Project description:The aim of this work was to assess the regeneration capacity of Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii and Lonicera kamtschatica cv. 'Jugana' from different types of explants under various hormonal treatments. The whole leaves, petioles, and internodal segments of in vitro plants were examined as explants. Several plant growth regulators (cytokinins and auxins) were evaluated for their ability to induce adventitious regeneration. Direct and indirect organogenesis was achieved under certain culture conditions in both species. The frequency of shoot regeneration was strongly dependent on concentrations of plant growth regulators in the induction media (L.kamtschatica 'Jugana') or concentrations of plant growth regulators in the induction media and type of explant (A. alnifolia var. cusickii). Results showed that leaves were not suitable explants for A. alnifolia var. cusickii. Both species were able to regenerate shoots from internodal segments and petioles. The highest induction of shoots was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium enriched with 2 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ) and 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for Amelanchier alnifolia and with 1 mg/L TDZ and 0.2 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) for L. kamtschatica 'Jugana'. Obtained adventitious shoots were further proliferated in order to investigate their multiplication capacity. The multiplication of shoots was successful in all cultivars, with the best results reported in A. alnifolia var. cusickii (7.07 shoots/explant on average).
Project description:Hepatitis C is serious health concern worldwide caused by HCV. It causes liver cirrhosis and hepato-cellular carcinoma. Development of prevention solutions is under progress. Meanwhile, the treatment of the viral disease using compounds isolated from natural medicinal plants is promising. The traditional use of photo-chemicals from medicinal plants like Amelanchier alnifolia for viral treatment is hopeful. Therefore, it is of interest to screen for flavonoids from Amelanchier alnifolia against protein targets of HCV. Hence, we assessed the binding of flavonoids to HCV NS3/4A protease and helicase proteins. Results show that Quercitin 3- galactoside and 3-glucosideshowed good binding score with protease and helicase respectively. Their interaction/binding sites are documented in this report. This data provide insights for the consideration of flavonoids as potential inhibitors of HCV/NS3/4A protease and helicase.
Project description:This study established the appropriate amounts of a functional Saskatoon berry fruit powder in fortified rye bread acceptable to consumers and determined the potential relative bioaccesibility of bioactive compounds exhibiting antioxidant activity, and enzymatic in vitro inhibitory activity against lipoxygenase, cyclooxigenase-1, cyclooxigenase-2, acetylcholinesterase, pancreatic lipase α-glucosidase, and α-amylase, as well as the relative digestibility of nutrients. The content of polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant capability were strongly, positively correlated with the content of the functional additive. The highest phenolics content and antioxidant activity were determined in the products enriched with the powders microencapsulated with maltodextrin (an increase by 91% and 53%, respectively, compared with the control). The highest overall acceptability was shown for the products with 3% addition of the functional additive, regardless of its type. The simulated in vitro digestion released phenols (with the highest bioaccessibility shown for anthocyanins) and enhanced the antioxidant activity of rye bread. In turn, the microencapsulation contributed to the improvement in the relative bioaccesibility of antioxidant compounds. Bread fortification led to an increased inhibitory activity against α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and lipoxygenase. Furthermore, the additive microencapsulated with maltodextrin and inulin improved the capacity to inhibit the activities of pancreatic lipase and cyclooxigenase-2. The results presented allowed concluding that the powders from Saskatoon berry fruits, especially microencapsulated ones, may be a promising functional additive dedicated for the enrichment of rye bread.
Project description:Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is a potential functional food containing anthocyanins and flavonols, as well as ellagitannins and phenolic acids. We have determined the potential therapeutic effects of Saskatoon berry in diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Nine- to ten-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups. Two groups were fed on control diets, either corn starch (C) or high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet (H) respectively, for 16 weeks. Two further groups were fed on C or H diet for 16 weeks with Saskatoon berry powder added to the diet for the final 8 weeks (CSSK, HSSK). After 16 weeks, H rats showed symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including increased body weight, visceral adiposity, systolic blood pressure, cardiac fibrosis, plasma concentrations of triglycerides and non-esterified fatty acids, and plasma activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase. Saskatoon berry intervention normalised body weight and adiposity, improved glucose tolerance, decreased systolic blood pressure, improved heart and liver structure and function with decreased infiltration of inflammatory cells, and decreased plasma total cholesterol. Further, Saskatoon berry normalised liver expression of hexokinase 1 and glycogen phosphorylase and increased glucose 6-phosphatase relative to H rats. These results suggest that Saskatoon berry regulates glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis to improve metabolic syndrome.