Fractionation and Extraction Optimization of Potentially Valuable Compounds and Their Profiling in Six Varieties of Two Nicotiana Species.

There is an increasingly urgent call to shift industrial processes from fossil fuel feedstock to sustainable bio-based resources. This change becomes of high importance considering new budget requirements for a carbon-neutral economy. Such a transformation can be driven by traditionally used plants that are able to produce large amounts of valuable biologically relevant secondary metabolites. Tobacco plants can play a leading role in providing value-added products in remote areas of the world. In this study, we propose a non-exhaustive list of compounds with potential economic interest that can be sourced from the tobacco plant. In order to optimize extraction methodologies, we first analyzed their physico-chemical properties using rapid solubility tests and high-resolution microfractionation techniques. Next, to identify an optimal extraction for a selected list of compounds, we compared 13 different extraction method-solvent combinations. We proceeded with profiling some of these compounds in a total of six varieties from Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica species, identifying the optimal variety for each. The estimated expected yields for each of these compounds demonstrate that tobacco plants can be a superior source of valuable compounds with diverse applications beyond nicotine. Among the most interesting results, we found high variability of anatabine content between species and varieties, ranging from 287 to 1699 µg/g. In addition, we found that CGA (1305 µg/g) and rutin (7910 µg/g) content are orders of magnitude lower in the Burley variety as compared to all others.

Denitrification potential of riparian soils in relation to multiscale spatial environmental factors: a case study of a typical watershed, China.

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that environmental regulators of riparian zone soil denitrification potential differ according to spatial scale within a watershed; consequently, a second objective was to provide spatial strategies for conserving and restoring the purification function of runoff in riparian ecosystems. The results show that soil denitrification in riparian zones was more heterogeneous at the profile scale than at the cross-section and landscape scales. At the profile scale, biogeochemical factors (including soil total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and nitrate-nitrogen) were the major direct regulators of the spatial distribution of soil denitrification enzyme activity (DEA). At the cross-section scale, factors included distance from river bank and vegetation density, while landscape-scale factors, including topographic index, elevation, and land use types, indirectly regulated the spatial distribution of DEA. At the profile scale, soil DEA was greatest in the upper soil layers. At the cross-section scale, maximum soil DEA occurred in the mid-part of the riparian zone. At the landscape scale, soil DEA showed an increasing trend towards downstream sites, except for those in urbanized areas.

Synergistic advantages of volcanic ash weathering in saline soils: CO2 sequestration and enhancement of plant growth.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a primary greenhouse gas that has experienced a surge in atmospheric concentration due to human activities and lifestyles. It is imperative to curtail atmospheric CO2 levels promptly to alleviate the multifaceted impacts of climate warming. The soil serves as a natural reservoir for CO2 sequestration. The scientific premise of this study is that CO2 sequestration in agriculturally relevant, organically-deficient saline soil can be achieved by incorporating alkaline earth silicates. Volcanic ash (VA) was used as a soil amendment for CO2 removal from saline soil by leveraging enhanced silicate rock weathering (ERW). The study pursued two primary objectives: first, we aimed to evaluate the impact of various doses of VA, employed as an amendment for organically-deficient soil, on the growth performance of key cultivated crops (sorghum and mung bean) in inland saline-alkaline agricultural regions of northeastern China. Second, we aimed to assess alterations in the physical properties of the amended soil through mineralogical examinations, utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analyses, quantifying the increase in inorganic carbon content within the soil. In the potting tests, mung bean plant height exhibited a noteworthy increase of approximately 41 % with the addition of 10 % VA. Sorghum plant height and aboveground and belowground biomass dry weights increased with VA application across all tested doses. At the optimal VA application rate (20 %), the sorghum achieved a CO2 sequestration rate of 0.14 kg CO2·m-2·month-1. XRD and SEM-EDS analyses confirmed that the augmented inorganic carbon in the VA-amended soils stemmed primarily from calcite accumulation. These findings contribute to elucidating the mechanism underlying VA as an amendment for organically-deficient soils and provide an effective approach for enhancing the carbon sink capacity of saline soils.

