Annals of Agricultural Science最新文献

Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) is a beneficial agroforestry plant that contains antioxidant compounds broadly studied as a natural source in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical uses. The antioxidant compounds benefit human health and plant to develop defense mechanisms under environmental stresses, such as drought stress. This study aims to evaluate the defense mechanism of melinjo under drought stress. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used to simulate drought stress to melinjo seedlings for 5, 10, 20, and 40 days compared to zero-day control without PEG. The inhibition and detoxification activities of 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl, superoxide radical, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined to evaluate antioxidant capabilities during drought stress. Lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents were also analyzed to evaluate the level of cellular damage during drought stress. The seedling's growth was significantly reduced as a response to the longer duration of drought stress treatment. On the contrary, the level of lipid peroxidation and H₂O₂ were increased, followed by the escalation of antioxidant activities. This result indicates that many antioxidant compounds act together to develop a defense mechanism in melinjo seedlings, and the different duration of drought stresses influences their capabilities.

The consumption of recommended amount of dietary fiber is a challenge not only for most consumers but also for the food scientists to design fiber-enriched foods with acceptable eating quality, texture, color and flavor. The addition of psyllium husk (PS) significantly made the bread texture softer with increasing levels, producing the lowest compression force value (2.48 ± 0.37 N) at a 5% level. Addition of coarse wheat bran (at 10 and 20% levels) to white wheat flour (WWF) produced a significantly softer bread texture (4.65 ± 0.61 to 5.27 ± 0.32 N) compared with the harder texture with the fine wheat bran addition (5.04 ± 0.33 to 6.82 ± 0.57 N) for the control samples, respectively. When psyllium at 5% level was added to either the WWF or wholegrain wheat flour (WGF), it produced a significantly softer bread texture. Interestingly, the incorporation of diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglyceride (DATEM) emulsifier (0.5%) in the WWF or WGF bread samples containing 5% psyllium did not significantly improve the textural properties of bread samples. When WWF + 5%PS (4.03 ± 0.12 N) buns were compared with WGF + 5%PS, the WGF +5%PS buns (7.37 ± 0.16 N) had a significantly harder texture. The results of compression force (N) and higher consumer acceptability values of these products clearly brought out the superior textural properties of wheat pan bread and buns made by this newer approach, than the common approach of using only the wholegrain wheat flour. Future studies on the effect of various wheat bran treatments, such as steaming or extrusion on the textural properties of pan bread and buns are recommended.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important crop cultivated in India and other warmer regions of the world. The crop is dependent on insect pollinators for its fruit set. However, information about pollination ecology in Indian states remains undetermined. We used a replicated field-scale experiment to identify the native pollinators and their foraging behaviour, including abundance, visitation rate, duration of visit, and pollination efficiency. We compared treatments with open-pollinated, hand-pollinated and the addition of two managed pollinator species to estimate the yield enhancement potential of managed stingless bees and western honey bees and their impact on native pollinator species. We found that ants, bees, butterflies, beetles, and wasps visited the flowers either for nectar, pollen, and/or floral tissue. Regarding the ‘pollinator importance’ value of the visitors, Halictus acrocephalus and Lasioglossum funebre were the most effective native pollinators. Despite their contribution, the plants showed a significant pollination deficit in the open-pollinated system which can be overcome by supplementary pollination services through the management of western honey bees (Apis mellifera) and/or stingless bees (Tetragonula iridipennis). However, the application of A. mellifera colonies greatly reduces the abundance, visitation rate and foraging time (amount of time spent per visit on a flower) of native pollinators. Hence, the utilization of managed stingless bee colonies for pollination services is more suitable and has a lesser impact on native pollinator species, which may lead to sustainable agricultural practices.

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) belongs to the Brassicaceae family and is one of the most important cruciferous vegetables. It has gained popularity due to its high glucosinolate concentrations that have positive potential in cancer treatment. In this study, the effects of two elicitors; methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA), on the production of sulforaphane from broccoli 7-days old seedlings, its antiapoptotic activity and its gene expression have been studied. Real-time PCR was used to quantify myrosinase (MY) gene expression associated with sulforaphane production. The antiapoptotic activity of sulforaphane treatments was evaluated and tested using MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. The highest amount of sulforaphane was produced at 80 μM SA and 40 μM MeJA after 24 h of elicitation. Increased production of sulforaphane was found to be associated with over-expression of myrosinase gene. The sulforaphane extract obtained from broccoli seedlings treated with MeJA exerted a higher inhibitory effect on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line than sulforaphane extract obtained from broccoli seedlings treated with SA. The inhibitory effect increased by using purified sulforaphane. Studies on apoptosis gene transcription showed that all sulforaphane treatments down-regulated the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) gene (antiapoptotic) transcription while up-regulating the pro-apoptotic Bcl2 Associated X, Apoptosis Regulator (Bax) gene, Caspase-3, Caspase-8 and Caspase-9. It may be concluded that increased sulforaphane production could increase its antiapoptotic activity as indicated by induction of more apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.

