Cytological structures and physiological and biochemical characteristics of covered oat (Avena sativa L.) and naked oat (Avena nuda L.) seeds during high-temperature artificial aging.

BACKGROUND: Seed aging, a natural and inevitable process occurring during storage. Oats, an annual herb belonging to the Gramineae family and pooideae. In addition to being a healthy food, oats serve as ecological pastures, combating soil salinization and desertification. They also play a role in promoting grassland agriculture and supplementing winter livestock feed. However, the high lipid and fat derivatives contents of oat seeds make them susceptible to deterioration, as fat derivatives are prone to rancidity, affecting oat seed production, storage, development, and germplasm resource utilization. Comparative studies on the effects of aging on physiology and cytological structure in covered and naked oat seeds are limited. Thus, our study aimed to determine the mechanism underlying seed deterioration in artificially aged 'LongYan No. 3' (A. sativa) and 'BaiYan No. 2' (A. nuda) seeds, providing a basis for the physiological evaluation of oat seed aging and serving as a reference for scientifically safe storage and efficient utilization of oats. RESULTS: In both oat varieties, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in seeds showed increasing and decreasing trends, respectively. Variance analysis revealed significant differences and interaction in all measured indicators of oat seeds between the two varieties at different aging times. 'LongYan No. 3' seeds, aged for 24-96 h, exhibited a germination rate of < 30%, Conductivity, malondialdehyde, soluble sugar, and soluble protein levels increased more significantly than the 'BaiYan No. 2'. With prolonged aging leading to cell membrane degradation, reactive oxygen species accumulation, disrupted antioxidant enzyme system, evident embryo cell swelling, and disordered cell arrangement, blocking the nutrient supply route. Simultaneously, severely concentrated chromatin in the nucleus, damaged mitochondrial structure, and impaired energy metabolism were noted, resulting in the loss of 'LongYan No. 3' seed vitality and value. Conversely, 'BaiYan No. 2' seeds showed a germination rate of 73.33% after 96 h of aging, consistently higher antioxidant enzyme activity during aging, normal embryonic cell shape, and existence of the endoplasmic reticulum. CONCLUSIONS: ROS accumulation and antioxidant enzyme system damage in aged oat seeds, nuclear chromatin condensation, mitochondrial structure damage, nucleic acid metabolism and respiration weakened, oat seed vigor decreased. 'LongYan No. 3' seeds were more severely damaged under artificial aging than 'BaiYan No. 2' seeds, highlighting their heightened susceptibility to aging effects.

New Transferrin Receptor-Targeted Peptide-Doxorubicin Conjugates: Synthesis and In Vitro Antitumor Activity.

Poor selectivity to tumor cells is a major drawback in the clinical application of the antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX). Peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) constructed by modifying antitumor drugs with peptide ligands that have high affinity to certain overexpressed receptors in tumor cells are increasingly assessed for their possibility of tumor-selective drug delivery. However, peptide ligands composed of natural L-configuration amino acids have the defects of easy enzymatic degradation and insufficient biological stability. In this study, two new PDCs (LT7-SS-DOX and DT7-SS-DOX) were designed and synthesized by conjugating a transferrin receptor (TfR) peptide ligand LT7 (HAIYPRH) and its retro-inverso analog DT7 (hrpyiah), respectively, with DOX via a disulfide bond linker. Both conjugates exhibited targeted antiproliferative effects on TfR overexpressed tumor cells and little toxicity to TfR low-expressed normal cells compared with free DOX. Moreover, the DT7-SS-DOX conjugate possessed higher serum stability, more sustained reduction-triggered drug release characteristics, and stronger in vitro antiproliferative activity as compared to LT7-SS-DOX. In conclusion, the coupling of antitumor drugs with the DT7 peptide ligand can be used as a promising strategy for the further development of stable and efficient PDCs with the potential to facilitate TfR-targeted drug delivery.

Gene pyramiding for boosted plant growth and broad abiotic stress tolerance.

