Light emitting diodes for the improvement of postharvest quality of wild rocket in soilless and soil-bound cultivation systems.

Wild rocket ( (L.) DC cv. Dallas) is a leafy green vegetable appreciated for its pungent taste and healthy properties, often consumed as a ready-to-eat product.

Blue and Red LED Lights Differently Affect Growth Responses and Biochemical Parameters in Lentil ().

Light-emitting diodes are an attractive tool for improving the yield and quality of plant products. This study investigated the effect of different light intensity and spectral composition on the growth, bioactive compound content, and antioxidant metabolism of lentil ( Medik.) seedlings after 3 and 5 days of LED treatment.

Aflatoxin B Degradation by Ery4 Laccase: From In Vitro to Contaminated Corn.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are toxic secondary metabolites produced by spp. and are found in food and feed as contaminants worldwide. Due to climate change, AFs occurrence is expected to increase also in western Europe.

Cell death induced by mycotoxin fumonisin B is accompanied by oxidative stress and transcriptional modulation in Arabidopsis cell culture.

Fumonisin B induces rapid programmed cell death in Arabidopsis cells, oxidative and nitrosative bursts, and differentially modulates cell death responsive genes. Glutathione is the main antioxidant involved in the stress response. Fumonisin B (FB) is a fungal toxin produced by Fusarium spp.

Inuloxin A Inhibits Seedling Growth and Affects Redox System of Mill. and L.

Allelochemicals are considered an environment-friendly and promising alternative for weed management, although much effort is still needed for understanding their mode of action and then promoting their use in plant allelopathy management practices. Here, we report that Inuloxin A (InA), an allelochemical isolated from , inhibited root elongation and growth of seedlings of and at the highest concentrations tested. InA-induced antioxidant responses in the seedlings were investigated by analysing the contents of glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (ASC), and their oxidized forms, dehydroascorbate (DHA), and glutathione disulphide (GSSG), as well as the redox state of thiol-containing proteins.

The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Improves the Tolerance to Verticillium Wilt in Artichoke by Modulating the Antioxidant Defense Systems.

Verticillium wilt, caused by the fungal pathogen , is the most severe disease that threatens artichoke ( L.) plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may represent a useful biological control strategy against this pathogen attack, replacing chemical compounds that, up to now, have been not very effective.

Plant Antioxidants for Food Safety and Quality: Exploring New Trends of Research.

Antioxidants are an heterogeneous group of compounds able to counteract cell oxidation by acting as reducing agents, as free radical scavengers, and quenchers of radical species and other pro-oxidants, such as metals [...

Challenges and Opportunities of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) as Key to Modulate Antioxidant Compounds in Plants. A Review.

Plant antioxidants are important compounds involved in plant defense, signaling, growth, and development. The quantity and quality of such compounds is genetically driven; nonetheless, light is one of the factors that strongly influence their synthesis and accumulation in plant tissues. Indeed, light quality affects the fitness of the plant, modulating its antioxidative profile, a key element to counteract the biotic and abiotic stresses.

Effects of Darkness and Light Spectra on Nutrients and Pigments in Radish, Soybean, Mung Bean and Pumpkin Sprouts.

Fresh sprouts are an important source of antioxidant compounds and contain useful phytonutrients in the human diet. Many factors, such as the time of germination and types of light, influence the physiological processes and biosynthetic pathways in sprouts. The effect of red, blue and white light vs.

A Novel and Potentially MultifacetedDehydroascorbate Reductase Increasing theAntioxidant Systems Is Induced by Beauvericinin Tomato.

Dehydroascorbate reductases (DHARs) are important enzymes that reconvert the dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) into ascorbic acid (ASC). They are involved in the plant response to oxidative stress, such as that induced by the mycotoxin beauvericin (BEA). Tomato plants were treated with 50 µM of BEA; the main antioxidant compounds and enzymes were evaluated.

Plant Bioactive Compounds in Pre- and Postharvest Management for Aflatoxins Reduction.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites produced by spp., known for their hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic activity in humans and animals. AF contamination of staple food commodities is a global concern due to their toxicity and the economic losses they cause.

Vitamin C in Plants: From Functions to Biofortification.

Vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid) is an excellent free radical scavenger, not only for its capability to donate reducing equivalents but also for the relative stability of the derived monodehydroascorbate radical. However, vitamin C is not only an antioxidant, since it is also a cofactor for numerous enzymes involved in plant and human metabolism. In humans, vitamin C takes part in various physiological processes, such as iron absorption, collagen synthesis, immune stimulation, and epigenetic regulation.

Effect of different light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation on the shelf life and phytonutrient content of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica).