Spherical homogeneous 32 nm, protein coated Pseudomonas silesiensis strain A3 CuNPs was investigated for their cytotoxicity effect as well as antimicrobial and antitumor activity. CuNPs cytotoxicity was estimated using human normal lung cell lines (Wi38) against CuNPs with concentrations ranging from 25 to 150 μg/mL using neutral red uptake assay. The cytotoxicity study revealed that the bacterial CuNPs had an impact on Wi38 cell viability at concentrations of 25, 50, 100 and 150 μg/mL CuNPs were 95.8, 91.1, 89.2 and 82.3%, respectively, with a strong correlation coefficient (r = 0.94) and a CuNPs IC₅₀ value of 1057.0 μg/mL. CuNPs exhibit a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against various microorganism species, including fungi and Gram positive and negative bacteria using the agar-well diffusion method. The findings revealed that the most sensitive pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus ATCC5638 and Aspergillus flavus ATCC 9643 which tended to have a high inhibition zone diameter (50 and 47 mm, respectively). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CuNPs was 50 μg/mL. The minimum lethal concentration (MLC) values were 50 and 75 μg/mL for S. aureus ATCC 5638 and A. flavus ATCC 9643, respectively. MLC/MIC ratio was ≤2, suggesting the CuNPs had a bactericidal or fungicidal effect on both pathogenic strains. Results also indicated that bacterial CuNPs at varying concentrations of 25, 50, 100 and 150 μg/mL were such a good antitumor agent against A549 lung carcinoma cell lines with an IC₅₀ value of 137.5 μg/mL and a cell viability of 89.3, 79.6, 64.9 and 44.1%, respectively. The results also suggested that the biosynthesized-CuNPs were an antimicrobial and anticancer agent that could be used in future in food preservation, biomedicine and pharmaceutical fields.

No-till (NT) farming is a major soil conservation strategy. In the Brazilian Cerrado, soybean is the main grain crop, and strategies that improve the cultivation of cover crops in the off-season in succession to soybean could facilitate NT for large cultivated areas. In the municipality of Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil, three experiments were carried out in a randomized block design with four replications. This work aimed to evaluate the establishment of Urochloa ruziziensis (ruzigrass) in succession to soybean as a function of ruzigrass seed treatment, sowing density and phenological stage, and soybean cultivar allelopathic potential. In the first experiment, treatment of ruzigrass seeds with six doses (0, 150, 300, 450, 600 and 750 mL of commercial product 100 kg⁻¹ of seeds) of fipronil + thiophanate-methyl + pyraclostrobin was evaluated. In the second experiment, two ruzigrass interseeding periods (soybean phenological stages R5.5 and R7) and five ruzigrass seed densities (4.3, 6.4, 8.6, 10.7 and 12.9 kg ha⁻¹ VPS) were tested. In the third experiment, the interference of soybean cultivars in the establishment of ruzigrass and the potential allelopathic effect of the cultivars on forage germination were evaluated, six soybean cultivars RR (Roundup Ready®) were used: P98Y70; TMG 115; TMG 132; M 8527; P98Y11; TMG 123. Our results showed that seed treatment facilitated forage establishment in the interseeding system, and the use of high sowing rates at phenological stage R5.5 of soybean promoted greater ruzigrass plant development. The effects of the soybean cultivars on ruzigrass germination varied, suggesting allelopathic effects of the deposition of petioles and soybean leaves on ruzigrass seeds. Thus, an appropriate interseeding strategy can improve forage production in the off-season and favor NT through correct management of forage establishment in succession to soybean.

