Spinosa Species Research Articles

The Survey of the Fruit of Capparis spinosa Extracts Effects on the Expressional Profile of Essential Self-renewal Genes in MCF7 Cell Line

Background: Several drugs have been proposed for the treatment of breast cancer, but none has fully treated the disease so far. Methods: MCF7 cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium, consisting of different concentrations of aqueous-alcoholic extract of the fruit of Capparis spinosa (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 5 mg/mL) for 48 and 72 hours. MTT assay was used to determine the cell proliferation inhibition (IC50). The percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by flow cytometry analysis using Annexin V/PI apoptosis detection kit. RT-PCR method was carried out to assess the fold changes of OCT4, NANOG, and SOX2 genes. Two-way ANOVA (tukeys) and t-test (repeated measure) were used for the statistical analysis of obtained data MTT assay and RT-PCR method, respectively. p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Our results have shown that cell death was induced by increasing fruit of Capparis spinosa extract concentration. IC50 was observed at 48 h culture period with 4.81 mg/mL, and 72 h with 2.72 mg/mL fruit extract, respectively. Flow cytometry results exhibited an obviously significant augmentation in apoptotic MF7 cells. According to RT-PCR findings on the fruit of Capparis spinosa extract-treated cells, the mean expression of OCT4, NANOG, and SOX2 genes decreased after 48 and 72 h of incubation with IC50 concentration compared to controls. Conclusion: The fruit of the Capparis spinosa species was able to decrease the expression of self-renewal genes in the MCF7 cell line. Therefore, the fruit of Capparis spinosa extract can be considered a promising candidate for the management of human breast cancer after clinical trials.

Genetic diversity and structure of Slovenian native germplasm of plum species (P. domestica L., P. cerasifera Ehrh. and P. spinosa L.).

Slovenia has particular climatic, soil, geographic and historical conditions that lead to long tradition of plum cultivation and use. In this work, a set of 11 SSR and three universal cpDNA markers, as well as flow cytometry, were used to (1) evaluate the genetic diversity of 124 accessions of the three Prunus species (P. domestica L., P. cerasifera Ehrh., and P. spinosa L.), (2) investigate the possible involvement of P. cerasifera and P. spinosa species in P. domestica origin, (3) study the genetic relationships and variability among the most typical P. domestica accessions present in Slovenia. Ten haplotypes of cpDNA were identified and clustered into three groups according to the Neighbor-Joining analysis (NJ). All 11 SSR primer pairs were polymorphic, revealing 116 unique genotypes. A total of 328 alleles were detected with an average value of 29.82 alleles per locus, showing relatively high diversity. Bayesian analysis of genetic structure was used to identify two ancestral populations in the analyses of all three species as well as in a separate set consisting of P. domestica material only. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) showed that accessions clustered largely in agreement with Bayesian analysis. Neighbor-Joining analysis grouped 71 P. domestica accessions into three clusters with many subgroups that exhibited complex arrangement. Most accessions clustered in agreement with traditional pomological groups, such as common prunes, mirabelle plums and greengages. In this study, the analyses revealed within P. domestica pool valuable local landraces, such as traditional prunes or bluish plums, which seem to be highly interesting from a genetic point of view. Moreover, complementary approaches allowed us to distinguish between the three species and to gain insights into the origin of plum. The results will be instrumental in understanding the diversity of Slovenian plum germplasm, improving the conservation process, recovering local genotypes and enriching existing collections of plant genetic resources.

Seasonal Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Characterization of Five Prunus spinosa Ecotypes

Prunus spinosa species is distributed across wide range of geographical areas which are subject to climatic, edaphic factors and long-term divergent selection. This could lead to local adaptation hence ecotypes in terms of morphological, physiologically and or biochemical inclination to their local environment. To investigate whether the species (Prunus spinosa) has been influenced by their local environmental conditions and whether populations (ecotypes) are adapted to local conditions, cuttings from different demarcated areas of origin in Germany and Italy were sourced and cultivated optimally in common container area. Growth, bud sprout and bud set were evaluated in spring, summer and autumn respectively. Soluble sugars (Glucose, fructose, sucrose and starch), N, P, K, and proline concentrations were analysed in spring and autumn for three years. The findings indicated that plants grown from different locations mostly differed in N, P, K, soluble sugars and starch in spring. Nonetheless, these geographic variations were hardly observed either in summer or in autumn. On phenology, German populations did not differ at all in phenology (flushing and growth cessation) while the Italian population always sprouted earlier and ceased growth later. The results indicate that the German populations are not differentiated by climatic variations across latitude or altitude. In contrast the Italian population is differentiated from German population Brandenburg mostly by latitudinal differentiation. Nevertheless, their inherent ability to sprout earlier and late growth cessation might expose the population to frequent frost damage when transplanted to more northern latitude.

