Antioxidant Activities of Sonchus Oleraceus L

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Antioxidant Activities of Sonchus Oleraceus L Antioxidant Activities of Sonchus oleraceus L. Sundara Mudiyanselage Maheshini Rangika Mawalagedera A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology and Biodiversity Victoria University of Wellington 2014 ABSTRACT Supernumerary free radicals and other reactive species can cause oxidative damage in animal cells, potentially leading to non-infectious diseases. Diets rich in low molecular weight antioxidants (LMWAs) may prevent or arrest the pathogenesis of these diseases. Leaves of Sonchus oleraceus L. may be an excellent dietary LMWA source for humans given their apparent strong antioxidant activities in vitro. However, different S. oleraceus plants vary in their antioxidant capacity. Nothing is known of possible environmental effects on antioxidant potential. Equally, the effects of cooking and gastrointestinal digestion are unknown. The goals of this research were: (i) to study the effects of plant age, locality, and abiotic stressors on antioxidant potential; (ii) to study the effects of cooking and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on antioxidant activity and uptake in human cells; and (iii) to study extractable antioxidant activities of S. oleraceus cell suspension cultures in relation to abiotic stressors. Antioxidant activities and levels of total phenolics, hydroxycinnamic acids and ascorbate increased as plants aged. An ecotype from Acacia Bay had a higher phenolic content and antioxidant activities than one from Oamaru; these differences were maintained across generations as well as in calli from in vitro cultures. This indicates heritability and genetic fidelity of antioxidant potential. Chilling and salinity had variable effects on concentrations of phenolics and antioxidant activities in plants, and the combination of the two stressors was not synergistic. This indicates that these two stressors share signalling and response pathways. Stressor- induced increases in antioxidant activities of leaf extracts correlated with improved cellular antioxidant activities (CAA) inside HepG2 cells. Antioxidants were released from leaves following in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, which were then subsequently uptaken by Caco2 and HepG2 cells wherein they displayed CAAs. Thus, elevated levels of antioxidants in stressor-imposed plants provide potentially more antioxidant protection to live human cells. Caftaric, chlorogenic and chicoric acids accounted for 92% of the phenolic compounds in S. oleraceus leaves. Of these, only chlorogenic acid was inducible by stressors, both in ii intact plants and in calli. In young stressor-applied plants, chlorogenic acid was enhanced to the levels achievable with plant ageing. Boiling leaves prior to digestion did not diminish the caftaric and chlorogenic acid levels released through digestion, but chicoric acid levels were. Out of the nine phenolic compounds in leaves, only chicoric, chlorogenic and caftaric acids were released into the medium during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Digestion of leaves resulted in effective release of caftaric and chlorogenic acids from leaves but the levels of released chicoric acid were diminished by digestion. This study offers insights into the factors that influence the antioxidant potential of S. oleraceus L. in vivo, in vitro, during cooking and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. These results provide the foundation for: (1) encouraging the consumption of its fresh shoots as an antioxidant rich food; (2) further improving its antioxidant activities through manipulation of agronomy, ecotype and breeding; (3) developing its cell cultures as a commercial platform for phyto-antioxidant production aimed at formulating dietary supplements or food additives in biopharmaceutical industry. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with deep gratitude that I express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Prof. Kevin S. Gould for the tremendous advice, encouragement, guidance and supervision extended to me throughout the research and made this thesis possible. Despite his busy schedule, he was always there to listen, motivate me and give feedback. My secondary supervisor, Dr Arlene McDowell welcomed me into her lab at the School of Pharmacy, University of Otago which is greatly appreciated. I am truly thankful for her support and guidance provided for laboratory work and for her valuable feedback on the thesis. My gratitude also goes to Dr Lesley Milicich, Derek Heath, Jack Cameron, Alan Howard (School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand), Zongquan Ou, Julie Harwood, Len Stevenson, Mike Broughton and Kevin Crump (School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, New Zealand) for their assistance and guidance with laboratory work. I wish to thank Kevin Gould lab group (Kate, Iggy, Luke, Karl and Gagan) for always providing fresh insights into problems and for just being there to answer my questions. I am grateful for the funding by a New Zealand International Doctoral Research Scholarship, a Faculty Strategic Research Grant and three Wellington Botanical Society student grants which aided major and complementary financial requirements during past three years. I am grateful for the moral support, friendly banter and concern shown by my adoptive family in New Zealand: Damayanthi, Prasad, Sandra, Trinh, Bruce, Kosala and Chathuri. I would like to thank my parents and Uday for giving me their care, love and unprecedented understanding throughout my life. I could not have done it without their moral and financial support over all these years. Finally, Waruna Thank you for making me your priority and putting up with me during past seven years. