Comparative Assessment of Organic and Inorganic Tea Leaf Extract Feeding on Anxiety Behaviour Status of Colchicine Induced Rat Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Tea (Camellia sinensis) having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and free radical scavenging properties, may be beneficial to prevent the symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this present study, field experiments using the productive tea clone (TV25) with four nutrient management treatments were conducted during 2015 to 2017 in the research farm of Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. The four nutrient management treatments were no application of fertilizer (control), organic fertilizer (OF), inorganic fertilizer (IF), and integration of OF and IF (IF+OF). The total phenolic content of tea leaves in terms of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) in control, OF, IF, IF+OF were 263±2.4 mg/g, 292±1.6mg/g, 203±2.43 mg/g ,288.6±2.11 mg/g, respectively. Tea leaf samples of these treatments were fed to the intracerebroventricular (ICV) colchicine administered rats. The animal study was double-blinded and randomized. Assessment of anxiety status was done for the rat model in an elevated open field with a novel object in two intervals (14-day and 21-day study). Anxiolytic behaviour with the lower corticosterone (CORT) level (82ng/ml) was observed in ICV colchicine administered rat models of AD. After feeding of organically and inorganically grown tea extract (20 mg/kg) for 14 days and 21days, it was found that the anxiolytic behaviour decreased with the increased concentration of serum CORT. However, organic tea showed greater increase in CORT level (216.1 ng/ml) as compared to inorganic tea (214 ng/ml). Thus, this study showed organic tea may act as a favourable agent or adjuvant in the improvement of the anxiolytic behaviour in rat model of AD.

Electrochemical and Structural Modifications of Humic Acids in Aerobically and Anaerobically Incubated Peat

Exposure to oxygen and aerobic biological activity during drought periods alters the availability of terminal electron acceptors (TEA) in the peat catotelm layer. We investigated the changes in the electrochemical and chemical characteristics of humic acids (HA) induced by subjecting air-dried sphagnum peat to biological oxidation or reduction during a 90-day incubation experiment. Structural modifications of HAs from anaerobically (HAred) and aerobically (HAox) incubated peat were investigated by ATR-FTIR, UV–vis, and EEM fluorescence spectroscopy. Number and strength of acid groups were characterized by titration, while changes in redox properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and quantified by coulometry with mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO). Exposure to oxygen had small effects, but compared to anaerobic incubation, decreased by 20% the capacity of HA to reduce the radical ion of 2,2′-Azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS●−), passing from 2.77 ± 0.13 mmole- gHA−1 in HAred to 2.21 ± 0.10 mmole- gHA−1 in HAox. Pseudo-first-order electron transfer kinetic constants were 13.3 ± 1.2 s−1 for HAox and 16.7 ± 1.4 s−1 for HAred. Alterations in the hydrological status of the catotelm have minor effects on the actual in situ availability of organic TEA, but if coupled to intensified biological activity they may result in significant variations of greenhouse gases emissions.

The tea plant CsLHT1 and CsLHT6 transporters take up amino acids, as a nitrogen source, from the soil of organic tea plantations

Organic tea is more popular than conventional tea that originates from fertilized plants. Amino acids inorganic soils constitute a substantial pool nitrogen (N) available for plants. However, the amino-acid contents in soils of tea plantations and how tea plants take up these amino acids remain largely unknown. In this study, we show that the amino-acid content in the soil of an organic tea plantation is significantly higher than that of a conventional tea plantation. Glutamate, alanine, valine, and leucine were the most abundant amino acids in the soil of this tea plantation. When 15N-glutamate was fed to tea plants, it was efficiently absorbed and significantly increased the contents of other amino acids in the roots. We cloned seven CsLHT genes encoding amino-acid transporters and found that the expression of CsLHT1, CsLHT2, and CsLHT6 in the roots significantly increased upon glutamate feeding. Moreover, the expression of CsLHT1 or CsLHT6 in a yeast amino-acid uptake-defective mutant, 22∆10α, enabled growth on media with amino acids constituting the sole N source. Amino-acid uptake assays indicated that CsLHT1 and CsLHT6 are H+-dependent high- and low-affinity amino-acid transporters, respectively. We further demonstrated that CsLHT1 and CsLHT6 are highly expressed in the roots and are localized to the plasma membrane. Moreover, overexpression of CsLHT1 and CsLHT6 in Arabidopsis significantly improved the uptake of exogenously supplied 15N-glutamate and 15N-glutamine. Taken together, our findings are consistent with the involvement of CsLHT1 and CsLHT6 in amino-acid uptake from the soil, which is particularly important for tea plants grown inorganic tea plantations.