Fruit-based allometry of Strychnos madagascariensis and S. spinosa (Loganiaceae) in the savannah woodlands of the Umhlabuyalingana municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Savannah woodlands of South Africa are dominated by fruit tree species that have a potential for commercial harvest from the wild. However, allometric equations that enable the quantification of fruit biomass of trees are non-existent. The aim of this study was to develop fruit-based allometric equations for Strychnos madagascariensis and S. spinosa species. A total of 80 trees were selected by applying a stratified sampling approach according to four stem diameter classes during fruit ripening period. For each tree, the following parameters were measured: fruit biomass, diameter at breast height (DBH), canopy diameter, and total height. Six forms of the allometric models were fitted to the data using ordinary least squares method. The Akaike information criterion was used to select the best models and the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) was used to evaluate the quality of the predictions. DBH was the only appropriate variable in the prediction of the fruit biomass and explained 99.9% of the variation in fruit biomass. The simple linear regressions linking the DBH (in cm) to the total fresh fruit biomass (FB; in kg) were the best models and were expressed by (1) FB = 1.0243 × DBH1.1841; and (2) FB = 1.0297 × DBH1.1956; respectively for Strychnos madagascariensis and Strychnos spinosa. These equations provided realistic predictions of fresh fruit biomass. They induced on average a prediction error of 5.4 kg on the total fresh fruit biomass of a tree. Larger trees (DBH > 25 cm for S. madagascariensis; DBH > 11 cm for S. spinosa) were more susceptible to fruit biomass prediction errors than smaller trees. This study showed that simple linear regression basing on DBH is the best approach to estimate fresh fruit biomass of trees in savannah woodlands.

Studies on Polyphenols Isolated from Branches of Prunus spinosa L. Species

The aim of this study was to investigate the crude extracts isolated from branches of Prunus spinosa L. (Rosaceae), in order to quantify polyphenols and tannins using instrumental methods (UV-Vis spectrometry and HPTLC densitometry). The qualitative analysis on biomass revealed the presence of valuable compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins. HPTLC fingerprinting of crude methanol extract showed several peaks, with different Rf values, corresponding to phytocompounds such as chlorogenic acid (Rf 0.52), neochlorogenic acid (Rf 0.58), caffeic acid (Rf 0.95) and protocatechuic acid (Rf 0.96). The quantitative analysis revealed that the branches of P. spinosa contain polyphenols (2.97�0.059%g gallic acid equivalent/g dried vegetal material) and tannins (0.90�0.033%g tannic acid equivalent/g dried vegetal material). The HPTLC densitometry analysis offers information about the amount of neochlorogenic acid in the vegetal material 0.12% g/g. The content in polyphenols and tannins suggests the possibilities to use this species to separate compounds with antioxidant potential. These results open perspectives for complex valorization of Prunus spinosa species, a bioresource known only for phytotherapeutical and nutritional potential of their fruits.

Variability analysis of soil carbon and nitrogen storage under Prosopis cineraria, Calotropis procera and Ziziphus spinosa species in the South of Kerman

