Throughout history, medicinal purposes of plants have been studied, documented, and acknowledged as an integral part of human healthcare systems. The development of modern medicine still relies largely on this historical knowledge of the use and preparation of plants and their extracts. Further research into the human microbiome highlights the interaction between immunomodulatory responses and plant-derived, prebiotic compounds. One such group of compounds includes the inulin-type fructans (ITFs), which may also act as signaling molecules and antioxidants. These multifunctional compounds occur in a small proportion of plants, many of which have recognized medicinal properties. Echinacea is a well-known medicinal plant and products derived from it are sold globally for its cold-and flu-preventative and general health-promoting properties. Despite the well-documented phytochemical profile of Echinacea plants and products, little research has looked into the possible role of ITFs in these products. This review aims to highlight the occurrence of ITFs in Echinacea derived formulations and the potential role they play in immunomodulation.

Background: Brassica vegetables and leafy greens are consumed globally due to their health promoting phytochemicals. Diplotaxis tenuifolia (wild rocket or arugula) is a popular Brassica leafy green, with a diverse range of phytochemicals (in mature plants). Immature plants (micro-greens, 2-4 true leaves) accumulate phytochemicals up to 10 times more than plants grown to maturity. Although plants accumulate phytochemicals ubiquitously, environmental stimuli can further enhance this phenomenon of accumulation, which is part of a global stress mechanism in plants. In this study, we describe a simple method toward the bio-fortification of a wild rocket micro-green system, via environmental manipulation (using high light). Objective: To establish a high light-induced bio-fortification strategy to augment the accumulation of bio-active compounds in Brassica micro-greens (wild rocket), with the purpose of developing a ‘designer’ micro-green melange (functional food product) containing a diverse range of bio-active (disease preventative) compounds.Results: High light stimulated wild rocket micro-greens to achieve a significant increase of known phytochemicals (documented in relevant Brassica leafy greens). Furthermore, undocumented phytochemicals (resveratrol, catechin, epicatechin, and kaempferol, among others) also accumulated to adequate concentrations. Plant extracts from bio-fortified micro-greens displayed increased anti-oxidant capacity (up to 3-fold, when compared to control), a key component in future cancer cell research.Conclusion: The use of high light resulted in successful bio-fortification of wild rocket micro-greens, evidenced by the accumulation of previously undocumented polyphenols (such as resveratrol, catechin and epicatechin) and improved anti-oxidant capacity.Key Words: anti-oxidant, high light, micro-greens, resveratrol, wild rocket

To examine the roles of starch phosphatases in potatoes, transgenic lines were produced where orthologs of SEX4 and LIKE SEX FOUR2 (LSF2) were repressed using RNAi constructs. Although repression of either SEX4 or LSF2 inhibited leaf starch degradation, it had no effect on cold-induced sweetening in tubers. Starch amounts were unchanged in the tubers, but the amount of phosphate bound to the starch was significantly increased in all the lines, with phosphate bound at the C6 position of the glucosyl units increased in lines repressed in StSEX4 and in the C3 position in lines repressed in StLSF2 expression. This was accompanied by a reduction in starch granule size and an alteration in the constituent glucan chain lengths within the starch molecule, although no obvious alteration in granule morphology was observed. Starch from the transgenic lines contained fewer chains with a degree of polymerization (DP) of less than 17 and more with a DP between 17 and 38. There were also changes in the physical properties of the starches. Rapid viscoanalysis demonstrated that both the holding strength and the final viscosity of the high phosphate starches were increased indicating that the starches have increased swelling power due to an enhanced capacity for hydration.

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Objective Current global trends on natural therapeutics suggest an increasing market interest toward the use and discovery of new plant-derived therapeutic compounds, often referred to as traditional medicine (TM). The Cannabis industry is currently one such focal area receiving attention, owing to the occurrence of phytocannabinoids (pCBs) which have shown promise in health-promotion and disease prevention. However, the occurrence of pCBs in other plant species are often overlooked and rarely studied. Leonotis leonurus (L.) R. Br. is endemic to South Africa with a rich history of use in TM practices amongst indigenous people and, has been recorded to induce mild psychoactive effects akin to Cannabis. While the leaves have been well-reported to contain therapeutic phytochemicals, little information exists on the flowers. Consequently, as part of a larger research venture, we targeted the flowers of L. leonurus for the identification of potential pCB or pCB-like compounds. Results Flower extracts were separated and analyzed using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). A single pCB candidate was isolated from HPTLC plates and, using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), we could successfully group this compound as a fatty amide and tentatively identified as 7,10,13,16-Docosatetraenoylethanolamine (adrenoyl-EA), a known bioactive compound.

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Plants provide us with a number of chemicals (called phytochemicals) that keep our bodies healthy. Many of these phytochemicals accumulate naturally as plants grow and they cannot be found in other foods like fish or meat, so plants are actually very important to humans! Really small plants having only four to six little leaves (called micro-greens) can contain up to 100 times more phytochemicals than their large versions, and this could make them very powerful in improving health, if they are included in our daily diets. We study micro-green versions of plants that we normally eat in our salads, like arugula and lettuce. By changing the environment in which the micro-greens grow, we can actually stimulate them to make a lot of phytochemicals that are beneficial to human health and well-being. These types of foods are called functional foods, because they actually make us healthier and help to prevent diseases.