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Abstract : Covid-19 is an ongoing pandemic as we speak in 2022. This infectious disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which infects cells by binding to the angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the cell surface. Thus, strategies that inhibit the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to the ACE2 receptor can stop this contagion. Hanjeli (Coix lacryma-jobi) essential oil contains many bioactive compounds, including dodecanoic acid; tetradecanoic acid; 7-Amino-8-imino-2-(2-imino-2H-chromen-3-yl); and 1,5,7,10-tetraazaphen-9-one. These compounds suppress viral replication and may prevent Covid-19. Accordingly, this study assessed whether, these four limonoid compounds can block the ACE2 receptor. To this end, their physicochemical properties were predicted using Lipinski’s “rule of five” on the SwissADME website, and their toxicity was assessed using the online tools ProTox and pkCSM. Additionally, their interactions with the ACE2 receptor were predicted via molecular docking using Autodock Vina. All the four compounds satisfied the “rule of five” and tetradecanoic acid was predicted to have a higher affinity than the comparison compound remdesivir and the original ligand of ACE2. Molecular docking results suggested that the compounds from hanjeli essential oil interact with the active site of the ACE2 receptor similarly as the original ligand and remdesivir. In conclusion, hanjeli essential oil contains compounds predicted hinder the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with the ACE2 receptor. Accordingly, our data may facilitate the development of a phytomedical strategy against SARSCoV-2 infection.

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Abstract : The development of bioenergy through biomass has gained importance due to the increasing rates of fossil fuel depletion. Biomass is important to increase the productivity of bioethanol, and production of biomass with high biomass productivity, low lignin content, and high cellulose content is also important in this regard. Inorganic salts are important in the cultivation of biomass crops for the production of biomass with desirable characteristics. In this study, the roles of various inorganic salts in biomass and bioethanol production were investigated using an in vitro tobacco culture system. The inorganic salts evaluated in this study showed dramatic effects on tobacco plant growth. For example, H₂PO₄ substantially improved plant growth and the root/shoot (R/S) ratio. The chemical compositions of tobacco plants grown in media after removal of various inorganic salts also showed significant differences; for example, lignin content was high after Mg²⁺ removal treatment and low after K⁺ treatment and H₂PO₄ removal treatment. On the other hand, NO₃^- and H₂PO₄ treatments yielded the highest cellulose content, while enzymatic hydrolysis yielded the highest glucose concentration ratio 24 h after NH₄⁺ removal treatment. The ethanol productivity after H₂PO₄ removal treatment was 3.95% (w/v) 24 h after fermentation and 3.75% (w/v) after 36 h. These results can be used as the basis for producing high-quality biomass for future bioethanol production.

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Abstract : The present study aimed to assess and compare the quality characteristics and antioxidant activities of apple juice and blueberry juice at hourly intervals over a period of time based on the presence or absence of vacuum blending (0 and 800 hPa) using a household blender. Measurement of the dissolved oxygen content revealed that the removal rates of dissolved oxygen were approximately 83% and 86% in the apple and blueberry juice samples, respectively, after vacuum blending. Moreover, compared with general blending, there was little change in the antioxidant property and degree of browning over time with vacuum blending. Furthermore, hourly assessments revealed that the decrease in the polyphenol and flavonoid contents in the apple and blueberry juice samples was significantly lesser with vacuum blending for 3, 6, and 12 h than with general blending. Assessment of the change in ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) activity over time revealed that the rate of decrease in FRAP activity over time was lower with vacuum blending than with general blending for both juice samples. ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays performed to determine the change in free radical scavenging activity revealed inhibitory activity at 0, 3, 6, and 12 h and confirmed that vacuum blending resulted in long-lasting antioxidant activities in both apple and blueberry juice samples. Taken together, the present results confirmed that vacuum blending is associated with superior quality maintenance and antioxidant properties in comparison with general blending.

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Abstract : In the present study, the total polyphenol and flavonoid contents, radical scavenging ability, and reducing power of ethanol extracts and fractions from Rubus coreanus Miq. were assessed in order to determine the antioxidant activity. The total polyphenol contents in the 70% ethanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction were 238.46 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g and 413.59 mg GAE/g, respectively; these values were higher than those in the other fractions (p < 0.05). In addition, the total flavonoid content was as high as 52.83 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)/g in the ethyl acetate fraction (p < 0.05). With regard to DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, the RC₅₀ values of the ethyl acetate fraction were 3.95 and 6.25 μg/mL, respectively, indicating that the scavenging activity was similar to that of ascorbic acid (control) (p < 0.05). Moreover, in the FRAP assay performed to assess the reducing power, the ethyl acetate fraction showed high activity (p < 0.05). In summary, the present findings confirmed that the ethyl acetate fraction of the R. coreanus Miq. 70% ethanol extract had high polyphenol and flavonoid contents and excellent antioxidant properties. Therefore, it was confirmed that the ethyl acetate fraction of the mugwort 70% ethanol extract had high polyphenol and flavonoid content and excellent antioxidant effect.