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xii LIST OF PLATES ............................................................................................................ xvi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ....................................................................... 1 1.1 REACTIVE SPECIES AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENCES ............................... 1 1.2 LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT ANTIOXIDANTS OF DIETARY ORIGIN .... 3 1.2.1 Ascorbic acid ................................................................................................. 3 1.2.2 Carotenoids .................................................................................................... 4 1.2.3 Vitamin E ....................................................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Phenolic compounds ...................................................................................... 6 1.2.4.1 Phenolic acids ......................................................................................... 6 1.2.4.2 Flavonoids .............................................................................................. 7 1.2.4.3 Stilbenes .................................................................................................. 9 1.2.4.4 Antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds ..................................... 10 1.3 EVIDENCE FOR INFLUENCE OF DIETARY LMWAS ON OXIDATIVE STRESS-INDUCED DISEASES .................................................................................. 12 1.4 THE BIOACCESSIBILITY, BIOAVAILABILITY, BIOACTIVITY AND STABILITY OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS .............................................................. 16 v 1.5 CHEMICAL ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY ASSAYS ....................................... 24 1.5.1 DPPH radical scavenging assay ................................................................... 24 1.5.2 ORAC assay ................................................................................................. 26 1.6 THE CELLULAR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY (CAA) ASSAY .................... 27 1.6.1 Cytotoxicity .................................................................................................. 29 1.7 TRADITIONAL DIET OF MĀORI AND INCIDENCE OF COLORECTAL CANCER ....................................................................................................................... 30 1.8 Sonchus oleraceus L. ........................................................................................... 30 1.8.1 Biology of S. oleraceus ................................................................................ 31 1.8.2 Nutrients in leaves of S. oleraceus ............................................................... 32 1.8.3 LMWAs of S. oleraceus .............................................................................. 33 1.8.4 Variation in antioxidant potential of S. oleraceus ....................................... 34 1.9 EFFECT OF STRESS ON ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS IN PLANTS ................ 36 1.9.1 Drought stress on LMWA production in plants ........................................... 38 1.9.2 Chilling stress on LMWA production in plants ........................................... 38 1.9.3 Light stress on LMWA production in plants ..............................................
Recommended publications
  • Ecology of Cirsium Vulgare and Silybum Marianum in Relation To
    Plant Protection Quarterly Vol.11 Supplement 2 1996 245 International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds, pp. 495-501. Olivieri, I., Swan, M. and Gouyon, P.H. Ecology of Cirsium vulgare and Silybum marianum (1983). Reproductive system and colo- in relation to biological control nizing strategy of two species of Carduus (Compositae). Oecologia 60, 114-7. E. Bruzzese, Keith Turnbull Research Institute, Co-operative Research Centre Shea, K. (1996). Estimating the impact of for Weed Management Systems, PO Box 48, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia. control efforts: models of population dynamics. Plant Protection Quarterly 11, 263-5. Summary The ecology of spear thistle Sheppard A.W. (1996) Weeds in the Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) and vari- Spear thistle is an annual or biennial herb, Cardueae: Biological control and pat- egated thistle (Silybum marianum) are depending on its time of germination. Al- terns of herbivory. Proceedings of the two of the most widespread thistles though seed can germinate at any time of International Compositae Conference, which infest pastures in temperate south- the year, there are two main germination Kew, 1994, Volume 2 Biology and Utili- ern Australia. A biological control pro- times in late-summer to autumn and late zation, pp. 291-306. gram targeting these thistles was com- winter to spring (Bruzzese and Heap un- Sheppard, A.W. and Woodburn, T.L. menced in 1985. No specific ecological published). Because of this, infestations (1996). Population regulation in insects studies of these thistles and their preda- can consist of plants of different size and used to control thistles: can we predict tors in the area of origin aimed at the se- ages.