Hormesis Responses of Growth and Photosynthetic Characteristics in Lonicera japonica Thunb. to Cadmium Stress: Whether Electric Field Can Improve or Not?

"Hormesis" is considered a dose-response phenomenon mainly observed at hyperaccumulator plants under heavy metals stress. In this study, the effects of electric fields on hormesis responses in Lonicera japonica Thunb. under cadmium (Cd) treatments were investigated by assessing the plant growth and photosynthetic characteristics. Under Cd treatments without electric fields, the parameters of plant growth and photosynthetic characteristics increased significantly when exposed to 5 mg L-1 Cd, and decreased slightly when exposed to 25 mg L-1 Cd, showing an inverted U-shaped trend, which confirmed that low concentration Cd has a hormesis effect on L. japonica. Under electric fields, different voltages significantly promoted the inverted U-shaped trend of the hormesis effect on the plant, especially by 2 V cm-1 voltage. Under 2 V cm-1 voltage, the dry weight of the root and leaf biomass exposed to 5 mg L-1 Cd increased significantly by 38.38% and 42.14%, and the photosynthetic pigment contents and photosynthetic parameters were also increased significantly relative to the control, indicating that a suitable electric field provides better improvements for the hormesis responses of the plant under Cd treatments. The synergistic benefits of the 5 mg L-1 Cd and 2 V cm-1 electric field in terms of the enhanced hormesis responses of growth and photosynthetic characteristics could contribute to the promoted application of electro-phytotechnology.

Ameliorating Effects of Graphene Oxide on Cadmium Accumulation and Eco-Physiological Characteristics in a Greening Hyperaccumulator (Lonicera japonica Thunb.).

Graphene oxide (GO), as a novel carbon-based nanomaterial (CBN), has been widely applied to every respect of social life due to its unique composite properties. The widespread use of GO inevitably promotes its interaction with heavy metal cadmium (Cd), and influences its functional behavior. However, little information is available on the effects of GO on greening hyperaccumulators under co-occurring Cd. In this study, we chose a typical greening hyperaccumulator (Lonicera japonica Thunb.) to show the effect of GO on Cd accumulation, growth, net photosynthesis rate (Pn), carbon sequestration and oxygen release functions of the plant under Cd stress. The different GO-Cd treatments were set up by (0, 10, 50 and 100 mg L-1) GO and (0, 5 and 25 mg L-1) Cd in solution culture. The maximum rate of Cd accumulation in the roots and shoots of the plant were increased by 10 mg L-1 GO (exposed to 5 mg L-1 Cd), indicating that low-concentration GO (10 mg L-1) combined with low-concentration Cd (5 mg L-1) might stimulate the absorption of Cd by L. japonica. Under GO treatments without Cd, the dry weight of root and shoot biomass, Pn value, carbon sequestration per unit leaf area and oxygen release per unit leaf area all increased in various degrees, especially under 10 mg L-1 GO, were 20.67%, 12.04%, 35% and 28.73% higher than the control. Under GO-Cd treatments, it is observed that the cooperation of low-concentration GO (10 mg L-1) and low-concentration Cd (5 mg L-1) could significantly stimulate Cd accumulation, growth, photosynthesis, carbon sequestration and oxygen release functions of the plant. These results indicated that suitable concentrations of GO could significantly alleviate the effects of Cd on L. japonica, which is helpful for expanding the phytoremediation application of greening hyperaccumulators faced with coexistence with environment of nanomaterials and heavy metals.

Effects of Cadmium Stress on Carbon Sequestration and Oxygen Release Characteristics in A Landscaping Hyperaccumulator-Lonicera japonica Thunb.

