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Different Plant Parts (different + plant_part)
Selected AbstractsPolycapillary-optics-based micro-XANES and micro-EXAFS at a third-generation bending-magnet beamlineJOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION, Issue 2 2009Geert Silversmit A focusing system based on a polycapillary half-lens optic has been successfully tested for transmission and fluorescence µ-X-ray absorption spectroscopy at a third-generation bending-magnet beamline equipped with a non-fixed-exit Si(111) monochromator. The vertical positional variations of the X-ray beam owing to the use of a non-fixed-exit monochromator were shown to pose only a limited problem by using the polycapillary optic. The expected height variation for an EXAFS scan around the Fe K -edge is approximately 200,µm on the lens input side and this was reduced to ,1,µm for the focused beam. Beam sizes (FWHM) of 12,16,µm, transmission efficiencies of 25,45% and intensity gain factors, compared with the non-focused beam, of about 2000 were obtained in the 7,14,keV energy range for an incoming beam of 0.5 × 2,mm (vertical × horizontal). As a practical application, an As K -edge µ-XANES study of cucumber root and hypocotyl was performed to determine the As oxidation state in the different plant parts and to identify a possible metabolic conversion by the plant. [source] Role of mineral nutrition in minimizing cadmium accumulation by plantsJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 6 2010Nadeem Sarwar Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal for both plants and animals. The presence of Cd in agricultural soils is of great concern regarding its entry into the food chain. Cadmium enters into the soil,plant environment mainly through anthropogenic activities. Compounds of Cd are more soluble than other heavy metals, so it is more available and readily taken up by plants and accumulates in different edible plant parts through which it enters the food chain. A number of approaches are being used to minimize the entry of Cd into the food chain. Proper plant nutrition is one of the good strategies to alleviate the damaging effects of Cd on plants and to avoid its entry into the food chain. Plant nutrients play a very important role in developing plant tolerance to Cd toxicity and thus, low Cd accumulation in different plant parts. In this report, the role of some macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and calcium), micronutrients (zinc, iron and manganese), and silicon (a beneficial nutrient) has been discussed in detail as to how these nutrients play their role in decreasing Cd uptake and accumulation in crop plants. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Antiproliferative effects of different plant parts of Panax notoginseng on SW480 human colorectal cancer cellsPHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Chong-Zhi Wang Abstract The chemical constituents and antiproliferative effects on SW480 human colorectal cancer cells of different plant parts of P. notoginseng were evaluated. The contents of saponins in extracts from root, rhizome, flower and berry of P. notoginseng were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. The contents and proportions of saponins were different among the four plant parts. Using the cell counting method, the antiproliferative effects were evaluated and the results indicated all four extracts, at 0.05,1.0 mg/mL, showed concentration-related antiproliferative effects on the cancer cells. The flower extract had stronger effects compared with the other three extracts; at 1.0 mg/mL, it inhibited the cell growth by 93.1% (p < 0.01). The antiproliferative effects of major saponins in notoginseng, notoginsenoside R1, ginsenosides Rb1, Rb3 and Rg1, were also evaluated, and the observed effects of major constituents support the pharmacological activities of extracts. The effects of notoginseng extracts on cell cycle and apoptosis of SW480 cells were determined using flow cytometry. Notoginseng extract can arrest the cells in S and G2/M phases. Remarkably apoptosis induction activities of notoginseng extracts were observed with the flower extract possessing the most potent effect, supporting the antiproliferative effect. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Food preferences of wild mountain gorillasAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2008Jessica Ganas Abstract Determining the nutritional and phenolic basis of food preference is important for understanding the nutritional requirements of animals. Preference is a measure of which foods would be consumed by an animal if there was no variation in availability among food items. From September 2004 to August 2005, we measured the food preferences of four wild mountain gorilla groups that consume foliage and fruit in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, to determine what nutrients and phenols are preferred and/or avoided. To do so, we asked the following questions: (1) Which plant species do the gorillas prefer? (2) Considering the different plant parts consumed of these preferred species, what nutrients and/or phenols characterize them? (3) Do the nutritional and phenolic characteristics of preferred foods differ among gorilla groups? We found that although some species were preferred and others were not, of those species found in common among the different group home ranges, the same ones were generally preferred by all groups. Second, all groups preferred leaves with relatively high protein content and relatively low fiber content. Third, three out of four groups preferred leaves with relatively high sugar amounts. Fourth, all groups preferred pith with relatively high sugar content. Finally, of the two groups tested, we found that the preferred fruits of one group had relatively high condensed tannin and fiber/sugar contents, whereas the other group's preferred fruits were not characterized by any particular nutrient/phenol. Overall, there were no differences among gorilla groups in nutritional and phenolic preferences. Our results indicate that protein and sugar are important in the diets of gorillas, and that the gorillas fulfil these nutritional requirements through a combination of different plant parts, shedding new light on how gorillas balance their diets in a variable environment. Am. J. Primatol. 70:927,938, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||