Abiotic stresses such as salinity, heat and drought seriously impair plant growth and development, causing a significant loss in crop yield and ornamental value. Biotechnology approaches manipulating specific genes prove to be effective strategies in crop trait modification. The Arabidopsis vacuolar pyrophosphatase gene AVP1, the rice SUMO E3 ligase gene OsSIZ1 and the cyanobacterium flavodoxin gene Fld have previously been implicated in regulating plant stress responses and conferring enhanced tolerance to different abiotic stresses when individually overexpressed in various plant species. We have explored the feasibility of combining multiple favourable traits brought by individual genes to acquire superior plant performance. To this end, we have simultaneously introduced AVP1, OsSIZ1 and Fld in creeping bentgrass. Transgenic (TG) plants overexpressing these three genes performed significantly better than wild type controls and the TGs expressing individual genes under both normal and various abiotic stress conditions, exhibited significantly enhanced plant growth and tolerance to drought, salinity and heat stresses as well as nitrogen and phosphate starvation, which were associated with altered physiological and biochemical characteristics and delicately fine-tuned expression of genes involved in plant stress responses. Our results suggest that AVP1, OsSIZ1 and Fld function synergistically to regulate plant development and plant stress response, leading to superior overall performance under both normal and adverse environments. The information obtained provides new insights into gene stacking as an effective approach for plant genetic engineering. A similar strategy can be extended for the use of other beneficial genes in various crop species for trait modifications, enhancing agricultural production.

Additive screening and formula optimization of microbial inhibitor having disease prevention and growth promotion effects on Avena sativa.

In order to develop environment friendly microbial inhibitor that can also control disease and promote oat (Avena sativa) growth, the growth rate method and response surface methodology were used to screen wetting agents, preservatives and protective agents at optimal concentrations in this study. Antagonistic activity of the tested bacterium and cell-free fermentation liquid against pathogenic fungi was evaluated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) substratum plates by dual culture technique. Oxford cup method was used to measure antagonistic reaction between screened bacteria. According to each screened bacteria with 50 mL were mixed and cultured in Luria-bertani (LB) substratum. Additives of Wetting agents, UV-protectors, and preservatives were screened by single factor test on the growth concentration of screened mixed bacteria. Afterwards, the optimal additives and concentrations were screened by Box-Behnken method. The microbial inhibitor was detected according to national standards GB20287-2006 and tested on oat in a pot experiment. The results showed that: (1) Functional bacteria which including Bacillus velezensis and Brevundimonas faecalis had control effects of 50.00% to 83.29% on three pathogenic fungi, and their cell free-fermentation liquid could inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungi from 23.51% to 39.90%; (2) Tween-80 was most suitable as wetting agents for Mix biocontrol bacteria (MBB) with 1.00% mass fraction; Sorbitol was selected as UV protective agents for MBB with 0.50% mass fraction. And methyl paraben was used as a preservative for MBB, with 0.50% mass fraction; (3) The most effective adjuvant contained 14.96 mL/L Tween-80, 5.12 g/L methylparaben and 5.6 g/L sorbitol; and (4) The microbial inhibitor controlled 45.57% of oat root rot and increased plant height, root length and seedling biomass. This study provides a suitable environment for the protection of mixed biocontrol bacteria, and lays a foundation for the prevention and control of oat diseases, the promotion of growth and the improvement of quality.

Room Temperature Broadband Bi2Te3/PbS Colloidal Quantum Dots Infrared Photodetectors.

