scholarly journals Discoloured seeds of amaranth plant infected by Alternaria alternata: physiological, histopathological alterations and fungal secondary metabolites associated or registered

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-249
Author(s):  
María Cristina Noelting ◽  
Marina Sisterna ◽  
Marcelo Lovisolo ◽  
Andrés Molla-Kralj ◽  
Gladys Lori ◽  
...  

Abstract In the present study the aspects of discolouration that could influence both the production and consumption of amaranth were analyzed with the objectives to identify the presence of Alternaria alternata on seeds, to analyze possible changes in the anatomy of seed tissues and to detect the presence of fungal secondary metabolites. Component plating, histopathological and mycological analyses on discoloured seeds allowed i) location of propagules of A. alternata in all seminal components; ii) observation of hypertrophies in perisperm and embryo and iii) determination of several fungal secondary metabolites, mainly high concentrations of tenuazonic acid. To our knowledge, the information presented in this paper, related to physiological, histopathological changes and fungal secondary metabolites on discoloured seeds of (Amaranthus mantegazzianus syn. A. caudatus subsp. mantegazzianus (Pass) Hanelt affected by A. alternata, is the first worldwide record.

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gruber-Dorninger ◽  
T. Jenkins ◽  
G. Schatzmayr

As animal feed is prone to infestation with mycotoxin-producing fungi, mycotoxin contamination of feed should be monitored. Here, we report a multi-mycotoxin survey of feed samples from Africa. We determined the concentrations of aflatoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, zearalenone and ochratoxin A in 1,045 samples of finished feed and feed raw materials (maize, maize silage, other cereals, etc.) from South Africa and 318 samples from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Madagascar. We compared the measured mycotoxin concentrations to regulatory limits or guidance values that are in effect in the European Union and analysed the co-occurrence of these mycotoxins. To determine the occurrence of other fungal secondary metabolites, a subset of the samples was analysed using a multi-analyte liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based method for the simultaneous detection of over 700 fungal metabolites. We found that 33.3% of maize samples and 54.4% of finished feed samples from Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania exceeded the European regulatory limit of 20 ng/g aflatoxins. The Fusarium mycotoxins zearalenone, fumonisins and deoxynivalenol were prevalent in all commodities from all countries, but concentrations were in most cases below European guidance values. Concentrations of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were correlated. Several other Fusarium metabolites occurred frequently (e.g. moniliformin, beauvericin, aurofusarin) or in high concentrations (e.g. aurofusarin, fusaproliferin). Furthermore, high levels of diplodiatoxin were occasionally detected in samples from South Africa and the Alternaria metabolite tenuazonic acid was prevalent and reached high concentrations. In conclusion, aflatoxins frequently occurred in African feed samples in potentially unsafe concentrations. While Fusarium mycotoxins mostly occurred in concentrations below European guidance values, a correlation between deoxynivalenol and zearalenone concentrations suggests that toxicological interactions of these compounds deserve attention. Several less investigated fungal secondary metabolites occurred frequently or reached high concentrations.


2020 ◽  
pp. 87-102
Author(s):  
Benfares Redhouane ◽  
Boudjema Khaled ◽  
Behlali Hadjira ◽  
Imedjdouben Imene ◽  
Kennas Abderrezak ◽  
...  

In this work phytochemical characterization of two medicinal plants from Lamiaceae family, Mentha rotundifolia and Satureja calamintha, has been carried out. Extracts obtained with different solvents were screened for different plant secondary metabolites and were biologically characterized by defining their antiradical and antibacterial activities. Phytochemical screening of M. rotundifolia and S. calamintha confirmed their richness in different secondary metabolites. The determination of phenolic compounds revealed high polyphenols contents in water: methanol (30:70) extracts with concentrations of 20.64?1.74 mg EAG/g DW and 13.45?0.91 mg EAG/g DW for M. rotundifolia and S. calamintha, respectively. These extracts were also characterized by high concentrations of flavonoids (Mentha rotundifolia 12.33?1.58 mg EQ/g DW, Satureja calamintha 7.11?0.02 mg EQ/g DW). Furthermore, the water: methanol (30:70) extract of M. rotundifolia was the most effective in inhibiting free radicals. Recorded inhibition diameters for both plant samples and tested microbial strains ranged from 6.66 mm to 13.66 mm. Presented results confirmed that tested indigenous Algerian plants are favorable sources of polyphenols with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 411-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadett Kovacs ◽  
Zoltán Béni ◽  
Miklós Dékány ◽  
Noémi Bózsity ◽  
Istvan Zupko ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (42) ◽  
pp. 4464-4485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kluszczyńska ◽  
Liliana Czernek ◽  
Wojciech Cypryk ◽  
Łukasz Pęczek ◽  
Markus Düchler

