Yacon, Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. & Endl.) H. Robinson, Asteraceae, an important economic species grown for its juicy tuberous root, is potentially beneficial in the diet to diabetics. The antioxidative activity of yacon root was studied by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Antioxidants were extracted by methanol and isolated and purified by gel permeation chromatography and preparative reverse-phase HPLC. Two of the major antioxidants were identified as chlorogenic acid and tryptophan by NMR and mass spectrometry.
We investigated the leaf tissue and cellular morphology of tea (Camellia sinensis). Osmiophilic material, presumably catechins, was present in mesophyll cells, but not in epidermal cells. Electron microscopy showed that catechins were localized to restricted regions within the central vacuoles. In addition, two kinds of small vacuoles of 0.5-3 microm were present in mesophyll cells. One vacuole had catechins within its whole lumen, while the other had an electron-lucent lumen. We found fusion profiles between a large central vacuole and these small vacuoles. We propose that after catechins are synthesized, they are incorporated into small vacuoles and transported to the large central vacuoles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.