Lead sulfide colloidal quantum dots (PbS CQDs) are promising optoelectronic materials due to their unique properties, such as tunable band gap and strong absorption, which are of immense interest for application in photodetectors and solar cells. However, the tunable band gap of PbS CQDs would only cover visible short-wave infrared; the ability to detect longer wavelengths, such as mid- and long-wave infrared, is limited because they are restricted by the band gap of the bulk material. In this paper, a novel photodetector based on the synergistic effect of PbS CQDs and bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) was developed for the detection of a mid-wave infrared band at room temperature. The device demonstrated good performance in the visible-near infrared band (i.e., between 660 and 850 nm) with detectivity of 1.6 × 1010 Jones at room temperature. It also exhibited photoelectric response in the mid-wave infrared band (i.e., between 4.6 and 5.1 µm). The facile fabrication process and excellent performance (with a response of up to 5.1 µm) of the hybrid Bi2Te3/PbS CQDS photodetector are highly attractive for many important applications that require high sensitivity and broadband light detection.

Key factors for differential drought tolerance in two contrasting wild materials of Artemisia wellbyi identified using comparative transcriptomics.

BACKGROUND: Drought is a significant condition that restricts vegetation growth on the Tibetan Plateau. Artemisia wellbyi is a unique semi-shrub-like herb in the family Compositae, which distributed in northern and northwest of Tibetan Plateau. It is a dominant species in the community that can well adapt to virous environment stress, such as drought and low temperature. Therefore, A. wellbyi. has a potential ecological value for soil and water conservation of drought areas. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of A. wellbyi. that defense drought stress can acquire the key genes for drought resistance breeding of A. wellbyi. and provide a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration of desertification area. However, they remain unclear. Thus, our study compared the transcriptomic characteristics of drought-tolerant "11" and drought-sensitive "6" material of A. wellbyi under drought stress. RESULTS: A total of 4875 upregulated and 4381 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were induced by drought in the tolerant material; however, only 1931 upregulated and 4174 downregulated DEGs were induced by drought in the sensitive material. The photosynthesis and transcriptional regulation differed significantly with respect to the DEGs number and expression level. We found that CDPKs (calmodulin-like domain protein kinases), SOS3 (salt overly sensitive3), MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades), RLKs (receptor like kinase), and LRR-RLKs (repeat leucine-rich receptor kinase) were firstly involved in response to drought stress in drought tolerant A. wellbyi. Positive regulation of genes associated with the metabolism of ABA (abscisic acid), ET (ethylene), and IAA (indole acetic acid) could play a crucial role in the interaction with other transcriptional regulatory factors, such as MYBs (v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog), AP2/EREBPs (APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding protein family), WRKYs, and bHLHs (basic helix-loop-helix family members) and receptor kinases, and regulate downstream genes for defense against drought stress. In addition, HSP70 (heat shock protein70) and MYB73 were considered as the hub genes because of their strong association with other DEGs. CONCLUSIONS: Positive transcriptional regulation and negative regulation of photosynthesis could be associated with better growth performance under drought stress in the drought-tolerant material. In addition, the degradation of sucrose and starch in the tolerant A. wellbyi to alleviate osmotic stress and balance excess ROS. These results highlight the candidate genes that are involved in enhancing the performance of drought-tolerant A. wellbyi and provide a theoretical basis for improving the performance of drought-resistant A. wellbyi.

Dry matter recovery, ensiling characteristics and aerobic stability of oat silage treated with microbial inoculants at different temperatures.

To evaluate the effects of temperature and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculants on oat silage in Loess Plateau of China, oat was harvested at dough stage, inoculated without (Control) or with LAB inoculants Synlac I (SLI, Lactobacillus plantarum and Pedioccocus acidilactici) and a selected strain HT1 (L. rhamnosus) and ensiled at 25°C (T25), 35°C (T35) and 45°C (T45). The fermentation quality was measured after 60 d of ensiling and the aerobic exposure was conducted at 30°C for 9 d. The results showed that control silage (stored at 25°C) had better fermentation quality than that ensiled at 35°C or 45°C. High temperature of 45°C resulted in sharp decreases in LAB counts and lactic acid concentration and increases in pH and NH3-N concentration in the control group. Inoculation improved the fermentation quality, and HT1 was more effective than SLI at 35°C and 45°C, while SLI showed better performance at 25°C. All silages displayed mild fluctuation for all treatments at the first 3 d of aerobic exposure, and significant differences were observed among treatments after that. Both control and inoculated silages stored at 25°C showed a sharp pH increase, while HT1 treated silages stored at 35°C and 45°C maintained stable pH and better fermentation quality during the aerobic exposure. In conclusion, SLI was suitable for oat silage fermentation at normal atmospheric temperature (25°C), while HT1 was more effective in improving DM recovery, fermentation quality and aerobic stability of oat silage at high temperature during summer in the Loess Plateau of China.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Alternaria brassicae on Avena sativa in China.

