In Vitro Screening of East Asian Plant Extracts for Potential Use in Reducing Ruminal Methane Production

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics can result in antibiotic residues in animal products; thus, plant compounds may be better alternative sources for mitigating methane (CH4) production. An in vitro screening experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential application of 152 dry methanolic or ethanolic extracts from 137 plant species distributed in East Asian countries as anti-methanogenic additives in ruminant feed. The experimental material consisted of 200 mg total mixed ration, 20 mg plant extract, and 30 mL diluted ruminal fluid-buffer mixture in 60 mL serum bottles that were sealed with rubber stoppers and incubated at 39 °C for 24 h. Among the tested extracts, eight extracts decreased CH4 production by >20%, compared to the corresponding controls: stems of Vitex negundo var. incisa, stems of Amelanchier asiatica, fruit of Reynoutria sachalinensis, seeds of Tribulus terrestris, seeds of Pharbitis nil, leaves of Alnus japonica, stem and bark of Carpinus tschonoskii, and stems of Acer truncatum. A confirmation assay of the eight plant extracts at a dosage of 10 mg with four replications repeated on 3 different days revealed that the extracts decreased CH4 concentration in the total gas (7–15%) and total CH4 production (17–37%), compared to the control. This is the first report to identify the anti-methanogenic activities of eight potential plant extracts. All extracts decreased ammonia (NH3-N) concentrations. Negative effects on total gas and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production were also noted for all extracts that were rich in hydrolysable tannins and total saponins or fatty acids. The underlying modes of action differed among plants: extracts from P. nil, V. negundo var. incisa, A. asiatica, and R. sachalinensis resulted in a decrease in total methanogen or the protozoan population (p < 0.05) but extracts from other plants did not. Furthermore, extracts from P. nil decreased the population of total protozoa and increased the proportion of propionate among VFAs (p < 0.05). Identifying bioactive compounds in seeds of P. nil by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed enrichment of linoleic acid (18:2). Overall, seeds of P. nil could be a possible alternative to ionophores or oil seeds to mitigate ruminal CH4 production.

The state of art in the horticulture lighting

The article presents an overview of currently used greenhouse lighting systems. It does not apply to traditional sodium lighting systems, but only to the most modern LEDs. The publication presents descriptions of lamp designs, both foreign and Polish. The aim of the work is not only to review solutions, but also to identify the reasons for the low transfer of scientific and technical solutions to business. There are several barriers to overcome, mainly subjective ones, so that new solutions can be implemented and developed. Full Text: PDF ReferencesS. Ki-Ho, J. Yu-Min, O. Myung-Min, "Application of supplementary white and pulsed light-emitting diodes to lettuce grown in a plant factory with artificial lighting", Springer 57(6), 561 (2016). CrossRef M. Gilewski, "The role of light in the plants world", Phot. Lett. Poland 11, 4 (2019). CrossRef K.J. McCree, Agricultural Meteorology (Elsevier Publishing Company 1972). CrossRef G. Trouwborst, J. Oosterkamp, S. Hogewoning, V. Ieperen, "The application of LEDs as assimilation light source in greenhouse horticulture: A simulation study", the 6th Int. Symposium on Light in Horticulture. Tsukuba. Japan, Nov. 2009. CrossRef K. Jaworski, A. Szmidt-Jaworska, J. Kopcewicz, " Two calcium dependent protein kinases are differently regulated by light and have different activity patterns during seedling growth in Pharbitis nil", Springerlink.com, Journal: 10725, Article: 9609, 2011. CrossRef Philips Lighting, Horticultural LED lighting applications, 2020: https://www.lighting.philips.com/main/products/horticulture. DirectLink E. de Beer, P.H. van Baar, 3 reasons why intercanopy lighting is effective for high-wire vegetables, 2020: www.lighting.philips.com. DirectLink HLG, Refurbished HLG 550, 2020, https://horticulture-lightinggroup.com/collections/lamps/products/refurbished-hlg-550-v1 DirectLink Neonica Polska, 2020, www.growy.eu CrossRef I. Fryc, T. Dimitrova-Grekow, "An automated system for evaluation of the quality of light sources", 6th IEEE Lighting Conference of the Visegrad Countries : LUMEN V4, Sept. 2016. CrossRef EconoLux Ind. Ltd., "What Light do Plants Need", Hong Kong, 2016, http://econoluxindustries.com/light-plants-need.html. DirectLink Heliospectra AB, heliospectra DYNA, 2020, https://www.heliospectra.com/led-grow-lights/dyna. DirectLink Plantlux, Horticulture LED SMD lamp Plantalux XX640W, 2020, https://plantalux.pl/en/plantalux-xx640w-en/. DirectLink M. Gilewski, "An Adaptive and Monoculture Oriented LEDs Lamp", 978-1-5386-7924-1/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE, 2018. CrossRef

