Effects and mechanisms of Portulaca oleracea L. polysaccharides on the activation of dendritic cells derived from mice immunized with FMD vaccine

Background Our previous study has showed that Portulaca oleracea L. (POL-P), as an immunoenhancer, could increase the IgG and isotypes antibody titers in mice immunized with foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines. However, the structural features and the mechanism of action are still unclear. Enhancing antigen presentation is one of the main ways that immunoenhancer boost immune response. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen presenting cell (APC), which stimulate the initial T cells directly and initiate the specific immune responses. In addition to extracellular factors and intracellular genetic factors, epigenetics plays a major role in the regulation of DCs. In this study, we obtained POL-P, and structural features and monosaccharide composition were analyzed. We evaluated the effect of POL-P on functional maturation of DCs derived from mice immunized with foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine and explored the related mechanism responsible for immunoenhancer. The levels of protein and gene related to IL-12p35 and IL-12p40 were determined by western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. The expressions of TLR2, TLR4 receptors and the downstream molecules of MyD88 and NF-κB were examined using immunohistochemistry. Results The average molecular weight (Mw) of the POL-P was 4×104 Da. The monosaccharide composition of the POL-P was mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose and arabinose with a relative mass of 1.2%, 13.2%, 33.5%, 1.2%, 3.3%, 32.2% and 15.4%, respectively. We concluded that co-administration of POL-P with the FMD vaccine could significantly promote DCs maturation of phenotype and the immune function. In addition, the acetylation level of histone H3 of IL-12 was closely connected with the immune activity of DCs. Moreover, POL-P induced immune response was related to up-regulating protein expression of TLR2, TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB in DCs. Conclusions Our evidence suggested that POL-P could be a potential immunostimulant in the regulation of DCs maturation for FMD vaccine.

The Effectiveness of Purslane Extract Provision on Liver of White Rats (Rattus norvegicus) with High Fat Diet

Most animal owners provide fatty food with high cholesterol level that exceeds the needs of their pets. The pattern of giving a high-fat diet causes interference with the cholesterol synthesis in the body. It can damage the liver by causing fatty degeneration, hepatic cirrhosis, and eventually necrosis of the liver. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of Purslane extract (Portulaca oleracea L.) on the liver histopathological image of white rats (Rattus norvegicus) with a high-fat diet. The current study used an experimental method with a completely randomized design on 20 males white mouses (Rattus norvegicus) divided into five treatment groups. There were two control groups, the first group received standard feed (Pellet) and Carboxymethyl Cellulose Sodium 1%, while the second was given standard feed and a high-fat diet. Three treatment groups which included P1, P2, P3 were given standard feed, a high-fat diet, and purslane extract solution with 54 mg/day, 108 mg/day, and 216 mg/day, respectively. Research results from the mean rank of fatty degeneration which was measured using the Kruskal Wallis test presented significant differences, and the results from the mean of fatty degeneration using the Mann Whitney test did not indicate any significant difference. Liver cell necrosis from the two tests presented a significant difference. Purslane extract (Portulaca oleracea L.) was confirmed to be effective in reducing or decreasing hepatocyte cell damage after receiving a high-fat diet.

FITOSSOCIOLOGIA DE PLANTAS DANINHAS EM CULTIVO DE FEIJÃO-CAUPI NO SEMIÁRIDO MINEIRO

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar a dinâmica da comunidade infestante de plantas daninhas em cultivo do feijão-caupi no semiárido mineiro. Os tratamentos consistiram na coleta das plantas daninhas aos 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63 dias após a emergência (DAE), posteriormente foi feito o controle da comunidade infestante por capina mecânica. A coleta de plantas daninhas foi feita pelo método padrão do quadrado inventário, lançado aleatoriamente na área útil de cada parcela, recolhendo todas as plantas. Foram determinados o número de indivíduos por espécie em cada parcela e o número total por coleta. Após a identificação e contagem das espécies, foi realizado o cálculo das variáveis fitossociológicas: Frequência, Densidade, Abundância, Frequência relativa, Densidade relativa, Abundância relativa, Dominância relativa, Índice de valor de importância (IVI), Índice de valor de cobertura (IVC) e Índice de similaridade (IS). As espécies Portulaca oleracea, Amaranthus viridis e Sorghum bicolor apresentaram maiores valores de IVI. Foi possível afirmar que é alta a similaridade florística das espécies de plantas daninhas que ocorreram durante o ciclo do feijão-caupi. Quanto ao Índice de valor de Cobertura (IVC), destacaram-se as espécies Portulaca oleracea, Sorghum bicolor e Senna obustifolia. Palavras-chave: comunidade infestante; Vigna ungiculata; levantamento fitossociológico. Phytosociology of weeds in cultivation of cowpea in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais ABSTRACT: The present work aimed to characterize the dynamics of the weed community in cultivation of cowpea in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais. The treatments consisted of collecting the weeds 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63 days after emergence (DAE); following each collection, the weed community was controlled by mechanical weeding. The collections were carried out using the standard method of the inventory square, randomly launched in the useful area of each plot, collecting all the plants. The number of individuals per species in each plot and the total number per collect were determined. After identifying and counting the species, the phytosociological variables were calculated: Frequency, Density, Abundance, Relative frequency, Relative density, Relative abundance, Relative dominance, Importance value index (IVI), Coverage value index (CVI) and Similarity Index (SI). The species Portulaca oleracea, Amaranthus viridis and Sorghum bicolor presented the largest IVI. It was possible to affirm that the floristic similarity of the weed species that occurred during the cowpea cycle is high. The species Portulaca oleracea, Sorghum bicolor and Senna obustifolia presented the highest CVI values. Keywords: infestant comunnity; Vigna ungiculata; phytosociological survey.

