Changes in the Activities of Protective Enzymes Induced by Mepiquat Chloride (DPC) in Cotton to Defend Against Aphids

Background: Mepiquat chloride (DPC) enhances the resistance of cotton plants, and it is widely used as a growth regulator. DPC can stimulate photosynthesis, stabilize the structure of cotton leaves, and affect population reproduction and energy substances in cotton aphids, but interactions between DPC and cotton aphids remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed the physiological responses of cotton to DPC, and the toxicity of DPC toward cotton aphids, before and after feeding, to explore the DPC-induced defense mechanism against cotton aphids.Results: Measurements of protective enzyme activity in cotton showed that the soluble protein contents, peroxidase (POD) activity, and catalase (CAT) activity in cotton treated with different concentrations of DPC were higher than in the control. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was higher than that of controls when the concentration of DPC was <0.1 g/L. Under aphid stress, POD activity of cotton treated with a low insect population density was significantly lower than that of controls, but the reverse was true for cotton treated with a high insect population density, and SOD activity was positively correlated with population density. The activities of detoxification enzymes in field and laboratory experiments showed that DPC promoted the specific activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) in cotton aphids, while the specific activities of carboxylesterase and acetylcholinesterase were decreased.Conclusions: DPC enhanced the resistance of cotton by increasing the activity of protective enzymes. It also had a toxic effect on cotton aphids by increasing GST activity (the main DPC target) and lowering carboxylesterase and acetylcholinesterase activities. DPC increased the soluble protein content and SOD activity in cotton under aphid stress, and thereby enhanced tolerance to cotton aphids.

The Impact of Ultraviolet-B Radiation on the Sugar Contents and Protective Enzymes in Acyrthosiphon pisum

Natural and anthropogenic changes have been altering many environmental factors. These include the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. However, the effects of solar radiation on insect physiology have received little attention. As a pest for agriculture and horticulture, aphids are one of the most difficult pest groups to control due to their small size, high fecundity, and non-sexual reproduction. Study of the effects of UV-B radiation on aphid physiology may provide alternative control strategies in pest management. In this study, we examined the effects of UV-B radiation on protein and sugar contents, as well as the activities of protective enzymes, of the red and green morphs of the pea aphid over eight generations. The results indicated a significant interaction between UV-B radiation and aphid generations. Exposure of the pea aphids to UV-B radiation caused a significant decrease in the protein content and a significant increase in the glycogen and trehalose contents at each generation as measured in whole aphid bioassays. The enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) of the pea aphids changed significantly at each generation with UV-B treatments. The SOD activity increased over eight generations to the highest level at G7 generation. However, the enzyme activity of CAT first increased and then decreased with UV-B treatments, and POD mostly gradually decreased over the eight generations. Therefore, UV-B radiation is an environmental factor that could result in physiological changes of the pea aphid. Moreover, our study discovered that red and green aphids did not display a significant consistent difference in the response to the UV-B treatments. These results may prove useful in future studies especially for assessing their significance in the adaptation and management against UV-B radiation.

Article Review: Camel Milk as an Amazing Remedy for Health Complications: A Review

Camel milk has unique benefits for human health. Protein is the main component which gives special properties to camel milk and effectively influences its nutritional value. Due to lack of β-lactoglobulin in the camel milk, it may be as a proper alternative for human milk. Camel milk is rich in vitamins C, manganese and iron. There are high amount of unsaturated fatty acids, immunoglobulin’s, insulin like protein and protective enzymes like lactoferrin and lysozyme in the camel milk. The lactoferrin has the effects or properties of antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatorry. Also, it has been proven that camel milk has beneficial application in disorders of stomach and intestinal, food allergy, diabetes mellitus, cancer, autism, and viral hepatitis. Camel milk containing insulin like protein and may help to heal diabetes of Type 1 and 2 and gestational diabetes. It contains small size immunoglobulins which strengthens the immune system. In addition, camel milk reduces blood cholesterol amount, avoiding of psoriasis disease, healing of inflammation and improving of tuberculosis patients. Camel milk may be effective as unique miracle in many healthy issues of human and especially cardiovascular system. Therefore, it is not only food, but also it is as amazing remedy for treatment and healthy issues.

Response of Protective Enzymes in Western Flower Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) to Two Leguminous Plants

The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, is a major invasive pest of commercially important crops worldwide. We compared the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) and the expressions of two putative SOD and two putative POD sequences in second instar larvae and adults after three generations of adaptation to kidney bean and broad bean plants. The results showed that the SOD, POD, and CAT activities in adults were significantly higher than those in the second instar larvae. The SOD activities were significantly higher in both the second instar larvae and the adults fed on kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants versus broad bean (Vicia faba) plants, whereas the POD and CAT activities showed the opposite trend. The gene expression data showed that the FoPOD-2 expression levels were lower in the second instar larvae after three generations of feeding on broad bean plants versus kidney bean plants. The expression levels of FoSOD-1 and FoSOD-2, and FoPOD-1 under broad bean plant treatment were higher than those under kidney bean plant treatment. Additionally, gene expression fluctuated among the different generations. Our results indicated that western flower thrips demonstrated plasticity in gene expression and activity of protective enzymes, which is related to their adaptability to the host plants. Western flower thrips can change the expression of protective enzyme genes and enzyme activity in vivo to better adapt to kidney bean and broad bean plants.

Underlying antioxidant activity in the anticonvulsant potency of polyherbal tonic

Convulsions are the commonest of the symptoms that prevail in the most of the diseases that affect the human nervous system. Almost 1% of the world’s population now suffer from epilepsy as a long-term disease and had been on medication for an extended period of time. There are many investigations and theories advocating that the elevated enzyme activity in the brain and their inability to protect the brain from the free radical generation and normalization will lead to convulsions and seizures. There were investigations that the free radicals were counter acted by the protective enzymes in the brain there by preventing the convulsions. So with this assertion, the enzyme levels of the brain are an indicative for the estimation of the antioxidant extent and there by convulsant activity in the brain. In the current work, the prepared polyherbal tonic was investigated for the antioxidant activity by giving special emphasis to the antiepileptic activity of the herbs used in the tonic. The results proved that the prepared tonic was effective in normalizing the altered levels of enzymes and thereby proving that the antioxidant potency of the herbs helped in displayed the antiepileptic activity too. the tonic was effective at higher dose compared to low dose which shows a dose based antiepileptic activity.

Preparation and Investigation of the Effect of Polyherbal Syrup Formulation on Brain Enzymes

Convulsions and seizures are the major neurological conditions that are the symptoms of brain diseases like brain stroke, aneurysm and other oxidative brain damage. This affects most of the people in the world as a symptom of other diseases and as a disorder on its own. Herbs are found to be the alternatives of the synthetic drugs that cause the side effects and are common in synthetic drugs as discussed above. So herbal extracts are safe and potent and do not contain or contain a very less amount of side effects. So, they can be used effectively in treating many conditions, including epilepsy. Most of the herbs show their potency by exhibiting the antioxidant activity. Since the oxidative free radicals that are generated in the brain are the cause of disturbance in the protective enzymes in the brain, the estimation of the protective enzymes in the brain during epilepsy. This work was carried out to prepare an effective polyherbal syrup to treat epilepsy effectively. The formulation was tested in 2 doses of 100 and 200mg, and they are also investigated for the activity to normal the enzymes that are in the brain, which help to fight the free radicals. From this, it can be advocated that the herbs in the syrup helped the formulation's antioxidant activity to attribute to the anti-epileptic activity in experimental animals.