[Effects of activated coke on soil properties and growth of two plant species in saline alkali soil in northern Shanxi Province, China.] / 活性焦对晋北盐碱地土壤性质和两种植物生长的影响.

Solid waste-based improver is one of the effective means to improve properties of saline-alkali soil. As a kind of porous waste, activated coke is expected to improve soil properties and alleviate salt-alkali stress. In order to understand the improvement effect of activated coke on saline alkali land in northern Shanxi Province, we examined the effects of different addition rates of activated coke (CK, 0 g·kg-1; A10, 10 g·kg-1; A20, 20 g·kg-1; A50, 50 g·kg-1) on the properties of saline alkali soil and the growth of two plant species. The results showed that activated coke addition could increase the content of water soluble soil aggregates, reduce soil salt content, soil pH, and the electrical conductivity (EC). Compared with CK, the mean weight diameters of the aggregates for the saline-alkali soils grown with Puccinellia distans and maize were increased by 5.1%-32.2%, soil pH was decreased by 0.4%-4.1%, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) was decreased by 4.8%-18.7%, and the EC was decreased by 7.4%-8.2%. Applying appropriate amount of activated coke could promote plant growth through reducing the plasma membrane damage of plant cells, increasing plant chlorophyll and Ca2+ contents. The biomass of Puccinellia distans and maize both reached the maximum under the A20 treatment. It suggested that the application of 20 g·kg-1 activated coke (A20) in saline alkali soil could improve soil quality in the rhizosphere soil, increase plant selective Ca2+ absorption, thereby reducing salt damage to plant cells and promote plant growth in saline-alkali habitat.

Effect of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine on oxidative stress and gene expression of c-fos, c-jun, p16 and Rb in rat colons and protective role of seabuckthorn seed oil.

Exposure to 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine (PhIP), a typical example of heterocyclic amine compounds, increases colon cancer risk. Seabuckthorn (SBT) seed oil is a biologically active substance extracted from seeds of wild Hippophae rhamnoides L. Here, we sought to investigate the toxicological mechanisms underlying oxidative stress and cancer-related gene expression in the rat colons as well as the protective effect of SBT seed oil against colonic oxidative damage. Our results showed that PhIP significantly decreased the anti-oxidative enzyme activities whereas increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, protein carbonyl (PCO) levels and DNA-protein cross-links (DPC) coefficients in the rat colons compared with the solvent-control group. Moreover, PhIP activated expression of c-fos and c-jun and inhibited p16 and Rb expression. Additionally, SBT seed oil plus PhIP significantly improved antioxidant markers and reduced the levels of MDA, PCO and DPC compared to those in rats exposed to PhIP alone. These data indicated that PhIP could induce oxidative stress and abnormal alterations of cancer-related gene expression in the rat colons while SBT seed oil may be beneficial because of its ability to alleviate the PhIP-induced oxidative damage to the rats.