Oat (Avena sativa) is an annual gramineous crop, which contains a source of soluble dietary fiber, ß-glucan, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, phenolic acids and avenanthramides. It widely cultivated in cool and semi-arid areas in northern China (Li et al, 2017). In July 2018, a severe leaf spot infection was observed in the Forage Germplasm Nursery (31°17'22″N, 103°40'15″E, 2885 m elevation) in Tianzhu County, Wuwei City of Gansu Province in China. Disease incidence (total number of diseased leaves / total number of surveyed leaves X 100%) was 93% over 300 m2 planting area. Symptoms initially appeared as small circular to irregular, gray-green, water-soaked spots on the leaves in the middle or along the margin of leaves, that enlarged and coalesced. The center of the leaf spots turned brown to reddish-brown. Infected tissues from symptomatic leaves were cut into small pieces (5×5 mm), surface sterilized with 70% ethanol for 60 s, soaked in 5% commercial bleach (~0.275% NaClO) for 5 min (Xue et al, 2018), rinsed five times with distilled water, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium, and incubated for 3 days in the dark at 25°C (Zhang, 2003; Blagojevic et al, 2020; Humpherson et al, 1989). Hyphae emerging from the tissue were subcultured on fresh PDA medium for purification. All colonies were light brown with intensive sporulation in rings that was grayish white, and later became grayish brown. The back of the colony was dark brown. Conidiophores were light brown, unbranched, grew vertically on hyphae, and each conidiophore produced 3 to 7 conidia (mostly 6). Conidia were light brown, septate, straight to slightly curved, single or in chains, oval or obclavate, measured 17 to 32 µm wide and 63 to 106 µm long with the conical beak cell, 7 to 12 transverse septa, 0 to 5 longitudinal septa. These morphological characteristics were similar to the descriptions of Alternaria spp. (Simmons, 2008). A single isolate, YMZZ1, was selected for molecular identification. The ITS region of rDNA, partial GAPDH and Tef1-α gene sequences were amplified by PCR with the primer pairs of ITS1/ITS4, gpd1/gpd2 and EF1-728F/EF1-986R, respectively (Woudenberg et al, 2013). Sequences were deposited in GeneBank under accessions MN446739 (ITS), MN481462 (GAPDH), and MN464104 (Tef1-α). A nucleotide BLAST search revealed ITS, GAPDH and Tef1-α sequences to be 99% similar to accessions numbers MN856410 (565/573 bp), MK026431 (575/575 bp), and MH754531 (211/211 bp), respectively) of A. brassicae. Neighbor-joining (NJ) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analysis were conducted based on ITS, GAPDH and TEF-1α sequences using MEGA7.0 under Kimura 2-parameter model. The isolate YMZZ1 clustered with a representative strain A. brassicae LGBA22 with 100% bootstrap support. To test its pathogenicity, six healthy 3 week old plants were spray-inoculated with a suspension of 3×105 conidia/mL of YMZZ1. The same number of plants were sprayed with sterilized water as control. All plants were covered with transparent plastic bags for 48 h to maintain high relative humidity and incubated in a 25°C growth chamber (16/8 h light/dark) for observation. Ten days after inoculation, leaf spot symptoms were observed on leaves similar to those previously observed in nursery; no symptoms were observed on the control. The pathogenicity test was repeated twice under the same conditions and A. brassicae was re-isolated from inoculated plants each time fulfilling Koch's postulates. A. brassicae has not been previously reported as a pathogen of A. sativa in the world, but has been mentioned as a pathogen of horse radish (Armoracia rusticana) in Serbia (Blagojevic et al, 2015). To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot caused by A. brassicae on A. sativa in China. This study stresses an urgent need to identify appropriate management strategies of A. brassicae that help in preventing losses in quality and yield of oats in northern China.