The carbon sequestration and oxygen release of landscape plants are dominant ecological service functions, which can play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases, improving the urban heat island effect and achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In the present study, we are choosing Lonicera japonica Thunb. as a model plant to show the effects of Cd stress on growth, photosynthesis, carbon sequestration and oxygen release characteristics. Under 5 mg kg-1 of Cd treatment, the dry weight of roots and shoots biomass and the net photosynthetic rate (PN) in L. japonica had a significant increase, and with the increase in Cd treatment concentration, the dry weight of roots and shoots biomass and PN in the plant began to decrease. When the Cd treatment concentration was up to 125 mg kg-1, the dry weight of root and shoots biomass and PN in the plant decreased by 5.29%, 1.94% and 2.06%, and they had no significant decrease compared with the control, indicating that the plant still had a good ability for growth and photoenergy utilization even under high concentrations of Cd stress. The carbon sequestration and oxygen release functions in terms of diurnal assimilation amounts (P), carbon sequestration per unit leaf area (WCO2), oxygen release per unit leaf area (WO2), carbon sequestration per unit land area (PCO2) and oxygen release per unit land area (PO2) in L. japonica had a similar change trend with the photosynthesis responses under different concentrations of Cd treatments, which indicated that L. japonica as a landscaping Cd-hyperaccumulator, has a good ability for carbon sequestration and oxygen release even under high concentrations of Cd stress. The present study will provide a useful guideline for effectively developing the ecological service functions of landscaping hyperaccumulators under urban Cd-contaminated environment.

[Effects of Different Land Use Typess on the Molecular Ecological Network of Soil Bacteria].

The bacterial community composition in four land-use types was determined and the visualized bacterial network was constructed by 16S rDNA Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology and a molecular ecological network method. The results show that Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Cyanobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Firmicutes, Nitrospirae, and Chlorobi are the main bacteria in this area. The number of nodes of urban green land, paddy field, and dry field bacteria networks is higher, and that of natural forest land is lower. The number of connections and average connectivity of dry fields are the highest; following are those of urban green land and paddy field, and those of natural forest land are the lowest. The four bacterial networks are dominated by positive correlation, and the ratio of competition relationship is TL > LD > HT > ST. The average network path and modularity of the soil bacteria networks of paddy field and dry land are small, while the average connectivity and clustering coefficient are higher. Some flora of Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria play an important role in the soil bacterial network in this area. The classification of operational taxonomic units is different among the key nodes of different bacterial molecular ecological networks, and there is almost no overlap. The relative abundance of bacteria of some key nodes in the four bacterial networks is low (<1%), and these are not the main bacteria in this area. The soil microflora in dry land are mainly affected by TP (P<0.05), the soil microflora in paddy field were mainly affected by clay, silt, and water content (P<0.05), and that in natural forest land and urban green land were mainly affected by C/N (P<0.05). The above results show that different land-use patterns lead to changes in soil physical and chemical properties and the interaction between soil bacteria species. The bacterial network of dry land soil is larger and the relationship between species is more complex. The bacteria in different land-use types are mainly cooperative, and the competition is weak. Compared with other land-use types, there is stronger competition between the bacteria in natural forest soil. The soil bacteria in paddy field and dry land are the most sensitive to the external environment, respond more quickly, and the community structure is easier to change. The response of soil bacteria in natural forest land and urban green land is slower, and the disturbance of environmental factors does not affect the whole bacterial ecological network in a short time, and thus the community structure is more stable. Some bacteria have the phenomenon of species role transformation between networks. The abundance and community distribution of microorganisms cannot indicate the strength of their connectivity between network nodes; low-abundance bacteria in soil play an important role in the construction of bacterial networks.

[Pollution Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils of Shenyang North New Area].

