Species identification is one of the most basic yet crucial issues in biology with potentially far-reaching implications for fields such as conservation, population ecology, and epidemiology. The widely distributed but threatened frog Paa spinosa has been speculated to represent a complex of multiple species. In this study, 254 individuals representing species of the genus Paa were investigated...

OBJECTIVE Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anticancer drug but its clinical application is limited because it induces apoptosis in cardiomyocytes and leads to permanent degenerative cardiomyopathy and heart failure possibly due to oxidative stress. Recent studies showed that Capparis spinosa (C. spinose) exhibits potent antioxidant activity. So, in this study, we explored the protective effect...

Spinosyns A and D are potent ingredient for insect control with exceptional safety to non-target organisms. It consists of a 21-carbon tetracyclic lactone with forosamine and tri-O-methylated rhamnose which are derived from S-adenosylmethionine. Although previous studies have revealed the involvement of metK1 (S-adenosylmethionine synthetase), rmbA (glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase), a...

The embryonic development of the spider crabs Leurocyclus tuberculosus and Libinia spinosa was divided into five periods based on the differentiation of: (I) cleavage, (II) embryonic primordium, III) optic lobes, (IV) optic lobes pigmented and (V) chromatophores presence. Different traits such as spines, setae and telson morphology distinguish the two species from period III until hatching. Egg...

This study aimed to analyse the phenolic composition of wild fruits of Arbutus unedo (strawberry-tree), Prunus spinosa (blackthorn), Rosa canina and Rosa micrantha (wild roses). Analyses were performed by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. P spinosa fruits presented the highest concentration in phenolic acids (29.78 mg/100 g dry weight), being 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid the most abundant one, and flavone/ols (57.48...

Extract prepared from aerial part of Pycnocycla spinosa is a relaxant of rat ileum contractions. The objective of this research was to study the spasmolytic activity of P. spinosa root extract for comparison with the aerial part extract. Hydroalcoholic extracts were prepared by percolation method. A portion of rat ileum was removed and suspended under 1 g tension in Tyrode's solution at 37 °C a...

In addition to being consumed as food, caper (Capparis spinosa L.) fruits are also used in folk medicine to treat inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatism. C. spinosa L. is rich in phenolic compounds, making it increasingly popular because of its components’ potential benefits to human health. We analyzed a number of individual phenolic compounds and investigated in vitro biological activitie...

BACKGROUND Spinosad (a mixture of spinosyns A and D) is a unique natural pesticide produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa. With regard to attempts to improve S. spinosa by classical mutagenesis, we propose that the bottleneck of screening out high-spinosad-production strains is probably caused by the fermentation media. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to identify a new medium to extensively...