Tragopogon Porrifolius Research Articles

Tragopogon Porrifolius improves serum lipid profile and increases short‐term satiety in rats

Tragopogon Porrifolius is an edible plant commonly used in folk medicine in Mediterranean countries. This study investigates the potential role of aqueous extract of the aerial part of T. porrifolius in lipemia, and appetite regulation using the rat model. Food intake, abdominal fat percent, blood lipid profile, liver weights and liver enzymes were assessed after 4 weeks of extract intake via drinking water (50, 100, or 250 mg/kg bodyweight) in standard and high‐fat dietary conditions. In a separate study, the short term effect of T. porrifolius water extract on food intake was assessed. Results showed that treatment for four weeks with the plant extract caused a marked improvement in the lipid profile (triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol). Body weight, food intake and intra‐abdominal fat were also lower in animals given the plant extract at doses of 100 and 250 mg/kg body weight. In addition, T. porrifolius extract preload produced a dose dependent decrease in food intake observed over 24 hours. In conclusion, the aqueous extract of T. porrifolius exhibited potential benefits in lipemia and increased satiety with no visible adverse effect.

Influence of ridge cultivation and phacelia intercrop on weed infestation of root vegetables of the Asteraceae family

Abstract The field experiment focused on three high-inulin vegetable crops: chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. sativum Bisch), black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica L.) and common salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius L.), and took into account two cultivation methods (flat soil and ridges) and a phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia L.) intercrop, the biomass of which was mixed with the soil during pre-winter ploughing. Cultivation without an intercrop served as the control. The studies aimed at evaluating the influence of ridge cultivation using a phacelia intercrop on the species composition and population of vegetable weeds as compared to traditional flat-soil cultivation with no intercrop. In total, 24 taxa in the primary and 31 taxa in the secondary weed populations (mostly characteristic for vegetable crops) were recorded in high-inulin species plantations. Monocarpic species such as Senecio vulgaris, Chenopodium album and Lamium amplexicaule dominated in the spring, while Stellaria media, Capsella bursa-pastoris and Urtica urens were most numerous at the end of the vegetation period. Applying phacelia as the intercrop and ploughing its biomass before winter significantly reduced the primary weed population for all of the cultivated crop species as compared to the no-intercrop cultivations. Phacelia grown as the intercrop reduced the occurrence of Senecio vulgaris, while favouring the development of Lamium amplexicaule. The cultivation system affected the primary weed infestation of vegetables, whereas it had no impact on the level of secondary weed infestation. At the beginning of the vegetation periods, fewer weeds grew in ridges than in the flat soil system. The crop species had no effect on the primary weed infestation, while it influenced weed numbers in the secondary. The lowest number of weeds was recorded in the secondary weed infestation of chicory, the well-developed leaf rosettes of which efficiently eliminated most of the weeds.

Characterisation of volatile composition of white salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius L.) by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and simultaneous distillation–extraction (SDE) coupled to GC–MS

Two analytical procedures were applied, HS-SPME and SDE, coupled to GC–MS to analyse the volatile composition of white salsify. More than 80 of volatile compounds which belonged to distinct chemical families were analysed. SDE led to the identification of mainly high molecular weight sesquiterpenes, acids and esters. Given that SDE involves high temperatures, heat-sensitive compounds may undergo chemical alteration or artefacts may appear. Results obtained show that SPME was useful for the analysis of alcohols and hydrocarbons of low molecular weight and high volatility that are involved in the characteristic volatile profile of salsify and its sensory perception.