Topsoil (0-20 cm) samples (n=101) in 5 different land use types in Shenyang North New Area (SNNA), Shenyang, China were collected using the uniform grid layout method to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics, composition spectrum, and source analysis of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) listed as priority pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States. Results showed that the total concentration of the 16 PAHs (ΣPAHs) in soils of SNNA ranged from 123.7 µg·kg-1 to 932.5 µg·kg-1. The PAH components were mainly dominated by 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs, of which the proportion of 3-ring PAHs was the highest. The spatial distribution of the ΣPAHs concentration was obvious, showing a decreasing tendency from south to north and from east to west. In the five soil types, the average concentrations of the ΣPAHs were relatively higher in the urban green space and the artificial forest, followed by the vegetable land, while the total PAH concentrations in paddy fields and corn fields were relatively lower and had no obvious spatial distribution differences. Source apportionment results studied using characteristic ratio analysis and factor analysis/multivariate linear regression showed that the main sources of PAHs in the topsoil of SNNA were mixed sources. Industrial coal combustion and motor vehicle exhaust were the main PAH contributors, with a combined contribution rate of 79.6%. The oil spill and coke oven contribution rate was about 16.2%, and the biomass fuel combustion was about 4.2%.

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative potential of four fern species from China intended for use as food supplements.

Inflammation plays a major role in many diseases, for instance in arteriosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disorders and cancer. Since many plants contain compounds with anti-inflammatory activity, their consumption may be able to prevent the development of inflammatory-based diseases. Edible ferns are some of the most important wild vegetables in China and have traditionally been used both for dietary and therapeutic purposes. In this study we investigated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of fern extracts from Matteuccia struthiopteris, Osmundajaponica, Matteuccia orientalis and Pteridium aquilinum intended for use as nutraceuticals. Two modes of action were investigated: the inhibition of the pro-inflammatory gene expression of interleukin-1 beta (IL1-ß) and interleukin-6 (IL6), and the gene expression of iNOS by LPS-elicited macrophages. The results showed a decrease of IL1-ß gene expression for the five fern extracts. This effect was more pronounced for the extracts prepared from the roots of O. japonica (IC50 of 17.8 µg/mL) and the young fronds of M orientalis (50.0 µg/mL). Regarding the indirect measurement of NO, via iNOS gene expression, an interesting decrease of 50% was obtained with the extract of M. orientalis fronds at a low concentration (20 µg/mL) compared with P. aquilinum fronds (160 µg/mL) and leaves of O. japonica. The latter showed a higher decrease but at a high concentration of extract (160 µg/mL). The five fern extracts were also evaluated for their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). All fern extracts exhibited antioxidant effects but the roots of O. japonica and the fronds of M orientalis were most efficient. The HPLC-MS analysis of the constituents of the fern extracts confirmed the presence of chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, kaempferol and apigenin, molecules known to exhibit antiinflammatory and/or antioxidant properties.

The identification of naturally occurring neoruscogenin as a bioavailable, potent, and high-affinity agonist of the nuclear receptor RORα (NR1F1).

Plants represent a tremendous structural diversity of natural compounds that bind to many different human disease targets and are potentially useful as starting points for medicinal chemistry programs. This resource is, however, still underexploited due to technical difficulties with the identification of minute quantities of active ingredients in complex mixtures of structurally diverse compounds upon raw phytomass extraction. In this work, we describe the successful identification of a novel class of potent RAR-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα or nuclear receptor NR1F1) agonists from a library of 12,000 plant extract fractions by using an optimized, robust high-throughput cell-free screening method, as well as an innovative hit compound identification procedure through further extract deconvolution and subsequent structural elucidation of the active natural compound(s). In particular, we demonstrate that neoruscogenin, a member of the steroidal sapogenin family, is a potent and high-affinity RORα agonist, as shown by its activity in RORα reporter assays and from its effect on RORα target gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Neoruscogenin represents a universal pharmacological tool for RORα research due to its specific selectivity profile versus other nuclear receptors, its excellent microsomal stability, good bioavailability, and significant peripheral exposure in mouse.

