The accumulation of heavy metals in plant pollen and nectar exposes pollinators to environmental contaminations. Although honeybees act as biofilters impede the transfer honey, possible antagonistic interactions could negatively affect mineral composition bee-processed nectar. aim this study was assess level harmful (Cd, Pd, Hg, Al, Ni Tl) relation essential macro- (K, Ca Mg) microelements (Mn,...

The Russian dandelion, Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS), is a perennial species native to Central Asia that produces high quality, natural rubber. Despite its potential to help maintain a stable worldwide rubber supply, little is known about genetic variation in this species. To facilitate future germplasm improvement efforts, we developed simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers from available expressed...

Natural rubber (NR) is an important raw material for a large number of industrial products. The primary source of NR is the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, but increased worldwide demand means that alternative sustainable sources are urgently required. The Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz Rodin) is such an alternative because large amounts of NR are produced in its root system. However, r...

Honey bees are threatened by land use changes which reduce the availability and diversity of pollen and nectar resources. There is concern that poor nutrition may be involved in recent population declines, either directly or due to indirect effects on immunocompetence. The larval stage is likely to be the most vulnerable to a poor diet, but the effects of larval nutrition on the disease suscept...

Plant of genus Taraxacum known as dandelion have long been used in tradition medicinal. Extracts from dandelion possess anti-influenza virus, anti-fertility and anti-retrovirus activity, antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects. Chicoric acid also known as dicaffeyltartaric acid and belongs to phenylpropanoids is one of the main constituent of T. officinale. The current investigation was conduc...

Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) are ubiquitous type-3 copper enzymes that catalyze the oxygen-dependent conversion of o-diphenols to the corresponding quinones. In most plants, PPOs are present as multiple isoenzymes that probably serve distinct functions, although the precise relationship between sequence, structure and function has not been addressed in detail. We therefore compared the characteri...

Dandelion extracts have been studied extensively in recent years for its anti-depressant and anti-inflammatory activity. Recent work from our lab, with in-vitro systems, shows the anti-cancer potential of an aqueous dandelion root extract (DRE) in several cancer cell models, with no toxicity to non-cancer cells. In this study, we examined the cancer cell-killing effectiveness of an aqueous DRE ...