Ground Pine Research Articles

Modified pine needles as a formaldehyde scavenger for urea-formaldehyde resin in plywood production

The aim of the present work was to investigate whether it is possible to use ground pine needles as formaldehyde-scavenging filler for urea-formaldehyde resin in the production of plywood. The scope of the research included determinations of both optimal amount of introduced filler and the effect of its modification (silanization, hydrothermal and alkaline treatments). Properties of adhesives such as viscosity, gel time and pH were investigated and their morphology was assessed using scanning electron microscopy. The manufactured plywood panels were tested in terms of their wet shear strength, tendency to delamination in varying conditions and formaldehyde emission. It was found that the addition of pine needles lowers the pH and reduces gel time of the adhesive. Moreover, it was shown that despite the significant reduction in formaldehyde emission, the addition of non-modified needles causes a decrease in bonding quality of plywood. Based on the results, 10 parts by weight of needles per 100 parts by weight of resin can be considered as an optimal loading. The use of ground needles modified hydrothermally and with silane allows to minimize the negative effect on the strength of glue lines and leads to further reduction of formaldehyde emission. Therefore, it can be concluded that pine needle powder has strong potential for the application as a formaldehyde-scavenging filler for urea-formaldehyde adhesive in plywood production.

Investigation of Some Biological Activities of Ajuga chamaepitys subsp. chia

Ajuga L., which is an Eastern Mediterranean element, is popularly known as ground pine, dwarf grass, ground cypress, bitter gourd, wormwood, yeast grass (mayasılotu in Turkish) (Zeybek and Zeybek, 1994). Ajuga chamaepitys L. Schreb species has been used since the Middle Ages as a diuretic, antidote for poisonous animal stings, and as an invigorating, wound-healing and diaphoretic plant. This study evaluated antibiofilm, time-kill potential and antioxidant activity of four extracts of A. chamaepitys subsp. chia (Schreb.) Arcang. Crystal violet binding assay were used to determinate antibiofilm activities of extracts against test microorganisms (4 Gram negative, 3 Gram positive and 1yeast). Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl and reducing antioxidant capacity methods. The highest antibiofilm activity was obtained in acetone extract against P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and S. aureus ATCC 6538P bacteria. In the time-dependent killing test of plant extracts, microbicidal effect was obtained after 24 hours. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained from plants ethyl acetate extract.

Lycopodium Mitigates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in the Colonic Mucosa of Acetic Acid-Induced Colitis in Rats.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are diseases of the gastrointestinal system involving genetic and environmental factors attributed to oxidative stress and inflammation. Targeting oxidative stress and inflammation by novel dietary compounds of natural origin convincingly appears to be one of the important therapeutic strategies to keep the disease in remission. As there is no permanent cure for IBD except for chronic long-term treatment or surgery, it is therefore imperative to investigate plant-based agents that are receiving attention for their therapeutic benefits to overcome the debilitating clinical conditions of IBD. Lycopodium (LYCO), a plant of tropical and subtropical origin and known by numerous names such as ground pine, club moss, or devil’s claw, has been popularly used for centuries in traditional medicine including Chinese and Indian medicines. In the present study, the effect of LYCO has been investigated in an acetic acid (AA)-induced colitis model in Wistar rats. LYCO was orally administered at the dose of 50 mg/kg/day either 3 days before or 30 min after the induction of IBD and continued for 7 days by intrarectal administration of AA. The changes in body weight and macroscopic and microscopic analysis of the colon of rats of different experimental groups were observed on days 0, 2, 4, and 7. The levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. AA caused a significant reduction in body weight and increased macroscopic and microscopic ulcer scores along with a significant decline in antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase and antioxidant substrate, glutathione (GSH). There was a concomitant increased formation of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation, and raised myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, a marker of neutrophil activation. Treatment with LYCO significantly improved IBD-induced reduction in body weight, improved histology, inhibited MDA formation, and restored antioxidants along with reduced MPO activity. AA also caused the release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-23 (IL-23). Furthermore, AA also increased the levels of calprotectin, a protein released by neutrophils under inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. LYCO treatment significantly reduced the release of calprotectin and proinflammatory cytokines. The results demonstrate that LYCO treatment has the potential to improve disease activity by inhibiting oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and inflammation along with histological preservation of colonic tissues.

