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The aim of the study was to examine combinations of base oils and herbal additives with a view to obtaining macerates with improved health benefits. Base oils were cold-pressed from the seeds of black cumin, borage, evening primrose,... more
The aim of the study was to examine combinations of base oils and herbal additives with a view to obtaining macerates with improved health benefits. Base oils were cold-pressed from the seeds of black cumin, borage, evening primrose, safflower, walnut, common hazel, and oilseed rape, as well as the flesh of sea-buckthorn fruits. They were then supplemented with herbs, including basil, thyme, and sage, in order to create macerates. Total antioxidant activity and tocopherol level were analyzed in oils, macerates, and oil cakes. Additionally, chemical properties of oil cakes—such as the level of fibre, vitamin C, β-carotene, and lutein—were also examined. Supplementation with herbs caused diversified effects on antioxidant activity and tocopherol level in macerates depending on the base oil, herb, and supplementation method. The obtained results indicate that tocopherol level does not play a decisive role in determining the antioxidant properties of oils, macerates, and oil cakes, sugg...
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Culinary rhubarb is a vegetable crop, valued for its stalks, very rich in different natural bioactive ingredients. In commercial rhubarb stalk production, the bud dormancy development and release are crucial processes that determine the... more
Culinary rhubarb is a vegetable crop, valued for its stalks, very rich in different natural bioactive ingredients. In commercial rhubarb stalk production, the bud dormancy development and release are crucial processes that determine the yields and quality of stalks. To date, reports on rhubarb bud dormancy regulation, however, are lacking. It is known that dormancy status depends on cultivars. The study aimed to determine the dormancy regulation in a valuable selection of rhubarb ‘Malinowy’. Changes in carbohydrate, total phenolic, endogenous hormone levels, and gene expression levels during dormancy development and release were studied in micropropagated rhubarb plantlets. Dormancy developed at high temperature (25.5 °C), and long day. Leaf senescence and dying were consistent with a significant increase in starch, total phenolics, ABA, IAA and SA levels. Five weeks of cooling at 4 °C were sufficient to break dormancy, but rhizomes stored for a longer duration showed faster and mor...
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of osmotic stress caused by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 in hydroponic culture on wheat seedlings of drought-resistant Chinese Spring (CS) and drought-susceptible SQ1 cultivar, and... more
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of osmotic stress caused by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 in hydroponic culture on wheat seedlings of drought-resistant Chinese Spring (CS) and drought-susceptible SQ1 cultivar, and to examine the alleviative role of exogenous polyamines (PAs) applied to the medium. The assessment was based on physiological (chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics, chlorophyll and water content) as well as biochemical (content of carbohydrates, phenols, proline, salicylic and abscisic acid, activity of low molecular weight antioxidants) parameters, measured after supplementation with PAs (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) on the 3rd, 5th and 7th day of the treatment. The results indicate that PAs ameliorate the effects of stress, indirectly and conditionally inducing stress tolerance of wheat seedlings. In contrast to the susceptible SQ1, the resistant CS cultivar activated its protective mechanisms, adjusting the degree of their activation to ...
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In this article, the effects of cold on the development of Lupine angustifolius and the possibility of mitigating it, via seed hydropriming or pre-treatment with butenolide (10−6 M–10−4 M), are investigated in two cultivars, differing in... more
In this article, the effects of cold on the development of Lupine angustifolius and the possibility of mitigating it, via seed hydropriming or pre-treatment with butenolide (10−6 M–10−4 M), are investigated in two cultivars, differing in their ability to germinate at low temperature. Physiological background of plant development after cold stress was investigated in imbibed seeds. For the first four weeks, the seedlings grew at 7 °C or 13 °C. Seeds well germinating at 7 °C demonstrated higher activity of α-amylase and higher levels of gibberellins, IAA and kinetin. Germination ability at low temperature correlated with dehydrogenase activity and membrane permeability. Seed pre-treatment improved germination at low temperature by decreasing abscisic acid content. Seed hydropriming alleviated cold effects on plant development rate and yield, while butenolide accelerated vegetative development but delayed the generative phase. Potential seed yield may be predicted based on the seed ger...