Background: Exosomes open exciting new opportunities for advanced drug transport and targeted release. Furthermore, exosomes may be used for vaccination, immunosuppression or wound healing. To fully utilize their potential as drug carriers or immune-modulatory agents, the optimal purity of exosome preparations is of crucial importance. Methods: Articles describing the isolation and purification of exosomes were retrieved from the PubMed database. Results: Exosomes are often separated from biological fluids containing high concentrations of proteins, lipids and other molecules that keep vesicle purification challenging. A great number of purification protocols have been published, however, their outcome is difficult to compare because the assessment of purity has not been standardized. In this review, we first give an overview of the generation and composition of exosomes, as well as their multifaceted biological functions that stimulated various medical applications. Finally, we describe various methods that have been used to purify small vesicles and to assess the purity of exosome preparations and critically compare the quality of these evaluation protocols. Conclusion: Combinations of various techniques have to be applied to reach the required purity and quality control of exosome preparations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 346-354
Author(s):  
Yan A. Ivanenkov ◽  
Renat S. Yamidanov ◽  
Ilya A. Osterman ◽  
Petr V. Sergiev ◽  
Vladimir A. Aladinskiy ◽  
...  

Aim and Objective: Antibiotic resistance is a serious constraint to the development of new effective antibacterials. Therefore, the discovery of the new antibacterials remains one of the main challenges in modern medicinal chemistry. This study was undertaken to identify novel molecules with antibacterial activity. Materials and Methods: Using our unique double-reporter system, in-house large-scale HTS campaign was conducted for the identification of antibacterial potency of small-molecule compounds. The construction allows us to visually assess the underlying mechanism of action. After the initial HTS and rescreen procedure, luciferase assay, C14-test, determination of MIC value and PrestoBlue test were carried out. Results: HTS rounds and rescreen campaign have revealed the antibacterial activity of a series of Nsubstituted triazolo-azetidines and their isosteric derivatives that has not been reported previously. Primary hit-molecule demonstrated a MIC value of 12.5 µg/mL against E. coli Δ tolC with signs of translation blockage and no SOS-response. Translation inhibition (26%, luciferase assay) was achieved at high concentrations up to 160 µg/mL, while no activity was found using C14-test. The compound did not demonstrate cytotoxicity in the PrestoBlue assay against a panel of eukaryotic cells. Within a series of direct structural analogues bearing the same or bioisosteric scaffold, compound 2 was found to have an improved antibacterial potency (MIC=6.25 µg/mL) close to Erythromycin (MIC=2.5-5 µg/mL) against the same strain. In contrast to the parent hit, this compound was more active and selective, and provided a robust IP position. Conclusion: N-substituted triazolo-azetidine scaffold may be used as a versatile starting point for the development of novel active and selective antibacterial compounds.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1768
Author(s):  
Miroslav Rievaj ◽  
Eva Culková ◽  
Damiána Šandorová ◽  
Zuzana Lukáčová-Chomisteková ◽  
Renata Bellová ◽  
...  

This short review deals with the properties and significance of the determination of selenium, which is in trace amounts an essential element for animals and humans, but toxic at high concentrations. It may cause oxidative stress in cells, which leads to the chronic disease called selenosis. Several analytical techniques have been developed for its detection, but electroanalytical methods are advantageous due to simple sample preparation, speed of analysis and high sensitivity of measurements, especially in the case of stripping voltammetry very low detection limits even in picomoles per liter can be reached. A variety of working electrodes based on mercury, carbon, silver, platinum and gold materials were applied to the analysis of selenium in various samples. Only selenium in oxidation state + IV is electroactive therefore the most of voltammetric determinations are devoted to it. However, it is possible to detect also other forms of selenium by indirect electrochemistry approach.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Jagels ◽  
Viktoria Lindemann ◽  
Sebastian Ulrich ◽  
Christoph Gottschalk ◽  
Benedikt Cramer ◽  
...  