Active Compound of Pharbitis Semen (Pharbitis nil Seeds) Suppressed KRAS-Driven Colorectal Cancer and Restored Muscle Cell Function during Cancer Progression

Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS)-driven colorectal cancer (CRC) is notorious to target with drugs and has shown ineffective treatment response. The seeds of Pharbitis nil, also known as morning glory, have been used as traditional medicine in East Asia. We focused on whether Pharbitis nil seeds have a suppressive effect on mutated KRAS-driven CRC as well as reserving muscle cell functions during CRC progression. Seeds of Pharbitis nil (Pharbitis semen) were separated by chromatography and the active compound of Pharbitis semen (PN) was purified by HPLC. The compound PN efficiently suppressed the proliferation of mutated KRAS-driven CRC cells and their clonogenic potentials in a concentration-dependent manner. It also induced apoptosis of SW480 human colon cancer cells and cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. The CRC related pathways, including RAS/ERK and AKT/mTOR, were assessed and PN reduced the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR. Furthermore, PN preserved muscle cell proliferation and myotube formation in cancer conditioned media. In summary, PN significantly suppressed mutated KRAS-driven cell growth and reserved muscle cell function. Based on the current study, PN could be considered as a promising starting point for the development of a nature-derived drug against KRAS-mutated CRC progression.

The role of light in the plants world

This article describes the differences in how people and plants perceive light. This is important in some artificial light applications. In particular, it concerns the horticulture area, in which LED lighting is increasingly used. There is a misunderstanding of the specifics of the environment in this area. As a result, even experienced lighting professionals design greenhouse lamps in the same way as for people. This article describes the negative consequences of this approach. Full Text: PDF ReferencesA. R. Young, J. Claveau, and A.B. Rossi, Ultraviolet radiation and the skin: Photobiology and sunscreen photoprotection, Jurnal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 76, p. 100-109, Mar. 2017. CrossRef S. Pashiardis, S.A. Kalogirou, and A. Pelengaris, Characteristics of Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) Through Statistical Analysis at Larnaca, SM Journal of Biometrics & Biostatistics, p. 1-16, Jun. 2017. CrossRef W. Bommel, Interior Lighting: Visual Mechanism. Springer Nature Switzerland AG., p. 3-23, 2019. CrossRef L.T. Sharpe, A. Jagla, and W. Jägle, A luminous efficiency function, V*(λ), for daylight adaptation, Journal of Vision, vol. 5, no. 11, p. 948-968, Apr. 2012. CrossRef I. Fryc, and E. Czech, Application of optical fibers and CCD array for measurement of luminance distribution, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 5064, p. 18-21, Apr. 2003. CrossRef I. Fryc, Design issue of novel type of an illuminance meter photometric head, Jurnal of Modern Optics, vol. 56, no. 33, p. 1504-1508, Jul. 2009. CrossRef I. Fryc, and P. Tabaka, The influence of different photometric observers on luxmeter accuracy for LEDs and FLs lamps measurements, Optica Applicata, vol. 49(2), p. 345-354, Jul. 2019. CrossRef M. Liu, Y. Yan, Q. Xue, and L. Gong, The research and analysis of factors affecting Critical Flicker Frequency, 6th Int. Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, Las Vegas, 2015. CrossRef W. Wojtkowski, SEPIC converter for high power LED lighting, Przeglad Elektrotechniczny, vol. 86, no. 10, p. 260-263, 2010. DirectLink W. Wojtkowski, Step-up converters for power LED power supply, Przeglad Elektrotechniczny, vol. 87, no. 4, p. 71-72, 2011. DirectLink Y. Berkovich, and all, LED crop illumination inside space greenhouses, in Reach, vol. 6, Elsevier, p. 11-24, 2017. CrossRef C.M. Campillo, R. Fortes and M.H. Prieto, Solar Radiation Effect on Crop Production, Mar. 2012 CrossRef I. Ashdown, Photometry and Photosynthesis: From Photometry to PPFD., Nov. 2015 DirectLink K.J. McCree, The Action Spectrum, Abasorptance and Quantum Yield of Photosynthesis in Crop Plants, Agricultural Meteorology, vol. 9, 191-216, Oct. 1970. CrossRef OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Horticulture Lighting with LEDs, Nov. 2016 CrossRef Standard DIN 5031-10 Optical radiation physics and illuminating engineering. CrossRef EconoLux Indastries Ltd., What Light do Plants Need, Hong Kong, 2016. CrossRef M.B. Ali, L. Khandaker, and S. Oba, Comparative study on functional components, antioxidant activity and color parameters of selected leafy vegetables as affected by photoperiods, J Food Agric Environ, vol. 7, p. 392-398, 2009. CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska, K. Jaworski, A. Tretyn, and J. Kopcewicz, The involvement of cyclic GMP in the photoperiodic flower induction of Pharbitis nil, Jurnal of Plant Physiology, vol. 161, p. 277-284, 2004. CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska, K. Jaworski, and J. Kopcewicz, The Involvement of Cyclic ADPR in Photoperiodic Flower Induction of Pharbitis nil, Jurnal of Plant Growth Regulation, vol. 25, p. 233-244, Sep. 2006. CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska, K. Jaworski, A. Zienkiewicz, M. Lenartowska, and J. Kopcewicz, Guanylyl cyclase activity during photoperiodic flower induction in Pharbitis nil, Jurnal of Plant Growth Regulation, vol. 57, p. 173-184, 2009. CrossRef Light Laboratory Inc., Goniophotometer Test Report HLG ELITE lamps. CrossRef U.J. Błaszczak, D.A. Aziz, L. Gryko, Influence of the spectral composition of LED lighting system on plants cultivation in a darkroom, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 10445, p. 1-9, 2017. CrossRef