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Ten doubled haploid (DH) lines of winter barley with an increased range of freezing/drought tolerance were used to identify phytohormones involved in plant stress acclimation. Cold hardening and drought stress were applied at the most... more
Ten doubled haploid (DH) lines of winter barley with an increased range of freezing/drought tolerance were used to identify phytohormones involved in plant stress acclimation. Cold hardening and drought stress were applied at the most critical stages of plant development on young seedlings and heading plants, respectively. The level of the phytohormones was significantly higher at heading, more than 5-fold in respect of salicylic acid (SA) and total brassinosteroids (BRs) and 1.7-fold in the case of abscisic acid (ABA). Moreover, the spectrum of detectable BRs increased from one—homocastasterone (HCS)—found in seedlings to four BRs identified in heading plants [HCS, castasterone (CS), teasterone and dolicholide], with the last one detected for the first time in cereal species. To some extent freezing tolerance seems to be determined by native hormonal status as control seedlings of tolerant DH lines contained 1.4- and 2.3-fold lower amount of ABA and HCS and 2.3-fold higher amount o...
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The study was focused on the influence of salicylic acid (SA) on maize seeds germination and on some physiological and biochemical processes in maize plants growing in the hydroponic culture under copper (Cu) stress. A significant... more
The study was focused on the influence of salicylic acid (SA) on maize seeds germination and on some physiological and biochemical processes in maize plants growing in the hydroponic culture under copper (Cu) stress. A significant influence of SA pretreatment on the advanced induction of the maize seeds metabolic activity and the level of the endogenous SA in germinated seeds and developing roots have been stated. Although, the ability of maize seeds to uptake SA and accumulate it in the germinated roots was confirmed, the growth inhibition of Cu-stressed maize seedlings was not ameliorated by SA seeds pretreatment. Cu-stressed plants exhibited a decrease in the photosynthetic pigment concentration and the increase in non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) - an indicator of an excess energy in PSII antenna assemblies lost as a heat. The amelioration effect of SA application was found only for carotenoids content which increased in stressed plants. It was also shown that maize roots growi...
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Auxin is involved in a wide spectrum of physiological processes in plants, including responses controlled by the blue light photoreceptors phototropins: phototropic bending and stomatal movement. However, the role of auxin in... more
Auxin is involved in a wide spectrum of physiological processes in plants, including responses controlled by the blue light photoreceptors phototropins: phototropic bending and stomatal movement. However, the role of auxin in phototropin‐mediated chloroplast movements has never been studied. To address this question we searched for potential interactions between auxin and the chloroplast movement signaling pathway using different experimental approaches and two model plants, Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum. We observed that the disturbance of auxin homeostasis by shoot decapitation caused a decrease in chloroplast movement parameters, which could be rescued by exogenous auxin application. In several cases, the impairment of polar auxin transport, by chemical inhibitors or in auxin carrier mutants, had a similar negative effect on chloroplast movements. This inhibition was not correlated with changes in auxin levels. Chloroplast relocations were also affected by the antiau...
