Fatty Acid and Phytochemical Compositions of Plantago Seed Oils and Their Functionalities

To develop the potential applications of Plantago plants, seed oils were extracted from 14 cultivars of Plantago around China. Their fatty acid profiles, tocopherols, carotenoid compositions, anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant properties were also investigated. The Plantago seed oils (PSO) were abundant in linolenic acid from 11.12 to 29.36 g/100 g oil and had low fatty acid ratio of n‐6/n‐3 ratio matched with the dietary recommendations. The tocopherol contents of PSO ranged from 693.25 to 3708.80 μg/g and the lutein contents ranged from 2.29 to 26.68 μg/g. The PSO showed significant inhibitory effects on TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and COX‐2 mRNA expression in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells induced by LPS. In addition, the properties on scavenging DPPH, oxygen and hydroxyl radicals indicated that PSO had potential antioxidant properties. The results could develop PSO as novel functional foods to improve human health.     

Chemical characteristics and antioxidant activities of polysaccharide purified from the seeds of Plantago asiatica L.

BACKGROUND: A water‐soluble polysaccharide from the seeds of Plantago asiatica L. (P. asiatica L. polysaccharide, PLP) was extracted with hot water and purified by gel filtration chromatography. The chemical characteristics of PLP were determined by high‐performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In addition, the antioxidant activities of PLP in vitro were evaluated using various test systems, including scavenging of 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picryl‐hydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, scavenging of superoxide radicals generated by 1,2,3‐phentriol autoxidation, scavenging of hydroxyl radicals and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. RESULTS: The molecular weight of PLP was determined by HPGPC to be about 1894 kDa. PLP contained 29.2 g kg^?1 protein and 145.8 g kg^?1 uronic acid. The FTIR spectrum of PLP also revealed typical characteristics of a polysaccharide containing protein and uronic acid. Moreover, the results showed that PLP possessed antioxidant activities, but lower than those of ascorbic acid. CONCLUSION: PLP is an acid protein‐bound polysaccharide of high molecular weight, but its structure needs further study. The present results suggest that PLP could potentially be used as a natural antioxidant. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of iridoid glycoside content on oviposition host plant choice and parasitism in a specialist herbivore

The Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia feeds upon two host plant species in Å land, Finland, Plantago lanceolataand Veronica spicata, both of which produce iridoid glycosides. Iridoids are known to deter feeding or decrease the growth rate of many generalist insect herbivores, but they often act as oviposition cues to specialist butterflies and are feeding stimulants to their larvae. In this study, two iridoid glycosides (aucubin and catalpol) were analyzed by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography. We measured the spatial and temporal variation of iridoid glycosides in natural populations of the host plants of M. cinxia. We also analyzed the aucubin and catalpol content in plants in relation to their use by ovipositing females, and in relation to the incidence of parasitism of M. cinxia larvae in natural populations. The mean concentrations of aucubin and catalpol were higher in P. lanceolata than in V. spicata, and catalpol concentrations were higher than aucubin concentrations in both host species. Plantago lanceolata individuals that were used for oviposition by M. cinxia had higher aucubin concentrations than random plants and neighboring plants. Additionally, oviposition and random plants had higher catalpol concentrations than neighboring plants, indicating that ovipositing females select for high iridoid glycoside plants or that oviposition induces iridoid glycoside production in P. lanceolata. Parasitism by the specialist parasitoid wasp Cotesia melitaearum occurred most frequently in larval groups that were feeding on plants with low concentrations of catalpol, irrespective of year, population, and host plant species. Therefore, parasitoids appear to avoid or perform poorly in host larvae with high catalpol content.     

Do Enemies of Herbivores Influence Plant Growth and Chemistry? Evidence from a Seminatural Experiment

It is predicted that enemies of insect herbivores may influence the effects of herbivores on their host plants by affecting the choice of plant genotypes. To examine the effect of predators, we conducted two experiments, each with a different caterpillar species (Junonia coenia and Pyrrharctia isabella). Under seminatural conditions, we provided a choice between two genotypes of plantain (Plantago lanceolata) with different levels of iridoid glycosides and used Podisus maculiventris stinkbugs as predators. There were four treatments: no herbivores and no predators, low density of herbivores and no predators, high density of herbivores and no predators, and high density of herbivores plus predators. The caterpillars had little effect on plant growth but did influence the iridoid glycoside concentration. For the Junonia experiment, the concentration of iridoid glycosides was less for plots with a low density of caterpillars (with no predators) compared to the other treatments of caterpillar density. In the Pyrrharctia experiment, catalpol was induced by a high density of caterpillars (with no predators). There were no increases in total iridoid glycosides associated with either herbivore species. The presence of predators had no effect on plant growth or total iridoid glycoside pattern. The lack of effect by predators seems to reflect the relatively large variation in iridoid glycoside concentration among leaf ages, and the herbivores ability to respond to that variation, such that the difference in iridoid glycoside concentrations in the plant genotypes was less important.     