Occurrence of Volutella Blight Caused by Pseudonectria foliicola on Boxwood in Tennessee.

Boxwood (Buxus sp. L.) is a very popular evergreen shrub in the United States which is widely used as landscape plant and fresh greenery. Boxwood 'Green velvet' (B. sinica var. insularis x B. sempervirens) plants grown in field condition exhibiting Volutella blight symptoms were found in a commercial nursery in Warren Co., Tennessee in May 2019. Leaves appeared red, brown or tan color on affected plants. Waxy, salmon pink colored fruiting bodies (sporodochia) were observed underneath the affected leaves using a hand lens (Figure 1). Leaf drop was also observed on plants. Black lesions under the bark were observed in some of the plants. The disease severity (percentage leaf area diseased) was nearly 40% and the disease incidence was nearly 30% of 1,000 plants. Infected leaf and stem tissues collected from four symptomatic plants were surface sterilized with 70% ethanol and washed with sterile distilled water. Culturing the infected leaf and stem pieces, 5-mm in size, on potato dextrose agar (PDA) consistently yielded white fluffy aerial mycelium growth with scattered salmon-color slimy masses of conidia forming from sporodochia after 10 days incubation at 25°C in a 12-h fluorescent light and dark cycle. A total of two isolates (FBG2020_396 and FBG2020_405) were hyphal tip purified on PDA. The conidia (n = 50) were hyaline, aseptate, fusiform to ellipsoidal measuring average of 7.8 × 3.3 μm (range: 4.84 to 13.2 μm × 2.2 to 4.64 μm). To confirm the pathogen identity, total DNA was extracted using UltraClean Microbial DNA Isolation Kit (MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., Carlsbad, CA) directly from a 5-day old culture of isolates (FBG2020_396 and FBG2020_405) on PDA. The ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), β-tubulin (tub2) and part of 28S large ribosomal subunit (LSU) regions were amplified by PCR using the primer pairs ITS 5/ITS 4, T1/BTb2 and LR0R/LR5, respectively (Glass and Donaldson 1995; O'Donnell and Cigelnik 1997; Rehner and Samuels 1994; Vilgalys and Hester 1990; White et al. 1990). Newly generated sequences - GenBank/NCBI acc. nos. MW459251, MW465902 (ITS), MW464656, MW464657 (tub2) and MW459255, MW465903 (LSU) were 100% identical to Pseudonectria foliicola L. Lombard & Crous ex-type (CBS 123190) sequences KM231776, KM232035 and NG_058095, respectively. To complete Koch's postulates, six boxwood 'Green velvet' plants grown in 10 cm square pots (containing 40% coarse sand and 60% ground pine bark) were inoculated by spraying conidial suspension of P. foliicola [FBG2020_396 (1 × 105 conidia/mL)] obtained from 2-wk-old PDA cultures. Plants were covered with clear plastic humidity domes for 3 days and then they were maintained in a growth chamber at 25°C and 60% RH in a 12-h fluorescent light and dark cycle. Six control boxwood plants were maintained in the same environment without pathogen introduction. Pathogenicity test was conducted twice. After 10 days, typical symptoms of Volutella blight developed on the inoculated plants and microscopic examination revealed the same pathogen morphology as the original isolate. Pseudonectria foliicola was consistently re-isolated from leaves and stems. All control boxwood plants remained symptom-free and P. foliicola was not isolated from the leaves or stems. Pseudonectria foliicola causing Volutella blight has been reported on B. sempervirens in Czech Republic (Spetik et al. 2020), New Zealand (Lombard et al. 2015); Buxus sp. in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington (Salgado-Salazar et al. 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Volutella blight of boxwood caused by P. foliicola in Tennessee. Pseudonectria foliicola is an opportunistic pathogen and infects weak, stressed, and injured boxwood plants/cuttings (Rivera et al. 2018). This pathogen could cause a serious economic loss to boxwood nursery growers, as it can significantly affect the ornamental value of boxwood plants and fresh greenery. Integration of sanitation practices with other disease management strategies such as biorational products and reduced-risk fungicides will be necessary for limiting the spread of pathogen and successful management of P. foliicola on boxwood in both field and postharvest conditions.