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) is largely cultivated in southern Italy.

Changes in lignin biosynthesis and monomer composition in response to benzothiadiazole and root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita infection in tomato.

Benzothiadiazole (BTH) acts as a priming agent in plant defence leading to a reduction in penetration and development of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in susceptible tomato roots. Changes in lignin biosynthesis in the susceptible tomato cv. Roma following nematode infection and/or BTH treatment were investigated in comparison to the resistant cv.

A polyphasic approach for characterization of a collection of cereal isolates of the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex.

DNA-based phylogenetic analyses have resolved the fungal genus Fusarium into multiple species complexes. The F. incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC) includes fusaria associated with several diseases of agriculturally important crops, including cereals.

Constitutive expression of pathogenesis-related proteins and antioxydant enzyme activities triggers maize resistance towards Fusarium verticillioides.

Fusarium verticillioides is a fungal pathogen of maize that causes ear rot and contaminates the grains with fumonisin mycotoxins. Breeding for resistance to Fusarium emerged as the most economic and environmentally safe strategy; therefore the discovery of resistant sources and effective molecular markers are a priority. Ears of resistant (CO441 and CO433) and susceptible (CO354 and CO389) maize lines were inoculated with F.

Ozonated water reduces susceptibility in tomato plants to Meloidogyne incognita by the modulation of the antioxidant system.

Few studies have been carried out on the effect of ozonated water (O wat) on the oxidative stress of root systems and, in particular, in combination with biotic stress. The aim of this study was to determine whether aqueous ozone is effective in the control of root-knot nematode (RKN) infection and to investigate the concomitant changes in the basal defence system. A tomato cultivar susceptible to Meloidogyne incognita was treated with O wat as a soil drench.

Defense Responses to Mycotoxin-Producing Fungi Fusarium proliferatum, F. subglutinans, and Aspergillus flavus in Kernels of Susceptible and Resistant Maize Genotypes.

Developing kernels of resistant and susceptible maize genotypes were inoculated with Fusarium proliferatum, F. subglutinans, and Aspergillus flavus. Selected defense systems were investigated using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to monitor the expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes (PR1, PR5, PRm3, PRm6) and genes protective from oxidative stress (peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase) at 72 h postinoculation.

Increase of fumonisin b2 and ochratoxin a production by black Aspergillus species and oxidative stress in grape berries damaged by powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew (PM), caused by the fungus Erysiphe necator, is one of the most widespread fungal disease of grape and may cause extensive openings on the berry surface during the infection. We evaluated the effect of damage caused by PM in grape berries on the growth of and mycotoxin production by Aspergillus and on the oxidative stress in infected berries. Berries of Vitis vinifera L.

Light qualities and dose influence ascorbate pool size in detached oat leaves.

In this work, we studied the mechanism of light influence on AsA pool size in Avena sativa L. under the effects of low intensity light at different wavelengths. Exposure to low intensity light of oat leaf segments incubated in water or in l-galactono-1,4-lactone (GL), resulted in an increase in AsA content compared with the dark control.

Effects of storage temperature on viability, germination and antioxidant metabolism in Ginkgo biloba L. seeds.

The behaviour of the Ginkgo biloba L. seeds was studied during storage at 4 and 25 degrees C. When stored at 25 degrees C, all the seeds died in 6 months.

Changes in the ascorbate system in the response of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) roots to aluminium stress.

The involvement of the ascorbate (AsA) system in the response of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) roots to aluminium stress was studied. The treatment of 5-day-old pumpkin seedlings with 50 microM aluminium sulphate resulted in approximately 60% inhibition of root growth within 48-60 h of treatment, while aluminium accumulated in the roots reaching a maximum within 48h.

Short- and long-term effects of dehydroascorbate in Lupinus albus and Allium cepa roots.

Administration of 1 mM dehydroascorbate (DHA) results in a rapid and large increase in cellular ascorbate (AA) content in both Lupinus albus L. and Allium cepa L. root tips.

A comparative study of glutathione and ascorbate metabolism during germination of Pinus pinea L. seeds.

The ascorbate and glutathione systems have been studied during the first stages of germination in orthodox seeds of the gymnosperm Pinus pinea L. (pine). The results indicate that remarkable changes in the content and redox balance of these metabolites occur in both the embryo and endosperm; even if with different patterns for the two redox pairs.

Changes in onion root development induced by the inhibition of peptidyl-prolyl hydroxylase and influence of the ascorbate system on cell division and elongation.

Post-translational hydroxylation of peptide-bound proline residues, catalyzed by peptidyl-prolyl-4 hydroxylase (EC 1.14.11.