The ecological hazard of artificial lighting in greenhouses

This article draws attention to the shortcomings of modern lighting systems used in greenhouses. Its content focuses on the negative effects of mismatches between the photosynthetic needs of plants and the parameters of artificial light sources. Greenhouse lamps designers often do not have the knowledge of biological cultivation dependencies. Therefore, their cooperation with specialists of plant physiology and gardeners is indispensable. This is important because it can affect the consumer quality of vegetables. Full Text: PDF ReferencesM.Kucharczyk, I.Gąsak, Ecological effects of light pollution , III International Conference on Scientific and Technical TRANSEIA, Krynica Zdrój, Poland, 6-8 December 2017. DirectLink T. H. Goldsmith, What Birds See, Scientific American Inc. (2006), CrossRef E.J. Gerl, M.R. Morris, The Causes and Consequences of Color Vision, Springer Science + Business Media, LLC, 2008. CrossRef K. Jaworski, A. Szmidt-Jaworska, J. Kopcewicz, Two calcium dependent protein kinases are differently regulated by light and have different activity patterns during seedling growth in Pharbitis nil, open access at Springerlink.com, Journal: 10725, Article: 9609, 2011. CrossRef K. Jaworski, A. Pawełek, J. Kopcewicz, A. Szmidt-Jaworska, The calcium-dependent protein kinase (PnCDPK1) is involved in Pharbitis nil flowering, Journal of Plant Physiology 169 p. 1578-1585, 2012. CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska, K. Jaworski, J. Kopcewicz, Effect of light on soluble guanylyl cyclase activity in Pharbitis nil seedlings, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology 93 p. 9-15, 2008. CrossRef Horticulture Lighting Group, Goniophotometer Test Report of the ELITE ECO lamp CrossRef K. Marra, E. P. LaRochelle, M. S. Chapman, P. J. Hoopes, K. Lukovits, E. V. Maytin, T. Hasan, B. W. Pogue, Comparison of Blue and White Lamp Light with Sunlight for Daylight‐Mediated, 5‐ALA Photodynamic Therapy, in vivo, Wiley Online Library, 16 April 2018 CrossRef M. Gilewski, The Ecological Harmfulness of RGB LED Light, International Conference on Energy, Power, Electrical and Environmental Engineering : EPEEE 2018, DEStech Publications, Wuhan, Hong Kong, September 27-28, 2018. CrossRef K. J. McCree, The Action Spectrum, Absorptance and Quantum Yield of Photosynthesis in Crop Plants, Agricultural Meteorology, Elsevier Publishing Company, 9 p. 191-216 , 1972. CrossRef EconoLux Indastries Ltd., What Light do Plants Need, Hong Kong CrossRef I. Ashdown, Photometry and Photosynthesis: From Photometry to PPFD, SunTracker Technologies Ltd CrossRef OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Horticulture Lighting with LEDs, OS SSL | NR AW CH, November 2016 CrossRef M. Mottus, M. Sulev, F. Baret, R. Lopez-Lozano, A. Reinart, Photosynthetically Active Radiation: Measurement and Modeling CrossRef Heliospectra AB, Full Flexibility ELIXIA grow ligh CrossRef Heliospectra AB, Full Flexibility ELIXIA grow light CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska1, K. Jaworski1, A. Tretyn, J. Kopcewicz, The involvement of cyclic GMP in the photoperiodic flower induction of Pharbitis nil, J. Plant Physiol. 161. p. 277-284, 2004. CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska, K. Jaworski, J. Kopcewicz, The Involvement of Cyclic ADPR in Photoperiodic Flower Induction of Pharbitis nil, J Plant Growth Regul 25: p. 233-244, 2006. CrossRef A. Szmidt-Jaworska, K. Jaworski, A. Zienkiewicz, M. Lenartowska, J. Kopcewicz, Guanylyl cyclase activity during photoperiodic flower induction in Pharbitis nil, Plant Growth Regul 57: p. 173-184, 2009. CrossRef U.J. Błaszczak, D.A. Aziz, L. Gryko, Influence of the spectral composition of LED lighting system on plants cultivation in a darkroom, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 10445, (2017) 1-9. CrossRef L. Gryko, U. Blaszczak, A.S. Zajac, Colorimetric characterization of the tunable LED-based light source at the output of the homogenizing rod, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 10808, 2018. CrossRef I.Fryc, T. Dimitrova-Grekow, An automated system for evaluation of the quality of light sources, 6th IEEE Lighting Conference of the Visegrad Countries : LUMEN V4, Karpacz, September 13-16, 2016. CrossRef J. Kusznier, M. Zajkowski, L. Budzynski, D. Tyniecki, Ring optical mixer for LED with truncated surfaces, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 10325, 2017. CrossRef W. Wojtkowski, LED Power Supply with Thermal Protection for Automotive Application, 7th Lighting Conference of the Visegrad Countries : LUMEN V4, Třebíč, September 18-20, 2018. CrossRef W. Wojtkowski, Constant Frequency Operation of the Parallel Loaded Resonant DC/DC Converter for Power LED Lighting, International Conference on Energy, Power, Electrical and Environmental Engineering : EPEEE 2018, DEStech Publications, Wuhan, Hong Kong, September 27-28, 2018. CrossRef Pashiardis S, Kalogirou SA and Pelengaris A. Characteristics of Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) Through Statistical Analysis at Larnaca, Cyprus. SM J Biometrics Biostat. 2(2): 1009, 2017. DirectLink R. Inger, J. Bennie, T. W. Davies, K. J. Gaston, Potential Biological and Ecological Effects of Flickering Artificial Light, PLoS One, vol. 9(5) (2014) PMC4038456 CrossRef C. Dong, Y. Fu, G. Liu, H. Liu, "Growth, photosynthetic characteristics, antioxidant capacity and biomass yield and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) exposed to LED light sources with different spectra combinations", J Agron Crop Sci, vol. 200, p. 219-230, 2014. CrossRef