The genus Stachybotrys produces a broad diversity of secondary metabolites, including macrocyclic trichothecenes, atranones, and phenylspirodrimanes. Although the class of the phenylspirodrimanes is the major one and consists of a multitude of metabolites bearing various structural modifications, few investigations have been carried out. Thus, the presented study deals with the quantitative determination of several secondary metabolites produced by distinct Stachybotrys species for comparison of their metabolite profiles. For that purpose, 15 of the primarily produced secondary metabolites were isolated from fungal cultures and structurally characterized in order to be used as analytical standards for the development of an LC-MS/MS multimethod. The developed method was applied to the analysis of micro-scale extracts from 5 different Stachybotrys strains, which were cultured on different media. In that process, spontaneous dialdehyde/lactone isomerization was observed for some of the isolated secondary metabolites, and novel stachybotrychromenes were quantitatively investigated for the first time. The metabolite profiles of Stachybotrys species are considerably influenced by time of growth and substrate availability, as well as the individual biosynthetic potential of the respective species. Regarding the reported adverse effects associated with Stachybotrys growth in building environments, combinatory effects of the investigated secondary metabolites should be addressed and the role of the phenylspirodrimanes re-evaluated in future research.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Magdalena Świądro ◽  
Paweł Stelmaszczyk ◽  
Irena Lenart ◽  
Renata Wietecha-Posłuszny

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a high-sensitivity methodology for identifying one of the most used drugs—ketamine. Ketamine is used medicinally to treat depression, alcoholism, and heroin addiction. Moreover, ketamine is the main ingredient used in so-called “date-rape” pills (DRP). This study presents a novel methodology for the simultaneous determination of ketamine based on the Dried Blood Spot (DBS) method, in combination with capillary electrophoresis coupled with a mass spectrometer (CE-TOF-MS). Then, 6-mm circles were punched out from DBS collected on Whatman DMPK-C paper and extracted using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). The assay was linear in the range of 25–300 ng/mL. Values of limits of detection (LOD = 6.0 ng/mL) and quantification (LOQ = 19.8 ng/mL) were determined based on the signal to noise ratio. Intra-day precision at each determined concentration level was in the range of 6.1–11.1%, and inter-day between 7.9–13.1%. The obtained precision was under 15.0% (for medium and high concentrations) and lower than 20.0% (for low concentrations), which are in accordance with acceptance criteria. Therefore, the DBS/MAE/CE-TOF-MS method was successfully checked for analysis of ketamine in matrices other than blood, i.e., rose wine and orange juice. Moreover, it is possible to identify ketamine in the presence of flunitrazepam, which is the other most popular ingredient used in DRP. Based on this information, the selectivity of the proposed methodology for identifying ketamine in the presence of other components of rape pills was checked.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Geliandro Anhaia Rigo ◽  
Luis Osmar Braga Schuch ◽  
Willian Silva Barros ◽  
Rodrigo Lamaison de Vargas ◽  
Vinícius Jardel Szareski ◽  
...  

The aim of this work was to correlate macronutrient content of soybean seeds to physiological quality of different cultivars. The work was developed in the Federal University of Pelotas, in the facilities of the Seed Science and Technology Graduate Program. The experimental design was randomized blocks in arranged in four replicates. The following soybean cultivars were used: BMX Apolo RR (12 lots), BMX Ativa RR (13 lots), BMX Energia RR (26 lots), BMX Força RR (24 lots), BMX Impacto RR (35 lots), BMX Magna RR (16 lots), BMX Turbo RR (44 lots), BMX Potência RR (82 lots) and NA 5909 RR (28 lots), with seeds produced in northwest Rio Grande do Sul. The determination of nutritional contents found in plant tissues of soybean seeds, were measured: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Sulfur (S). The macronutrient contents of the seeds vary according to genetic characteristics of the cultivars, with higher oscillations of nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium and sulfur contents present in soybean seeds. Potassium and calcium are defined as the most stable nutrients for the cultivars and seed lots analyzed. High concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium are determinants for the physiological quality of soybean seeds.


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