Removal of high lead concentration by hydroponic cultures of normal and transformed plants of Scirpus americanus Pers.

Lead is a very toxic metal which affects human health. An alternative to remove it from contaminated water is the use of macrophytes, as Scirpus americanus Pers. This species is tolerant to salt and metals and has high biomass.

Opuntia cladode powders inhibit adipogenesis in 3 T3-F442A adipocytes and a high-fat-diet rat model by modifying metabolic parameters and favouring faecal fat excretion.

Background: Obesity is a major public health concern worldwide. A sedentary life and a nutritional transition to processed foods and high-calorie diets are contributing factors to obesity. The demand for nutraceutical foods, such as herbal weight-loss products, which offer the potential to counteract obesity, has consequently increased.

Cacti for production of metabolites: current state and perspectives.

The Cactaceae family is native from the American continent but is distributed in the arid and semiarid regions worldwide. Cacti exhibit different morphological (succulent body, extended root system, presence of spines, thick waterproof epidermis) and physiological adaptations (crassulacean acid metabolism) that allow growth in adverse conditions intolerable for most C3 and C4 crops. In addition, these plants produce a wide range of secondary metabolites involved in defense mechanism against biotic and abiotic stresses.

Enhanced production and identification of antioxidants in in vitro cultures of the cacti Mammillaria candida and Turbinicarpus laui.

Cacti are an important source of metabolites but present limitations for their commercial exploitation, like slow growth and a decrease of wild populations. An alternative to obtain their biocompounds without affecting the natural environment are the in vitro culture techniques. We established in vitro cultures from Mammillaria candida Scheidweiler and Turbinicarpus laui Glass and Foster and used different stresses to increase metabolites and antioxidant activity.

spp.: Characterization and Benefits in Chronic Diseases.

species have been used for centuries as food resources and in traditional folk medicine for their nutritional properties and their benefit in chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. These plants are largely distributed in America, Africa, and the Mediterranean basin. spp.

Comparative shotgun proteomic analysis of wild and domesticated Opuntia spp. species shows a metabolic adaptation through domestication.

Unlabelled: The Opuntia genus is widely distributed in America, but the highest richness of wild species are found in Mexico, as well as the most domesticated Opuntia ficus-indica, which is the most domesticated species and an important crop in agricultural economies of arid and semiarid areas worldwide. During domestication process, the Opuntia morphological characteristics were favored, such as less and smaller spines in cladodes and less seeds in fruits, but changes at molecular level are almost unknown. To obtain more insights about the Opuntia molecular changes through domestication, a shotgun proteomic analysis and database-dependent searches by homology was carried out.

Dietary cladode powder from wild type and domesticated Opuntia species reduces atherogenesis in apoE knock-out mice.

Dietary intake of Opuntia species may prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases. The present study was designed to characterize the biological antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Opuntia species and to investigate whether Opuntia cladodes prevent the development of atherosclerosis in vivo, in apoE(-)KO mice. The effects of the two Opuntia species, the wild Opuntia streptacantha and the domesticated Opuntia ficus-indica, were tested on the generation of intra- and extracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and kinetics of the LDL oxidation by murine CRL2181 endothelial cells and on the subsequent inflammatory signaling leading to the adhesion of monocytes on the activated endothelium and the formation of foam cells.

Fluoride bioaccumulation by hydroponic cultures of camellia (Camellia japonica spp.) and sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum spp.).

The ability of hydroponic cultures of camellia and sugar cane adult plants to remove fluoride was investigated. Plants were grown in a 50% Steiner nutrient solution. After an adaptation period to hydroponic conditions, plants were exposed to different fluoride concentrations (0, 2.

Antiatherogenic and antitumoral properties of Opuntia cladodes: inhibition of low density lipoprotein oxidation by vascular cells, and protection against the cytotoxicity of lipid oxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal in a colorectal cancer cellular model.

Opuntia species have been used for thousands of years as a folk medicine in the treatment of diseases. However, the components and protective mechanisms are still unclear. We make the hypothesis that Opuntia species may protect the development of oxidative stress-associated diseases, such as atherosclerosis or colon cancer, via their antioxidant properties.

Removing heavy metals by in vitro cultures.

In vitro roots cultures of Typha latifolia and Scirpus americanus aquatic plants have the capacity to remove Pb (II), Mn (II), and Cr (III) from the culture medium. Both species remove Cr and Pb by an absorption process, while Mn is mainly adsorbed to the root surface. This chapter describes a protocol for the establishment of in vitro roots cultures (nontransformed) from T.

Lead, chromium and manganese removal by in vitro root cultures of two aquatic macrophytes species: Typha latifolia L. and Scirpus americanus pers.

The ability of in vitro roots cultures of Typha latifolia and Scirpus americanus to remove metals was studied. Roots were cultivated on Murashige-Skoog medium with 15 microg L(-1) Cr 11, 60 microg L(-1) Pb II or 1.8 mg L(-1) Mn II.