First Report of Phytopythium vexans Causing Root and Crown Rot on Flowering Cherry in Tennessee.

Flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata Lindl. 'Kwanzan') rooted cuttings grown in propagation beds containing 40% coarse sand and 60% ground pine bark in a commercial propagation nursery in Warren County, Tennessee were exhibiting root and crown rot in December 2016. Dark brown to black soft lesions were observed in the roots as well as the crown region of flowering cherry rooted cuttings and those rooted cuttings were non-marketable due to lesions. Disease incidence was approximately 60% of 10,000 plants. Phytophthora ImmunoStrip test (Agdia Inc., Elkhart, IN, USA) was performed and the test result was positive. Diseased plant tissues were surface sterilized with 70% ethanol and washed twice with distilled water. Culturing the affected root and crown parts (1 cm pieces) on V8-PARPH, an oomycete-selective medium consistently yielded whitish radiate mycelial growth pattern with spherical zoospores, filamentous to globose oogoni, elongated, and cylindrical antheridia with constrictions (De Cock et al., 2015) after 7 days of incubation at 25°C in a 12-h fluorescent light and dark cycle, which is the typical morphology of Phytopythium vexans (de Bary) Abad, de Cock, Bala, Robideau, Lodhi & Lévesque. To confirm pathogen identity, total DNA was extracted using the UltraClean Microbial DNA Isolation Kit (MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., Carlsbad, CA, USA) directly from a 3-day old culture of isolate (FBG2017010) on V8 medium. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S large subunit of ribosomal RNA, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CoxI) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes/ region were amplified by PCR using the primer pairs ITS1/ ITS4 (White et al., 1990), NL1/ NL4 (Baten et al., 2014), and Levup and Fm85mod (Robideau et al., 2011), respectively. The PCR products were sequenced and the sequences (GenBank accession nos. MT533275, MT533451, and MT547980) were compared to the voucher specimens. They were 99.23, 99.60, and 98.92% similar to those of P. vexans isolates in the NCBI database (HQ643400, KR092144, and HQ708996, respectively). To complete Koch's postulates, 'Kwanzan' flowering cherry rooted cuttings grown on propagation substrate (10 cm pot containing 1 kg sterilized 40% coarse sand and 60% ground pine bark) were inoculated with identified pathogen and observations were taken on root rot disease symptoms. Five plants were inoculated with 100 ml of pathogen agar-slurry (1 plate of a 7-day old culture of isolate FBG2017010/1 L of sterilized water), and five control plants were drenched with agar slurry. The plants were maintained in the greenhouse condition (day/night temperature of 26/24°C), and irrigated twice a day for 2 min by overhead irrigation system. After 2 weeks, dark brown to black necrotic root lesions developed on all inoculated cuttings and P. vexans was consistently re-isolated from the inoculated plants. The morphology of the pathogen isolated on the V8-PARPH medium was identical to the original isolate. All control plants remained symptom-free and P. vexans was not isolated from the root tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. vexans causing root and crown rot in 'Kwanzan' flowering cherry in Tennessee, which can be a potential threat for the nursery crop production. The identification of P. vexans, the causal agent of Phytopythium root and crown rot is important in determination and implementation of effective management strategies.

The effect of gradual dietary pine bark meal supplementation on milk production of dairy cows fed a grass silage-based diet

