The aim of this research was to explain the direct plant growth-promoting activity of Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22 (T22), hypothesizing the involvement of different classes of plant growth regulators. Seven days after the transfer to root-inducing medium, in vitro-cultured shoots of GiSeLa6 Ò (Prunus cerasus 9 P. canescens) were inoculated with T22. Root and shoot growth were significantly affected by T22 (?76 and ?61%, respectively). Ten days after inoculation, the levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), trans-zeatin riboside (t-ZR), dihydrozeatin riboside (DHZR), gibberellic acid (GA3) and abscisic acid (ABA) were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The results showed that after T22-inoculation, IAA and GA3 significantly increased in both leaves (?49 and ?71%, respectively) and roots (?40 and ?143%, respectively) whereas t-ZR decreased (-51% in leaves and -37% in roots). Changes in DHZR were observed in T22-inoculated roots (-32%) but not in leaves, whereas the levels of ABA did not differ between the two treatments. The extraction method allowed the simultaneous extraction of phytohormones. There is evidence that the change in phytohormone levels is one of the direct mechanism by which T22 promotes rooting and shoot growth, with notable advantages for rootstock production during nursery processes.

Fresh cut vegetables represent a widely consumed food worldwide. Among these, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular on the market. The growing interest for this "healthy" food is related to the content of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols, that show many beneficial effects. In this study, we report the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of polyphenols extracted from lettuce (var. Maravilla de Verano), in J774A.1 macrophages stimulated with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Lettuce extract significantly decreased reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide release, inducible nitric oxide synthase and cycloxygenase-2 expression. A detailed quali/quantitative profiling of the polyphenolic content was carried out, obtaining fast separation (10 min), good retention time and peak area repeatability, (RSD% 0.80 and 8.68, respectively) as well as linearity (R(2)⩾ 0.999) and mass accuracy (⩽ 5 ppm). Our results show the importance in the diet of this cheap and popular food for his healthy properties.

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