    [Show full text]
  • Blessed Thistle
    Léo Désilets Master Herbalist 35, Victoria West, Scotstown, QC, J0B 3B0 (819) 657-4733 • leo-desilets.com IN C CA E AN IN N D A E A D A D D A A M A M • • F • F A • A A I I T A D T D A A A A U N U A N C C A BLESSED THISTLE Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine as a digestive tonic and bitter to increase appetite and aid gigestion (stomachic). Product number........................................... NPN 80004247 Dosage form ........................................... Vegetable capsule Quantity........................................................... 90 Active Ingredient ............................... Blessed Thistle - Aerial Parties Dosage ....................................................... 320 mg Product number........................................... NPN 80073494 Dosage form ........................................... Vegetable capsule Quantity........................................................... 60 Therapeutic indications Active Ingredient ............................... Blessed Thistle - Aerial Parties • Traditionally used in Herbal Dosage ....................................... 75 mg (20:1, QCE 1500 mg) Medicine as a digestive tonic and bitter to increase appetite and help digestion. Blessed Thistle can accompany the process of digestion by stimulating secretions It is recommended to take and promoting nutrient absorption. 1 capsule 3 times daily with a glass of water at mealtime. Digestive bitter : Cnicus benedictus Digestive bitters, also known as tonic herbs, or digestive herbs stimulate the Classification (USDA)
    [Show full text]
  • Some Biological Observations on Pale Fruit, a Viroid-Incited Disease of Cucumber
    Neth.J . PI.Path . 80(1974 )85-9 6 Some biological observations on pale fruit, a viroid-incited disease of cucumber H. J. M. VAN DORST1 and D. PETERS2 1 Glasshouse CropsResearc han d Experiment Station, Naaldwijlk 2 Laboratory ofVirology ,Agricultura l University, Wageningen Accepted 13 December 1973 Abstract A viroid-incited disease characterized by palefruits , crumpledflowers, an d rugosity and chlorosis on the leaves of cucumber, occurs occasionally in cucumber crops grown in glasshouses in the Nether­ lands. The disease is found primarily in crops planted in spring, rarely in those planted in summer but not in those planted in late summer. The pathogen can be transmitted with sap, during pruning, bygraftin g and with dodder to cucumber and a number of other cucurbitaceous species,but not with M. persicae.Ther e is no evidence for seed or nematode transmission. The incubation period js 21 daysa thig htemperature s(3 0°C )bu tshorte r after inoculationb yrazorblad eslashing . The number of glasshouses with the disease has increased since 1965,bu t the number of diseased plants is usually low. The initial distribution of diseased plants in the glasshouses suggests that the pathogeni sintroduce db ya ninsect . Introduction In 1963a disease in cucumber especially attracting attention by a light green colour on the fruits, but also with affectedflowers an d young leaves, occurred in two glass­ houses in the western part of the Netherlands. The disease, now calledpal efrui t dis­ ease,ha ssinc ebee n observed indifferen t places overth ewhol e country. The number ofaffecte d plantsi na glasshous ei smostl yles stha n0.