In a search for novel sustainable feed resources for ruminant livestock, interest towards wood-based feed materials such as bark has risen. To evaluate the feed potential of ground bark, a dairy cow feeding experiment was conducted using 24 high yielding (average milk yield in the beginning of the experiment 38.0 ± 4.53 kg/d) Nordic Red cows in a 3 × 3 Latin square design using 21-day periods. The cows were offered grass silage-based diets supplemented with 3 different concentrate feeds; a control concentrate containing no additional bark meal (C) or two different concentrate feeds containing low (LB, 87 g/kg of dry matter (DM)) or high (HB, 173 g/kg DM) level of dried ground pine bark meal supplement. Experimental concentrates were fed at a level of 12.4 kg per day resulting in feeding of ca. 1 and 2 kg of bark meal per day at low and high levels, respectively. The good quality grass silage used as the basal feed elicited high total daily feed DM intake which was on average 25.6 kg. The palatability of all experimental concentrates was good. Dietary bark meal increased the intakes of silage DM and total DM, but decreased yields of milk, energy-corrected milk, milk fat and protein, and concentrations of milk constituents although numerical differences between treatments were small. Bark meal supplements decreased linearly metabolizable energy intake, but had no significant effect on the estimated intake of amino acids absorbed from the small intestine as the concentrate feeds were balanced by rapeseed meal. Dietary bark meal decreased linearly the feed efficiency. Milk from all treatments had good sensory properties. This study demonstrated that the energy value of bark meal was very low compared to the traditional feeds as demonstrated by the decreased production results. The economic output of bark meal inclusion depends on the savings in replacing traditional feeds with bark meal, and the losses as reduced milk sales. In long term, other aspects may be considered such as potential shortage and elevated prices of traditional feeds and need to use non-human edible feed components in animal production, but under current conditions, it cannot be recommended as a feed component for high producing dairy cows.

Influence of tannin-rich pine bark supplementation in the grain mixes for meat goats: Growth performance, blood metabolites, and carcass characteristics.

The objective was to evaluate the use of condensed tannin (CT)-rich ground pine bark (PB) in grain mixed diets on meat goat growth performance, blood metabolites, and carcass characteristics. Twenty four Kiko crossbred (Capra aegagrus hircus) growing male kids (BW = 36.9 ± 2.5 kg) at approximately 8 months of age were assigned randomly to 2 treatments with 3 replicates per treatment and 4 goats per replicate. The goats were fed grain mixed diets composed of either 30% bermudagrass hay (BGH) plus concentrate (control) or 30% PB plus concentrate. Diets were fed at 1.2% of BW. In addition, all goats grazed a crabgrass/bermudagrass (CB)-based pasture. The feeding trial lasted for 55 d. Using ground PB as a supplement did not negatively affect BW, average daily gain (ADG), carcass characteristics, meat pH, and meat color compared to the control diet. Plasma gamma-glutamyl transferase (P = 0.03), glucose (P < 0.01) and Ca concentrations (P = 0.04) were higher for PB than for BGH, respectively. The 30% PB supplementation does not negatively affect animal performance, blood metabolites, and carcass parameters.

Impact of Forest Fuels on Gas Emissions in Coal Slurry Fuel Combustion

Anthropogenic emissions from coal combustion pose a serious threat to human wellbeing. One prospective way to solve this problem is by using slurry fuels instead of coal. The problem is especially pressing in China and Russia, so these countries need reliable experimental data on the SOx and NOx emissions reduction range more than others do. The experiments in this research are based on the components that are typical of Russia. Experimental research was conducted on the way typical forest fuels (ground pine needles, leaves and their mixtures, bark, sawdust, and charcoal) affect the gas emissions from the combustion of slurry fuels based on the wastes. It was established that using forest fuels as additives to coal-water slurries reduces SOx and NOx emissions by 5–91% as compared to coal or to slurries based on used turbine oil. It was revealed that even small concentrations of such additives (7–15%) could result in a several-fold reduction in SOx and NOx. The higher the temperature, the more prominent the role of forest biomass. The calculated complex criterion illustrates that forest fuels increase the performance indicator of fuel suspensions by 1.2–10 times.