Fruit size decline from the margin to the center of capitula is the result of resource competition and architectural constraints

Plants produce repeated structures, such as leaves, flowers, and fruits, which differ in size and shape. One example of this is fruit size, which is commonly observed to decrease from proximal to distal positions within an inflorescence. The resource limitation hypothesis proposes that because proximal fruits usually develop first, they have temporal priority on access to resources over distal fruits. The non-mutually exclusive architectural effects hypothesis suggests that these position effects in fruit size may also be due to inherent architectural variation along infructescence axes. We separated out the effects of resource competition and inflorescence architecture by removing the outer or the inner flowers within capitula of Tragopogon porrifolius. We also studied if fruit position influenced germination and seedling performance in order to assess fitness consequences of position effects. Inner fruits were significantly heavier when outer flowers were removed. However, outer fruits did not significantly increase when inner flowers were removed, suggesting later fruits were limited by the development of early fruits. Our findings also suggest that architectural constraints restricted the size of inner fruits in comparison with outer ones. We found that both resource competition and inflorescence architecture affected the fruit size of T. porrifolius, even though this species does not have linear, indeterminate inflorescences. We advance the hypothesis that, when such effects on fitness occur, resource competition-mediated position effects could turn, in evolutionary time, into architectural position effects.

Volatile constituents of the aerial parts of white salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius L., Asteraceae)

Tragopogon porrifolius L. grows as a vegetable in southern Italy and all parts of it are edible. In the present study the volatile components of the aerial part are described. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed the presence of 38 components in all. On the whole, the volatile fraction was constituted mainly by carbonylic compounds (24.6%), phenols (21.5%) and fatty acids and esters (19.7%). The most abundant compounds were 4-vinyl guaiacol (19.0%), hexadecanoic acid (17.9%), hexahydrofarnesylacetone (15.8%) and hentriacontane (10.7%).

Tissue‐specific silencing of homoeologs in natural populations of the recent allopolyploid Tragopogon mirus

Recent years have seen rapid advances in our knowledge of the transcriptomic consequences of allopolyploidy, primarily through the study of polyploid crops and model systems. However, few studies have distinguished between homoeologs and between tissues, and still fewer have examined young natural allopolyploid populations of independent origin, whose parental species are still present in the same location. Here, we examined the expression of 13 homoeolog pairs in seven tissues of 10 plants of allotetraploid Tragopogon mirus from two natural populations formed by independent polyploidizations between Tragopogon dubius and Tragopogon porrifolius c. 40 generations ago. We compare these with patterns of expression in the diploid parental species from the same locality. Of the 910 assays in T. mirus, 576 (63%) showed expression of both homoeologs, 63 (7%) showed no expression of either homoeolog, 186 (20%) showed nonexpression of one homoeolog across all tissues of a plant, and 72 (8%) showed non-expression of a homoeolog in a particular tissue within a plant. We found two cases of reciprocal tissue-specific expression between homoeologs, potentially indicative of subfunctionalization. Our study shows that tissue-specific silencing, and even apparent subfunctionalization, can arise rapidly in the early generations of natural allopolyploidy.

Tragoponol, a dimeric dihydroisocoumarin from Tragopogon porrifolius L.

Abstract A phytochemical re-investigation of Tragopogon porrifolius L. (Asteraceae) yielded (7S,15S)-2,4,12-trihydroxy-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-10-methoxy-15-(4-methoxyphenyl)-7,8,15,16-tetrahydrodibenzo[c,i][1,7]dioxacyclododecine-5,13-dione, named tragoponol, a dimeric dihydroisocoumarin. The compound, which represents the first of its kind, is comprised of the open-chained forms of two different mono-methoxylated dihydroisocoumarin moieties, scorzocreticin and hongkongenin, which are connected via two ester bonds to form a macrolide with two lactone moieties featuring a 12-membered ring. The structure of the nearly symmetrical compound was established by HR mass spectrometry, CD measurements, and extensive 1D and 2D NMR experiments.