Effects of Oat Varieties and Growing Locations on Seed-Borne Fungal Communities.

Many species of seed-borne fungi are closely allied with seed varieties and growing regions, including many seed-borne pathogens, but their species richness and distribution remain largely unknown. This study was conducted to explore the seed-borne fungal composition, abundance and diversity in Avena sativa (B7) and A. nuda (B2) seed samples collected from Baicheng (BB), Dingxi (DB) and Haibei (HB) city, using Illumina sequencing techniques. Our results show that a total of 543,707 sequences were obtained and these were assigned to 244 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with 97% similarity. Oat varieties and growing locations had a significant difference on seed-borne fungal diversity. HB had a higher fungal diversity than BB and DB, Shannon diversity and ACE richness index of fungal in HB seeds was significantly higher than in BB and DB (P < 0.05). In different varieties, both taxon richness and evenness of B7 seeds was significantly higher than B2 (P < 0.05). A total of 4 fungal phyla and 26 fungal genera were detected. Ascomycota was the dominant phylum and Alternaria sp. was the most abundant genus in B2 and B7 oat seeds from different regions. Mycosphaerella sp. had a higher abundance in HB7 and DB7, respectively, Epicoccum sp. had a higher abundance in HB7 and BB7. The results of alpha and beta diversity analysis revealed the presence of different effects in fungal communities of different varieties and regions of oat, especially in seed pathogenic fungi distribution. Structural equation modeling also explained oat varieties and growing regions have significant influences on seed-borne fungal abundance, composition and diversity. This study demonstrated that the differences of varieties and regions are the main factors resulting in the changes of seed-borne fungal community of oat.

First Report of Seedling Blight of Oat (Avena sativa) Caused by Microdochium nivale in China.

Oat (Avena sativa) is extensively planted as a fodder crop on the vast ranges of northern and northwestern China, and it has become an important supplementary feed for grazing livestock (Yang et al. 2010). Microdochium nivale has been reported associated with seedling blight in many temperate regions (Imathiu et al. 2010) and the damage can result in serious loss of oat production. In August 2018, a serious seedling blight of oat (cv. Baiyan 7; about 30-day-old) was observed in the field in Shandan County, Zhangye City, Gansu Province (38.22° N, 101.22° E). More than 20% of oat plants were severely affected. Symptoms included leaf chlorosis and wilt. The root systems of infected plants were black and severely rotted, often with only a small amount of fine root remaining after removal from the soil. Twenty isolations were made from blackened roots on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and five isolations (TM-1, TM-2, TM-3, TM-4 and TM-5) were further purified by a single-spore method (Choi et al. 1999). Each isolate was identical based on preliminary molecular analyses of their DNA sequences of ITS by blast in the NCBI GenBank. The representative isolate TM-2 was selected for sequencing of the RNA polymerase II subunit (RPB2) gene. The isolated colonies were grown on PDA and formed colonies of approximately 62 mm (diameter) in 5 days at 25 ± 1 °C. Colonies exhibited entire margins, the color varied from white to pale yellow, and the sparse aerial mycelium were villous-floccose and cottony. The conidia were falcate, straight to curved, apex pointed or obtuse to subacute, lacking basal differentiation, 0-3-septate, most one-septate, 2.2 to 3.1 × 12.3 to 22.6µm (av.= 2.8 ×17.6; n=50). These morphological characteristics were consistent with previous descriptions of Microdochium (Zhang et al. 2010). Molecular identity was confirmed by sequencing partial sequences of ITS gene (ITS1 and ITS4 primers) (White et al. 1990) and RPB2 regions (RPB2-5f2 and RPB2-7cr) (O'Donnell et al. 2010). Sequences were deposited in GenBank under accessions MN428647 (RPB2) and MN428646 (ITS). Blast search revealed that both of the ITS and RPB2 sequences to be 99% similar to the corresponding sequences of M. nivale(CBS 116205) accession numbers KP859008.1 and KP859117.1. For pathogenicity tests, millet seed-based inoculum of M. nivale was prepared using a modified procedure of Fang et al. (2011). Three-week-old healthy oat seedlings of cv. Baiyan 7 were transplanted into potting mix containing millet seed-based inoculum of M. nivale at a rate of 3%. Control seedlings for comparison were transplanted into pots containing uninoculated potting mix. After 10 days, all the inoculated plants had developed seedling blight symptoms and that were similar to those observed in the field; while control plants remained healthy. The pathogen was reisolated from inoculated plants and identified as M. nivale based on morphological characteristics and the molecular methods described above. To our knowledge, this is the first report of seedling blight of oat caused by M. nivale in China.