In Vitro Immuno-Modulatory Potentials of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) Polysaccharides with a Chemical Selenylation

The soluble polysaccharides from a non-conventional and edible plant purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), namely PSPO, were prepared by the water extraction and ethanol precipitation methods in this study. The obtained PSPO were selenylated using the Na2SeO3-HNO3 method to successfully prepare two selenylated products, namely SePSPO-1 and SePSPO-2, with different selenylation extents. The assay results confirmed that SePSPO-1 and SePSPO-2 had respective Se contents of 753.8 and 1325.1 mg/kg, while PSPO only contained Se element about 80.6 mg/kg. The results demonstrated that SePSPO-1 and SePSPO-2 had higher immune modulation than PSPO (p < 0.05), when using the two immune cells (murine splenocytes and RAW 264.7 macrophages) as two cell models. Specifically, SePSPO-1 and SePSPO-2 were more active than PSPO in the macrophages, resulting in higher cell proliferation, greater macrophage phagocytosis, and higher secretion of the immune-related three cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-1β. Meanwhile, SePSPO-1 and SePSPO-2 were more potent than PSPO in the concanavalin A- or lipopolysaccharide-stimulated splenocytes in cell proliferation, or more able than PSPO in the splenocytes to promote interferon-γ secretion but suppress IL-4 secretion, or more capable of enhancing the ratio of T-helper (CD4+) cells to T-cytotoxic (CD8+) cells for the T lymphocytes than PSPO. Overall, the higher selenylation extent of the selenylated PSPO mostly caused higher immune modulation in the model cells, while a higher polysaccharide dose consistently led to the greater regulation effect. Thus, it is concluded that the employed chemical selenylation could be used in the chemical modification of purslane or other plant polysaccharides, when aiming to endow the polysaccharides with higher immuno-modulatory effect on the two immune cells.

Efikasi Herbisida Campuran Tienkarbazon Metil 68 g/l dan Tembotrion 345 g/l Terhadap Gulma Berdaun Lebar dan Gulma Golongan Rumput Pada Budidaya Tanaman Jagung (Zea mays L.).

Kompetisi nutrisi akibat kehadiran gulma di area pertanaman jagung dapat menyebabkan kehilangan hasil yang signifikan pada tanaman jagung. Penggunaan campuran herbisida merupakan salah satu upaya dalam mengendalikan gulma serta menghindari pembentukan gulma yang resisten. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui pengaruh herbisida Tienkarbazon Metil 68 g/l dan Tembotrion 345 g/l dalam mengendalikan gulma berdaun lebar dan gulma rumput pada pertanaman jagung. Penelitian dilakukan pada bulan Oktober 2020 hingga Januari 2021 di Lahan Percobaan Ciparanje, Fakultas Pertanian, Universitas Padjadjaran, Kampus Jatinangor, Kabupaten Sumedang. Tempat penelitian terletak pada ketinggian ± 752 mdpl. Penelitian menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) dengan 7 perlakuan dan 4 ulangan. Perlakuan percobaan terdiri dari herbisida Tienkarbazon Metil 68 g/l dan Tembotrion 345 g/l dosis 150, 225, 300, 375, 450 ml/ha, penyiangan manual, dan tanpa perlakuan. Hasil penelitian yang dilakukan menunjukkan bahwa herbisida berbahan aktif Tienkarbazon Metil 68 g/l dan Tembotrion 345 g/l dimulai dari dosis 150 hingga 450 ml/ha efektif mengendalikan gulma berdaun lebar (Alternanthera sesilis, Cleome rutidosperma, Portulaca oleracea, Eleusina indica), gulma rumput (Digitaria ciliaris, Paspalum conjugatum, dan Amaranthus sp), dan gulma total hingga 6 minggu setelah aplikasi tanpa menimbulkan efek keracunan pada pertanaman jagung. Kata Kunci: Gulma, Jagung, Tienkarbazon metil 68 g/l + Tembotrion 345 g/l.