Antioxidant and Anti-Obesity Potentials of Korean-Native Wild Vegetables (Allium species)

Four Korea-native wild vegetables belonging to the Allium genus (Allium tuberosum Rottl., Allium senescens L., Allium thunbergii G. Don., and Allium sacculiferum Maxim.) were investigated for their antioxidant and anti-obesity potential, in order to promote the utilization of wild edible plants for the development of potential new crops. In this study, we compared the antioxidant activity of the plant extracts by ABTS+ and DPPH scavenging method. We then compared the anti-adipogenic effects of the extracts in adipocytes. We quantified the phenolics in the extracts using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify the bioactive compounds. A. tuberosum and A. sacculiferum had a higher total phenolic content (19.0 ± 0.3 and 19.6 ± 0.7 mg GA/g extract, respectively) than A. senescens and A. thunbergii (16.0 ± 0.2 and 14.5 ± 0.7 mg GA/g extract). Caffeic acid, an antioxidant and anti-adipogenic compound, was detected in A. tuberosum and A. sacculiferum, but not in A. senescens and A. thunbergii. A. tuberosum, and A. sacculiferum showed superior antioxidative and anti-adipogenic activities compared to A. senescens and A. thunbergii. Therefore, A. tuberosum and A. sacculiferum, both of which contain antioxidant and anti-adipogenic phenolics, such as caffeic acid, present a therapeutic potential against obesity. Various phenolic compounds, which have been found to differ among Allium spp., may partially account for differences among the Allium spp. with respect to their antioxidant and anti-obesity effects.

Antioxidant Properties and Structure-Antioxidant Activity Relationship of Allium Species Leaves

Allium is a genus that is widely consumed and used as traditional medicine in several countries. This genus has two major species, namely cultivated species and wild species. Cultivated species consist of A. cepa L., A. sativum L., A. fistulosum L. and A. schoenoprasum L. and wild species consist of A. ursinum L., A. flavum L., A. scorodoprasum L., A. vineale L. and A. atroviolaceum Boiss. Several studies report that the Allium species contain secondary metabolites such as polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins and have bioactivity such as antioxidants, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, pancreatic α-amylase, glucoamylase enzyme inhibitors and antiplatelets. This review summarizes some information regarding the types of Allium species (ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology), the content of compounds of Allium species leaves with various isolation methods, bioactivities, antioxidant properties and the structure-antioxidant activity relationship (SAR) of Allium compounds.

Genetic Variability and Association Among Bulb Yield and Yield Related Traits of Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Genotypes at Bishoftu Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is the second most important Allium species next to onion (Allium cepa L. in the world and from Africa, Ethiopia is ranked second most garlic produce next to Egypt. It is one of the most important vegetable crops in Ethiopia and is used as a component of food, cash and has also a tremendous use in the formulation of local medicines. Among abiotic factors affecting garlic production and productivity using garlic genotype which is susceptible for different biotic and abiotic agents contributed huge yield loss in agriculture center. Therefore, this field experiment was conducted to assess the genetic variability in garlic genotypes, to determine association among traits and estimate the direct and indirect effects of traits on bulb yield. The field evaluation of 34 genotypes and 2 released varieties (G-HL and Chefe) was conducted in 6x6 Triple Lattice Design at Bishoftu Agricultural Research Center during January 2020 to May 2020. Results of analysis of variance revealed the presence of significant differences among genotypes for 18 traits. The variation observed among genotypes for bulb yield ranged from 43.80 to 147.20 kg ha-1. The six genotypes had mean performances higher than the highest performing check variety (G-HL=99.5Kg ha-1). Generally, the results of this study showed the presence of variations among genotypes for agro-morphology traits with a wide range of genetic distances that could allow selection and/or hybridization of genotypes after the results of this study are confirmed across locations and over the years.

Investigating Ghanaian Allium Species for Anti-Infective and Resistance-Reversal Natural Product Leads to Mitigate Multidrug-Resistance in Tuberculosis

The bulbs of Allium species are a known source of antibacterial phytochemicals. Anti-infective, efflux pump and biofilm inhibitory activities of bulb extracts of selected Ghanaian shallots Allium cepa var aggregatum were evaluated using the HT-SPOTi assay and other whole-cell phenotypic screening techniques to determine their possible mechanisms of action. Ethanol and aqueous extracts of white A. cepa inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 and Escherichia coli, respectively. The majority of the Allium extracts significantly (p < 0.05) exhibited efflux pump inhibitory activity against all the acid-fast, Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains used. Hexane and chloroform extract of the pink A. cepa and the aqueous extract of the white A. cepa significantly inhibited M. smegmatis biofilm formation. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the inhibition was observed at 250 µg/mL for the aqueous extract (~77.34%) and 125 µg/mL for the hexane extract (~76.51%). The results suggest that Ghanaian shallots could potentially be useful when further developed to tackle antimicrobial resistance, particularly in tuberculosis (TB).

Metabolite profile of two Allium cepa L. aggregatum group cultivars by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Basundari FRA, Sulistyaningsih E, Murti RH, Nuringtyas TR. 2021. Metabolite profile of two Allium cepa L. aggregatum group cultivars by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Biodiversitas 22: 3127-3135. Shallot, an Allium species with high economic value, is widely cultivated in Indonesia. The species includes numerous cultivars with unique characteristics, such as harvesting time, yield, taste, odor, and bulb color. Tuk Tuk and Trisula, the cultivars used in this experiment, have different bulb colors. Tuk Tuk’s bulb color is light red, while that of Trisula is dark red. This color difference may be attributed to variations in the metabolite contents of the shallot bulbs. The present experiment aimed to reveal differences in the metabolite contents of the two shallot cultivars by using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and then determine the specific metabolites contributing to these differences. Bulbs of Tuk Tuk and Trisula were planted in the field under the same conditions and then collected. The bulb samples were powdered, freeze-dried, and subjected to a two-phase extraction method with CDCl3 and D2O as solvents to separate the nonpolar metabolites from polar ones. The extracts were analyzed by 1H-NMR, and the spectra collected were analyzed using MNOVA software and Metaboanalyst.ca. A total of 23 metabolites were successfully identified and characterized in this experiment. The contents of eight of these metabolites, namely, sucrose, glutamine, citric acid, choline, methiin, propiin, threonine, and formic acid, were significantly higher in Trisula than in Tuk Tuk. These differences may be correlated with variations in the color intensity, pungency, and other traits of the cultivars. The results demonstrate that NMR metabolite profiling could effectively differentiate metabolite profile variations among shallot cultivars.

Antimicrobial and Antiasthmatic Properties of Plants

Asthma is a disease that mainly affects our respiratory system. It affects millions of people in the world. It is most common chronic and non-communicable disease in adults as well as children. It is more prevalent in industrialized countries. Asthma is caused by the genetic interaction and environmental factors. The major risk factor for developing asthma is the genetic disposition of individual. Asthma symptoms are caused due to the liberation of endogenous and intrinsic mediators like histamine, nitric oxide, chemokines, inflammation of the airways in the lungs. Therefore, there are many treatments associated with this disease. One of which is the nutraceutical therapy which provides medicinal and health benefits. Indian herbs and plants are well known for its medicinal properties from the ancient times. Allium species, Aloevera, crinum, Licorice, Adhatoda species that possess the antimicrobial activities are known to provide efficient therapeutic response in treating asthma.