ABSTRACT Triticale (×Triticosecale Wittm.) is a major forage crop of arid and semiarid areas in China with yields much constrained by drought stress. Genetic improvement could benefit from a better understanding of drought effects on plant morphology and physiology. In this study, the morphophysiological traits of four triticale genotypes (line C31, varieties ‘Gannong No.1’, ‘Gannong No.2’, and ‘Shida No.1’) were determined on days 7, 14, 21, 35, 49, and 63 for treatments of the normal irrigation and drought stress, respectively. Rainfall of the drought stress treatments was controlled during the study using an anti-rain shed. Our findings suggest that drought stress had significant effects on all morphophysiological traits except for the relative number of leaves (RL) and catalase activities (RCAT). Among four genotypes, the averaged relative plant height (RH) of ‘Gannong No.2’ (0.90) was the highest, the averaged relative number of tillers (RT) of ‘Gannong No.1’ (0.77) was the highest, the averaged relative aboveground biomass yields (RAB) (0.53), relative leaf water content (RRWC) (0.96), and peroxidase activity (RPOD) (0.92) of C31 were the highest, respectively, and the averaged RCAT (1.06) of ‘Shida No.1’ was the highest. The interaction between genotype and drought stress days was significant for all morphophysiological traits except for the RT and RL. A comprehensive evaluation revealed that C31 was the most drought-tolerant genotype under persistent drought stress. These findings may be useful for the breeding and identification of drought-tolerant germplasms in the arid and semi-arid regions.

Abstract The contents of total phenol and flavonoid of 27 edible plants as well as their antioxidative and digestive enzymes inhibitory activities were evaluated. The total phenol content of the 27 plants ranged from 1.28-46.80 mg gallic acid equivalent/g. DPPH, ABTS and reducing power assay explored that Rubus idaeus Linn, Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. and Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. exhibited stronger antioxidant capacity among the 27 plants. 4 plants showed inhibitory percentage more than 50% on pancreatic lipase. 10 plants showed inhibitory percentage more than 50% on α-glucosidase. 3 plants simultaneously possess significant inhibitory activities on pancreatic lipase and α-glucosidase, which were Alpinia officinarum Hance, Ginkgo biloba Linn. leaves and Vitis vinifera Linn. Seeds. Strong positive correlation between total phenol content and antioxidative capacity were found. However, digestive enzymes inhibitory activity was less correlated with total phenol and total flavonoids content.

Abstract To determine the effect of transportation vibration on the nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of sweet cherry fruits in the process of cold chain transportation. Two kinds of sweet cherry “Summit” and “Nanyang” with different storage and transportation resistance were used as experimental materials. The results showed that the content of soluble solids, titratable acids and vitamin C in sweet cherry fruits were significantly reduced, while the content of superoxide anion radical, malondialdehyde and the antioxidant enzyme activities of CAT, APX, POD and PPO increased significantly, At the same time, the content of total phenols and flavonoids were increased under transport vibration stress, but the ability of DPPH and ABTS+ free radical scavenging of sweet cherry were reduced significantly. In particular, transportation vibration stress had a greater impact on the nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of “Nanyang”, a sweet cherry with poor storage resistance. The results of this study indicated that transportation vibration has a great impact on the nutritional quality of sweet cherry, and that there is a strong correlation between antioxidant activity and nutritional quality. This study confirmed that transportation vibration during cold chain transportation can significantly reduce the nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of sweet cherry.

Dois novos diterpenos com esqueleto caurano, 3a,16b-17-tri-hidróxi-ent-caurano 3-O-β-D-glucopiranosídeo e ácido 2β,3α-di-hidróxi-ent-caur-15-eno-17-óico 3-O-β-D-glucopiranosídeo, foram isolados das cascas de Albizia mollis (Wall.) Boiv. As estruturas destes dois cauranos foram elucidadas por métodos espectroscópicos uni e bidimensionais e por espectrometria de massas.

Two new kaurane diterpenoids, 3α, 16β, 17-trihydroxy-ent-kaurane 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and 2β,3α-dihydroxy-ent-kaur-15-en-17-oic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, were isolated from the bark of Albizia mollis (Wall.) Boiv. The structures of two new compounds were elucidated by extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic methods in combination with MS experiments.