Fruits of Morus alba have been described as source of phytochemicals with antioxidant activity, which is of interest for human consume, and food industry. However, differences in antioxidant capacity among varieties of this species, as well as the potential of other parts of this plant has been little explored. In this work, extracts of roots from twelve (natural or hybrid) varieties of M. alba were evaluated. There were observed differences between varieties, as the range of total phenol content among hexane, ethanol and aqueous extracts (0.55 -1.59; 2.72 -6.61; 5.09 -9.85 gallic acid /100 g of extract, respectively). Antioxidant action of M. alba roots extracts was proved in different assays as radical scavenger and iron reduction capacity. Ethanol was found to be the best solvent to extract antioxidant compounds. Among all extracts assayed, the best association between high phenol and flavonoid content associated to free radicals scavenger and iron reducing power activities were shown by ethanol root extract from hybrid variety IZ 64. This work demonstrated that M. alba roots possess great potential as source of phytochemicals with antioxidant activity and pointed variety IZ 64 as the best cultivar to be used due to its functional properties or as source of natural antioxidants.
The white mulberry, Morus alba, is distributed worldwide and known for its antioxidant properties. Ethanol extract of six varieties of M. alba roots were studied (IZ 13/6, IZ 40, IZ 56/4, IZ 64, Indonesia, and Tigreada). From variety IZ 40, two secondary metabolites were isolated and unambiguously identified by 2D NMR experiments as morusin and mulberrofuran B. These were quantified in the varieties by liquid chromatography, recording 5.27-16.74% for the first, and 0.54-3.55% for the latter. Mulberrofuran B presented higher activity than morusin by phosphomolybdenum (1531.33 ± 20.28 mmol ascorbic acid/g) and ferrocyanide (14.39%) methods, ABTS (95.74 ± 4.21 µM) and DPPH (843.87 ± 10.65 µM) radical sequestration capacity, while morusin showed significant statistical correlation with antioxidant activity for some M. alba varieties. These results suggested that morusin influences antioxidant activity of M. alba in synergism with other compounds and can be a good chemical marker in this species.
The knowledge of the different plant species that make up the feeding diet of animals is highly important to develop more efficient strategies. This research aimed to characterize the food potential available for the Cuban stingless bee livestock of the Matanzas and Mayabeque provinces. Palynological analysis was done using 60 g of pollen from sealed pots and 80 mL of honey from the ten randomly selected beehives (five in each province). The results showed that in the honey collected in Matanzas province, the most represented family was Amaranthaceae, followed by Myrtaceae and Fabaceae. Meanwhile, for Mayabeque, the most represented ones were the families Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. Regarding the stingless bee pollen of Matanzas provenance, the family Fabaceae prevailed, followed by Burseraceae and Myrtaceae. The pollen corresponding to Mayabeque coincided in showing Fabaceae as the most representative. In addition, pollen grains of small size (from 10 to 25 µm) were collected, with a marked representation of the pollen type of Mimosa pudica in the Mayabeque honey. It was concluded that the Cuban stingless bee livestock of the Matanzas and Mayabeque provinces had a specialist feeding behavior because a low number of plant taxa made up its diet.
Agricultural products based on native microorganisms represent an ecological alternative to traditional chemical fertilizers for enhancing growth and crop yield. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the product based on native microorganisms IHPLUS® on germination, emergence, and primary leaf formation of Phaseolus vulgaris L. seedlings. The treatments consisted of a control (immersion in distilled water) and nine treatments that were the combination of IHPLUS® at three concentrations and three immersion times. The application of IHPLUS® significantly increased the percentage of germination, mainly in the first days. After 7 d, the germination rate and root and hypocotyl lengths increased in almost all treatments compared to control seedlings. The beneficial effects of IHPLUS® on the germination of P. vulgaris may be partially attributed to changes on seedling metabolism due to an increase in α-amylase activity and in the content of reducing sugars and soluble proteins. Results suggest that IHPLUS® may act as an enhancer of germination in common beans that might lead to rapid seed germination, uniform seedling growth, and better seedling establishment and crop productivity.
El IHPLUS es un bioproducto a base de microorganismos eficientes que constituyen una opción para el desarrollo de los cultivos. La investigación tuvo como objetivo evaluar el efecto del café fermentado con IHPLUS sobre la germinación de semillas y el desarrollo de posturas. Posterior al despulpe del café la fermentación se realizó en cuatro concentraciones con IHPLUS (5%, 10%, 15% y 20%), y un testigo con agua sola. Se evaluó el por ciento de germinación, la altura, el largo de la raíz y la masa seca de las plántulas cuando tuvieron las hojas cotiledonares, y la altura, el diámetro del tallo, el área foliar y la masa seca de las posturas al finalizar su aviveramiento. Al fermentar las semillas en un medio con mayor concentración de bioproducto se aumentó la germinación, los tratamientos 15% y 20% incrementaron este indicador en un 13,4 y 16,1% respectivamente en comparación al testigo. En germinadores las plántulas tuvieron mejores características morfo-fisiológicas con las concentraciones del bioproducto, sobre todo con el 15%. En las posturas la concentración del 15% incrementó en un 17,9; 26,8; 50 y 38,6% la altura, el diámetro del tallo, la masa seca y el área foliar respectivamente en comparación al testigo. El IHPLUS en la fermentación de las semillas de café mejoró significativamente el por ciento de germinación, los indicadores de calidad de las plántulas en los germinadores y de las posturas al concluir su aviveramiento. La concentración del 15% fue la variante más integral y recomendable a utilizar.
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