Design, synthesis, and in vitro antitumor activity of a transferrin receptor-targeted peptide-doxorubicin conjugate.

In this study, a peptide-drug conjugate was designed and synthesized by connecting a transferrin receptor (TfR)-targeted binding peptide analog BP9a (CAHLHNRS) with doxorubicin (DOX) through N-succinimidyl-3-maleimidopropionate (SMP) as the cross-linker. Confocal laser scanning microscopy results indicated that free DOX mainly accumulated in the nuclei of both TfR overexpressed HepG2 hepatoma cells and L-O2 normal liver cells expressing low level of TfR; most of the BP9a-DOX conjugate displayed cytoplasmic location, and its cellular uptake by HepG2 cells was obviously reduced by TfR blockage test. Nevertheless, the cellular uptake of this conjugate by L-O2 cells was much less than that of free DOX. Meanwhile, the BP9a-DOX conjugate exhibited lower in vitro antiproliferative activity against HepG2 cells than free DOX, but its cytotoxic effect on L-O2 cells was decreased compared with that of free DOX. These results suggest that BP9a could be applied as a potential TfR-targeted peptide vector for selective drug delivery.

Transferrin Receptor Targeted Cellular Delivery of Doxorubicin Via a Reduction-Responsive Peptide-Drug Conjugate.

PURPOSE: Transferrin receptors (TfRs) are overexpressed in tumor cells but are scarce in normal tissues, which makes TfR an attractive target for drug treatment of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of BP9a (CAHLHNRS) as a peptide vector for constructing TfR targeted peptide-drug conjugates and selective drug delivery. METHODS: Doxorubicin (DOX) was connected to BP9a via a disulfide-intercalating linker to afford a reduction-responsive BP9a-SS-DOX conjugate. By using HepG2 human liver cancer cells and L-O2 normal hepatic cells as TfR over-expressing and low-expressing in vitro models, respectively, TfR mediated cellular uptake of this conjugate was studied by using flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The in vitro cytotoxicities of the conjugate against HepG2 and L-O2 cells were examined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay to evaluate its tumorous specificity. RESULTS: Cellular uptake and TfR blockage test results showed that the BP9a-SS-DOX conjugate gained entry into HepG2 cells via endocytosis mediated by TfR and mainly accumulated in cytoplasm. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of this conjugate against HepG2 cells (IC50 6.21 ± 1.12 µM) was approximately one-sixth of that of free DOX (IC50 1.03 ± 0.13 µM). However, its cytotoxic effect on L-O2 cells was obviously reduced compared with that of free DOX. CONCLUSIONS: The BP9a-SS-DOX conjugate showed specific antiproliferative activity against HepG2 liver cancer cells. Our study suggests that BP9a has the potential to target chemotherapeutic agents to tumor cells over-expressing TfR and facilitate selective drug delivery.

