A physical method is described for the rapid isolation of plant trichomes, with emphasis on stalked glandular types. The technique involved breaking frozen trichomes with powdered dry ice and collection of glandular heads by sieving from larger tissue fragments. This method was applied to several plants that bear similar stalked trichomes: geranium (Pelargonium), potato (Solanum tuberosum), tom...

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared using four different plant extracts as reducing and stabilizing agents. The extracts were obtained from the following plants: Salvia officinalis, Lippia citriodora, Pelargonium graveolens and Punica granatum. The size distributions of the GNPs were measured using three different methods: dynamic light scattering, nanoparticle-tracking analysis and analysi...

Few satisfactory therapeutic agents are available for the control of Influenza virus, largely because of the continual emergence of drug-resistant mutants. Some essential oils (EOs) have demonstrated effective antimicrobial and antiviral properties in experimental conditions, but most of these studies tested the liquid oil phases, which are generally less practical and are potentially toxic for...

Sweet-scented geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L'Hér), a plant belonging to the Geraniaceae family, has medicinal and aromatic properties and is widely used in the cosmetic, soap, perfume, aromatherapy, and food industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of fertilization and the use of different colors of plastic mulch on sweet-scented geranium biomass and essential oil. Th...

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) plants showing chlorotic concentric rings and line patterns on the leaves were observed in field crops near Paraná city (Entre Ríos, Argentina). Virus-enriched preparations examined with a trasmission electron microscope contained quasi-spherical particles ca. 33 nm in diameter. Symptomatic sunflower samples were serologically negative for six known members of the ...

The commercial use of mechanical stimulation to control transplant growth is quite limited. To be commercially successful, the technique must be simple and flexible, and must not reduce plant quality. Brushing was applied to tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) seedlings growing at a density of 2100 plants mby daily stroking with a piece of polystyrene. Ten or twenty daily strokes typically provide...

Anacardic acids, a class of secondary compounds derived from fatty acids, are found in a variety of dicotyledonous families. Pest resistance (e.g., spider mites and aphids) in Pelargonium xhortorum (geranium) is associated with high levels (approximately 81%) of unsaturated 22:1 omega 5 and 24:1 omega 5 anacardic acids in the glandular trichome exudate. A single dominant locus controls the prod...

Geraniaceae are known for their unusual plastid genomes (plastomes), with the genus Pelargonium being most conspicuous with regard to plastome size and gene organization as judged by the sequenced plastomes of P. x hortorum and P. alternans. However, the hybrid origin of P. x hortorum and the uncertain phylogenetic position of P. alternans obscure the events that led to these extraordinary plas...

Global HIV-1 treatment would benefit greatly from safe herbal medicines with scientifically validated novel anti-HIV-1 activities. The root extract from the medicinal plant Pelargonium sidoides (PS) is licensed in Germany as the herbal medicine EPs®7630, with numerous clinical trials supporting its safety in humans. Here we provide evidence from multiple cell culture experiments that PS extract...