Wild Plant Habitat Characterization in the Last Two Decades in the Nile Delta Coastal Region of Egypt

Environmental and land-use changes put severe pressure on wild plant habitats. The present study aims to assess the biodiversity of wild plant habitats and the associated spatiotemporal environmental changes in the coastal region of Dakahlia Governorate following an integrated approach of remote sensing, GIS, and samples analysis. Thirty-seven stands were spatially identified and studied to represent the different habitats of wild plants in the Deltaic Mediterranean coastline region. Physical and chemical characteristics of soil samples were examined, while TWINSPAN classification was used to identify plant communities. Two free Landsat images (TM and OLI) acquired in 1999 and 2019 were processed to assess changes via the production of land use and cover maps (LULC). Moreover, NDSI, NDMI, and NDSI indices were used to identify wild plant habitats. The floristic composition indicated the existence of 57 species, belonging to 51 genera of 20 families. The largest families were Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Chenopodiaceae. The classification of vegetation led to the identification of four groups. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed that electrical conductivity, cations, organic carbon, porosity, chlorides, and bicarbonates are the most effective soil variables influencing vegetation. The results of the spectral analysis indicated an annual coverage of bare lands (3.56 km2), which is strongly related to the annual increase in vegetation (1.91 km2), water bodies (1.22 km2), and urban areas (0.43 km2). The expansion of urban and agricultural regions subsequently increased water bodies and caused occupancy of bare land, resulting in the development of wild plant habitats, which are mostly represented by the sparse vegetation class as evaluated by NDVI. The increase in mean moisture values (NDMI) from 0.03 in 1999 to 0.15 in 2019 might be explained by the increase in total areas of wild plant habitats throughout the study period (1999–2019). This may improve the adequacy of environments for wild habitats, causing natural plant proliferation.

Identification and documentation of wild plant species with ornamental potentials at Mount Prau, Central Java, Indonesia

Indonesia has diverse flora and fauna, and many species remain largely undiscovered. Documentation and identification of threatened wild ornamental species are increasingly difficult due to ongoing exploitation and land conversion. Mount Prau is one of the popular destinations in Central Java, Indonesia for tourism. Understanding plant biodiversity has enormous value for the economy, ecology, culture, science, and recreation. Our study is aimed to record the diversity and identify the flowering plant species in their native habitat at Mount Prau, Central Java, Indonesia. Our field surveys demonstrated that Mount Prau has abundant wild ornamental plants with wide diversity of taxa, growth habits, and forms. A total of 103 species representing 51 families and 95 genera are identified including trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas. We also found that among the plant species found in Mount Prau, 24 have morphological characters suitable to be cultivated as ornamental flowers, and 12 as ornamental foliages, and 63 species are medicinal plants. The ornamental criteria of these species were based on the literature describing the morphological and unique characters of leaves and flowers that made them potential to be developed as ornamental plants. In this paper we have provided the current conservation status of the plant species identified and recommendations on their conservation. This study provides baseline data of species found in the Mount Prau areas, and this information could be helpful for further conservations efforts and initiatives.

Food Behavior in Emergency Time: Wild Plant Use for Human Nutrition during the Conflict in Syria

Wild food plants (WFPs) have been an important source of human nutrition since ancient times, and it particularly revives when conventional food is not available due to emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. The war in Syria has entered 10 years since it started in 2011, and it has caused the largest war-related crises since World War II. Nearly 60% of the Syrian population (12.4 million people) are food-insecure. WFPs are already culturally important in the region, and may be supplementing local diets during this conflict. Our study aimed to uncover the conflict’s effect on the use of WFPs and to know what species are consumed by local people during the current crisis. The fieldwork was carried out between March 2020 and March 2021 in the Tartus governorate located in the coastal region of Syria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 participants (26 women and 24 men) distributed in 26 villages along the study area. We recorded the vernacular names, uses, plant parts used, modes of preparation and consumption, change in WFP use before and during the conflict, and informants’ perceptions towards WFPs. We documented 75 wild food plant species used for food and drink. Almost two-thirds (64%) of informants reported an increase in their reliance on wild plants as a food source during the conflict. The species of Origanum syriacum, Rhus coriaria, Eryngium creticum, and Cichorium intybus were among the most quoted species by informants. Sleeq (steamed leafy vegetables), Zaatar (breakfast/dinner food), and Louf (soup) were the most popular wild plant-based dishes.

