Exploring American Elderberry Compounds for Antioxidant, Antiviral, and Antibacterial Properties Through High-Throughput Screening Assays Combined with Untargeted Metabolomics.

American elderberry ( subsp. ) is a rapidly emerging new perennial crop for Missouri, recognized for its high level of bioactive compounds with significant health benefits, including antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant properties. A high-throughput screening assay combined with untargeted metabolomics analysis was utilized on American elderberry juice from 21 genotypes to explore and characterize these bioactive compounds.

Sex chromosome turnover plays an important role in the maintenance of barriers to post-speciation introgression in willows.

Almost all species in the genus (willow) are dioecious and willows have variable sex-determining systems, the role of this variation in maintaining species barriers is relatively untested. We first analyzed the sex determination systems (SDS) of two species, and , whose positions in the phylogeny make them important for understanding a sex chromosome turnover that has been detected in their relatives, and that changed the system from male (XX/XY) to female (ZW/ZZ) heterogamety. We show that both species have male heterogamety, with sex-linked regions (SLRs) on chromosome 15 (termed a 15XY system).

Plant identification applications do not reliably identify toxic and edible plants in the American Midwest.

Introduction: Exposure to potentially toxic plants is a global problem, resulting in thousands of calls to poison centers and emergency department visits annually and occasional deaths. Persons with limited botanical knowledge may be tempted to rely on smartphone applications to determine if plants are safe to forage. This study evaluated the reliability of several popular smartphone applications to identify foraged foods and distinguish them from potentially toxic plants in the Midwestern United States.

Botanical inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry: a phylogenetic perspective.

Throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the use of botanical dietary supplements in the United States has increased, yet their safety and efficacy against COVID-19 remains underexplored. The Quave Natural Product Library is a phylogenetically diverse collection of botanical and fungal natural product extracts including popular supplement ingredients. Evaluation of 1867 extracts and 18 compounds for virus spike protein binding to host cell ACE2 receptors in a SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus system identified 310 extracts derived from 188 species across 76 families (3 fungi, 73 plants) that exhibited ≥ 50% viral entry inhibition activity at 20 µg/mL.

The phylogeny of Salix revealed by whole genome re-sequencing suggests different sex-determination systems in major groups of the genus.

Background And Aims: The largest genus of Salicaceae sensu lato, Salix, has been shown to consist of two main clades: clade Salix, in which species have XY sex-determination systems (SDSs) on chromosome 7, and clade Vetrix including species with ZW SDSs on chromosome 15. Here, we test the utility of whole genome re-sequencing (WGR) for phylogenomic reconstructions of willows to infer changes between different SDSs.

Methods: We used more than 1 TB of WGR data from 70 Salix taxa to ascertain single nucleotide polymorphisms on the autosomes, the sex-linked regions (SLRs) and the chloroplast genomes, for phylogenetic and species tree analyses.

Scientists' Warning on Climate Change and Medicinal Plants.

The recent publication of a World Scientists' Warning to Humanity highlighted the fact that climate change, absent strenuous mitigation or adaptation efforts, will have profound negative effects for humanity and other species, affecting numerous aspects of life. In this paper, we call attention to one of these aspects, the effects of climate change on medicinal plants. These plants provide many benefits for human health, particularly in communities where Western medicine is unavailable.

The valid publication of (Salicaceae).

The nomenclatural problems of have been addressed by different authors with varying opinions. However, these efforts were flawed by a lack of observation of relevant specimens. Accordingly, we carefully checked relevant publications and specimens both through internet databases and herbarium visits.

Antimalarial Use of Malagasy Plants is Poorly Correlated with Performance in Antimalarial Bioassays.

Bioassay screening of plant extracts can identify unique lead compounds for drug development, but the "hit rate" from random screening is very low. Targeted screening of medicinal plants has been repeatedly reported to increase the percentage of samples displaying bioactivity. Contrarily, Maranz (2012) suggested that African antimalarial plants were unsuitable sources of antimalarial drugs because high prevalence of malaria would result in rapid evolution of resistance to active compounds that directly targeted the parasite.

Best practice in research: Consensus Statement on Ethnopharmacological Field Studies - ConSEFS.

Background: Ethnopharmacological research aims at gathering information on local and traditional uses of plants and other natural substances. However, the approaches used and the methods employed vary, and while such a variability is desirable in terms of scientific diversity, research must adhere to well defined quality standards and reproducible methods OBJECTIVES: With ConSEFS (the Consensus Statement on Ethnopharmacological Field Studies) we want to define best-practice in developing, conducting and reporting field studies focusing on local and traditional uses of medicinal and food plants, including studies using a historical approach.

Methods: After first developing an initial draft the core group invited community-wide feedback from researchers both through a web-based consultation and a series of workshops at conferences during 2017.

Isolation of the New Antiplasmodial Butanolide, Malleastrumolide A, from Malleastrum sp. (Meliaceae) from Madagascar.

An extract of Malleastrum sp. (Meliaceae) collected in Madagascar by the Madagascar International Cooperative Biodiversity Group was found to have antimalarial activity, with an IC value between 2.5 and 5 μg ml .

Variation of Select Flavonols and Chlorogenic Acid Content of Elderberry Collected Throughout the Eastern United States.