[Optimization of ecological footprint model based on environmental pollution accounts: a case study in Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration].

To solve the problem of ignoring the calculation of environment pollution in traditional ecological footprint model accounts, this paper put forward an optimized ecological footprint (EF) model, taking the pollution footprint into account. In the meantime, the environmental capacity's calculation was also added into the system of ecological capacity, and further used to do ecological assessment of Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration in 2005. The results showed a perfect inosculation between the ecological footprint and the development characteristics and spatial pattern, and illustrated that the optimized EF model could make a better orientation for the environmental pollution in the system, and also, could roundly explain the environmental effects of human activity. The optimization of ecological footprint model had better integrality and objectivity than traditional models.

[Landscape pattern and its functioning after ecological reconstruction in black soil of northern China].

Taken Baiquan County in Heilongjiang Province as a case, this paper studied the effects of regional ecological reconstruction on agricultural landscape pattern and its functioning in soil and water conservation, with the spatial expression and quantity identification investigated based on Geographic Information System (GIS) and field data. The landscape pattern index in class scale, transition matrix of landscape elements, macrostructure of shelter-belt networks, and spatial distribution and hydrological characteristic of reservoirs and ponds in 1989 and 2002, as well as the effects of landscape pattern and its spatial configuration change on soil and water loss were compared. The results showed that artificial ecological reconstruction changed the quantity and spatial configuration of landscape patterns in regional scale, and exerted a significant effect on soil and water conservation. From 1989 to 2002, farmland area reduced 24 731.01 hm2, while forest land, grassland and water area increased 11 728.56, 1838.97 and 1190.97 hm2, respectively. The controlled eroded land increased by 55%, and the shelterbelt-protected farmland increased by 82.2%. The number and storage capacity of reservoirs and ponds added up to 1 490 and 2.4 x 10(8) m3, respectively, and 43.7% of intercepted surface runoff of whole landscape was collected.

[Forest landscape restoration and its affecting factors in burned area of northern Great Xing'an Mountains--taking forest coverage as an example].

Forest landscape restoration has been an attractive issue since the catastrophic fire took place on the northern slope of Great Xing'an Mountains in 1987. Based on the China forest inventory data and employing Kendall Bivariate and Distances Correlation Analyses, an investigation was made to search for what changes of the forest coverage pattern being happened in this area during the past 13 years after fire, and how the fire severity, foster type and terrain factors influenced the restoration of forest coverage. The results showed that the forest coverage in 2000 changed a lot, in comparing with that in 1987 before fire. The percentage of non-stocked land area and coverage grade declined markedly, with lower coverage grade increased. Among all test factors, fire severity which was inversely correlated with forest coverage grade was the key one. Though the regeneration measures didn't markedly affect forest coverage restoration within a short period, they might shorten the cycle of forest succession and promote the productivity of coniferous forest in the future. Among three terrain factors, slope was the strongest one affecting forest coverage, followed by position and aspect.

[Regional ecological construction and mission of landscape ecology].

The eco-construction on regional and landscape scale is the one which can be used to specific landscape and intercrossing ecosystem in specific region including performing scientific administration of ecosystem and optimizing environmental function. Recently, the government has taken a series of significant projects into action, such as national forest protection item, partly forest restoration, and adjustment of water, etc. Enforcing regional eco-construction and maintaining the ecology security of the nation have become the strategic requisition. In various regions, different eco-construction should be applied, for example, performing ecological safeguard measure in ecological sensitive zone, accommodating the ecological load in ecological fragile zone, etc., which can control the activities of human being, so that, sustainable development can be reached. Facing opportunity and challenge in the development of landscape ecology, we have some key topics: landscape pattern of ecological security, land use and ecological process, landscape changes under human activity stress, quantitative evaluation of the influence on human being activities, evaluation of zonal ecological security and advance warning of ecological risk, and planning and optimizing of model in landscape eco-construction.