    [Show full text]
  • FLORA from FĂRĂGĂU AREA (MUREŞ COUNTY) AS POTENTIAL SOURCE of MEDICINAL PLANTS Silvia OROIAN1*, Mihaela SĂMĂRGHIŢAN2
    ISSN: 2601 – 6141, ISSN-L: 2601 – 6141 Acta Biologica Marisiensis 2018, 1(1): 60-70 ORIGINAL PAPER FLORA FROM FĂRĂGĂU AREA (MUREŞ COUNTY) AS POTENTIAL SOURCE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS Silvia OROIAN1*, Mihaela SĂMĂRGHIŢAN2 1Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tîrgu Mureş, Romania 2Mureş County Museum, Department of Natural Sciences, Tîrgu Mureş, Romania *Correspondence: Silvia OROIAN [email protected] Received: 2 July 2018; Accepted: 9 July 2018; Published: 15 July 2018 Abstract The aim of this study was to identify a potential source of medicinal plant from Transylvanian Plain. Also, the paper provides information about the hayfields floral richness, a great scientific value for Romania and Europe. The study of the flora was carried out in several stages: 2005-2008, 2013, 2017-2018. In the studied area, 397 taxa were identified, distributed in 82 families with therapeutic potential, represented by 164 medical taxa, 37 of them being in the European Pharmacopoeia 8.5. The study reveals that most plants contain: volatile oils (13.41%), tannins (12.19%), flavonoids (9.75%), mucilages (8.53%) etc. This plants can be used in the treatment of various human disorders: disorders of the digestive system, respiratory system, skin disorders, muscular and skeletal systems, genitourinary system, in gynaecological disorders, cardiovascular, and central nervous sistem disorders. In the study plants protected by law at European and national level were identified: Echium maculatum, Cephalaria radiata, Crambe tataria, Narcissus poeticus ssp. radiiflorus, Salvia nutans, Iris aphylla, Orchis morio, Orchis tridentata, Adonis vernalis, Dictamnus albus, Hammarbya paludosa etc. Keywords: Fărăgău, medicinal plants, human disease, Mureş County 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Elemental Analysis of Some Medicinal Plants By
    Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 4(19), pp. 1987-1990, 4 October, 2010 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPR DOI: 10.5897/JMPR10.081 ISSN 1996-0875 ©2010 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Elemental analysis of some medicinal plants used in traditional medicine by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) Muhammad Zafar1*, Mir Ajab Khan1, Mushtaq Ahmad1, Gul Jan1, Shazia Sultana1, Kifayat Ullah1, Sarfaraz Khan Marwat1, Farooq Ahmad2, Asma Jabeen3, Abdul Nazir1, Arshad Mehmood Abbasi1, Zia ur Rehman1 and Zahid Ullah1 1Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan. 2Department of Botany, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Murree Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. 3Environmental Sciences Department, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Accepted 10 September, 2010 Different elemental constituents at trace levels of plants play an effective role in the medicines prepared. Elemental composition of different parts including leaves, seeds and fruits have been determined by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). A total of 14 elements K+, Mg+2, Ca+2, Na+, Fe+2, Co+3, Mn+2, Cu+3, Cr+3, Zn+2, Ni+3, Li+1, Pb+4 and Cd+2 have been measured. Their concentrations were found to vary in different samples. Medicinal properties of these plant samples and their elemental distribution have been correlated. Key words: Elemental analysis, medicinal plants and atomic absorption spectrophotometer. INTRODUCTION Herbal drugs are being used as remedies for various the second dist heat pathological symptoms can be diseases across the world from ancient time. In recent relieved by replacing the element. To be pharmacolo- years, increasing interest has been focused on phyto- gically effective or essential, the trace element may need medicines as safer and more congenial to the human to be combining or chelated with some ligand, in order to body.
