Plants are phytochemical hubs containing antioxidants, essential for normal plant functioning and adaptation to environmental cues and delivering beneficial properties for human health. Therefore, knowledge on the antioxidant potential of different plant species and their nutraceutical and pharmaceutical properties is of utmost importance. Exploring this scientific research field provides fundamental clues on (1) plant stress responses and their adaptive evolution to harsh environmental conditions and (2) (new) natural antioxidants with a functional versatility to prevent and treat human pathologies. These natural antioxidants can be valorized via plant-derived foods and products. Cuba contains an enormously rich plant biodiversity harboring a great antioxidant potential. Besides opening new avenues for the implementation of sustainable agroecological practices in crop production, it will also contribute to new strategies to preserve plant biodiversity and simultaneously improve nature management policies in Cuba. This review provides an overview on the beneficial properties of antioxidants for plant protection and human health and is directed to the valorization of these plant antioxidants, emphasizing the need for biodiversity conservation.
Irrigation using water treated with static magnetic field (SMF) has recently been used as a strategy to stimulate the growth and development of different plant species. The aim of this study was to characterize the bioactive compounds and evaluate the anatomical structure of Rosmarinus officinalis L. irrigated with SMF-treated water. Results demonstrate that the treatment promoted plant growth, the number of trichomes and increased concentrations of secondary metabolites. Methanolextracted leaves revealed that rosmarinic acid was detected in both experimental groups, without a difference in the level. Camphor, α-terpineol and verbenone were determined as the most abundant compounds present in these leaf extracts and were strongly increased in plants irrigated with SMF-treated water. Similar results were also observed for endo-borneol, bornyl acetate and β-amyrin concentrations.Taken together, these results indicate that irrigation with SMF-treated water can be used to improve the production of rosemary to obtain pharmaceutical products with an increased antioxidative activity.
Entamoeba histolytica causes amoebic liver abscess (ALA) in humans. The injury of target cells by E. histolytica includes processes controlled by the ubiquitin Ehub. Previously, we found immunodominance of Ehub glycan moieties using immunized rabbits. In this work, we analysed dominance of antibodies to the glycoprotein Ehub in the sera from 52 patients with ALA. Controls were sera from 20 healthy people living in endemic areas with a high seroprevalence of antibodies to amoebas, and 20 patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH) to rule out the cross‐reaction of Ehub with autoantibodies induced by liver damage. Antigens were trophozoite extract, glycoprotein Ehub and the recombinant protein E. histolytica recombinant ubiquitin (rEhub). The sera from healthy volunteers and patients with AH do not have antibodies to glycoprotein Ehub. Surprisingly, only the antibodies from patients with ALA recognized the glycoprotein Ehub, and some sera gave a faint reaction with the recombinant protein, especially because evolutionarily, the ubiquitin is conserved between species. This is the first report demonstrating that antibodies to ubiquitin Ehub are induced exclusively in patients with invasive amoebiasis, and the antibody response is mainly to the glycoprotein, indicating glycans are immunodominant. Inhibitors of the Ehub glycans could be potential treatment for amoebiasis by selectively damaging trophozoites.
The aclimatization of plants of Ananas comosus MERR var. MD-2 is stimulated with irrigation with magnetically treated water A aclimatização de plântulas de Ananas comosus MERR var. MD-2 é estimulada com a irrigação com água tratada magneticamente
The influence of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on net photosynthesis, transpiration, photosynthetic pigment concentration, and gene expression of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit (RBCS1), during in vitro establishment, in vitro multiplication and acclimatization phases of coffee seedlings were investigated. Untreated coffee plants were considered as control, whereas treated plants were exposed to a 60 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field of 2 mT of magnetic induction during 3 min. This magnetic field was generated by an electromagnet, connected to a wave generator. The results revealed that magnetically treated plants showed a significant increase in net photosynthesis (85.4% and 117.9%, in multiplication and acclimatization phases, respectively), and in photosynthetic pigment concentration (66.6% for establishment phase, 79.9% for multiplication phase, and 43.8% for acclimatization phase). They also showed a differential RBCS1 gene expression (approximately twofold) and a decrease of transpiration rates in regard to their control plants. In conclusion, the findings suggest that the application of 60 Hz magnetic field to in vitro coffee plants may improve the seedlings quality by modifying some photosynthetic physiological and molecular processes, increasing their vigor, and ensuring better plant development in later stages.
