Comparative Physiochemical Analysis of Kachi Ghani, Solvent Oil and refined Oil Extracted from Brassica nigra

Brassica nigra or black mustard is traditionally used in various states of India from the ages. It is being commercially used in the form of kachi ghani, solvent oil (non-edible), and refined oil. Due to the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of kachi ghani mustard oil, it is considered to be of better quality. On the other hand, literatures also state that refined oil is better due to the purification processes. There is ambiguity regarding quality aspects of these three oil fractions. Therefore, the present study was planned for the comparative analysis the quality and physiochemical characterization of kachi ghani, solvent and refined oil. Commercially free fatty acids value, acid value, color, presence of argemone, pungency of oil and content of various monounsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids is determined to check quality of commercial grade edible oils. In consequence, it was observed that kachi ghani consists of less free fatty acids (0.37±0.02%), less acid value (0.74±0.04mg/g) and high pungency (0.279%) as compared to solvent and refined oil. Kachi ghani embrace more natural color (32.0 units) in comparison to solvent oil which was way darker and refined oil which was very light. The percentage of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids was spotted to be 6.44%, 64.360% and 28.64% respectively in kachi ghani oil. The study shows that saturated fatty acids such as palmitic C-16, stearic C-18, behanic C-22 and lignoceric C-24 were present in kachi ghani. In solvent oil, palmitic C-16, stearic C-18, behanic C-22, and lignoceric C-24 were found whereas only palmitic acid was present in refined oil. High content of monounsaturated fatty acids were found in oil. Eicosenoic C-20:1, Oleic C-18:1, Eurcic C 22:1 and Nervonic C-24:1 unsaturated fatty acid was found in all the three fractions of oil.

Metal Akümülatör Bitki olan Brassica nigra L.’nin in vitro Kallus İndüksiyonu ve Sürgün Gelişimi

This study established an efficient in vitro callus formation and plant regeneration protocol for a prevıously reported Cu accumulator, Brassica nigra, black mustard collected from Diyarbakir (Station site). Node explants from 10-day old mature plants were used for callus formation and shoot regeneration. The highest callus formation frequency (100%) was observed on Murasige Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.1 mg/L Benzylaminopurine (BAP) + 0.5 mg/L Naphthylacetic acid (NAA) (MS 2), 0.6 mg/L BAP + 0.2 mg/L NAA (MS 7), the highest shoot regeneration frequency (100%) was achieved on MS medium containing 0.6 mg/L BAP + 0.05 mg/L Indole butyric acid (IBA) (MS 8), 0.2 mg/L IBA + 0.2 mg/L NAA (MS 10) and the highest number of shoots per explant (3,25) was obtained on MS medium supplemented 0.6 mg/L BAP + 0.05 mg/L IBA (MS 8). After root, stem, and leaf formation from explants in MS medium, these plants were transferred to soil and grown in the plant growth room for one month. A dependable and effective shoot regeneration procedure was developed, laying the groundwork for genetic transformation in Brassica nigra.

Plasticity in induced resistance to sequential attack by multiple herbivores in Brassica nigra

In nature, plants interact with multiple insect herbivores that may arrive simultaneously or sequentially. There is extensive knowledge on how plants defend themselves against single or dual attack. However, we lack information on how plants defend against the attack of multiple herbivores that arrive sequentially. In this study, we investigated whether Brassica nigra L. plants are able to defend themselves against caterpillars of the late-arriving herbivore Plutella xylostella L., when plants had been previously exposed to sequential attack by four other herbivores (P. xylostella, Athalia rosae, Myzus persicae and Brevicoryne brassicae). We manipulated the order of arrival and the history of attack by four herbivores to investigate which patterns in sequential herbivory determine resistance against the fifth attacker. We recorded that history of sequential herbivore attack differentially affected the capability of B. nigra plants to defend themselves against caterpillars of P. xylostella. Caterpillars gained less weight on plants attacked by a sequence of four episodes of attack by P. xylostella compared to performance on plants that were not previously damaged by herbivores. The number of times the plant was attacked by herbivores of the same feeding guild, the identity of the first attacker, the identity and the guild of the last attacker as well as the order of attackers within the sequence of multiple herbivores influenced the growth of the subsequent herbivory. In conclusion, this study shows that history of sequential attack is an important factor determining plant resistance to herbivores.

Exposure to (Z)-11-hexadecenal [(Z)-11-16:Ald] increases Brassica nigra susceptibility to subsequent herbivory

It is well established that plants emit, detect and respond to volatile organic compounds; however, knowledge on the ability of plants to detect and respond to volatiles emitted by non-plant organisms is limited. Recent studies indicated that plants detect insect-emitted volatiles that induce defence responses; however, the mechanisms underlying this detection and defence priming is unknown. Therefore, we explored if exposure to a main component of Plutella xylostella female sex pheromone namely (Z)-11-hexadecenal [(Z)-11-16:Ald] induced detectable early and late stage defence-related plant responses in Brassica nigra. Exposure to biologically relevant levels of vapourised (Z)-11-16:Ald released from a loaded septum induced a change in volatile emissions of receiver plants after herbivore attack and increased the leaf area consumed by P. xylostella larvae. Further experiments examining the effects of the (Z)-11-16:Ald on several stages of plant defence-related responses showed that exposure to 100 ppm of (Z)-11-16:Ald in liquid state induced depolarisation of the transmembrane potential (Vm), an increase in cytosolic calcium concentration [Ca2+]cyt, production of H2O2 and an increase in expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated genes and ROS-scavenging enzyme activity. The results suggest that exposure to volatile (Z)-11-16:Ald increases the susceptibility of B. nigra to subsequent herbivory. This unexpected finding, suggest alternative ecological effects of detecting insect pheromone to those reported earlier. Experiments conducted in vitro showed that high doses of (Z)-11-16:Ald induced defence-related responses, but further experiments should assess how specific the response is to this particular aldehyde.

Plant-Mediated Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Peel Extract of Citrus reticulate for Boosting Seed Germination of Brassica nigra Seeds

High demand of food for rapidly increasing population requires novel but ecofriendly fertilizers. Green reducing and capping agents are being explored to minimize production cost and toxicity of chemicals in synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) which could be used to increase the production of crops and plants. In present research, Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are produced by employing an eco-friendly, simple and efficient green route using peel extract of Citrus reticulate. The optical properties of green synthesized ZnO NPs are explored by UV-Visible and Photoluminance spectroscopies where NPs presented 3.21 to 3.13 eV band gap. The morphology and purity of the ZnO NPs are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively. The spherical like ZnO NPs having 23–90 nm size exhibited hexagonal structure with 8.89 to 8.62 nm crystallite size. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) explores the existence of specific functional groups which are responsible for stabilization, capping and reduction during synthesis of nanoparticles. The green synthesized ZnO NPs are tested for seed germination of Brassica nigra (black mustard) seeds at standard temperature and pressure. The activity shows that germination percentage of the Brassica nigra seeds is enhanced 100% and seedling vigor index 16.45 after treatment with ZnO NPs and can be controlled by the concentration of NPs. Therefore, it can be expected that ZnO NPs can serve as the cost effective and ecofriendly nano-fertilizers in agriculture.