Search results for " pear"
showing 10 items of 73 documents
Root growth and soil carbon turnover in Opuntia ficus-indica as affected by soil volume availability
2019
Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of soil volume restriction, i.e. root confinement, on below-and-above ground growth of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill) as well as the effect on root architecture and turnover, and soil carbon turnover. In May 2014, 1- year-old cladodes were planted in five different pots size (50, 33, 18, 9 and 5 L). Soil samples were collected from each pot and dried before SOC and δ13C determination. Roots of each plant were divided visually into three groups depending on their diameter, and then measured and weighed. Results indicated a significant effect of soil volume and sampling dates on total root length, root dry mass and δ13…
Variation in the COI gene of the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera from River Vuokkijoki
2017
The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera L. is one of the most endangered freshwater mussels in the world. Effective conservation of threatened species requires not only ecological, but also genetic information from the target species and populations. Since low genetic diversity can reduce the ability of a species to adapt to environmental changes, maintaining genetic diversity has been identified as one of the key elements in successful conservation programs. We examined genetic variation of the freshwater pearl mussel from the River Vuokkijoki, Karelia, Russia. We sequenced a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) from 22 individuals and compared the data…
Antioxidant activities of sicilian prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica) fruit extracts and reducing properties of its betalains: betanin and indicaxan…
2002
Sicilian cultivars of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica) produce yellow, red, and white fruits, due to the combination of two betalain pigments, the purple-red betanin and the yellow-orange indicaxanthin. The betalain distribution in the three cultivars and the antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts from edible pulp were investigated. In addition, the reducing capacity of purified betanin and indicaxanthin was measured. According to a spectrophotometric analysis, the yellow cultivar exhibited the highest amount of betalains, followed by the red and white ones. Indicaxanthin accounted for about 99% of betalains in the white fruit, while the ratio of betanin to indicaxanthin varied fr…
Antioxidant activities of prickly pear ( Opuntia ficus indica) fruits and its betalains: betanin and indicaxanthin.
2004
Phytochemicals and phytomedicines are now an expanding research fields. A great number of active agents occurring in plants and herbs have been discovered, which is fundamental to find a rationale for the health effects of these herbs, in many cases used for centuries as traditional remedies. The knowledge of the mechanisms and molecular basis of their action is the final objective to understand the mode of action of the discovered principles. Studies on the bioactivity of cactus pear are very recent and results obtained so far, while exciting, now generate new questions. In vivo studies on healthy humans showed a strong protection of the body antioxidant system, and a marked reduction of p…
Effect of substrate particle size on burrowing of the juvenile freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera
2021
AbstractJuveniles of the endangered freshwater pearl mussel (FPM,Margaritifera margaritifera) live burrowed in stream substrate for the first years of their life. Fine sediments block water exchange within substrate and may cause juvenile mortality and recruitment failure. To better understand the connection between success of juvenile FPM and substrate particle size, it would be important to understand behavioural responses of FPM to varying substrate sizes at this critical life stage. We placed newly detached FPM juveniles in a 7-mm layer of sieved sand sorted into five sizes (< 120, 120–200, 200–250, 250–500 and 500–650 µm) each with 10 replicate dishes, 10 juveniles per dish, with bu…
Seasonal characterization of nutritional, technological and antioxidant properties of Opuntia ficus-indica Mill. mucilage
2022
Opuntia ficus-indica Mill. fruit and cladodes are a source of mucilage, a carbohydrate complex, as well as of phytochemicals and other nutrients, useful in the food industry. Despite the environmental-based composition variability studied, there is no information on its seasonal variability, which is particularly important for its industrial use. In this study, some technological, nutritional, and bioactive properties of O. ficus-indica Mill. cladodes mucilage were analysed during the seasonal growth period. Total proteins did not change during the whole period and the lipid content significantly decreased from winter to the onset of summer. The fatty acid profile showed high levels of palm…
Antioxidant activity of cactus pear fruits and bioavailability of betalan components in healthy humans
2008
Consumption of fruit and vegetables is now associated with protection against various pathologies, including cancer and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, in which oxidative damage is an important etiologic factor. Various compounds from plant food, acting independently of known nutrients and micronutrients, have appeared very important in protecting human health. Most of these components can act as antioxidants or affect redox-dependent cell activities involved both in physiological and pathological events. In this scenery fruits of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica), and the characteristic betalain pigments have recently attracted the attention of researchers. While suggesting m…
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) differ in their suitability as hosts for the endangered freshwater pearl mussel (Margari…
2017
European populations of the freshwater pearl mussel (FPM, Margaritifera margaritifera) have collapsed across much of the species’ geographic range and, despite many types of conservation intervention, the number of successful restoration efforts has been low. The goal of this study was to determine whether there were population-specific differences in the suitability of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (S. trutta) as hosts for the parasitic glochidium larvae of FPM. We predicted that such differences would depend on the historical occurrence of these salmonid species in FPM habitats. We studied the potential host specificity both in the field and in laboratory by exposing salmo…
Identification of Chinese fresh-water pearls using MN2+ activated cathodoluminescence
2000
Fresh-water tissue graft-cultured pearls from China were investigated using hot cathode and cold cathode cathodoluminescence microscopes. Supplementary investigations were done using X-radiography, a Scanning Electron Microscope, an optical microscope, and an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The results were compared with those of natural fresh-water pearls from the Mississippi river. Thin sections of fresh-water natural pearls from the Mississippi river could be distinguished from those of fresh-water tissue graft cultured pearls from China using a hot cathode cathodoluminescence microscope according to the distribution of Mn2+ as follows: (1) Fresh-water tissue graft cultured pearls from Ch…
Effect of glochidia infection on growth of fish : freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera and brown trout Salmo trutta
2019
AbstractEffect of freshwater mussels’ (Unionoida) glochidia on the growth of fish host has remained poorly studied. We compared the specific growth rate of the juvenile, PIT-marked brown trout (Salmo trutta) between uninfected controls to those experimentally infected (average initial intensity of infection 8000 fish−1) with Margaritifera margaritifera glochidia, kept in high and low feeding. Growth and mortality of fish were monitored for 10 months. Our hypothesis was that glochidiosis would impair the growth of fish. According to our hypothesis, infected fish gained statistically significantly less weight than the control fish throughout the experiment. A proportional increase in weight o…