introduction common bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) is the world’s most important food legume. this staple is considered as a nearly perfect food mainly because of its high protein content and abundant fiber, complex carbohydrates, and other daily food needs such as vitamins (folate) and minerals (cu, ca, fe, mg, mn, zn). annual production, including both dry and snap bean, exceeds 21 million metr...

Drought stress is the major problem in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Investigating the response of different cultivars of crop plants to drought stress can help to select the tolerant ones for agriculture in arid lands. In this study, a greenhouse experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with two common bean cultivars (Phaseolus vulgari...

The control mechanisms and information content of melanin-based colourations are still debated among evolutionary biologists. Recent hypotheses contend that molecules involved in melanogenesis alter other physiological processes, thereby generating covariation between melanin-based colouration and other phenotypic attributes. Interestingly, several molecules such as agouti and glutathione that ...

Plants often grow under the combined stress of several factors. Salinity and herbivory, separately, can severely hinder plant growth and reproduction, but the combined effects of both factors are still not clearly understood. Salinity is known to reduce plant tissue nitrogen content and growth rates. Since herbivores prefer tissues with high N content, and biochemical pathways leading to resist...

BACKGROUND Tea polyphenols, as both insulin potentiating factors and antioxidants, are postulated to act in preventing the metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and increased oxidative stress. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS Using an animal model of insulin resistance, our objective was to determine the effects of a green tea extract on oxidative stress paramet...