Growth and establishment of container-grown London planetrees in response to mulch, root-ball treatment and fertilization

We conducted two experiments to evaluate the impact of cultural treatments on growth and establishment of container-grown London planetrees (Platanus × acerifolia’ Bloodgood’). In both experiments, 48 trees grown in 100 l (#25) black plastic containers were assigned at random to one of three root-ball treatments prior to planting; no treatment (Control), outer 3 cm of roots removed around entire root-ball (Shave), or outer circling roots disentangled from the root-ball (Tease). In Experiment 1, half of the trees were fertilized with 400 g of controlled release fertilizer (15-9-12; N-P2O5-K2O) at planting and the remainder of the trees were not fertilized. In Experiment 2, half of the trees were mulched with an 8 cm deep × 2 m diameter ring of coarse ground pine bark at planting and the remainder of the trees were not mulched. In Experiment 1, fertilization at planting increased SPAD chlorophyll content on two of four measurement dates but did not affect cumulative height or caliper growth after two years. After two growing seasons, root-ball treatments (shaving or teasing) increased root growth outside the original root-ball compared to control trees. Both root-ball treatments also reduced circling roots. In Experiment 2, mulching at planting increased soil moisture and cumulative tree height and diameter growth. Shaving increased new root growth and both root-ball treatments improved root architecture and reduced circling roots. Overall, the study demonstrates that root-ball manipulations can stimulate new root growth and reduce circling roots. Mulch is a valuable aid to conserve soil moisture and increase tree growth. Fertilization at planting provided little benefit in this experiment, which may have been related to a high level of soil fertility at the site or nutrient loading of the trees from nursery culture prior to transplanting.

Changes in the rumen bacterial microbiome of cattle exposed to ponderosa pine needles.

Consumption of ponderosa pine needles, as well as needles and bark from a number of other trees, can cause abortions in cattle. The abortifacient compounds in these trees are labdane resin acids, including isocupressic acid and agathic acid. Previous research has demonstrated that cattle conditioned to pine needles metabolize the labdane resin acids more quickly than naïve cattle. The results from that study indicated that changes had occurred in the rumen of conditioned cattle. Therefore, in this study, the changes that occurred in the rumen bacterial microflora of cattle during exposure to ponderosa pine needles were evaluated. Cattle were dosed with ground pine needles twice daily for 7 d. Rumen samples were collected on d 0, 3, 7, and 14 (7 d after treatment stopped) and ruminal bacterial microbiome analyses were performed. There were 372 different genera of bacteria identified in the rumen samples. Principal coordinate analysis indicated that there was a significant difference in the rumen bacterial composition between the time points. There were 18 genera that increased in abundance from d 0 to d 7. Twenty three genera decreased in abundance from d 0 to d 7. The results from this study demonstrated that exposure of cattle to pine needles caused a clear shift in the rumen microbiome composition. In general, this shift lasted less than 1 wk post exposure, which indicates that any prophylactic treatment to manipulate the ruminal metabolism of the abortifacient compounds in pine needles would need to be continuously administered to maintain the necessary microbial composition in the rumen.

Managing variability in algal biomass production through drying and stabilization of feedstock blends

The uncertainty and variability of algal biomass production presents several challenges to the nascent algal biofuel industry, including equipment scaling and feedstock supply. Ideally, on-site processing equipment will be scaled to minimize overall biofuel production costs, which means at times biomass production could exceed down-stream processing capacity due to seasonal variation. Biomass produced in excess of conversion capacity during summer months must be stabilized by some method, such as drying, until needed later in the year. Because of algae's high moisture content and its cohesive nature, drying is challenging. Blending algae with terrestrial biomass may provide a cost-effective method to enable drying and stabilization of algae by reducing moisture content and improving rheological (i.e. flowability) properties. To test the technical feasibility of this approach, bench-scale rotary drum dyers were constructed and tested with blends of algae (Scenedesmus sp.), ground pine (2mm grind), sorghum, corn stover (6mm), sieved sand, and dried algae. In these studies, blends up to 40% algae exhibited drying behavior similar to that of pine alone, and reached dryness (2% moisture) in half of the time it took to dry algae alone. Thermogravimetric analyses performed on blends and neat blend materials provided drying curves consistent with the bench-scale dryers. Preliminary logistics analysis for production-scale operations were performed to determine cost and availability of feedstock materials for blending as compared to drying algae directly. This analysis indicates that revenue lost due to idle processing capacity had a significant impact on the per gallon gasoline equivalent feedstock cost. The blending approach, described herein, reduced feedstock-related costs, including procurement, drying, and storage by 35% relative to drying algae directly. Our results indicate that blending algae with terrestrial biomass enables the use of rotary dryers and has the potential to improve overall algal biofuel economics.