One of the most challenging problems of electrochemical therapy is the design and selection of suitable electrode array for cancer. The aim is to determine how two-dimensional spatial patterns of tissue damage, temperature, and pH induced in pieces of potato (Solanum tuberosum L., var. Mondial) depend on electrode array with circular, elliptical, parabolic, and hyperbolic shape. The results show the similarity between the shapes of spatial patterns of tissue damage and electric field intensity, which, like temperature and pH take the same shape of electrode array. The adequate selection of suitable electrodes array requires an integrated analysis that involves, in a unified way, relevant information about the electrochemical process, which is essential to perform more efficiently way the therapeutic planning and the personalized therapy for patients with a cancerous tumor.
The effect of magnetically treated water on the physico-chemical properties of water and soil as well as nutrient absorption during the growth of Beta vulgaris L. was evaluated in this study. The plants were either irrigated with magnetically treated water (MW), i.e., treatment group, or irrigated with common water (C), i.e., control group. The MW was obtained using a magnetic device in the range of 0.8 - 0.9 T of magnetic induction. Magnetic treatment caused a higher dissolution of salts and an increase in electrical conductivity in the water of the irrigated soil compared to common water. At the same time, the soil irrigated with MW showed a decrease in the concentrations of Ca2+ (16.6 %), K+ (9.7 %), and Na+ (13.4 %) with significant differences compared to the soil irrigated with control. However, in plants irrigated with MW, an increase in the concentration of Na+ (4.91 %) in the leaves and Fe2+ (126.3 %) in the roots was observed with significant differences compared to the control plants. In addition, several biometric parameters were significantly increased in plants irrigated with MW compared to control plants, more specifically for their fresh and dry weights of leaves (25.5 - 25.1 %) and roots (6.4 - 39.8 %), respectively. In conclusion, the magnetic treatment caused an increase in electrical conductivity in the soil and water. Consequently, an increase in the mineral absorption and the behaviour of the physiological activity in Beta vulgaris L. culture were obtained.
Polyurethanes (PUs) are plastics which are used as raw material in several industries. This xenobiotic substance has been used as adhesive, flexible foam, elastomer, covering, etc. It is made from a diol and a diisocyanate and it is classified as polyether or polyesther PU. Given its versatility, its production has increased and has brought the problem of its disposal. The actual strategies include burning and recycling. However, there is recent interest in the search of a biological alternative for the degradation of PU, using microorganisms or their enzymes involved in the mechanisms implied in this process. It has been reported that polyesther PU are more susceptible to microbial attack and this has been attributed to enzymes with protease, esterase and urease activities. The major part of the research of biological degradation of PU focus in the use of bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Comamonas and Bacillus, however there is very little information in the use of molds. The aim of this work was to find molds capable of using PU as sole carbon source and to determine if they showed any of the enzymatic activities mentioned before. Molds were isolated of sand samples contaminated with PU and were cultured in a minimal medium with PU as sole carbon source. Also, the molds were cultured in the resins used for the synthesis of the plastic. The strains were incubated at 30 • C for seven days and the molds capable of growing in the medium were preserved to their later study. Also, strains from the collection of our research group were tested following the same protocol. The fungal strains that grew using PU as sole carbon source were cultivated in specific media for the detection of protease, urease and esterase activities and were also incubated at 30 • C for seven days. Several molds were capable of growing on one or both of the resins used for the synthesis of PU, but not all of the molds that grew on the resins, grew on the plastic. Among the genera that grew using PU were Alternaria, Aspergillus and Paecelomyces and 20 fungal strains grew using it. All of the 20 showed protease activity, 19 showed urease activity and only 11 of them showed esterase activity. This study reveals that several fungi have the ability of using PU as sole carbon source exhibiting several enzymatic activities associated with PU hydrolysis.It has been well known that white rot fungi could be used to decolorize textile dye effluents and the involved laccases and peroxidases play an important role in the process. The objective of this work was to study the ability of two native basidiomycetes strains of the genus Trametes (RVAN2 and RVAN12), cultivated in wheat bran medium to decolorize five different synthetic dyes and measure their enzymatic activity of lacasse and manganese peroxidase enzymes. As a control, Pleurotus ostreatus ATCC 58053 was used. The probed colorants were Brilliant Green, Crystal Violet, at 15 mg, and RBBR, Indigo Carmine, Methylene Blue, at 30 mg. During fermentation, newly aliquots of dyes were added when the decoloriza...
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