Probing the Comparative Bioefficacy of Allium sativum L. Bulb through Different Solvents

Allium sativum (garlic), an aromatic bulbous plant is one of the most vital and oldest authenticated herbs which has been utilized from ancient times as a traditional medicine. A. sativum has cardioprotective, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antioxidant and anticancer properties due to a large range of phenolic compounds and sulfur containing compounds. The current study was conducted to assess the antioxidant chemistry, and numerous bioactivities of A. sativum bulbs extracts in different solvents. Ethanol fraction was the most active antioxidant and showed maximum total phenolic content (16.18 g GAE/100 g), total flavonoid content (95.04 g CE/100 g) and free radical scavenging activity (75.50 %). Methanol (4 %) fraction exhibited maximum antiglycation activity. Aqueous, n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions exhibited maximal (52 %, 24 % and 38 %) inhibitions of alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase respectively. In an antimicrobial assay, ethanol (59.05 %) and chloroform (72.92 %) fractions showed maximum inhibition of Pasturella multocida and Staphylococcus aureus strains respectively. n-butanol and n-hexane fractions showed maximum (31 %) antihemolytic activity and (20 %) thrombolytic activities respectively. A. sativum bulb extracts and fractions have noteworthy bio-efficacies that holds promise to be used as a source of natural drug to cure various disorders. Resumen. Allium sativum (ajo), una planta bulbosa aromática, es una de las hierbas autenticadas más vitales y antiguas que se han utilizado desde la antigüedad como medicina tradicional. A. sativum tiene propiedades cardioprotectoras, antimicrobianas, anti-inflamatorias, anti-diabéticas, anti-oxidantes y anti-cancerígenas debido a una amplia gama de compuestos fenólicos y compuestos que contienen azufre. El estudio actual se llevó a cabo para evaluar la química antioxidante y numerosas bioactividades de extractos de rizoma de A. sativum en diferentes disolventes. La fracción de etanol tuvo la mayor actividad antioxidante y mostró un contenido fenólico total máximo (16.18 g GAE / 100 g), contenido total de flavonoides (95.04 g CE / 100 g) y actividad captadora de radicales libres (75.50 %). La fracción de metanol (4 %) exhibió la mayor actividad de antiglicación. Las fracciones acuosa, de n-hexano y de acetato de etilo inhibieron la actividad de alfa-amilasa, alfa-glucosidasa y acetilcolinesterasa, en 52 %, 24 % y 38 % respectivamente. En el ensayo antimicrobiano, las fracciones de etanol (59.05 %) y cloroformo (72.92 %) mostraron una inhibición máxima de las cepas de Pasturella multocida y Staphylococcus aureus, respectivamente. Las fracciones de n-butanol y n-hexano mostraron actividad anti-hemolítica (31 %) y trombolítica (20 %) respectivamente. Los extractos y fracciones de rizoma de A. sativum tienen bioeficacia notable con potencial de ser utilizadas como una fuente de fármaco natural para curar diversos trastornos.

Using RNA-Sequencing Data to Examine Tissue-Specific Garlic Microbiomes

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a perennial bulbous plant. Due to its clonal propagation, various diseases threaten the yield and quality of garlic. In this study, we conducted in silico analysis to identify microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, and viruses in six different tissues using garlic RNA-sequencing data. The number of identified microbial species was the highest in inflorescences, followed by flowers and bulb cloves. With the Kraken2 tool, 57% of identified microbial reads were assigned to bacteria and 41% were assigned to viruses. Fungi only made up 1% of microbial reads. At the species level, Streptomyces lividans was the most dominant bacteria while Fusarium pseudograminearum was the most abundant fungi. Several allexiviruses were identified. Of them, the most abundant virus was garlic virus C followed by shallot virus X. We obtained a total of 14 viral genome sequences for four allexiviruses. As we expected, the microbial community varied depending on the tissue types, although there was a dominant microorganism in each tissue. In addition, we found that Kraken2 was a very powerful and efficient tool for the bacteria using RNA-sequencing data with some limitations for virome study.