Heavy metals (HMs) pollution is becoming influential severe trouble in the farming ecosystem, where it causes serious health problems for many living organisms. This study was conducted to estimate the HMs accumulation under different sites from agricultural soil and its effects on enzymatic activities in tissues of the beetle, Blaps polychresta, as an indicator of soil contamination. Beetle and soil samples were collected from three agricultural sites; (A) a reference site, (B) fields located near the River Nile, and (C) fields closed to drainage. The atomic absorption results showed a significant increase in iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), aluminum (Al), and zinc (Zn) for both soil and beetles from site B & C compared to site A. The highest bioaccumulation (BAF) ratio was observed for nickel (Ni), As, and cadmium (Cd) in site C, while Zn, copper (Cu), and Pb in site B. HMs accumulation in beetle's tissues (gut, fat body, and testis) from site B & C induced the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity. Thus, a significant reduction of the antioxidant enzymes and total protein contents (TPc) were observed in beetle tissues from site C. However, no significant differences in some tissues of site B compared to other sites. A principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation were conducted between HMs concentrations in beetle tissues and antioxidant enzymes, TPc, and MDA. The current results of a principal component analysis (PCA) and the correlation test were used to assist the differences in the decline of the antioxidant enzymes: glutathione (GSH), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR) and TPc, while; the elevation in MDA responses in beetle's tissues due to HMs accumulations in response to protect themselves from metals toxicity. The antioxidant defense and oxidative stress were more prominent in the tissues of the beetle's gut and fat bodies comparing to the testis. Accordingly, the HMs accumulation in agricultural soil can be predicted by the enzymatic activities in beetle tissues.

Fruits of cardamom (Amomum compactum Sol. Ex Maton), Zingiberaceae family, has long been used as herbs and spices. The aim of the research was to evaluate the total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in ethanol and ethyl acetate of fruit extract from the accession cardamom. We used ultrasonic extraction with 80% ethanol and ethyl acetate as solvents. Four accessions were performed for total flavonoid content (TFC) by colorimetric method using quercetin as standard flavonoid and antioxidant activity by cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), and 2,2-diphenyl picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays using Trolox as standard antioxidant. TFC varied from 0.19 mg QE/g dry weight (DW) (ethanol extract of accession ‘Sukabumi’) to 2.26 mg QE/g DW (ethyl acetate extract of accession ‘Ciamis’). Antioxidant activity ranged from 3.83 μmol TE/g DW (ethyl acetate extract of accession ‘Bogor-1’) to 21.90 μmol TE/g DW (ethanol extract of accession ‘Bogor-1’) as calculated by CUPRAC method. In DPPH assay, antioxidant capacity reached from 0.19 μmol TE/g DW (ethanol extract of accession ‘Bogor-1’) to 0.40 μmol TE/g DW (ethyl acetate extract of accession ‘Bogor-2’). Ethyl acetate extract exhibited the highest TPC and antioxidant activity (DPPH) than ethanol extract of cardamom fruits. The accession ‘Ciamis’ and ‘Bogor-1’ of cardamom fruits were well-known highest TFC and antioxidant capacities.

Aquaculture effluents are nutrient-rich water containing both inorganic and organic nutrients with a potential to replace chemical fertilizer applications under integrated agricultural systems. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of fish effluent as an irrigation water source on the growth, yield, and essential oil composition of sweet marjoram. A randomized complete block design was followed with three irrigation treatments and three replicates i.e. fertigation with chemical fertilizers (control), irrigation with effluents only (effluents), and mixed treatment with 50% effluent and 50% chemical fertilizers (mixed). Marjoram seedlings were transplanted, and two cuts were done at the flowering stage. Samples were analyzed for yield and essential oil. In the first cut, effluents recorded an average of 40.4 cm height and 30.2 branches. It also had significantly higher yields, reaching 12.5ton ha⁻¹ and 2.8ton ha⁻¹ for fresh and dry yields, respectively. For the second cut, mixed had the highest average number of branches (58.8) and average height (59.2 cm). It recorded the highest yields of 26.5ton ha⁻¹ and 10.5ton ha⁻¹ of fresh and dry yields, respectively. Similarly, mixed gave the highest oil content (0.98%), compared to the control (0.84%). Essential oil analysis showed six main constituents; terpinen-4-ol (27.11–32.38%), β-terpineol (9.84–17.22%), γ-terpinene (11.09–15.55%), α-terpinene (6.68–10.34%), sabinene (8.18–9.25%), and cis-sabinene hydrate (5.01–8.64%). The results, therefore, suggest that growing marjoram with a mixed treatment would give the best herbage yields and the highest essential oils with reduced environmental impacts.