    [Show full text]
  • Italian Thistle (Carduus Pycnocephalus)
    Thistles: Identification and Management Rebecca Ozeran 1 May 2018 Common thistles in the San Joaquin Valley Carduus Centaurea Cirsium Silybum Onopordum Italian thistle Yellow starthistle Bull thistle (Blessed) milkthistle Scotch thistle Tocalote Canada thistle (Malta starthistle) All of these species are found at least one of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, or Tulare Counties Identification • Many species start as a basal rosette in fall • Mature plants can have dense & bushy or tall & stemmy appearance • Purple/pink or yellow-flowered Identification • Why does thistle species matter? • Varying levels of risk to animals • Varying competition with forage • Varying susceptibility to control options Identification – 1. Italian thistle • Carduus pycnocephalus • narrow, spiky flower heads • winged, spiny stems branching above the base • found in Fresno, Kern, Madera, Tulare Identification – 2. Centaurea thistles • YELLOW STARTHISTLE (C. solstitialis) • long, yellow/white spines on phyllaries • can get a bushy structure • found in Fresno, Kern, Madera, Tulare • TOCALOTE (MALTA STARTHISTLE, C. melitensis) • stouter flower heads and shorter, redder spines on phyllaries • found in all 5 counties Identification – 3. Cirsium thistles • Canada thistle (C. arvense) • smooth stems, non-spiny flowerheads • flowers Jun-Oct • found in Fresno, Kern, Tulare • Bull thistle (C. vulgare) • large spiky looking flowerheads • lots of branching, dense plant • flowers Jun-Oct • found in all 5 counties Identification – 4. Blessed milk thistle • Silybum marianum • Distinct,
    [Show full text]
  • The Correct Generic Names for Sonchus Webbii Sch.Bip. and Prenanthes Péndula Sch.Bip
    Bot. Macaronésica 24: 179-182 (2003) 179 Notas corológico-taxonómicas de la flora macaronésica (N°^ 86-105) THE CORRECT GENERIC ÑAMES FOR SONCHUS WEBBII Sch.Bip. AND PRENANTHES PÉNDULA Sch.Bip. DAVID BRAMWELL Jardín Botánico Canario «Viera y Clavijo», Apdo. 14 de Tafira Alta. 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Cana­ ria, islas Canarias, España. Recibido: febrero 2000 Key words.' Lactucosonchus, Chrysoprenanthes, Sonchus, Prenanthes, Canary Islands. Palabras clave: Lactucosonchus, Chrysoprenanthes, Sonchus, Prenanthes, islas Canarias. SUMIVIARY The correct ñames for two Cañarían Compositae, Sonchus webbii and Prenanthes péndula are dis- cussed in the light of recent publications.The ñame Lactucosonchus webbii is considered to be the correct ñame for the former taxon and the latter is transferred to the genus Chrysoprenanthes. RESUIVIEN Se comenta los nombres correctos de dos compuestas Canarias, Sonchus webbii y Prenanthes péndula en vistas de recientes publicaciones. Se considera como nombre correcto para la primera especie Lactucosonchus webbii y se transfiere la segunda al genero Chrysoprenanthes. INTRODUCTION Two recent publications, REIFENBERGER & REIFENBERGER (1997) and SENNIKOV & ILLARIONOVA (1999) have established a new genus Wildpretia and a new section of the genus Sonchus, sect. Chrysoprenanthes. For different reasons which are discussed below each of these new ñames is considered to be unnecessary. In the first case there already exists a validly published ñame Lactucosonchus (Sch. Bip.) Svent. with priority over Wildpretia Reifenberger and in the second case, molecular studies show that Prenanthes péndula Sch. Bip., though not a true member of the ISSN 0211-7150 180 DAVID BRAMWELL genus Prenanthes is also not a Sonchus as it forms a sister dade to Sonchus along with Sventenia and Babcockia.
