The high Alpine plant Saponaria pumila is a survival specialist. It weathered the last ice age growing on ice-free mountain peaks, so-called nunataks exposed to constantly low temperatures and high levels of UV radiation. To cope with a harsh environment S. pumila developed adaption strategies, repair mechanisms and protective compounds. These precious substances have now become available for s...

The hairy roots (HR) of Ophiorrhiza pumila produce camptothecin (CPT), a monoterpenoid indole alkaloid used as a precursor in the synthesis of chemotherapeutic drugs. O. pumila HR culture is considered as a promising alternative source of CPT, however, the knowledge about the biosynthetic pathway and regulatory mechanism is still limited. In this study, five genes that encode AP2/ERF transcript...

OBJECTIVE To assess the cytotoxic activities of crude extracts and solvent fractions of Spermacoce verticillata, Ficus pumila and Flemingia strobilifera against a MT-4 human leukaemia cancer cell line. METHODS Crude extracts of dried leaves of S verticillata, F pumila and F strobilifera were made by exhaustive methanol extraction, fractions were obtained from sequential extraction of the crud...

CONTEXT Croton cajucara Benth is a plant found in Amazonia, Brazil and the bark and leaf infusions of this plant have been popularly used to treat diabetes and hepatic disorders. OBJECTIVES This study investigated effects hepatics alterations and genotoxic and antidiabetic effect of Croton cajucara Benth bark extracts treatment in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. METHODS Male Wistar ra...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS A test was made of the hypothesis that papilionate legume flowers filter pollinators according to their ability to exert strength to open flowers to access rewards. In addition, interactions with pollen vectors were expected to explain the structural complexity of the architecture of these flowers since operative flower strength may be determined by a combination of morpholo...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique was applied to elucidate the glacial history of the alpine cushion plant Saponaria pumila in the European Alps. Special emphasis was given to a dense sampling of populations. Our data support a survival of S. pumila during the last ice age in at least three refugia, which are characterized by uniqu...

The occurrence of Cerambycidae (Lamiinae) was evaluated in trunk and branch samples of cardeiro (Scleronema micranthum), a forest species from the Central Amazon. Samples were exposed to biodegradation for 24 months on the forest soil, during which adults and larvae were collected and their attack was evaluated. From a total of 643 cerambycids collected, 606 were immatures and 37 were adults. T...

Five new spirobifuranocoumarins, dahuribirins A-E (1-5) and two new bifuranocoumarins, dahuribirins F and G (6 and 7) were isolated from Japanese Bai Zhi (the root of Angelica dahurica Benth. et Hook. var. dahurica Benth. et Hook.) and their structures were established by chemical and spectral means.

This study aims to investigate whether the in vitro-cultured L. pumila var. alata has higher antioxidant activity than its wild plant. An 8-week-old nodal segment and leaf explants were cultured onto Murashige Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various cytokinins (zeatin, kinetin, 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP)) for shoot multiplication auxins (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) picloram) callu...