Lateral branching plays an important role in the elaboration of adult plants architecture. Herein, we adopted a modified AFLP approach combined with a degenerate primer amplification to identify and isolate in the underinvestigated ornamental species H. rosa-sinensis an orthologous element of the MAX2 gene (More Axillary Branches), which acts downstream of the branching inhibition signaling pat...

The pink hibiscus mealybug (PHM), Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and the associated hymenopterous parasitoid, Anagyrus kamali Moursi, 1948 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), are reported for the first time in Brazil. Specimens of the PHM were collected on nine hosts plants, Annona muricata L. (Anonnaceae), Glycine max (L.) Merr. (Fabaceae), Centrolobium paraensis Tul. (Fab...

Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Hs, roselle; Malvaceae) has been used traditionally as a food, in herbal drinks, in hot and cold beverages, as a flavouring agent in the food industry and as a herbal medicine. In vitro and in vivo studies as well as some clinical trials provide some evidence mostly for phytochemically poorly characterised Hs extracts. Extracts showed antibacterial, anti-oxidant, nephro-...

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) was applied to the determination of the ratio of the abundances of the syringyl beta-aryl ether subunits to those of the guaiacyl equivalents (S/G) in lignin. Diazomethane-methylated kenafs (Hibiscus cannabinus and Hibiscus sabdariffa) and beech (Fagus crenata) in situ lignins were employed. Relative abundances...

Germplasm identification and characterization is an important link between the conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources. Traditionally, species or cultivars identification has relied on morphological characters like growth habit or floral morphology like flower colour and other characteristics of the plant. Studies were undertaken for identification and determination of genetic v...

AIM To determine the androgenic effects of Basella alba and Hibiscus macranthus extracts in the rat and the bull, and to develop a novel in vitro test system using Leydig cells from bull testes. METHODS The effect of methanol extracts from both plants on testosterone production in isolated Leydig cells from the rat and the bull was analyzed using 125I-radioimmunoassay (125I-RIA). Rat Leydig c...

CONFLICT OF INTEREST none declared. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) calices on controlling dyslipidemia in obese adolescents. METHODOLOGY In this triple blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial which was registered in the Iranian registry for clinical trials (IRCT201109122306N2), 90 obese adolescents aged 12-18 years with documented dyslipide...