Downregulation of Aquaporin 3 Mediated the Laxative Effect in the Rat Colon by a Purified Resin Glycoside Fraction from Pharbitis Semen

Background. Pharbitis Semen, the seeds ofPharbitis nil, is widely used as a traditional purgative medicine in China, Korea, and Japan. This study investigated the laxative effects of a purified resin glycoside fraction obtained in our previous study from Pharbitis Semen in vivo and in vitro.Materials and Methods. After orally administering a purified resin glycoside fraction from Pharbitis Semen (RFP) to rats, the content of fecal water, AQP3, NF-κB, COX-2 expression, and the prostaglandin E2(PGE2) concentrations in the colon were examined. Moreover, human intestinal epithelial cells (HT-29) were used to investigate the mechanism of RFP decreasing the AQP3 expression.Results. Results obtained showed that treatment with RFP increased the feces excretion and fecal water content of rats in a dose-dependent manner. More interestingly, AQP3 expression was suppressed by RFP treatment both in the rat colons and in HT-29 cells, while the NF-κB pathway-mediated PGE2production was activated. Interestingly, pretreating rats with BAY-11-7082 (NF-κB inhibitor) or indomethacin (COX-2 inhibitor) and RFP neither induced diarrhea nor decreased the AQP3 expression in the colon.Conclusions. The purgative property of the purified resin glycoside fraction was attributed to NF-κB activation in the colon, which increased the COX-2-mediated secretion of PGE2. PGE2decreased AQP3 expression which inhibits water absorbed from the intestine to the blood vessel side, resulting in the laxative effect of RFP.

Investigation of Wild Herbs Based on Three Different Communities

Based on field investigation and statistical analysis, the characteristics of wild herbs in different communities are discussed in this paper. The results showed that there were 32 species and 30 genera of 14 families in the wild herbs of the three communities. Cynanchum chinense R.Br. and Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv are the three community common herbs. Pterocypsela indica (L.) Shih and Cirsium setosum are common to the Cerasus sp. community and Malus micromalus communit. Polygonum, Chenopodium album and Pharbitis nil (Linn.) Choisy are common to the Malus micromalus community and Robinia pseudoacacia L.community.