    [Show full text]
  • Illinois Exotic Species List
    Exotic Species in Illinois Descriptions for these exotic species in Illinois will be added to the Web page as time allows for their development. A name followed by an asterisk (*) indicates that a description for that species can currently be found on the Web site. This list does not currently name all of the exotic species in the state, but it does show many of them. It will be updated regularly with additional information. Microbes viral hemorrhagic septicemia Novirhabdovirus sp. West Nile virus Flavivirus sp. Zika virus Flavivirus sp. Fungi oak wilt Ceratocystis fagacearum chestnut blight Cryphonectria parasitica Dutch elm disease Ophiostoma novo-ulmi and Ophiostoma ulmi late blight Phytophthora infestans white-nose syndrome Pseudogymnoascus destructans butternut canker Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum Plants okra Abelmoschus esculentus velvet-leaf Abutilon theophrastii Amur maple* Acer ginnala Norway maple Acer platanoides sycamore maple Acer pseudoplatanus common yarrow* Achillea millefolium Japanese chaff flower Achyranthes japonica Russian knapweed Acroptilon repens climbing fumitory Adlumia fungosa jointed goat grass Aegilops cylindrica goutweed Aegopodium podagraria horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum fool’s parsley Aethusa cynapium crested wheat grass Agropyron cristatum wheat grass Agropyron desertorum corn cockle Agrostemma githago Rhode Island bent grass Agrostis capillaris tree-of-heaven* Ailanthus altissima slender hairgrass Aira caryophyllaea Geneva bugleweed Ajuga genevensis carpet bugleweed* Ajuga reptans mimosa
    [Show full text]
  • Silybum Marianum) Seed Cakes on the Digestibility of Nutrients, Flavonolignans and the Individual Components of the Silymarin Complex in Horses
    animals Article Dose Effect of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Seed Cakes on the Digestibility of Nutrients, Flavonolignans and the Individual Components of the Silymarin Complex in Horses Hana Dockalova * , Ladislav Zeman, Daria Baholet, Andrej Batik, Sylvie Skalickova and Pavel Horky Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Mendel University in Brno, Zemˇedˇelská 1, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic; [email protected] (L.Z.); [email protected] (D.B.); [email protected] (A.B.); [email protected] (S.S.); [email protected] (P.H.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +420-773-996-710 Simple Summary: Silybum marianum is a well-known herb in terms of its pharmacological activities, and it is used as both a medicament and a dietary supplement (phytobiotics). Milk thistle seeds contain a mixture of flavonoids known as silymarin, which consists of silybin, isosilybin, silychristine, and silydianin. Until now, there has been no evidence of monitoring the digestibility of silymarin complex in horses. The aim of the research was to evaluate digestibility of silymarin complex and the effect of nutrient digestibility in horses. Different daily feed doses of milk thistle expeller (0 g, 100 g, 200 g, 400 g, 700 g) were administered to five mares kept under the same conditions and at the same Citation: Dockalova, H.; Zeman, L.; feed rations. We monitored the digestibility of silymarin, digestible energy, crude protein, crude fat, Baholet, D.; Batik, A.; Skalickova, S.; crude fiber, nitrogen-free extract, crude ash, calcium, phosphorus, and plasma profile. Statistically Horky, P. Dose Effect of Milk Thistle significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found between daily doses in digestibilities of flavonolignans (Silybum marianum) Seed Cakes on the and nutrients.