Development and application of EST-SSRs markers for analysis of genetic diversity in erect milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens Pall.).

Erect milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens Pall.) is a major legume forage plant widely grown in Northern China. However, the lack of molecular markers has limited its research into its genetic diversity and work on germplasm improvement. In this study, a total of 39,163 EST-SSR loci were identified from 30,262 unigene sequences in the erect milkvetch transcriptome using Illumina sequencing. Moreover, 22,367 EST-SSR primer pairs (PPs) were successfully designed. In addition, 100 PPs were synthesized and preliminarily screened in two accessions; of these, 90 were determined to be clear and stable EST-SSR markers. Fifty-one PPs were randomly selected in order to assess the genetic diversity of 27 erect milkvetch accessions. The average polymorphism information content of the 51 PPs was 0.682. Greater genetic diversity was detected in accessions from Inner Mongolia and in the group of landrace and wild erect milkvetch accessions. This study provides an important resource for germplasm improvement and genetic diversity analysis in erect milkvetch.

Effects of silage additives and varieties on fermentation quality, aerobic stability, and nutritive value of oat silage.

Oat is a main feed crop in high- altitude areas of western China, but few studies have been done on its silage making. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of silage additives on fermentation, aerobic stability, and nutritive value of different oat varieties (OV) grown in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. Two OV (Avena sativa L. cv. Longyan No.1 (OVL1) and Avena sativa L. cv. Longyan No.3 (OVL3)) were planted in a randomized complete block design, harvested at early dough stage with 32.6% and 34.1% DM, respectively. The fresh material was chopped to 2-cm length and treated with additives (0, Sila-Mix (MIX), Sila-Max (MAX) in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments with three replicates. Both additives contained a mixture of lactic acid bacteria and supplied a final application rate of 2.5 × 108 of lactic acid bacteria per kg of fresh forage weight. After 60 d of ensiling, the number of lactic acid bacteria in treated silages was about 10-fold greater than the control and generally resulted in a lower pH and ammonia-nitrogen (P < 0.001), greater total acids and ratios of lactic acid/acetic acid (P < 0.001), and DM recovery (P = 0.028). Treatment with additives also decreased (P < 0.001) the number of yeasts, which resulted in marked (P < 0.001) improvements in aerobic stability with the effect being greatest with MAX. Both additives improved (P ≤ 0.036) the 48-h in situ DM digestion in OVL1, but not in OVL3 (P ≥ 0.052). Treatment with both additives also increased (P ≤ 0.003) NDF digestion in OVL1 while it was improved (P < 0.001) only by MAX in OVL3. In contrast, the additives did not affect (P ≥ 0.088) in situ hemicellulose digestion in OVL1, but it was improved (P = 0.048) by MIX and further improved (P = 0.002) by MAX in OVL3. Treatment with MAX improved yields of digestible DM and digestible NDF in both varieties. Dry matter recovery was not affected (P = 0.121) by variety. Compared to CTRL, silage treated with MAX had a greater (P = 0.015) DM recovery (96.7% vs. 93.9%). Inoculation improved (P < 0.001) aerobic stability. The MAX was the most effective for both varieties, while MIX was intermediate and was more effective in OVL3 than OVL1 silage. The results also showed that in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, compared to OVL1, OVL3 resulted in greater (P ≤ 0.002) yields of digestible nutrients; specifically, treated with MAX improved silage fermentation efficiency, DM recovery, and provided excellent aerobic stability for feeding to ruminants.

