Saussurea involucrata (Snow Lotus) ICE1 and ICE2 Orthologues Involved in Regulating Cold Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Arabidopsis

As with other environmental stresses, cold stress limits plant growth, geographical distribution, and agricultural productivity. CBF/DREB (CRT-binding factors/DRE-binding proteins) regulate tolerance to cold/freezing stress across plant species. ICE (inducer of CBF expression) is regarded as the upstream inducer of CBF expression and plays a crucial role as a main regulator of cold acclimation. Snow lotus (Saussurea involucrata) is a well-known traditional Chinese herb. This herb is known to have greater tolerance to cold/freezing stress compared to other plants. According to transcriptome datasets, two putative ICE homologous genes, SiICE1 and SiICE2, were identified in snow lotus. The predicted SiICE1 cDNA contains an ORF of 1506 bp, encoding a protein of 501 amino acids, whereas SiICE2 cDNA has an ORF of 1482 bp, coding for a protein of 493 amino acids. Sequence alignment and structure analysis show SiICE1 and SiICE2 possess a S-rich motif at the N-terminal region, while the conserved ZIP-bHLH domain and ACT domain are at the C-terminus. Both SiICE1 and SiICE2 transcripts were cold-inducible. Subcellular localization and yeast one-hybrid assays revealed that SiICE1 and SiICE2 are transcriptional regulators. Overexpression of SiICE1 (35S::SiICE1) and SiICE2 (35S::SiICE2) in transgenic Arabidopsis increased the cold tolerance. In addition, the expression patterns of downstream stress-related genes, CBF1, CBF2, CBF3, COR15A, COR47, and KIN1, were up-regulated when compared to the wild type. These results thus provide evidence that SiICE1 and SiICE2 function in cold acclimation and this cold/freezing tolerance may be regulated through a CBF-controlling pathway.

Saussurea yilingii (Asteraceae, Cardueae), a new species from Sichuan, China

Saussurea yilingii, a new species from Muli county, Sichuan province of China, is described and illustrated. It is similar to the species of snow lotus in habit, odour, and dark brown phyllaries but is lacking membranous colourful upper leaves which are typical for Saussurea subgen. Amphilaena. The new species is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.

ANALISIS NILAI GIZI HASIL FERMENTASI LARUTAN GULA AREN MENGGUNAKAN TERATAI SALJU (Saussurea involucrata)

The nutrition level of fermented palm sugar solution using snow lotus (Saussurea involucrata) has been analyzed. It is necessary to determine it before this product is consumed by public. Palm sugar solution had been fermented using snow lotus (Saussurea involucrata) for 72 hour. The palm sugar solution before and after fermentation was analyzed its nutrition level such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C and alcohol level (methanol and ethanol) based on MUI and BPOM. After fermentation the level of protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C with consecutive is 0.557%; 1.81 mg/kg and 5.71 mg/kg. The level of protein content increased by 55 % and 42 % for carbohydrates, but the level of vitamin C decreased 16% when it compared to palm sugar solution before fermentation. Methanol wasn’t detected in fermented product after 72 hour, while ethanol is still below the threshold set by the MUI and Badan POM is 0.8%, so it is safe for consumption. Keywords : Fermented, palm sugar solution.

Anti-rheumatoid arthritic effects of Saussurea involucrata on type II collagen-induced arthritis in rats

Saussurea involucrata (SI) has long been used under the herbal name “snow lotus” for treatment of inflammation and pain-related diseases in traditional Chinese medicine.