural sustainability and economic stability.

The fruits of Amomum tsao-ko (Cao-Guo) were documented in Chinese Pharmacopoeia for the treatment of abdominal pain, vomiting, and plague. In our previous study, a series of diarylheptanes and flavonoids with α-glucosidase and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity have been reported from the middle-polarity part of A. tsao-ko, whereas the antidiabetic potency of the low-polarity constituents is still unclear. In this study, three new hydroxytetradecenals, (2E, 4E, 8Z, 11Z)-6R-hydroxytetradeca-2,4,8,11-tetraenal (1), (2E, 4E, 8Z)-6R-hydroxytetradeca-2,4,8-trienal (2) and (2E, 4E)-6R-hydroxytetradeca-2,4-dienal (3) were obtained from the volatile oils of A. tsao-ko. The structures of compounds 1–3 were determined using spectroscopic data involving 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS), and specific rotation ([α]D). Their hypoglycemic activity was evaluated against glycogen phosphorylase (GPa) and PTP1B. Compounds 1 and 2 displayed moderate activity against PTP1B with inhibition rates of 33.8%−50.3% at 100 and 200 µM. Moreover, compound 1 exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect on GPa (IC50 = 31.7 µM), whereas compound 2 was inactive. This study demonstrates hydroxytetradecenals as the characteristic components of A. tsao-ko with therapeutic potential in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]