Metagenomic Outlooks of Microbial Dynamics Influenced by Organic Manure in Tea Garden Soils of North Bengal, India

Soil being the most heterogeneous and complex microbial habitat on earth exceeds the quantity of inhabiting microbial communities than other environments. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) based metagenomics provides us directs access to the uncultivated genomes. In this study, we targeted two very popular tea gardens of Darjeeling hills- Makaibari (Mak) and Castleton (Cas). The main difference between them is the type of manure they use. Mak is solely an organic tea garden using all organic manure and fertilizers whereas Cas uses inorganic pesticides and fertilizers. The main aim was to compare the effect of organic manure over chemical fertilizers on the soil microbiome as well as the health of tea garden workers. We have performed the 16s metagenomics analysis based on V3-V4 region. Downstream bioinformatics analysis including Reverse Ecology was performed. We found that the overall microbial diversity is higher in Mak rather than Cas. Moreover, the use of organic manure has reduced the population of pathogenic bacteria in Mak soil when compared to Cas soil thus having an indirect effect on the heath of the tea garden workers. From the observations made through the metagenomics analysis of Mak and Cas soil samples we may propose that the application of organic manure supports the population of good bacteria in the soil which eventually can have a better impact on the tea garden workers.

Determinants of Rulindo tea farmers’ perception towards organic farming: a MASS::stepAIC() approach

ABSTRACT: The current study determined the factors influencing the perception of tea farmers towards organic tea production in Rulindo District, Rwanda. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data from face to face interviews and questionnaires completed with 156 tea farmers and other key informants in the tea sector who were randomly selected in 2019. Using function step AIC in R’s MASS package, the final multiple logistic regression model showed that generating income from tea production, participation in Umuganda, conveying messages at Ihangari, participation to agricultural shows, and receiving training from Farmers Field Schools (FFS) influenced farmers’ perceptions towards organic tea production. Thus, the results of this study could be useful to stakeholders in Rwanda’s tea sector, such as policymakers and decision-makers. They can act as a source of information when developing a more sustainable research-based tea extension program. Moreover, the results of this study can be used during the capacity building of farmers about organic tea production.

COVID-19 and Other Challenges: A Case Study of Certified Organic Green Tea Producers in China

This article explores how the western concept of “organic agriculture” has been applied in the traditional Chinese tea industry and how it has been tested during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using in-depth interviews and observations made during 2017–2020, we analyzed different meanings of organic agriculture and values that were given by Chinese farmers who are certified organic producers. Although organic agriculture, particular certified by international certification standards, is a foreign concept, producers invested efforts that go beyond the commercial pursuit for profit. Most importantly, the combination of the reiterated cultural meaning and health benefits of the certified organic tea with the visionary strategy has allowed these producers to shift in a timely manner from export to domestic markets and adapt to the pandemic’s barriers presented to the global trade.

Butterfly diversity in an organic tea estate of Darjeeling Hills, eastern Himalaya, India

The study was undertaken from March–May 2019 to explore the butterflies in the human-modified tea dominated landscape of Darjeeling Hills and understanding the diversity, community structure, habitat specialization, and conservation status of butterflies in an organic tea estate. Sampling was done in the two representative ecosystems of tea plantation and secondary forest within the study area. Altogether 71 species and sub-species across 43 genera belonging to five families were recorded during this study, of which seven are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.