BACKGROUND AND AIMS Variation in the composition of floral nectar reflects intrinsic plant characteristics as well as the action of extrinsic factors. Micro-organisms, particularly yeasts, represent one extrinsic factor that inhabit the nectar of animal-pollinated flowers worldwide. In this study a 'microbial imprint hypothesis' is formulated and tested, in which it is proposed that natural com...

Ethnopharmacological collections of plants used in traditional medical systems are a valuable but often underappreciated resource for scientific investigation. These collections contain many samples of plants currently employed in herbal and pharmaceutical medicine, and questions on stability and storage life can be examined using these historic collections as vouchers. A sample of black cohosh...

Larrea tridentata (creosote bush), a common North American native desert shrub, exhibits the ability to take up copper(II) ions rapidly from solution. Following hydroponic studies, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency method 200.3 was used to digest the plant samples, and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) was used to determine the amount of copper taken up in different parts of the pl...

With the aid of more sensitive instrumental methods it is possible to determine trace elements after separation of different fractions from soil and plant samples. Fractions of soils and sediments are obtained by extraction with different reagents, chosen in function of biological, ecological or chemical considerations. In plant samples it is possible to separate free ions and organo-mineral co...

The absorption behavior of technetium (Tc) and rhenium (Re) through plant roots was studied using nutrient solution culture. Radish samples, grown in culture solutions for 20-30 days in a greenhouse, were transferred into plastic vessels containing nutrient solutions contaminated with multitracer solutions including Tc and Re. The plant samples were grown individually for 1-7 days under laborat...

A total of ten plant samples of Securinega leucopyrus (Ghat-bor) were collected from specific locations of Sanganer region of Rajasthan for isolation of fungal endophytes. Of these, maximum frequency of Colletotrichum gleosporioides (24.94 %) were recorded which are morphologically similar but ecologically variant. The present paper discusses the diversity of Colletotrichum gleospoirioides with...

The market for plant-based dairy-type products is growing as consumers replace bovine milk in their diet, for medical reasons or as a lifestyle choice. A screening of 17 different commercial plant-based milk substitutes based on different cereals, nuts and legumes was performed, including the evaluation of physicochemical and glycaemic properties. Half of the analysed samples had low or no prot...

A fast, efficient technique is described for the extraction of DNA from a large number of samples. The applications of this method include population genetics, plant breeding, and genetic screening. In the field, samples are collected in premeasured silica gel aliquots in polypropylene blocks, which are later used to grind the dried tissue. This permits naturalists, breeders, and collaborators ...