Antioxidant Effects and Potential Molecular Mechanism of Action of Limonium aureum Extract Based on Systematic Network Pharmacology

Oxidative stress is the redox imbalance state of organisms that involves in a variety of biological processes of diseases. Limonium aureum (L.) Hill. is an excellent wild plant resource in northern China, which has potential application value for treating oxidative stress. However, there are few studies that focused on the antioxidant effect and related mechanism of L. aureum. Thus, the present study combining systematic network pharmacology and molecular biology aimed to investigate the antioxidant effects of L. aureum and explore its underlying anti-oxidation mechanisms. First, the antioxidant activity of L. aureum extracts was confirmed by in vitro and intracellular antioxidant assays. Then, a total of 11 bioactive compounds, 102 predicted targets, and 70 antioxidant-related targets were obtained from open source databases. For elucidating the molecular mechanisms of L. aureum, the PPI network and integrated visualization network based on bioinformatics assays were constructed to preliminarily understand the active compounds and related targets. The subsequent enrichment analysis results showed that L. aureum mainly affect the biological processes involving oxidation-reduction process, response to drug, etc., and the interference with these biological processes might be due to the simultaneous influence on multiple signaling pathways, including the HIF-1 and ERBB signaling pathways. Moreover, the mRNA levels of predicted hub genes were measured by qRT-PCR to verify the regulatory effect of L. aureum on them. Collectively, this finding lays a foundation for further elucidating the anti-oxidative damage mechanism of L. aureum and promotes the development of therapeutic drugs for oxidative stress.

Identification and documentation of wild plant species with ornamental potentials at Mount Prau, Central Java, Indonesia

Indonesia has diverse flora and fauna, and many species remain largely undiscovered. Documentation and identification of threatened wild ornamental species are increasingly difficult due to ongoing exploitation and land conversion. Mount Prau is one of the popular destinations in Central Java, Indonesia for tourism. Understanding plant biodiversity has enormous value for the economy, ecology, culture, science, and recreation. Our study is aimed to record the diversity and identify the flowering plant species in their native habitat at Mount Prau, Central Java, Indonesia. Our field surveys demonstrated that Mount Prau has abundant wild ornamental plants with wide diversity of taxa, growth habits, and forms. A total of 103 species representing 51 families and 95 genera are identified including trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas. We also found that among the plant species found in Mount Prau, 24 have morphological characters suitable to be cultivated as ornamental flowers, and 12 as ornamental foliages, and 63 species are medicinal plants. The ornamental criteria of these species were based on the literature describing the morphological and unique characters of leaves and flowers that made them potential to be developed as ornamental plants. In this paper we have provided the current conservation status of the plant species identified and recommendations on their conservation. This study provides baseline data of species found in the Mount Prau areas, and this information could be helpful for further conservations efforts and initiatives.

Physicochemical Characteristics, Phenol Content and Fatty Acids of Bitter Almond Oil

In this study, physicochemical properties, thermal analyze, viscosity, phenol content and fatty acid composition were investigated. The plant material used comes from a wild plant growing in the wilaya of Béjaïa (Algeria). Almonds oil is considered functional foods for the presence of polyphenols compounds. The physicochemical parameters of the bitter almond oil were: the acidity values vary from 1.389 to 3.559%, peroxide index 19.538meq of active oxygen/ kg of oil, rancimat test PI=15h, total polyphenols= 0.137mg Gallic acid/mg bitter almond oil. The profile of the viscosity of the oils confirming that oil analyzed was Newtonian in nature. The TG/DTG curves showed bitter almond oil thermally stable consistent with the result of oxidative induction time. The fatty acid composition of bitter almond oil reveals the presence of the following fatty acids: gallic acid; hydrobenzoic acid. Catechic acid, isovanilic acid, vanilic acid, salicylic acid, myricetin, quercetin, anthrone and oxacil acid. Of which gallic acid is the majority. The physicochemical properties of the bitter almond oil indicated that it is promotes use in cosmetics and suggested its suitability for industrial purposes.

Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Pucuk Kenikir pada Beberapa Komposisi Media Tanam dan Interval Pemanenan (The Growth and Shoot Production of Cosmos caudatus with Various Plant Media Composition and Harvesting Interval)

