Evolution of phytochemical diversity in Pilocarpus (Rutaceae).

The evolution of phytochemical diversity and biosynthetic pathways in plants can be evaluated from a phylogenetic and environmental perspective. Pilocarpus Vahl (Rutaceae), an economically important medicinal plant in the family Rutaceae, has a great diversity of imidazole alkaloids and coumarins. In this study, we used phylogenetic comparative methods to determine whether there is a phylogenetic signal for chemical traits across the genus Pilocarpus; this included ancestral reconstructions of continuous and discrete chemical traits.

Ecometabolomic Analysis of Wild Populations of (Rutaceae) Using Unimodal Analyses.

Studies examining the diversity of plant specialized metabolites suggest that biotic and abiotic pressures greatly influence the qualitative and quantitative diversity found in a species. Large geographic distributions expose a species to a great variety of environmental pressures, thus providing an enormous opportunity for expression of environmental plasticity. , a neotropical genus of Rutaceae, is rich in alkaloids, terpenoids, and coumarins, and is the only commercial source of the alkaloid pilocarpine for the treatment of glaucoma.

Use of palm (Poenix dactilyfera L.) fiber and sewage sludge co compost as substrates in soilless crop system.

The Co-Compostage (CC) of Palm (Poenix dactylifera L.) Fiber (PF) and Sewage Sludge (SS) at volume rate (1PF/1SS), mixed with Top Soil (TS) have been used as a substrate for cucumber cultivated in soilless crop system. Five substrates with volume ratio T (CC-TS) were tested: T (10-0), T (9-1), T (8-2), T (7-3) and T (6-4).