    [Show full text]
  • (Asteraceae) on the Canary Islands
    G C A T T A C G G C A T genes Article Evolutionary Comparison of the Chloroplast Genome in the Woody Sonchus Alliance (Asteraceae) on the Canary Islands Myong-Suk Cho 1, Ji Young Yang 2, Tae-Jin Yang 3 and Seung-Chul Kim 1,* 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea; [email protected] 2 Research Institute for Ulleung-do and Dok-do Island, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea; [email protected] 3 Department of Plant Science, Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +82-31-299-4499 Received: 11 February 2019; Accepted: 11 March 2019; Published: 14 March 2019 Abstract: The woody Sonchus alliance consists primarily of woody species of the genus Sonchus (subgenus Dendrosonchus; family Asteraceae). Most members of the alliance are endemic to the oceanic archipelagos in the phytogeographic region of Macaronesia. They display extensive morphological, ecological, and anatomical diversity, likely caused by the diverse habitats on islands and rapid adaptive radiation. As a premier example of adaptive radiation and insular woodiness of species endemic to oceanic islands, the alliance has been the subject of intensive evolutionary studies. While phylogenetic studies suggested that it is monophyletic and its major lineages radiated rapidly early in the evolutionary history of this group, genetic mechanisms of speciation and genomic evolution within the alliance remain to be investigated. We first attempted to address chloroplast (cp) genome evolution by conducting comparative genomic analysis of three representative endemic species (Sonchus acaulis, Sonchus canariensis, and Sonchus webbii) from the Canary Islands.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenolic Profile of Sercial and Tinta Negra Vitis Vinifera L
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Repositório Digital da Universidade da Madeira Food Chemistry 135 (2012) 94–104 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem Phenolic profile of Sercial and Tinta Negra Vitis vinifera L. grape skins by HPLC–DAD–ESI-MSn Novel phenolic compounds in Vitis vinifera L. grape Rosa Perestrelo a,b, Ying Lu b, Sónia A.O. Santos c, Armando J.D. Silvestre c, Carlos P. Neto c, ⇑ José S. Câmara b, Sílvia M. Rocha a, a QOPNA, Departamento de Química, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal b CQM/UMa – Centro de Química da Madeira, Centro de Ciências Exactas e da Engenharia da, Universidade da Madeira, Campus Universitário da Penteada, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal c CICECO, Departamento de Química, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal article info abstract Article history: This study represents the first phytochemical research of phenolic components of Sercial and Tinta Negra Received 25 November 2011 Vitis vinifera L. The phenolic profiles of Sercial and Tinta Negra V. vinifera L. grape skins (white and red Received in revised form 9 February 2012 varieties, respectively) were established using high performance liquid chromatography–diode array Accepted 17 April 2012 detection–electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–DAD–ESI-MSn), at different ripening Available online 27 April 2012 stages (véraison and maturity). A total of 40 phenolic compounds were identified, which included 3 hydroxybenzoic acids, 8 hydroxycinnamic acids, 4 flavanols, 5 flavanones, 8 flavonols, 4 stilbenes, and Keywords: 8 anthocyanins.
    [Show full text]
  • Amatoxin Mushroom Poisoning in North America 2015-2016 by Michael W
    Amatoxin Mushroom Poisoning in North America 2015-2016 By Michael W. Beug PhD Chair NAMA Toxicology Committee Assessing the degree of amatoxin mushroom poisoning in North America is very challenging. Understanding the potential for various treatment practices is even more daunting. Although I have been studying mushroom poisoning for 45 years now, my own views on potential best treatment practices are still evolving. While my training in enzyme kinetics helps me understand the literature about amatoxin poisoning treatments, my lack of medical training limits me. Fortunately, critical comments from six different medical doctors have been incorporated in this article. All six, each concerned about different aspects in early drafts, returned me to the peer reviewed scientific literature for additional reading. There remains no known specific antidote for amatoxin poisoning. There have not been any gold standard double-blind placebo controlled studies. There never can be. When dealing with a potentially deadly poisoning (where in many non-western countries the amatoxin fatality rate exceeds 50%) treating of half of all poisoning patients with a placebo would be unethical. Using amatoxins on large animals to test new treatments (theoretically a great alternative) has ethical constraints on the experimental design that would most likely obscure the answers researchers sought. We must thus make our best judgement based on analysis of past cases. Although that number is now large enough that we can make some good assumptions, differences of interpretation will continue. Nonetheless, we may be on the cusp of reaching some agreement. Towards that end, I have contacted several Poison Centers and NAMA will be working with the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
    [Show full text]