American elderberries are commonly collected from wild plants for use as food and medicinal products. The degree of phytochemical variation amongst wild populations has not been established and might affect the overall quality of elderberry dietary supplements. The three major flavonols identified in elderberries are rutin, quercetin and isoquercetin.

Antiproliferative Compounds from from the Madagascar Dry Forest.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of an antiproliferative ethanol extract of the roots of (Lauraceae) afforded the new butanolide macrocarpolide A (), and the two new secobutanolides macrocarpolides B () and C (), together with the known butanolides linderanolide B () and isolinderanolide (). The structure elucidation of all compounds was carried out based on NMR and mass spectroscopic data analyses. The absolute configurations of all compounds isolated were determined by comparison of their optical rotation values with those found in literature.

A Brief Review of Recent Controversies in the Taxonomy and Nomenclature of sensu lato.

The genus is widespread and morphologically difficult, and as a result, no taxonomic treatment to date has been entirely satisfactory. The only modern revision, by Bolli, reduced the number of recognized species worldwide from over 30 to nine. In Bolli's treatment, five taxa formerly considered to be distinct species, including , , , and the endemic island taxa and , were placed within as subspecies.

Dietary Sutherlandia and elderberry mitigate cerebral ischemia-induced neuronal damage and attenuate p47phox and phospho-ERK1/2 expression in microglial cells.

Sutherlandia (Sutherlandia frutescens) and elderberry (Sambucus spp.) are used to promote health and for treatment of a number of ailments. Although studies with cultured cells have demonstrated antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of these botanicals, little is known about their ability to mitigate brain injury.

Bacterial communities in Malagasy soils with differing levels of disturbance affecting botanical diversity.

Madagascar is well-known for the exceptional biodiversity of its macro-flora and fauna, but the biodiversity of Malagasy microbial communities remains relatively unexplored. Understanding patterns of bacterial diversity in soil and their correlations with above-ground botanical diversity could influence conservation planning as well as sampling strategies to maximize access to bacterially derived natural products. We present the first detailed description of Malagasy soil bacterial communities from a targeted 16S rRNA gene survey of greater than 290,000 sequences generated using 454 pyrosequencing.

Bioactive compounds from Stuhlmannia moavi from the Madagascar dry forest.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of the leaf and root extracts of the antiproliferative Madagascar plant Stuhlmannia moavi afforded 6-acetyl-5,8-dihydroxy-2-methoxy-7-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (stuhlmoavin, 1) as the most active compound, with an IC50 value of 8.1 μM against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, as well as the known homoisoflavonoid bonducellin (2) and the stilbenoids 3,4,5'-trihydroxy-3'-methoxy-trans-stilbene (3), piceatannol (4), resveratrol (5), rhapontigenin (6), and isorhapontigenin (7). The structure elucidation of all compounds was based on NMR and mass spectroscopic data, and the structure of 1 was confirmed by a single crystal X-ray analysis.

Two antiproliferative triterpene saponins from Nematostylis anthophylla from the highlands of Central Madagascar.

Investigation of the endemic Madagascan plant Nematostylis anthophylla (Rubiaceae) for antiproliferative activity against the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line led to the isolation of the known triterpene saponin randianin (1), and the two new bioactive triterpene saponins 2"-O-acetylrandianin (2) and 6"-O-acetylrandianin (3). The structures of the two new compounds were elucidated based on analysis of their 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra, and mass spectrometric data. The three isolated triterpene saponins displayed moderate but selective antiproliferative activities, with IC(50) values of 1.

Selection and authentication of botanical materials for the development of analytical methods.

Herbal products, for example botanical dietary supplements, are widely used. Analytical methods are needed to ensure that botanical ingredients used in commercial products are correctly identified and that research materials are of adequate quality and are sufficiently characterized to enable research to be interpreted and replicated. Adulteration of botanical material in commerce is common for some species.

Standard operating procedure for the collection and preparation of voucher plant specimens for use in the nutraceutical industry.

A vital part of the development of any standardized protocol for the extraction of plant-derived crude extracts to be used in herbal medicine or nutritional supplementation is proper documentation of the original botanical source of the extract via acquisition of a voucher specimen. The purpose of this document is to serve as an accepted protocol for voucher specimen collection, handling, and storage, with specific guidelines to address commercial and research uses.

Determination of aristolochic acid I and II in North American species of Asarum and Aristolochia.

Wild ginger, Asarum canadense, which has folk uses as a medicinal and food plant, has been reported to contain aristolochic acid I. Rhizomes of North American species of Aristolochiaceae were surveyed for the presence of aristolochic acids by HPLC. Aristolochic acid I (1) and aristolochic acid II (2) were present in Aristolochia species and Hexastylis; 1 alone was detected in multiple accessions of A.

Comparative development of fiber in wild and cultivated cotton.

One of the most striking examples of plant hairs is the single-celled epidermal seed trichome of cultivated cotton. The developmental morphology of these commercial "fibers" has been well-characterized in Gossypium hirsutum, but little is known about the pattern and tempo of fiber development in wild Gossypium species, all of which have short, agronomically inferior fiber. To identify developmental differences that account for variation in fiber length, and to place these differences in a phylogenetic context, we conducted SEM studies of ovules at and near the time of flowering, and generated growth curves for cultivated and wild diploid and tetraploid species.