background: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the radioprotective effect of grewia asiatica fruit pulp extract (gae) on swiss albino mice exposed to gamma radiation. in the present study radioprotective efficacy of grewia asiatica (rich in anthocyanin, carotenes, vitamin c, etc.) was studied against radiation induced biochemical alterations in mice cerebrum. materials and methods: fo...

Carotenoid pigments are critical for plant survival, and carotenoid composition is tuned to the developmental stage, tissue, and to environmental stimuli. We report the cloning of the CAROTENOID CHLOROPLAST REGULATORY1 (CCR1) gene. The ccr1 mutant has increased shoot branching and altered carotenoid composition, namely, reduced lutein in leaves and accumulation of cis-carotenes in dark-grown se...

The extraction of lutein and β-carotene from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves is important to the dietary supplement industry. A Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to investigate the effect of process variables on the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of lutein and β-carotene from spinach. Three independent variables, extraction temperature (°C), extract...

Terpenoids and steroids constitute the largest known group of plant secondary metabolites. The different groups of terpenes are formed from isoprene (C5) units in enzymatic reactions. Head-to-tail condensation of isoprene units results in the formation of monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20), sesterpenes (C25) and polyterpenes. Tail-to-tail coupling of C15 and C20 units le...

We examined the influence of solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B; 280-320 nm) on the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (F(v)/F(m)), bulk-soluble phenolic concentrations, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and growth of Avena sativa. Treatments involved placing filters on frames over potted plants that reduced levels of biologically effective UV-B by either 71% (reduced UV...

The only attempt at the isolation of carotene from mango fruit seems to have been made by Yamamoto Osima & Goma (1932) who obtained 60 mg. of a crystalline preparation from 38 kg., of fresh fruit pulp. From a study of its optical activity and absorption spectrum they concluded that it was a mixture of aand P-carotenes, which were, however, not separated. The inconclusive nature of their data ha...

Spirulina platensis, is a photosynthetic, filamentous, spiral-shaped, multicellular and bluegreen micro alga. As it contains chlorophyll a, like higher plants, botanists classify it as a micro alga belonging to Cyanophyceae class; but according to bacteriologists it is a bacterium due to its prokaryotic structure. Mexicans (Aztecs) started using this microorganism as human food. Its chemical co...

Photosystem II (PSII) is a multisubunit membrane protein complex performing light-induced electron transfer and water-splitting reactions, leading to the formation of molecular oxygen. The first crystal structure of PSII from a thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus was reported recently [Zouni, A., Witt, H. T., Kern, J., Fromme, P., Krauss, N., Saenger, W. & Orth, P. (2001) ...

We present an electric field modulated absorption spectroscopy (Stark effect) study of isolated photosystem II reaction center complexes, including a preparation in which the inactive pheophytin H(B) was exchanged for 13(1)-deoxo-13(1)-hydroxy-pheophytin. The results reveal that the Stark spectrum of the Q(x) and Q(y) transitions of the pheophytins has a second-derivative line shape, indicating...

BACKGROUND: Black medic is used as a pasture, cover, siderate, anti-erosion culture for fixing embankments along roads, on mining dumps and phytoremediation. Mono-, bi- polycarpic forms are distinguished within the species, differing in number of fruitions during plant life cycle. The presence polymorphism morphological features ontogenesis suggests differences biochemical parameters selected g...