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All cut flowers are destined to die, and the challenge for post harvest researchers is to slow the processes controlling flower death to enable cut flowers to reach distant markets with a display life. An experiment was carried out to study the effect of nitric oxide (NO), provided through sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 100 ppm L −1 ) on physiology and vase life of cut flowers of Gladiolus grandiflora variety “Snow Princess”. The vase solution having SNP showed significant increment in cumulative uptake of vase solution by flower spikes as compared to control and improved vase life. The level of lipid peroxidation, lipoxygenase (LOX) and protease activity was lower while the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and membrane stability was improved in SNP treated florat/spike. Moreover, the expression of senescence associated genes (SAGs) viz ., GgCyP1 was downregulated, while, GgDAD1 expression was up-regulated in SNP treated spikes. Finding of the study suggested that the application of SNP increases vase life by increasing the scavenging mechanism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in terms of antioxidants activity, membrane stability and down-regulation of GgCyP1 expression in gladiolus cut flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylopyrine-C, a new 14-membered ring cyclopeptide alkaloid, has been isolated from the root bark of Zizyphus xylopyra together with a known alkaloid scutianine-C, and their structures were established by chemical and spectral evidences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since 2003 India has been actively promoting the cultivation of Jatropha on unproductive and degraded lands (wastelands) for the production of biodiesel suitable as transportation fuel. In this paper the life cycle energy balance, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential and land use impact on ecosystem quality is evaluated for a small scale, low-input Jatropha biodiesel system established on wasteland in rural India. In addition to the life cycle assessment of the case at hand, the environmental performance of the same system expanded with a biogas installation digesting seed cake was quantified. The environmental impacts were compared to the life cycle impacts of a fossil fuel reference system delivering the same amount of products and functions as the Jatropha biodiesel system under research. The results show that the production and use of Jatropha biodiesel triggers an 82% decrease in non-renewable energy requirement (Net Energy Ratio, NER=1.85) and a 55% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) compared to the reference fossil-fuel based system. However, there is an increase in acidification (49%) and eutrophication (430%) from the Jatropha system relative to the reference case. Although adding biogas production to the system boosts the energy efficiency of the system (NER=3.40), the GWP reduction would not increase (51%) due to additional CH4 emissions. For the land use impact, Jatropha improved the structural ecosystem quality when planted on wasteland, but reduced the functional ecosystem quality. Fertilizer application (mainly N) is an important contributor to most negative impact categories. Optimizing fertilization, agronomic practices and genetics are the major system improvement options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new cyclopeptide alkaloids, xylopyrine-D and xylopyrine-E, from Zizyphus xylopyra and a new alkaloid, jubanine-E, from Zizyphus jujuba have been isolated and their structures were established by chemical and spectral evidences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new 14-membered ring cyclopeptide alkaloid xylopyrine-F, together with known alkaloids nummularine-P and sativanine-H, has been isolated from the root bark of Zizyphus xylopyra and their structures were established by chemical and spectral evidences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]