Investigations of the underground parts of medicinally used plants and possible adulterations of various Cardueae and Cichorieae

Asteraceae is the taxonomically most diverse family of plants comprising of more than 23,000 species and about 1,600 genera. Numerous representatives such as Taraxacum officinale, Cichorium intybus, Silybum marianum, and Hieracium pilosella to mention only few thereby have a long history in both traditional and western medicine. The anatomy of rhizomes and roots of a representative number of species from the tribes Cardueae and Cichorieae was analysed in detail as respective comparative studies on underground parts of medicinally used drugs and possible adulterations are missing yet for these diverse taxa. Until now, 28 genera and 37 species have been collected and examined by means of light microscopy and a database of typical anatomical characters created. In addition, some of the studied species were cultivated to follow the ontogenetic development of the underground organs at different states of growth. Particular attention was thereby spent to the secretory system: Endodermal resin ducts are characteristic to the Cardueae, whereas, according to literature data, these anatomical elements are restricted within the tribe Cichorieae to Scorzonera hispanica, Tragopogon porrifolius, and the genus Scolymus. Cichorium intybus and Lapsana communis were reported to exhibit the „doubling“ of the endodermis, but with ducts missing [1].

Phenolic compounds from Tragopogon porrifolius L.

Phenolic compounds from Tragopogon porrifolius L.

Pathogenicity of fungi colonising the soil after the cultivation of cover crops towards the seedlings of salsify Tragopogon porrifolius var. sativus (Gaterau) Br.

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to conduct pathogenicity tests for salsify seedlings in a soil environment colonised by selected fungi species, after the cultivation of cover crops such as oats, common vetch and tancy phacelia. A growth chamber experiment used the seeds of ‘Mamut’ salsify and soil overgrown with Altenaria alternata, Fusarium culmorum, F. oxysporum, Pythium irregulare, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The pathogenicity of these microorganisms towards salsify seedlings was established on the basis of the grown plants, their health and a disease index calculated on the basis of a fivedegree scale. The examined isolates considerably weakened the emergence and health of salsify. Based on pathogenicity tests, such species as R. solani, S. sclerotiorum and P. irregulare were considered as the major cause of seedling necrosis and root rot of the plants of the Tragopogon porrifolius var. sativus. Among the studied soil-borne plant pathogens, the most pathogenic ones towards salsify seedlings proved to be the isolates of R. solani, S. sclerotiorum and P. irregulare, whereas the least harmful included A. alternata and F. culmorum.

Comparative evaluation of flavonoid content in assessing quality of wild and cultivated vegetables for human consumption

AbstractBACKGROUND: Owing to the demand for ‘health foods’, commercial development of wild vegetables may find a sizable market niche if adequate agricultural methods are used to domesticate such species. Available techniques of cultivation (even in traditional farming) may provide many advantages, such as enhancement of the content of active principles in plants and improvement in the quality of the raw material to be processed on an industrial scale. In this context, the flavonoid composition and content of roots and leaves from five varieties of wild herbs (Cichorium intybus, Portulaca oleracea, Tragopogon porrifolius, Urtica dioica and Valerianella eriocarpa) and their cultivated relatives in central Italy were compared. The aims of the study were (i) to reveal the metabolic profile of particular bioactive metabolites present in some unusual food species by using a simple method of analysis, (ii) to quantify and compare the amount of polyphenolic metabolites in wild and cultivated plants and (iii) to evaluate the effect of growing conditions on polyphenolic variability. Data were subjected to statistical analysis.RESULTS: Each herb possessed a specific flavonoid fingerprint as indicated by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) data. The total phenolic content in cultivated leaves was greater than that in wild leaves for all herbs examined (P < 0.05), with the exception of P. oleracea.CONCLUSION: The results show that the polyphenolic content of the majority of the cultivated herbs (edible parts) is no lower than that of their wild relatives, thus indicating that these species are suitable for cultivation. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

Bibenzyls and dihydroisocoumarins from white salsify ( Tragopogon porrifolius subsp. porrifolius)

A phytochemical investigation of three accessions of Tragopogon porrifolius L. subsp. porrifolius (Asteraceae, Lactuceae) yielded three new bibenzyl derivatives, 5,4′-dihydroxy-3-α- l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-β- d-xylopyranosyloxybibenzyl, 2-carboxyl-3,4′-dihydroxy-5-β- d-xylopyranosyloxybibenzyl, tragopogonic acid (2′carboxyl-3′,5′,4″-trihydroxyphenylethanone) and three dihydroisocoumarin derivatives, including the new natural product 6- O-methylscorzocreticoside I. One of the isolated bibenzyl derivatives is considered to be a precursor to the biosynthesis of dihydroisocoumarins. Structures of new compounds were established by HR mass spectrometry, extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and CD spectroscopy. Moreover, radical scavenging activities of the polyphenolic compounds were measured using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay; two of the bibenzyls showed moderate and two of the dihydroisocoumarins showed weak radical scavenging activities. The chemosystematic impact of bibenzyls and dihydroisocoumarins is discussed briefly.