با توجه به گستردگی و سطح اراضی مناطق گرم و خشک، ضرورت مطالعه آنها از جنبه­های زیست­محیطی به منظور برنامه­ریزی و مدیریت بهینه این منابع اهمیت ویژه­ای دارد. با این وجود شناخت گونه­های درختی مناطق گرم و خشک و تأثیری که بر حاصلخیزی، پویایی و بهبود خاک می­گذارد بسیار حائز اهمیت می­باشد. به منظور مدیریت پایدار در این مناطق، اثرگذاری پوشش­های اراضی با گونه­های مختلف درختی شامل کهور، استبرق و کنار بر ذخایر کربن و نیتروژن خاک در جنوب کرمان مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. نمونه­های خاک از عمق 20-0 سانتی­متری نمونه­برداری شد. جرم مخصوص ظاهری، رطوبت، pH، هدایت الکتریکی، کربن، نیتروژن، فسفر، پتاسیم، کلسیم، منیزیم و تنفس میکروبی خاک و ویژگی­های شیمیایی برگ شامل کربن، نیتروژن، فسفر، پتاسیم، کلسیم و منیزیم اندازه­گیری شدند. تجزیه واریانس مقادیر مشخصه­های فیزیکوشیمیایی- بیولوژیکی خاک و شیمیایی برگ حاکی از وجود تفاوت­های آماری معنی­دار در ارتباط با توده­های درختی و عرصه بدون پوشش می­باشد. نتایج نشان داد که بیشترین مقادیر ذخیره کربن و نیتروژن خاک به گونه درختی کنار اختصاص داشته در حالی که پایین­ترین مقادیر ذخایر کربن و نیتروژن خاک در عرصه بدون پوشش مشاهده شد و گونه­های کهور و استبرق حالت بینابینی را نشان دادند. نتایج حاکی از آن است که گونه­های درختی سازگار با آب و هوای گرم و خشک جنوب کرمان، کیفیت خاک را بهبود می­بخشند. نتایج بر این امر دلالت دارد که گونه درختی کنار در راستای کاهش اثر تغییرات اقلیمی، ذخیره کربن و نیتروژن خاک را نسبت به دیگر گونه­ها بیشتر تقویت می­کند. بر مبنای مشخصه­های مورد مطالعه در این پژوهش، جهت بهبود کیفیت و پویایی خاک و همچنین افزایش ذخیره کربن و نیتروژن خاک در مناطق وسیع جنوب کرمان، درخت­کاری با گونه کنار می­تواند مورد توجه و ارزیابی قرار گیرد.

Physicochemical properties of caper species seed oils collected from two different harvest years.

In this study the physicochemical properties, fatty acid composition and sterol and tocopheol contents of caper species seed oils were determined. Brightness (L*) values of oils obtained from caper seeds ranged between 36.76 and 53.48. Viscosity values of oils of Capparis spinosa species were between 41.1 and 48.6 mPa. While oleic acid levels were high in C. spinosa species oils, linoleic acid levels were high in Capparis ovata species oils. Sterol contents of crude oils were between 3140 and 3272 mg kg(-1) (mean 3220 mg kg(-1)) for C. spinosa species and between 3275 and 3312 mg kg(-1) (mean 3298 mg kg(-1)) for C. ovata species. α-Tocopherol contents of C. spinosa and C. ovata oils averaged 3.87 and 2.63 mg per 100 g respectively. Radical-scavenging activities of crude oils averaged 29.78% (C. spinosa species) and 26.09% (C. ovata species). Total phenolic concentrations in crude oils averaged 0.642 mg g(-1) for C. ovata species (P < 0.01). Caper seeds are a natural source of vegetable oils that are beneficial in terms of health, oil stability and resistance to oxidation.

Mineral contents of seed and seed oils of Capparis species growing wild in Turkey

The mineral contents of seed and seed oils of Capparis species growing wild in Turkey were established by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Capparis spinosa var. spinosa (2010) and Capparis ovata var. canescens variety (2009) were determined to be rich in terms of mineral matter as 19,514.60 and 16,995.92ppm as a total, respectively. C. spinosa var. spinosa collected from Muğla-Milas region (2009) had the highest amount of Ca with 1,010.67ppm in C. spinosa species and in C. ovata species. C. ovata var. canescens collected from Ankara-Beypazarı (2010) region had the highest amount of Ca with 833.92ppm Ca amount in C. spinosa var. spinosa, inermis, herbaceae seeds decreased in 2010. C. spinosa var. inermis collected from Antalya-Serik (2010) in C. spinosa species had rich amount of Ca with 123.78ppm and C. ovata var. palaestina seed oils collected from Mardin-Savur region (2009) had rich amount of Ca with 253.71ppm in C. ovata species. The oil of C. spinosa var. herbaceae variety collected from Mardin-Midyat region (2010) was determined to have the highest major mineral matter (Ca, K, Mg, Na, and P) with 1,424.37ppm in C. spinosa species. It was also determined that as a result, caper seed and oils were found to be important sources of nutrients and essential elements.

