Abstract:Plants have evolved to synthesize a variety of noxious compounds to cope with unfavorable circumstances, among which a large group of toxic proteins that play a critical role in plant defense against predators and microbes. Up to now, a wide range of harmful proteins have been discovered in different plants, including lectins, ribosome-inactivating proteins, protease inhibitors, ureases, arcelins, antimicrobial peptides and pore-forming toxins. To fulfill their role in plant defense, these proteins exhibit var… Show more
“…Plant peptidase inhibitors (PIs) are widely distributed in plant tissues, especially in seeds and tubers [1]. They play an essential role in plant development due to their modulation of peptidase activities that are normally involved in important physiological processes [2,3].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…They play an essential role in plant development due to their modulation of peptidase activities that are normally involved in important physiological processes [2,3]. They might also be associated with plant defense mechanisms, by protecting them against insects and pathogens [1,4].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…PIs exhibit a wide range of biological activities that has attracted much interest mainly because of their potential applications in agriculture and medicine [1,5]. As multifaceted molecules, they have been studied for improvement of plant resistance to pathogens and insects [4,[6][7][8], antimicrobial agent [9,10] and anticancer agent [11][12][13][14].…”
“…Plant peptidase inhibitors (PIs) are widely distributed in plant tissues, especially in seeds and tubers [1]. They play an essential role in plant development due to their modulation of peptidase activities that are normally involved in important physiological processes [2,3].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…They play an essential role in plant development due to their modulation of peptidase activities that are normally involved in important physiological processes [2,3]. They might also be associated with plant defense mechanisms, by protecting them against insects and pathogens [1,4].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…PIs exhibit a wide range of biological activities that has attracted much interest mainly because of their potential applications in agriculture and medicine [1,5]. As multifaceted molecules, they have been studied for improvement of plant resistance to pathogens and insects [4,[6][7][8], antimicrobial agent [9,10] and anticancer agent [11][12][13][14].…”
“…To cope with those unfavourable conditions plants have undergone adaptations such as the elaboration of defence strategies synthesizing bioactive compounds. Some of them are potentially toxic such as alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins and glycosides (Dang et al 2015;Maag et al 2015).…”
Context: Croton campestris A.St.-Hil. (Euphorbiaceae) is a species native to Northeast Brazil used by traditional communities for the treatment of a variety of health problems. However, potential toxicological effects of this plant are unknown. Objective: The potential toxicity of the hydroalcoholic extract of C. campestris leaves on Drosophila melanogaster insect model, additionally with phytochemical constitution and cellular mechanisms mediating the action of extract were analysed in this study. Materials and methods: Constituents of the extract were evaluated by HPLC. In vitro antioxidant potential of extract was analysed by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. Flies injected culture medium mixed with extract (0.1-50 mg/mL) for 72 h. After, ROS production was evaluated by DCF-DA oxidation. Phosphorylation of MAPK signalling pathway was investigated by Western blotting method. Activity of antioxidant enzymes was analysed in homogenates.Results: Major components of the extract include quercetin (38.11 ± 0.06 mg/g), caffeic acid (20.06 ± 0.17 mg/g) and kaempferol (15.45 ± 0.05 mg/g). Consumption of the extract impaired locomotor performance and induced fly death of flies (LC 50 of 26.51 mg/mL). Augmented ROS formation and SOD, CAT and GST activity were observed from 0.1 mg/mL. JNK and p38 kinases phosphorylation was modulated and Paraquat-induced toxicity was augmented by extract. Discussion and conclusion: Our data show important toxicological effects of C. campestris leading to increased mortality and impaired locomotor performance accompanied by induction of cell stress markers in flies. The study draws attention to the indiscriminate use of plant extracts.
ARTICLE HISTORY
“…Many plants have evolved to produce natural defense mechanisms that aid in the battle with foreign pathogenic invaders. Plant defense mechanisms include myriad physical and chemical defenses, which prevent pathogens from entering the plant cell, limit their availability, and/or restrict the nutrients necessary for the growth and replication of the pathogen [4][5][6][7][8].…”
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