AN INVESTIGATION OF PUTATIVE TRAGOPOGON MIRUS (ASTERACEAE) POPULATIONS IN OREGON, USA

Tragopogon mirus is a recently formed allotetraploid species, with Tragopogon dubius and Tragopogon porrifolius as the parental species. A study was conducted on Tragopogon populations in Oregon, USA to determine if T. dubius and T. porrifolius hybridization and subsequent polyploid speciation had occurred. We examined ploidy levels as well as nucleotide data from the chloroplast trnT-trnL spacer and nuclear ribosomal ITS regions. While no hybridization or polyploid speciation was found, a seven base pair length mutation found in the chloroplast trnT-trnL spacer region should prove useful for determining parentage in populations of T. mirus.

In Vitro Fermentation Properties of Selected Fructooligosaccharide-Containing Vegetables and In Vivo Colonic Microbial Populations Are Affected by the Diets of Healthy Human Infants

Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) and gobo (Arctium lappa) are root vegetables that contain high concentrations of naturally occurring fructooligosaccharides (FOS), nondigestible oligosaccharides that have prebiotic effects on the intestinal microflora. The objective of this study was to compare colonic microbial populations and the fermentation characteristics of gobo and salsify in breast-fed vs. formula-fed infants. Fecal inoculum from breast-fed and formula-fed infants consuming either no solid foods, cereal, or fruit and vegetable purees were fermented in vitro with sweet potato puree plus gobo, salsify puree or a control vegetable, carrot. Breast-fed and formula-fed infants had similar fecal bacteria concentrations, with the exception of Clostridium perfringens (P < 0.10). Introduction of solid foods into the diet of infants was associated with increased fecal concentrations of bifidobacteria (P < 0.10) and decreased concentrations of total aerobes (P < 0.01), C. perfringens (P < 0.001) and Escherichia coli (P < 0.10). Inoculum from feces of breast-fed infants resulted in greater acetate production, whereas inoculum from feces of formula-fed infants resulted in greater propionate and butyrate production (P < 0.05). Fermentation of FOS-containing vegetables by infant fecal inoculum did not differ significantly from fermentation of carrots as assessed by total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production. The addition of solids to the diet of infants was associated with increased production of acetate and total SCFA (P < 0.05). It appears that both the composition and fermentative activity of the colonic microflora of human infants is affected by breast-feeding and solid food consumption, but not by short-term exposure to low concentrations of FOS-containing substrates.

The biology of Canadian weeds. 110. Tragopogon dubius Scop., Tragopogon pratensis L., and Tragopogon porrifolius L.

Several types of salsify or goat's-beard, Tragopogon species (Asteraceae), are found in Canada as biennial or monocarpic perennial herbs with yellow or purple flowers. Introduced from Eurasia, T. pratensis and T. dubius have become established in all provinces in Canada except Newfoundland and the territories. Tragopogon porrifolius tends to be more local, but is also found in southern areas of most provinces. Tragopogon species hybridize readily, and the tetraploid species T. mirus and T. miscellus have resulted from crosses among the three diploid Tragopogon species in North America. Salsify species produce relatively large umbrella-like pappuses which promote long-distance dispersal. These species also invade rangeland, and are considered noxious weeds in some parts of Canada. Key words: Tragopogon dubius, Tragopogon pratensis, Tragopogon porrifolius, Tragopogon mirus, Tragopogon miscellus, salsify, goat's-beard, Asteraceae, Compositae, hybridization, weed biology

Respiratory Rate and Vital Heat of Some Specialty Vegetables at Various Storage Temperatures