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Abstract : Paederia foetida L. is an important medicinal plant that has been used for the treatment of various gastrointestinal related ailments by different tribal communities in India. This plant is also known for its use as a food. Due to overexploitation, P. foetida has been classified as a vulnerable plant in some states of India. The propagation of P. foetida by conventional methods is easy but very slow. Synthetic seed technology offers incredible potential for in vitro propagation of threatened and commercially valuable plants, and can also facilitate the storage and exchange of axenic plant material between laboratories. However, synthetic seed production for P. foetida has not yet been reported. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first attempt to produce synthetic seeds of P. foetida by calcium alginate encapsulation of in vitro regenerated axenic nodal segments. Sodium alginate (3%) and CaCl₂ (100 mM) were found to be the optimal materials for the preparation of ideal synthetic seeds, both in terms of morphology and germination ability. The synthetic seeds showed the best germination (formation of both shoot as well as root; 83.3%) on ½ MS medium augmented with 0.5 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid. The plantlets obtained from these synthetic seeds could be successfully acclimatized under field conditions. We also studied the storage of these synthetic seeds at low temperature and their subsequent sprouting/germination. The seeds showed a germination rate of 63.3% even after 21 days of storage at 4 °C; thus, they could be useful for transfer and exchange of P. foetida germplasm.

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Abstract : Environmental stresses are estimated to have reduced global crop yields of wheat by 5.5%. However, traditional approaches for the transfer of resistance to these stresses in wheat plants have yielded limited results. In this regard, genetic transformation has undoubtedly opened up new avenues to overcome crop losses due to various abiotic stresses. Particle bombardment has been successfully employed for obtaining transgenic wheat. However, most of these procedures employ immature embryos, which are not available throughout the year. Therefore, the present investigation utilized mature seeds as the starting material and used the calli raised from three Moroccan durum wheat varieties as the target tissue for genetic transformation by the biolistic approach. The pANIC-5E plasmid containing the SINA gene for drought and salinity tolerance was used for genetic transformation. To enhance the regeneration capacity and transformation efficiency of the tested genotypes, the study compared the effect of copper supplementation in the induction medium (up to 5 μM) with the standard MS medium. The results show that the genotypes displayed different sensitivities to CuSO₄, indicating that the transformation efficiency was highly genotype-dependent. The integration of transgenes in the T₀ transformants was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the obtained resistant plantlets with primers specific to the SINA gene. Among the three genotypes studied, ‘Isly’ showed the highest efficiency of 9.75%, followed by ‘Amria’ with 1.25% and ‘Chaoui’ with 1%.

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Abstract : This study aimed to characterize the morphological variations in the vegetative and floral traits of 73 wild Lilium amabile plants from six habitats in Korea. It was observed that L. amabile is distributed nationwide at any altitude from 300 m (Mt Mangdaeam) to 1550 m (Mt Halla). The majority of the natural habitats of L. amabile were found on mountain slopes, and some were found in rugged mountain regions. The down-facing flowers of this species not only had many blotches but also dense trichomes, and the flowering time was found to be from mid-June to mid-July. ANOVA revealed significant variations in vegetative and floral traits among the six habitats, indicating that the environment has substantial influences on the various growth parameters of L. amabile, such as plant height; number of leaves, bracts, papillae, and flowers; leaf angle; and lengths of the anther, longest blotch, and nectary of the petiole. In addition, the vegetative and floral traits were found closely correlated with each other under the direct impact of the environment. These findings will facilitate to find the appropriate environmental conditions for the conservation and development of L. amabile population as future lily-breeding materials.

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Abstract : The amino acids found in plants play important roles in protein biosynthesis, signaling processes, and stress responses, and as components in other biosynthesis pathways. Amino acid degradation helps maintain plant cells' energy states under certain carbon starvation conditions. Branched-chain amino acid transferases (BCATs) play an essential role in the metabolism of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) such as isoleucine, leucine and valine. In this paper, we performed genome-wide RNA-seq analysis using CsBCAT7-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants. We observed significant changes in genes related to flowering time and genes that are germination-responsive in transgenic plants. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that the expression levels of some BCAA catabolic genes were upregulated in these same transgenic plants, and that this correlated with a delay in their senescence phenotype when the plants were placed in extended darkness conditions. These results suggest a connection between BCAT and the genes implicated in BCAA catabolism.

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Abstract : Several hypotheses for the origin of cultivated sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam)] have been suggested but the exact progenitor is still unknown. Based on the results of RFLP patterns, microsatellite markers, SNP markers, FISH analyses, and genome analyses of haplotypes, wild species belonging to batatas group, I. trifida, I. leucantha, I. littoralis, I. tabascana, I. tenuissima, I. tiliacea, and I. triloba have been suggested as a progenitor. However, recently, advanced genomic technologies and characterization of the inserted T-DNA fragments of Agrobacterium in the genome of cultivated sweetpotato and wild species through horizontal gene transfer suggest that there may be an older progenitor than the wild species suggested so far.

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Abstract : Coffee is the most frequently consumed functional beverage world wide. The average daily coffee consumption is increasing. This crop, which plays an important role in the global economy is under great threat from climate change. To with stand the current climate change, farmers have to learn crop cultivation techniques, strategies to protect crops from diseases, and understand which type of seed varieties to use to avoid crop loss. The present review briefly discusses the coffee cultivation techniques, impact of climate changes on coffee production, processing techniques of coffee, and the importance of coffee in our society, including its chemical composition and prevention against, major diseases. Furthermore, the importance and role of advanced nanotechnology along with molecular approaches for coffee crop improvement and facing challenges are explained.