Use of Pine Needles as Substrate for Biogas Production

This paper describes the results of an experimental investigation taken up to check the suitability and potential of the pine needles as substrate in biogas production under batch digester. There are various lignocellulosic biomasses for biofuel production but the use of pine needles has not been realized so much yet. In the present study two batch digesters (each having two plastic made buckets: one for fermentation and second as gas holder) was used. In the first digester cow dung named as DIGESTER1 and in the second digester named as DIGESTER2 ground pine needles were co-digested with cow dung was used as a substrate. The feed material was collected from local sources. In both the digesters; inoculum prepared from cow dung was used. Biogas production using cow dung and pine needles under batch digester has been compared under similar field conditions. In both digesters tap water was used to make slurry in a ratio of 1:15 by weight. The different parameters like Total solid, volatile solid are measured & pH, biogas production & temperature are measured on daily basis. The surrounding temperature range during the testing period was between 15 0 C-23 0 C and slurry temperature inside the digester was in range of 17 0 C-26 0 C. The total volume of biogas production of the 70 days in DIGESTER1 and DIGESTER2 was 2.47 and 5.30 litres respectively and thus observed that pine needles are better substrate in comparison to cow dung.

Comparison of chemical treatment methods for loblolly pine to utilize as enzyme hydrolyzate feedstock

The ground pine wood chips (GPWC) were examined through chemical treatment methods employing alkaline hydrogen peroxide treatment (AHP, consisted of 50 g L−1 potassium hydroxide, and 50 g L−1 hydrogen peroxide with added water at 78 °C for 24 h), and ethyl-hydro-oxides treatment (EHOs, consisted of 60% ethanol (of total solution), 50 g L−1 potassium hydroxide, and 50 g L−1 hydrogen peroxide with added water at 78 °C for 24 h). The effects of chemical treatments on GPWC were examined through combination of chemical composition followed by enzymatic hydrolysis (using Accellerase® 1500). The application of EHOs treatment removes the foaming issue that currently occurs due to AHP treatment at the elevated temperature. A removal of the foaming phenomenon increased the enzymatic glucan conversion (>70%) which is important in increasing the efficiency of biorefinery. The interaction of different variables in EHOs solvent formulations including ethanol concentration (0–60%), potassium hydroxide concentration (0–50 g L−1), hydrogen peroxide concentration (0–50 g L−1), and processing temperature (38 °-78 °C) were analyzed through four variables response surface methodology using glucan conversion and total polysaccharide conversion as responses. The glucan conversion and total polysaccharide conversion were analyzed to determine the specific and overall effects of Accellerase® 1500 on the amorphous polysaccharide contents of GPWC resulted through EHOs treatment formulations, respectively. The implications of all these findings are discussed with the available literature.

Pyrolysis of ground pine chip and ground pellet particles

AbstractIn addition to particle size, biomass density influences heat and mass transfer rates during the thermal treatment processes. In this research, thermal behaviour of ground pine chip particles and ground pine pellet particles in the range of 0.25–5 mm was investigated. A single particle from ground pellets was almost 3 to 4 times denser than a single particle from ground chips at a similar size and volume of particle. Temperature was ramped up from room temperature (∼25 °C) to 600 °C with heating rates of 10, 20, 30, and 50 °C/min. Pellet particles took 25–88 % longer time to dry than the chip particles. Microscopic examination of 3 mm and larger chip particles showed cracks during drying. No cracks were observed for pellet particles. The mass loss due to treatment at temperatures higher than 200 °C was about 80 % both for chip and pellet particles. It took 4 min for chip and pellet particles to lose roughly 63 % of their dry mass at a heating rate of 50 °C/min. The SEM structural analysis showed enlarged pores and cracks in cell walls of the pyrolyzed wood chips. These pores were not observed in pyrolyzed pellet particles.

