Ascorbic Acid Content and Antioxidant Activities of White and Brown Teff [ (Zucc.)Trotter] Grains and Injera.

Teff [ (Zuccagni) Trotter] is a cereal grain originating in Ethiopia as a staple food for millions of people. Its grain is a gluten-free superfood and got acceptance as a medicinal ingredient. Therefore, it is worthwhile to determine the antioxidative activities and L-ascorbic acid contents of teff grain and its baked food (injera).

Development of Green UV-Vis Method for Direct Determination of Total Sugars in the Aqueous Extract of Teff ( (Zuccagni) Trotter) Grains and Other Cereals.

There is no ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometric method for the direct determination of total sugars in the aqueous extract of teff grain samples. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a green UV-Vis spectrophotometric method to determine total sugars in the aqueous extract of white teff, brown teff, white rice, and red wheat grain samples. The calibration curve was established in the range of 20.

Development of Analytical Methods for Determination of -Carotene in Pumpkin () Flesh, Peel, and Seed Powder Samples.

Vegetables are consumed worldwide in fresh as well as processed forms. Pumpkin is considered as an important vegetable due to its nutritional values. The objective of this study was to evaluate all the analytical parameters and improve the performance of the methods for the determination of -carotene in pumpkin flesh, peel, and seed samples using UV-VIS, NIR, and FTIR methods.

Plant chemical defenses: are all constitutive antimicrobial metabolites phytoanticipins?

A critical perspective on phytoanticipins, constitutive plant secondary metabolites with defensive roles against microbes is presented. This mini-review focuses on the chemical groups and structural types of defensive plant metabolites thus far not reviewed from the phytoanticipin perspective: i) fatty acid derivatives and polyketides, ii) terpenoids, iii) shikimates, phenylpropanoids and derivatives, and iv) benzylisoquinoline and pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The more traditional groups of phytoanticipins are briefly summarized, with particular focus on the latest results: i) benzoxazinoids, ii) cyanogenic glycosides, iii) glucosinolates and their metabolic products, and iv) saponins.

Tenualexin, other phytoalexins and indole glucosinolates from wild cruciferous species.

In general, the chemodiversity of phytoalexins, elicited metabolites involved in plant defense mechanisms against microbial pathogens, correlates with the biodiversity of their sources. In this work, the phytoalexins produced by four wild cruciferous species (Brassica tournefortii, Crambe abyssinica (crambe), Diplotaxis tenuifolia (sand rocket), and Diplotaxis tenuisiliqua (wall rocket)) were identified and quantified by HPLC with photodioarray and electrospray mass detectors. In addition, the production of indole glucosinolates, biosynthetic precursors of cruciferous phytoalexins, was evaluated.

Dissecting metabolic puzzles through isotope feeding: a novel amino acid in the biosynthetic pathway of the cruciferous phytoalexins rapalexin A and isocyalexin A.

Understanding defence pathways of plants is crucial to develop disease-resistant agronomic crops, an important element of sustainable agriculture. For this reason, natural plant defenses such as phytoalexins, involved in protecting plants against microbial pathogens, have enormous biotechnological appeal. Crucifers are economically important plants, with worldwide impact as oilseeds, vegetables of great dietetic value and even nutraceuticals.

The first isocyanide of plant origin expands functional group diversity in cruciferous phytoalexins: synthesis, structure and bioactivity of isocyalexin A.

Although isocyanides are not rare amongst terrestrial microbes and marine organisms, despite tens of thousands of natural products isolated from plants, isocyanides are still missing. Isocyalexin A is the first isocyanide of plant origin. Isocyalexin A was isolated from UV-irradiated rutabaga roots and shown to be a new cruciferous phytoalexin.

The phytoalexins from cultivated and wild crucifers: chemistry and biology.

Phytoalexins are antimicrobial secondary metabolites produced de novo by plants in response to stress, including microbial attack. In general, phytoalexins are important components of plant defenses against fungal and bacterial pathogens. The phytoalexins of crucifers are indole alkaloids derived from (S)-tryptophan, most of which contain a sulfur atom derived from cysteine.

Unveiling the phytoalexin biosynthetic puzzle in salt cress: unprecedented incorporation of glucobrassicin into wasalexins A and B.

Salt cress (Thellungiella salsuginea also known as T. halophila) is a wild cruciferous extremophile highly resistant to salt, drought, and cold. The recent discovery that salt cress produces the phytoalexins wasalexins A and B, and the phytoanticipins 1-methoxyglucobrassicin and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin in relatively higher amounts than other cruciferous species, prompted investigation of their biosynthetic relationships.

Phytoalexins from Brassicaceae: news from the front.

The chemical structures, syntheses, metabolism and biological activities of the cruciferous phytoalexins discovered to date, with particular focus on the latest results dealing with their biosynthesis and detoxification are reviewed.