Pollination services of pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo L., provided by the European honey bee, Apis mellifera L., were compared with two native bee species, the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens (Cresson), and Peponapis pruinosa Say, in New York from 2008 to 2010. Performance of each species was determined by comparing single-visit pollen deposition, percentage of visits that contacted the s...

The tendency for flower longevity to increase with altitude is believed by many alpine ecologists to play an important role in compensating for low pollination rates at high altitudes due to cold and variable weather conditions. However, current studies documenting an altitudinal increase in flower longevity in the alpine habitat derive principally from studies on open-pollinated flowers where ...

In Nicotiana tabacum, female gametophytes are not fully developed at anthesis, but flower buds pollinated 12 h before anthesis produce mature embryo sacs. We investigated several pollination-associated parameters in N. tabacum flower buds to determine the developmental timing of important events in preparation for successful fertilization. First, we performed hand pollinations in flowers from s...

Purpose: To evaluate the phytochemical profile as well as in vitro antioxidant, iron-chelating, and antiglucosidase activities of Typha domingensis Pers. (Typhaceae) Methods: Total polyphenols, flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and pro-anthocyanidins in the respective aqueous extracts of male and female flowers, and fruit of T. domingensis were determined by established procedures. Antioxidant...

Chrysanthemum cut flower is not sensitive to ethylene and its vase life depends on vascular blockage. In order to evaluating of effect of antibiotics and essential oils on the vase life and quality characteristics of chrysanthemum cut flower an experiment carried out based on a RCD with 10 treatments: Artemisia at 3 levels (10, 30 and 50 %), amoxicillin at 3 levels (100, 200 and 300 mg l-1), Ri...

The antioxidative effect and protective potential against diabetes of the broccoli flower were investigated both in vitro and in a diabetic rat model. Among fractions of MeOH, CH2Cl2, BuOH, and H2O, the BuOH fraction exerted the strongest inhibitory activities on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical, radical-induced protein oxidation, and nitric oxide generation by sodium nitroprusside. The in...

BACKGROUND The chemical compositions of the stem and leaf sheath of few-flower wild rice were analysed. In addition, their extracts were evaluated for diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity, ferric-reducing antioxidant power and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity, since these are important properties of sources of nutraceuticals or functional foods. ...

Kudzu, a leguminous plant, has long been used in folk medicine. In particular, its flowers are used in Japanese and Chinese folk medicine for treating hangovers. We focused on the flower of Kudzu (Puerariae thomsonii), and we previously reported the antiobesity effect of Puerariae thomsonii flower extract (PFE) in humans. In this study, we conducted an animal study to investigate the effect of ...