Studies on Bio-Pretreatment of Pine Needles for Sustainable Energy thereby Preventing Wild Forest Fires

Deforestation, forest fire hazard and exploitation of forest have been warning threats to our environment and ecosystem globally. In the present study an attempt has been made to enhance the biodegradability and biomethanation potential of treated pine needles, the leaves of a coniferous tree ( Pinus roxburghii ) by using Trichoderma spp. and Pseudomonas spp. thereby, utilizing the pine needles for green energy. Studies were carried out in four litre capacity polymer reagent bottles as anaerobic bioreactor at mesophilic conditions (35 ± 1°C) for 80 days. The experiments were replicated thrice and the results compared with untreated ground pine needles substrate (control). The results showed a specific biomethane production of 0.269 l/g VS destroyed from bio-pretreated substrates whereas it was 0.133 l/g VS destroyed for untreated substrate with a biodegradability of 10.41% and 4.78% respectively. Results indicate that bio-pretreated substrate produced a cumulative biomethane yield of 21.3 l/kg pine needles which was 285% higher as compared to the untreated pine needles substrate (5.53 l/kg). The present study may promote utilization of forest litter as natural resource, thereby preventing the wild forest fires which destruct local ecology.

Influence of pre-planting application of dolomite at various rates in coir-dust containing root media on the growth of red-leaf lettuce

This research was conducted to evaluate various levels of dolomitic lime incorporated as pre-planting fertilizers on the growth of red-leaf lettuce. To achieve this, three root media were formulated by mixing coir dust with expanded rice hull (CD+ERH, 8:2, v/v), carbonized rice hull (CD+CRH, 6:4, v/v), and ground pine bark (CD+GRPB, 6:4, v/v). During formulation, equal amounts of essential nutrients, except dolomitic lime, were incorporated into all root media and the levels of dolomitic lime were varied from 0 to 7.5 g L -1 at 1.5 g increments. Seedlings of red-leaf lettuces at the 3rd leaf stage were transplanted into each medium treatment. Crop growths were measured 5 weeks after transplant and soil solutions were collected every week and analyzed for pH, EC, and nutrient concentrations. The treatments showing the heaviest fresh and dry weights in CD+ERH, CD+CRH, and CD+GRPB were 4.5 g, 4.5 g, and 7.5 g L -1 of dolomite, respectively. The pHs of three root media yielding the highest crop growths were in the ranges of 6.4 to 7.1. These ECs in CD+CRH medium were around 1.0 dS m -1 higher than those of CD+ERH and CD+GRPB when application rates of dolomitic lime were equal. K⁺ concentrations were higher than Ca +2 and Mg +2 concentrations until week 2 in three root media. But Ca +2 and Mg +2 concentrations were higher than K⁺ concentrations after week 3 in all root media. The concentrations of PO₄-3 in all root media got abruptly lower until week 2. These results indicate that appropriate levels of dolomitic lime, as pre-planting nutrient charge fertilizers in CD+ERH and CD+GRPB media, are 4.5 and 7.5 g L -1 , respectively.

Phytochemistry, micromorphology and bioactivities of Ajuga chamaepitys (L.) Schreb. (Lamiaceae, Ajugoideae): Two new harpagide derivatives and an unusual iridoid glycosides pattern

Ajuga chamaepitys (L.) Schreb, well-known as Camaepitium or Ground Pine, is an annual herb typical of the Mediterranean area accounting several uses in the traditional medicine. In this work we have, analyzed the plant iridoid fraction together with the essential oil composition and study of the plant indumentum. Finally, we assayed the polar extracts and essential oil obtained from the aerial parts for antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity on tumor cells. The analysis of the monoterpene glycosides allowed us to isolate from roots and aerial parts and to structurally elucidate by NMR and MS the following compounds: ajugoside (1), reptoside (2), 8-O-acetylharpagide (3), harpagide (4), 5-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-harpagide (5), asperulosidic acid (6), deacetyl asperulosidic acid (7) and 5-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-8-O-acetylharpagide (8), among which 5 and 8 were two new natural products. Chemotaxomic relevance of these constituents was discussed. The chemical analysis of A. chamaepitys essential oil by GC-FID and GC-MS showed ethyl linoleate (13.7%), germacrene D (13.4%), kaurene (8.4%), β-pinene (6.8%), and (E)-phytol (5.3%) as the major volatile components. The micromorphological and histochemical study showed that iridoids and essential oil are mainly produced in the type III capitates and peltate trichomes of leaves and flowers. Biological evaluations of A. chamaepitys polar extracts and essential oil showed that the former were more potent as radical scavengers than the latter. MTT assay revealed that essential oil and ethanolic extracts were moderately cytotoxic on tumor cells with IC50 of 36.88 and 59.24μg/mL on MDA-MB 231 cell line, respectively, and IC50 of 60.48 and 64.12μg/mL on HCT116, respectively.