Research Interests: Plant Biology, Biology, Cell Biology, Medicine, Arabidopsis thaliana, and 15 moreMutation, Movement, Plant Growth Regulators, Light, Actin Cytoskeleton, Arabidopsis, Auxin, Chloroplast, Polar Auxin Transport, Biochemistry and cell biology, Plant Leaves, Chloroplasts, Horticultural production, phototropism, and mesophyll cells
Research Interests: Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Photochemistry, Fluorescence, Fluorescence Microscopy, and 15 moreMedicine, DNA, Humans, Photoconversion, Photobleaching, Hydrogen Peroxide, Super Resolution Microscopy, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Protons, Oxidants, Bisbenzimidazole, fibroblasts, Ultraviolet Rays, fluorescent dyes, and protonation
Research Interests: Botany, Plant Biology, Fluorescence Microscopy, Biology, Immunohistochemistry, and 15 moreMedicine, Plant Growth Regulators, Cereals, Abscisic Acid, Gibberellin, Genotype, Auxin, Experimental Embriology, Clofibric Acid, Cytokinins, Kinetin, Microspore Embryogenesis, Hormonal homeostsis, Cytokinin, and Cold Temperature
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Research Interests: Biology, Drug interactions, Cancer Research, DNA damage, DNA repair, and 15 moreMedicine, Multidisciplinary, Estrogen Receptor, Humans, Medulloblastoma, PLoS one, Cisplatin, Homologous Recombination, Base Sequence, Cell Survival, Antineoplastic Agents, Estradiol, Insulin Receptor Substrate, Estrogen antagonists, and Estrogen Receptor beta
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The growth response and antioxidant capacity of Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba plants treated with 70ppb of ozone was examined. Four week old cabbage seedlings were fumigated with O3 for 3 days before being transplanted into the... more
The growth response and antioxidant capacity of Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba plants treated with 70ppb of ozone was examined. Four week old cabbage seedlings were fumigated with O3 for 3 days before being transplanted into the growing field. The effect of O3 treatment was determined directly after fumigation and over the course of field cultivation. Plants subjected to O3 treatment had an increased diameter of rosettes and number of leaves after 3 and 7 weeks in agriculture, respectively. In addition, the vast majority of fumigated plants reached marketable quality faster than control plants, indicating a positive role of episodes of increased O3 concentrations during vegetation on growth and yielding. Our analysis revealed that by fumigating juvenile white cabbage plants with moderate doses of O3 the activity of catalases (CAT) and peroxidases was elevated. The activity of the examined enzymes was not affected directly after fumigation, but it increased after several weeks in the experimental field. Increased CAT activity was accompanied by changes in 2 out of the 3 CAT genes CAT1 and CAT2, where CAT2 seemed to be responsible for the induced CAT activity. The biosynthesis of low-molecular stress protectants - tocopherols and the glucosinolate (GLS) sinigrin was transiently affected by ozone. γ-Tocopherol (γ-toc) content significantly increased directly after fumigation, but after 3 weeks of vegetation in the field its concentration reached values similar to control. The biosynthesis of α-tocopherol (α-toc) and sinigrin seemed to be upregulated in fumigated plants. However, the response was delayed; no differences were registered directly after treatment, but 3 weeks after transplanting the concentration of sinigrin and α-toc was elevated.
Research Interests: Botany, Horticulture, Plant Biology, Biology, Oxidative Stress, and 15 moreMedicine, Antioxidants, Plant Physiology, Antioxidant, Catalase, Brassica oleracea, Brassica, Ozone, Seedling, Sinigrin, Glucosinolates, Tocopherol, PLANT PROTEINS, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and fumigation
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the products of incomplete combustion of organic materials, which are present in cigarette smoke, deep‐fried food, and in natural crude oil. Since PAH‐metabolites form DNA adducts and cause... more
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the products of incomplete combustion of organic materials, which are present in cigarette smoke, deep‐fried food, and in natural crude oil. Since PAH‐metabolites form DNA adducts and cause oxidative DNA damage, we asked if these environmental carcinogens could affect transforming potential of the human Polyomavirus JC oncoprotein, T‐antigen (JCV T‐antigen). We extracted DMSO soluble PAHs from Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (oil‐PAHs), and detected several carcinogenic PAHs. The oil‐PAHs were tested in exponentially growing cultures of normal mouse fibroblasts (R508), and in R508 stably expressing JCV T‐antigen (R508/T). The oil‐PAHs were cytotoxic only at relatively high doses (1:50–1:100 dilution), and at 1:500 dilution the growth and cell survival rates were practically unaffected. This non‐toxic dose triggered however, a significant accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), caused oxidative DNA damage and the fo...