In vitro antioxidant activities of three sweet dihydrochalcone glucosides from the leaves of Lithocarpus pachyphyllus (Kurz) Rehd. (Fagaceae), trilobatin 2"-acetate (1), phloridzin (2) and trilobatin (3), were investigated. The IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) values for compounds 1-3 of lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenate were 261, 28, 88 microM, respectively. Compounds 1-3 increased...

Polyploid plants usually exhibit broader leaves, thicker stems, bigger flowers and fruits, dwarfing stature, as well improved biotic abiotic resistance. Therefore, increasing the polyploidy is one of most important strategies used in plant breeding. Here, we reported successful induction tetraploids two pear varieties, ‘duli’ (Pyrus betulaefolia), a wildtype for rootstocks grafting, ‘Xinli No.7...

The draft genome sequence of Xylella fastidiosa pear leaf scorch strain PLS229, isolated from the pear cultivar Hengshan (Pyrus pyrifolia) in Taiwan, is reported here. The bacterium has a genome size of 2,733,013 bp, with a G+C content of 53.1%. The PLS229 genome was annotated and has 3,259 open reading frames and 50 RNA genes.

Two new species belonging to the family Stigmaeidae, Cheylostigmaeus tarae sp. nov. and Stigmaeus delaramae sp. nov., are described from specimens collected from soil and litter under pear trees, Pyrus communis L. (Rosaceae) in Iran. A key to all Iranian species of the genera Cheylostigmaeus (male) and Stigmaeus (female) are provided. 

*Globally, exotic invaders threaten biodiversity and ecosystem function. Studies often report that invading plants are less affected by enemies in their invaded vs home ranges, but few studies have investigated the underlying mechanisms. *Here, we investigated the variation in prevalence, species composition and virulence of soil-borne Pythium pathogens associated with the tree Prunus serotina ...

Background: Crataegus mexicana, Hyptis albida, Larrea tridentata, Ocimum baislicum, Prunus serotina, and Smilax spp. are used in Mexican traditional medicine to treat respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases such as flu, cough, diarrhea, dysentery, and other parasitic or microbial infections. Therefore this study was aimed at the pharmacological prospection of these plants against eleven bacte...

with regard to the importance of antioxidants in foods, cosmetics and pharmaceutics, there are several studies on natural resources for finding rich sources of antioxidants and their role in protecting the body against oxidative stress injuries. the purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant stability of arbutin and the pyrus boissieriana buhse leaf extract and their effects on li...

Since several Asian pear species are considered to be potential source of fire blight resistance, we crossed ‘Doyenné du Comice’, the susceptible European cultivar, with four Asian pear species. The aim of the study was to establish the level of resistance of each genotype and the mode of transmission of fire blight resistance to each F1 full-sib progeny. The best sources of resistance were P. ...