Effect of plant tannin-containing diet on fatty acid profile in meat goats

Phytochemical plant tannins are phenolic compounds that interfere with biohydrogenation (BH) of monounsaturated-(MUFA) and poly-unsaturated fatty acids(PUFA). The objective of the present animal study was to investigate the effects of three different levels of phytochemical tannin-containing ground pine bark diet on fatty acid profiles of goat meat, with particular reference to MUFA and PUFA. The saturated fatty acids (SFA), PUFA, and PUFA/SFA ratios in subcutaneous adipose tissue as well as MUFA and PUFA composition of mesenteric kidney fat were increased with increasing phytochemical tannin-containing ground pine bark supplementation. The study showed that phytochemical plant tannins could be a means to moderate the accumulation of unsaturated fatty acids with the aim of improving percentage of these PUFA/SFA ratios in goat meat. The effects would be useful to improve carcass fatty acids composition and human health.

Hardness removal from waters by using citric acid modified pine cone

In this study, an effective cation exchanger was developed from the pine cone by citric acid modification and its hardness removal properties from the waters were investigated. For this purpose, ground pine cone samples were subjected to a citric acid modification following NaOH saponification. Both of the raw (RPC) and modified pine cone (MPC) samples were subjected to standardized hardness removal tests by shaking with hard waters. These tests showed that citric acid modification significantly increases the cation exchange capacity of the pine cone. Most suitable size fraction of pine cone was determined as -16 + 30 mesh (600 µm < x < 1200 µm). Also, citric acid modified product obtained from this fraction was used in a continuous system to remove hardness from water. The results of this study showed that the MPC can be used for hardness removal from waters as a cheap, durable and environment-friendly material. Finally, regeneration experiments showed that the MPC can be used for hardness removal from water repeatedly by a simple HCl regeneration.

The effects of tannins-containing ground pine bark diet upon nutrient digestion, nitrogen balance, and mineral retention in meat goats.

BackgroundPine bark is a rich source of phytochemical compounds including tannins, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and fatty acids. These phytochemicals have potential to significantly impact on animal health and animal production. The goal of this work is to measure the effects of tannins in ground pine bark as a partial feed replacement on feed intake, dietary apparent digestibility, nitrogen balance, and mineral retention in meat goats.ResultsEighteen Kiko cross goats (initial BW = 31.8 ± 1.49 kg) were randomly assigned to three treatment groups (n = 6). Dietary treatments were tested: control (0 % pine bark powder (PB) and 30 % wheat straw (WS)); 15 % PB and 15 % WS, and 30 % PB and 0 % WS. Although dry matter (DM) intake and digestibility were not affected (P > 0.10) by feeding PB, neutral detergent fiber (linear; P = 0.01), acid detergent fiber (linear; P = 0.001) and lignin digestibility (linear; P = 0.01) decreased, and crude protein (CP) digestibility tended to decrease (P = 0.09) as PB increased in the diet, apparent retention of Ca (P = 0.09), P (P = 0.03), Mg (P = 0.01), Mn (P = 0.01), Zn (P = 0.01) and Fe (P = 0.09) also increased linearly. Nitrogen intake and fecal N excretion were not affected (P > 0.05) by addition of PB in the diet, but N balance in the body was quadratically increased (P < 0.01) in the 15 % PB diet compared to other diets. This may be due to more rumen escape protein and less excreted N in the urine with the 15 % PB diet. The study showed that a moderate level of tannin-containing pine bark supplementation could improve gastrointestinal nitrogen balance with the aim of improving animal performance.ConclusionThese results suggest that tannin-containing PB has negative impact on fiber, lignin, and protein digestibility, but positively impacted on N-balance.