The present study is premeditated to extenuate the role of Ficus virens extract and itsbioactive compound on cigarette smoke, an important risk factor for CVD, induced oxidativestress and hyperlipidemia. Cigarette smoke (CS) exposure to rats results in significant loss ofbody weight and increases blood carbon monoxide saturation (carboxyhemoglobin), nicotine,plasma TC, TG, and LDL-C levels but ...

As plants produce a huge amount of antioxidants they can represent a source of new compounds with antioxidant activities. From this point of view, the main goal of this research was to study the antioxidant activities of the Ficus carica through the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicalscavenging method. Since DPPH assay has been largely used as a quick, reliable, and reproducible parame...

Opuntia ficus-indica is a long-domesticated cactus crop that is important in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. The biogeographic and evolutionary origins of this species have been obscured through ancient and widespread cultivation and naturalization. The origin of O. ficus-indica is investigated through the use of Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of nrITS DN...

The major components of annual seed deposition in the rain forest at Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México are seeds of the pioneer tree species Cecropia obtusifolia and those of some species of Ficus. Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol. forms a relatively persistent viable soil seed bank, whereas seeds of Ficus are seldom found in the soil. Both genera require light for seed germination; however, the species...

Burrowing marine infauna are morphologically diverse and ecologically important as ecosystem engineers. The polychaetes Nereis virens and Cirriformia moorei extend their burrows by crack propagation. Nereis virens does so by everting its pharynx and C. moorei, lacking an eversible pharynx or proboscis, uses its hydrostatic skeleton to expand its anterior. Both behaviors apply stress to the burr...

Rice false smut fungus which is a biotrophic fungal pathogen causes an important rice disease and brings a severe damage where rice is cultivated. We established a new fungal-plant pathosystem where Ustilaginoidea virens was able to interact compatibly with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Disease symptoms were apparent on the leaves of the plants after 6 days of post inoculation in the fo...

Using biological fertilizers and pesticides based on beneficial soil microbes in order to reduce mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides in conventional agriculture is still a matter of debate. In this regard, a European research project seeks to elucidate the role of root-endophytic fungi and to develop molecular tools to trace and quantify these fungi in the rhizosphere and root tissue. T...

Objective: Ficus benghalensis Linn. (Family: Moraceae) is a reputed plant in ayurvedic medicine and commonly known as "banayan tree" in ayurvedic literature. Traditionally, Ficus benghalensis is used for pain and fever. Since no detailed scientific data is available regarding the analgesic and antipyretic activities of Ficus benghalensis, the present study was designed to explore the same. Meth...

BACKGROUND The tropolone-tolerant Trichoderma virens PS1-7 is a biocontrol agent against Burkholderia plantarii, causative of rice seedling blight. When exposed to catechol, this fungus dose-dependently produced carot-4-en-9,10-diol, a sesquiterpene-type autoregulatory signal molecule that promotes self-conidiation of T. virens PS1-7 mycelia. It was, however, uncertain why T. virens PS1-7 atten...