Respiratory rate was measured and vital heat calculated for 18 specialty vegetables {arugula or roquette [Eruca sativa Miller], banana flower bud [Musa ×paradisiaca L. var. paradisiaca], bitter gourd [Momordica charantia L.], cassava [Manihot esculanta Crantz], chayote [Sechium edule (Jacq.) Swartz], Chinese chive [Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel], Chinese water chestnut [Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex Henschel], drumstick [Moringa oleifera Lam.], giant or elephant garlic [Allium scorodoprasm L.], guar [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.], hyacinth bean [Lablab purpurus (L.) Sweet.], Jerusalem artichoke [Helianthus tuberosus L.], jicama [Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urban], methi [Trigonella foenum-graecum L.], salsify [Tragopogon porrifolius L.], tindora [Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt], tomatillo [Physalis ixocarpa Brot. ex Hornem.], and tumeric [Curcuma longa L.]} at 0, 5, 10, and 20 °C. Respiration rates increased more or less exponentially with increasing storage temperature in all the vegetables tested, CO2 varying from 28 to 302 mg·kg−1·h−1 at 20 °C for tumeric and drumstick, respectively. At 0 °C, the same products had the lowest and highest respiration rates of the products measured (i.e., CO2 at 4.5 and 28 mg·kg-1·h−1, respectively). Among the vegetables tested, above-ground plant parts such as leaves, fruit, and flowers generally had higher respiration rates than subterrancan storage organs such as roots, corms, and tubers. Vital heat produced ranged from 49 J·kg-1·h-1 for tumeric at 0 °C to 3272 J·kg-1·h-1 for drumstick at 20 °C.

Novel acylated saponins from Tragopogon porrifolius L. Isolation and the structures of tragopogonsaponins A-R.

Eighteen novel triterpenoid saponins, named tragopogonsaponins A-R, were isolated from the roots of Tragopogon porrifolius L. (Compositae). The structures of these saponins were determined on the basis of spectral and chemical evidence. Seventeen of the saponins contained phenyl propionic acid derivative as ester moiety. Their structures were elucidated as oleananae-type triterpene saponins which have echinocystic acid as the aglycone moiety.

Pollen wall morphogenesis in Tragopogon porrifolius L. (Compositae: Lactuceae) and its taxonomic significance

Pollen development in Tragopogon porrifolius has been studied in the scanning electron microscope to establish the origin of taxonomically significant features. As in other members of the tribe recently investigated the echinolophate condition is shown to result from differential deposition of the tetrad callose wall and, subsequently, of primexine. Tragopogon differs from other Lactuceae in the absence of tectum and columellae in the lacunae, this also appears to be the result of differential primexine deposition. The development of onci and their extrusion at the apertures are described. The contribution of developmental studies of pollen grains to systematics is discussed.

Changes in polyamine concentration during seed germination

Phaseolus mungo seeds 0 to 10 days after germination contained putrescine, spermidine, spermine, cadaverine, agmatine and tyramine. The rate of biosynthesis of total polyamines, proteins and RNA in the developing seeds follows similar profiles, reaching maxima 3 hr from germination. Putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine and agmatine were the major amines found in Pisum sativum 0–7 days after germination. RNA and proteins seem to follow the same pattern as polyamines during the first 12 hr in the developing pea seeds. RNA reaches a peak at 15 hr and polyamines and proteins peak 24 hr after germination. A rise to total polyamine concentration was also observed in seeds of Tragopogon porrifolius, Zea mays and Triticum aestivum 2–12 hr after germination.

Albugo tragopogonis . [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria

Abstract A description is provided for Albugo tragopogonis . Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: On members of Compositae only (Jorstad, 1964). DISEASE: White rust of salsify ( Tragopogon porrifolius ). Mostly infecting the leaves, rarely the stem (38, 674; 43, 62. 2797). Sometimes very damaging (45, 471). GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Australia (51, 2749; 43, 2797). USA. S. America, Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa (Wilson, 1907). TRANSMISSION: Through overwintering oospores in soil and plant debris. Sporangia disseminated through rain-splash or wind.