Analysis of Drought-Induced Proteomic and Metabolomic Changes in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Leaves and Roots Unravels Some Aspects of Biochemical Mechanisms Involved in Drought Tolerance.

In this study, proteomic and metabolomic changes in leaves and roots of two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes, with contrasting drought tolerance, subjected to water deficit were investigated. Our two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF and MALDI-TOF/TOF) analyses revealed 121 drought-responsive proteins in leaves and 182 in roots of both genotypes.

Metabolite profiling during cold acclimation of Lolium perenne genotypes distinct in the level of frost tolerance.

Abiotic stresses, including low temperature, can significantly reduce plant yielding. The knowledge on the molecular basis of stress tolerance could help to improve its level in species of relatively high importance to agriculture. Unfortunately, the complex research performed so far mainly on model species and also, to some extent, on cereals does not fully cover the demands of other agricultural plants of temperate climate, including forage grasses.

Antiproliferative activity of various Uncaria tomentosa preparations on HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells.

The woody Amazonian vine Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) has been recently more and more popular all over the world as an immunomodulatory, antiinflammatory and anti-cancer remedy. This study investigates anti-proliferative potency of several cat's claw preparations with different quantitative and qualitative alkaloid contents on HL-60 acute promyelocytic human cells by applying trypan blue exclusion and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction assay (MTT). By standardization and statistical comparison of the obtained results pteropodine and isomitraphylline are indicated to be most suitable for standardization of medical cat's claw preparations.

Antioxidant activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC.

The antioxidant properties of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the Uncaria tomentosa bark were evaluated. The analysis included trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), peroxyl radical-trapping capacity (PRTC), superoxide radical scavenging activity (SOD) and quantitation of total tannins (TT) and total phenolic compounds (TPC). The obtained results indicate high antioxidant capacity of the studied materials in comparison to the other extracts of fruits, vegetables, cereals and medicinal plants.