Medicinal Properties of Lilium candidum L. and Its Phytochemicals

Lilium candidum L., known as Madonna, meadow, or white lily, is a bulbous plant from the Liliaceae family, originating in the Middle East. L. candidum has been abundantly used in folk medicine since ancient times to relieve a variety of ailments, including age-related diseases, burns, ulcers, and coughs. The aim of this article is to investigate the anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activities of L. candidum extracts and its active phytochemicals. Some active volatile phytochemicals were identified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Significant (p < 0.001) anti-diabetic properties of the extracts kaempferol, linalool, citronellal, and humulene were demonstrated by an elevation in glucose uptake by adipocytes. The significant (p < 0.01) effect of the plant extracts kaempferol, citronellal, and humulene on the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) was demonstrated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Altogether, L. candidum and its rich collection of phytochemicals hold promising medicinal potential, and further investigations of its therapeutic prospects are encouraged.

The impact of pre-harvest treatment with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and salicylic acid on vase life and post-harvest traits of tuberose cut flowers

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) is an ornamental bulbous plant and a famous cut flower in tropical and subtropical regions. Post-harvest senescence of the cut flowers is the main factor limiting the marketability of most of these species including tuberose. From the perspective of metabolic changes, senescence happens as the result of oxidative processes induced by active oxygen species production. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and salicylic acid (SA) are compounds with some functions in the post-harvest physiology of some plants. The present study focused on the effect of GABA and SA on vase life and some post-harvest traits of cut tuberose flowers. The plants were sprayed with GABA (5, 10, or 15 mg L–1) and SA (50, 100, or 150 mg L–1) at three stages during growth and before harvest in a greenhouse (30, 45, and 60 days after the planting of the bulbs) and were observed after harvest until senescence. Results showed that GABA and SA positively affected the vase life, water uptake, fresh weight, ion leakage, total dissolved solids, chlorophyll, protein, and catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase enzymatic activity. They postponed senescence. The highest and lowest vase lives were observed in plants treated with 10 mg L–1 GABA (11 days) and control (distilled water) (7 days), respectively. It was found that the treatment of tuberose with GABA and SA during growth can improve its post-harvest quality. However, it is recommended to conduct further studies on them.

Transcriptome Sequencing and Biochemical Analysis of Perianths and Coronas Reveal Flower Color Formation in Narcissus pseudonarcissus

Narcissus pseudonarcissus is an important bulbous plant with white or yellow perianths and light yellow to orange-red coronas, but little is known regarding the biochemical and molecular basis related to flower color polymorphisms. To investigate the mechanism of color formation, RNA-Seq of flower of two widely cultured cultivars (‘Slim Whitman’ and ‘Pinza’) with different flower color was performed. A total of 84,463 unigenes were generated from the perianths and coronas. By parallel metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses, we provide an overview of carotenoid biosynthesis, degradation, and accumulation in N. pseudonarcissus. The results showed that the content of carotenoids in the corona was higher than that in the perianth in both cultivars. Accordingly, phytoene synthase (PSY) transcripts have a higher abundance in the coronas than that in perianths. While the expression levels of carotenoid biosynthetic genes, like GGPPS, PSY, and LCY-e, were not significantly different between two cultivars. In contrast, the carotenoid degradation gene NpCCD4 was highly expressed in white-perianth cultivars, but was hardly detected in yellow-perianth cultivars. Silencing of NpCCD4 resulted in a significant increase in carotenoid accumulation, especially in all-trans-β-carotene. Therefore, we presume that NpCCD4 is a crucial factor that causes the low carotenoid content and color fading phenomenon of ‘Slim Whitman’ by mediating carotenoid turnover. Our findings provide mass RNA-seq data and new insights into carotenoid metabolism in N. pseudonarcissus.