AIM This investigation aimed to assess the hepatoprotective effect of saponin fraction isolated from the fruit pericarp of Sapindus mukorossi on carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced hepatotoxicity. METHODS Fruit of S. mukorossi was collected and authenticated, and dried pericarp powder subjected to extraction with cold ethanol (70%) by maceration followed by isolation of total saponin fracti...

The occurrence of various species of Brassicaceae with indehiscent fruits in the cold deserts of NW China suggests that there are adaptive advantages of this trait. We hypothesized that the pericarp of the single-seeded silicles of Isatis violascens restricts embryo expansion and thus prevents germination for 1 or more years. Thus, our aim was to investigate the role of the pericarp in seed dor...

Desiccation-sensitive recalcitrant seeds and fruits are killed by the loss of even moderate quantities of water. Consequently, minimizing the rate of water loss may be an important ecological factor and evolutionary driver by reducing the risk of mortality during post-dispersal dry-spells. For recalcitrant fruits of a range of Quercus species, prolonged drying times have been observed previousl...

Seed dormancy has been associated with red grain color in cereal crops for a century. The association was linked to qSD7-1/qPC7, a cluster of quantitative trait loci for seed dormancy/pericarp color in weedy red rice. This research delimited qSD7-1/qPC7 to the Os07g11020 or Rc locus encoding a basic helix-loop-helix family transcription factor by intragenic recombinants and provided unambiguous...

A combination of anion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography on a cellulose column was found to be effective for the isolation of β-(1,3;1,4)-glucan (BG) from corn pericarp hemicelluloses (CPHs). CPHs containing 6.6% BG were extracted from corn pericarp with 6M urea-2 wt% NaOH solution and initially fractionated into neutral and acidic parts by anion exchange chromatography to rem...

The myb-homologous p1 gene regulates the synthesis of flavonoid pigments in maize kernel pericarp and cob; these floral organs are greatly modified in size and shape compared with their counterparts in teosinte, the progenitor of maize. To elucidate the molecular evolution of the p1 gene in relation to its expression and possible functions in maize and teosinte, we have isolated a second maize ...

It is commonly assumed that dead pericarps of dry indehiscent fruits have evolved to provide an additional physical layer for embryo protection and as a means for long distance dispersal. The pericarps of dry fruits undergo programmed cell death (PCD) during maturation whereby most macromolecules such DNA, RNA, and proteins are thought to be degraded and their constituents remobilized to filial...

In this paper we describe a novel, dominant pleiotropic tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)-ripening mutation, Cnr (colorless nonripening). This mutant occurred spontaneously in a commercial population. Cnr has a phenotype that is quite distinct from that of the other pleiotropic tomato-ripening mutants and is characterized by fruit that show greatly reduced ethylene production, an inhibition of s...

Human poisoning caused by ingestion of unripe fruit of Passiflora ade/lOpoda is he re reported, apparently for the first time. HCN is pl'Ocluced in the pericarp and aril of tbe unripe fruit, as well as in tbe primary stem, petiole, br;¡cts and stipules but not in tendrils. HCN yield has been reported previously in Passifloraceae only from vegetative parts. The pericarp and arils of complctely r...