分子荧光法分别测定4种野生可食植物中的色氨酸和酪氨酸

为建立分别测定食品中酪氨酸和色氨酸的新方法,选择郑州地区的贼小豆、续断菊、车前草、火棘果野生植物为样品,以6mol/L的氢氧化钠溶液水解,用分子荧光法进行测定。结果表明:在不同的酸度条件下,样品中色氨酸和酪氨酸测定的质量分数均值分别为1.37～2.63mg/g和7.98～25.83mg/g。相对标准偏差不大于5.4%,色氨酸在实验浓度范围内线性良好,方法检出限为0.011μg/mL、定量限为0.037μg/mL,回收率为93.5%～105%;酪氨酸在实验浓度范围内线性良好,方法检出限为0.033μg/mL,定量限为0.11μg/mL,回收率为94.6%～100.5%。该方法操作简便、灵敏、快速,可为食品新资源的开发提供科学参考,有一定的应用价值。     

车前草多糖的脱色工艺研究

以脱色率和多糖保留率为指标,采用活性炭和大孔吸附树脂两种方法对车前草多糖脱色。结果表明,活性炭脱色的最佳条件为：在60℃下,加入0．75％（m／V）的活性炭,脱色30min,在此工艺条件下脱色率为76．22％,多糖保留率为65．31％。大孔吸附树脂脱色的最佳条件是：以蒸馏水为洗脱剂,样pH值为8．0,洗脱流速为2mL／min,洗脱液体积为3BV（1BV=20mL）,在此工艺条件下脱色率为79．78％,多糖保留率为89．76％。大孔吸附树脂脱色效果优于活性炭脱色效果。     

High pressure homogenization increases antioxidant capacity and short-chain fatty acid yield of polysaccharide from seeds of Plantago asiatica L.

Physiological properties of homogenized and non-homogenized polysaccharide from the seeds of Plantago asiatica L., including antioxidant capacity and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, were compared in this study. High pressure homogenization decreased particle size of the polysaccharide, and changed the surface topography from large flake-like structure to smaller porous chips. FT-IR showed that high pressure homogenization did not alter the primary structure of the polysaccharide. However, high pressure homogenization increased antioxidant capacity of the polysaccharide, evaluated by 4 antioxidant capacity assays (hydroxyl radical-scavenging, superoxide radical-scavenging, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical (DPPH)-scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition). Additionally, the production of total SCFA, propionic acid and n-butyric acid in ceca and colons of mice significantly increased after dieting supplementation with homogenized polysaccharide. These results showed that high pressure homogenization treatment could be a promising approach for the production of value-added polysaccharides in the food industry.     

The Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Direct and Indirect Defense Metabolites of Plantago lanceolata L.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can strongly influence the metabolism of their host plant, but their effect on plant defense mechanisms has not yet been thoroughly investigated. We studied how the principal direct defenses (iridoid glycosides) and indirect defenses (volatile organic compounds) of Plantago lanceolata L. are affected by insect herbivory and mechanical wounding. Volatile compounds were collected and quantified from mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal P. lanceolata plants that underwent three different treatments: 1) insect herbivory, 2) mechanical wounding, or 3) no damage. The iridoids aucubin and catalpol were extracted and quantified from the same plants. Emission of terpenoid volatiles was significantly higher after insect herbivory than after the other treatments. However, herbivore-damaged mycorrhizal plants emitted lower amounts of sesquiterpenes, but not monoterpenes, than herbivore-damaged non-mycorrhizal plants. In contrast, mycorrhizal infection increased the emission of the green leaf volatile (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate in untreated control plants, making it comparable to emission from mechanically wounded or herbivore-damaged plants whether or not they had mycorrhizal associates. Neither mycorrhization nor treatment had any influence on the levels of iridoid glycosides. Thus, mycorrhizal infection did not have any effect on the levels of direct defense compounds measured in P. lanceolata. However, the large decline in herbivore-induced sesquiterpene emission may have important implications for the indirect defense potential of this species.