[Effects of long-term external use of goupi gao on renal functions and lead accumulation in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of long-term external use of Goupi Gao on renal function and lead accumulation in rats. METHOD: Rats were externally administered with Goupi Gao at different doses (7, 3.5 and 1.75 g x kg(-1)) for 90 d. At 45 days and 90 days after administration, the renal indicator, levels of blood urea nitrogen (BU) and creatinine (Cr) in serum, beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG) and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in urine were determined. Lead content in kidneys was detected by atomic absorption spectrometry. RESULT: A 90-day administration with Goupi Gao significantly enhanced the renal indicator, levels of NAG in urine and lead content in renal, when compared with the normal rats. However, the levels of BUN and beta2-MG as well as renal pathology in Goupi Gao treated rats were not obviously changed. CONCLUSION: Consecutive administration of Goupi Gao for 90 days can increase the renal indicator and levels of NAG in urine, enhance the accumulation of lead in renal, but with no effect on excretory function of kidneys and organic changes.

[Iridoid glycosides from buds of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum].

The study on the buds of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum was carried out to look for anti-HBV constituents. The isolation and purification were performed by HPLC and chromatography on silica gel, polyamide and Sephadex LH-20 column. The structures were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral analysis. Six iridoid glycosides were identified as jasgranoside B (1), 6-O-methy-catalpol (2), deacetyl asperulosidic acid (3), aucubin (4), 8-dehydroxy shanzhiside (5), and loganin (6). Jasgranoside B (1) is a new compound. Compounds 2-6 were isolated from Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum for the first time.

Antiviral efficacy against hepatitis B virus replication of oleuropein isolated from Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum (JOG) is a folk medicine used for the treatment of hepatitis in south of China. Phytochemical studies showed that secoiridoid glycosides are the typical constituents of this plant. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of oleuropein (Ole) derived from the flowers of JOG on hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in HepG2 2.2.15 cell line in vitro and duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) replication in ducklings in vivo. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The extracellular hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) concentrations in cell culture medium were determined by ELISA. DHBV in duck serum was analyzed by dot blot. RESULTS: Ole blocks effectively HBsAg secretion in HepG2 2.2.15 cells in a dose-dependent manner (IC(50)=23.2 microg/ml). Ole (80 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, twice daily) also reduced viremia in DHBV-infected ducks. CONCLUSION: Ole therefore warrants further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent for HBV infection.

[A new secoiridoid from the flowers of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum].

To study the chemical constituents of the flowers of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum, the compounds were isolated and purified by HPLC, recrystallization and chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral analysis. Six secoiridoids were identified as jasgranoside (I), jaspolyoside (II), 8-epi-kingiside (III), 10-hydroxy-oleuropein (IV), 10-hydroxy-ligstroside (V), oleoside-7, 11-dimethyl ester (VI). Compound I is a new compound. Compounds II, III, IV, V and VI were isolated from Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum for the first time.

[Triterpenoid saponins from flower bud of Jasminum officinale var. grandiflorum].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituent bud of the flowers of Jasminum officinale var. grandiflorum. METHOD: The compounds were isolated and purified by recrystallization and chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH - 20 column. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral analysis. RESULT: Six triterpenoid saponins were identified as 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 --> 2)-beta-D-xylopyranosyl- hederagenin-28-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl (1 --> 6)-beta-D-galactopyranosyl ester (1), hederagenin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1 --> 3)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (2), 2alpha, 3beta, 23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3), hederagenin-3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1 --> 3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 --> 2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (4), 2alpha, 3beta, 23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 --> 4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (5), hederagenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 --> 2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (6). CONCLUSION: Compound 1 is a new compound. Compounds 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 were isolated from the genus Jasminum for the first time.

[Glycosides from flowers of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum].

To study the chemical constituents of the flower of Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum. The compounds were isolated and purified by re-crystallization and chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column. Their structures were elucidated on the physicochemical properties and spectral analysis. Seven glycosides were identified as kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->3)-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->6)]-beta-D-galactopyranoside (I), kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (II), 7-ketologanin (III), oleoside-11-methyl ester (IV), 7-glucosyl-l1-methyl oleoside (V), ligstroside (VI), oleuropein (VII). Compound I is a new compound. Compounds III and V were isolated from the family of Jasminum for the first time and compounds II, IV and VI were isolated from Jasminum officinale L. var. grandiflorum for the first time.