Systematics of north African Agama (Reptilia: Agamidae): a new species from the central Saharan mountains

We studied the taxonomic status of the north African Agama species A. impalearis, A. castroviejoi, and A. boueti. The study of recently collected specimens and museum material, as well as phylogenetic analyses of a short 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragment, revealed the presence of an undescribed species in Adrar des Ifoghas (Mali), Aïr Mountains (Niger), Ahaggar Mountains (Algeria) and Tassili n’Ajjer (Algeria, Lybia), previously mistaken either as A. impalearis or A. agama. The new species, Agama tassiliensis n. sp., clearly belongs to the impalearis – boueti – spinosa species group but differs from these species, among other characters, by its red, reddish-orange or orange vertebral stripe in males, long and angular head, long limbs and toes (with 4 th toe usually slightly longer than 3 rd toe), long but low nuchal crest made of 10 to 15 spines (rarely 8–9 spines) and large number of supralabials (10–16, usually around 12). Interspecific uncorrected p- distances based on the 16S rDNA gene fragment are high, ranging from 3.9% between A. boueti and A. impalearis to 7.9% between A. spinosa and A. impalearis. The new species is sympatric with A. boueti at least in the Aïr Mountains and exhibits average mtDNA divergences of 6.2%, 7.4%, and 7.6% with A. spinosa, A. impalearis, and A. boueti, respectively. Agama boueti is paraphyletic relative to A. castroviejoi in the mtDNA tree, and mtDNA genetic divergences between populations of both species are lower than 1.0%, suggesting that A. castroviejoi is better treated as a junior synonym of A. boueti pending more detailed analyses. Scattered mountain ranges in the Sahara seem to have promoted lineage divergence and ultimately speciation in this group. Further work should be done to study species taxonomy and evolution in those areas.

Descriptions of Two New Species of thePlatylomia spinosaSpecies Group (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

ABSTRACT Two new species, Platylomia constanti Lee, sp. nov. and Platylomia maxima Lee, sp. nov., of the Platylomia spinosa species group are described from Luzon, Philippines. These new species are distinguished from their congeners by the combination of the following characters: larger body, long operculum, wide abdomen, presence of infuscation only at bases of apical cells 2 and 3 on the fore wing, blackish ground color of the dorsal and ventral parts of the body, and the different shape of the uncal lobe. The 2 new species are different from each other not only in collection altitude and season but also in morphology such as the shape of the dorsal beak, shape of the male operculum, shapes of some markings on the body, and the length of the basal vein of the apical cell 1.

Glassfrogs (Anura: Centrolenidae) of Kaieteur National Park, Guyana, with notes on the distribution and taxonomy of some species of the family in the Guiana Shield

We provide new distribution records and discuss the taxonomy of three species of Glassfrogs from the Guiana Shield: Centrolene gorzulai, Cochranella helenae, and Hyalinobatrachium taylori. These three species were collected in Kaieteur National Park in west-central Guyana. Taxonomic changes were based on morphological, bioacoustic and genetic (a fragment of the mitochondrial ribosomal gene 16S) comparisons. We consider Centrolene papillahallicum to be a junior synonym of C. gorzulai. We assign the Venezuelan population of Cochranella oyampiensis to Co. helenae and describe the phenotypic variation of this taxon. We refine the description of Cochranella oyampiensis and transfer it to the Co. spinosa species group. We propose the new name Cochranella helenae Group for those species of Cochranella assigned to the former Co. oyampiensis Group. We report the first record of Cochranella midas for French Guiana, and the first record of Hyalinobatrachium nouraguense, new emendation, for Suriname.

Karyotype characterization of Argania spinosa (L.) Skeel (Sapotaceae)

Argania spinosa (L.) Skeel is an endemic species from Southwest Morocco being the unique representative of the tropical Sapotaceae in this area. The cytology of this species is poorly known in spite of its great socio-economical and ecological interest in these arid and semi-arid zones. The objective of this work is to characterize the karyotype of A. spinosa species in somatic cells from root tips. Samples analyzed showed a karyotype constituted for ten pairs of chromosomes (2 n = 2 x = 20) and the putative karyotype proposed has been of four submetacentric and six metacentric pairs. The four submetacentric pairs were the longest with a mean total length between 1.14 and 1.69 μm and the total length of six metacentric pairs were between 0.59 and 1.03 μm.