<p>Kenikir dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai sayuran dengan cara mengonsumsi pucuknya. Kenikir banyak dijumpai sebagai tumbuhan liar sehingga diperlukan upaya untuk meningkatkan produksi pucuk kenikir. Produksi pucuk kenikir dapat dioptimalkan dengan melakukan perbaikan teknik budidaya, salah satunya pengaturan komposisi media tanam dan interval panen pucuk. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis pengaruh komposisi media tanam dan interval pemanenan terhadap pertumbuhan dan produksi pucuk kenikir. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada bulan Februari sampai dengan Mei 2019 di Kebun Percobaan Fakultas Pertanian UGJ, Cirebon. Percobaan dilakukan dalam dua tahap, yaitu pengaruh komposisi media tanam terhadap pertumbuhan dan produksi pucuk kenikir pada panen pertama serta pengaruh interaksi antara komposisi media tanam dan interval pemanenan terhadap produksi pucuk pada panen kedua. Rancangan percobaan pada percobaan pertama menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) satu faktor, yaitu komposisi media tanam dengan sembilan ulangan dan rancangan percobaan pada percobaan kedua menggunakan RAK faktorial dua faktor. Faktor pertama adalah komposisi media tanam dan faktor kedua adalah interval pemanenan dan diulang sebanyak tiga kali. Komposisi media tanam terdiri atas tanah, tanah : pukan (2:1), dan tanah : pukan (1:1). Interval pemanenan yang dicobakan terdiri atas tiga taraf, yaitu 10, 15, dan 20 hari. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa media tanam tanah : pukan (1:1) meningkatkan pertumbuhan dan produksi pucuk kenikir baik pada saat panen pertama maupun panen kedua. Interval pemanenan 20 hari menurunkan produksi pucuk total disebabkan interval pemanenan yang terlalu lama menyebabkan banyaknya pucuk kenikir yang berbunga sehingga menjadi tidak layak untuk dipanen.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong></p><p>Interval pemanenan; Kenikir (Cosmos caudatus); Media tanam; Pertumbuhan; Produksi pucuk</p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>Cosmos caudatus can be used as vegetable by its shoots. Cosmos are found as wild plant so that efforts are needed to increase shoot production. Shoot production can be optimized by media composition and harvesting interval. This research objective was to investigate planting media composition and harvesting interval effect on growth and shoot production of cosmos. The research was carried out for three months at Cirebon. The experiment was carried out in two stages: (1) the effect of media composition on growth and shoot at the first harvest and (2) the effect of interaction between media composition and shoot harvesting interval at the second harvest. The experimental design for first experiment used Randomized Block Design (RBD), namely the composition of media of soil, 2:1 soil-manure and 1:1 soil-manure with nine replications. Meanwhile, we used two factor factorial RBD for second experiment. The first factor was the media composition and the second factor was three harvest interval with three replications. The result showed that planting media of soil and manure (1:1) increased the growth and shoot both in the first and second harvesting. The harvesting interval of 20 days decrease the total shoot because many branches to flower so they cannot be harvested.</p>

Chemical Composition and Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activities of Methanolic Extract of Alcea setosa A. Malvaceae

Alcea setosa A. (Malvaceae) is a wild plant that grows in Jordan and have several traditional medicinal uses. This study aims to collect and chemically analyze the methanolic extract from Alcea setosa A. from Jordan and to evaluate its cytotoxic and antioxidant activity against human breast cancer cells (T47D), colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (CACO2), and normal human fibroblasts (MRC5). The extract was extracted by methanol solvent and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer. Cell viability was assessed using trypan blue, neutral red, and MTT assays, and antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH scavenging activity assay. A total of 290 compounds, 12 among which were identified when compared to available standards, the extract contained six flavons derivatives, Two fatty acids, one ketone derivative, one flavonol derivative, one organic acid, and one coumarin derivative. The results also revealed that the IC50 values of the viability assays were higher among normal cells compared to the human cancer cell lines, and the viability inhibition was significant at higher concentrations compared to untreated cells. Nevertheless, moderate antioxidant activity was observed for the extract in the DPPH scavenging activity test. To sum up, this study indicates that samples of A. setosa collected from Jordan is likely to be an effective antioxidant, is optimistically potential to be utilized in breast and colon cancers treatment due to its preferential cytotoxicity against cancer cells.

West African Crop Wild Relative Checklist, Prioritization and Inventory

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are wild plant taxa genetically related to domesticated crops with trait diversity that can be used in plant breeding to sustain food security. Prioritization is a prerequisite for the cost–effective conservation of CWR as it allows CWR in a checklist to be reduced to a manageable number for active conservation action. In this study, a partial CWR checklist comprising 1651 taxa was compiled for West Africa. Prioritization of the annotated CWR checklist was based on three criteria: (i) economic value of the related crop in West Africa, (ii) CWR genetic closeness to its related crop and (iii) threat status. After applying the three criteria using the parallel method of prioritization, 102 priority CWR were selected for active conservation action. The priority CWR are related to food crops that are nationally, regionally and globally important, such as white guinea yam (Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata (Poir) J. Miège), cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), sweet potato (Ipomea batatas (L.) Lam.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). This CWR checklist and prioritization will help in the development of a regional conservation action plan for West Africa.