Asparagus

Dans les études comparées « droit et littérature » ou « économie et littérature », on cherche souvent en priorité ce que la littérature peut nous apprendre sur le droit ou l’économie. C’est prendre un risque : celui d’oublier la
dimension littéraire des textes étudiés. À plus forte raison, c’est prendre le risque de passer à côté d’un fait précieux, à savoir que la littérature est autre chose qu’un instrument talentueux assigné à la valorisation des thèmes qu’on lui livre : la littérature est plus que cela ! Elle sait elle-même user des autres – en l’occurrence, user du droit et de l’économie comme d’instruments, les mettre à son service. Il n’est pas rare que, ne cherchant pas à représenter ces deux univers, elle les détourne de leurs fins, les vide de leurs fonctions manifestes, mais en conserve mécanismes, raisonnements et vocabulaire : la littérature tire du droit et de l’économie des éléments de poétique qu’elle s’agrège et qui la renforcent, sans qu’elle se soucie de nous apprendre nécessairement quelque chose sur ces deux disciplines, objet de son pillage.
PLAN de l'article :
    Balzac/Piketty : la ruse de la Littérature
    L’inversion (des valeurs) de M. de Norpois : Qu’est ce que la littérature ?
        La carrière littéraire : à quel taux placer sa vie ?
        M. de Norpois ? Un bon inverti en vaut deux
        Tante Léonie ? Une valeur à investir
        L’« action nominative de la Compagnie des Eaux » : Contre Sainte‑Beuve appliqué
    Détournement du droit et de l’économie par la Littérature
    La Peau de chagrin : la vie est consomptible par le premier usage
        La lettre de change : qu’est-ce que la vie ?
        Le droit fantastique
        La Peau comme instrument du droit : une condamnation du littéralisme
        Confusion entre vie, argent et temps : d’une usure à l’autre
    « La fille de cuisine était une personne morale » : le droit, auxiliaire de la littérature

In the most comprehensive study to date we explored the phylogeny and evolution of the genus Asparagus, with emphasis on the southern African species. We included 211 accessions, representing 77 (92%) of the southern African, 6 (17%) of the tropical African, 10 (56%) of the strictly European and 6 (9%) of the Eurasian species. We analysed DNA sequences from three plastid regions (trnH-psbA, trnD-T, ndhF) and from the nuclear region phytochrome C (PHYC) with parsimony and maximum likelihood methods, and recovered a monophyletic Asparagus. The phylogeny conflicts with all previous infra-generic classifications. It has many strongly supported clades, corroborated by morphological characters, which may provide a basis for a revised taxonomy. Additionally, the phylogeny indicates that many of the current species delimitations are problematic. Using biogeographic analyses that account for phylogenetic uncertainty (S-DIVA) and take into account relative branch lengths (Lagrange) we confirm...

Background and Aim: Understanding the regulations of rumen microbiota and their fibrolytic capabilities under different forages are essential to improve rumen fermentation and animal feed efficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in the rumen fermentation and the structure and fibrolytic activities of rumen bacteria in camels fed barley straw and Egyptian clover hay.

Materials and Methods: Three fistulated camels were fed a diet containing barley straw for 30 days; then transitioned to a diet containing Egyptian clover hay for 30 days. In addition, bacterial media enriched with xylan and different cellulose sources, namely, filter paper, wheat straw, and alfalfa hay, were used to evaluate the ability of camel rumen bacteria to produce xylanase and cellulase enzymes.

Results: The camel group fed Egyptian clover hay showed higher crude protein intake, rumen ammonia, total volatile fatty acids, and acetic acid. Moreover, the camel group fed barley straw showed higher neutral detergent fiber intake, rumen pH, and propionic and butyric acids. Principal component analysis showed that bacterial communities were separated based on the forage type. Forage type affected the composition of rumen bacteria and most of the bacterial community was assigned to phylum Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Egyptian clover hay diet increased the proportions of genus Prevotella and Ruminococcus; while fed barley straw diet increased the Butyrivibrio, RC9_gut_group, and Fibrobacteres. The bacterial culture of the Egyptian clover hay fed group produced the greatest xylanase and the bacterial culture of the barley straw fed group produced the maximum cellulase.

Conclusion: Egyptian clover hay is recommended to feed camels in intensive production. Moreover, the bacterial community in the camel rumen is a promising source of lignocellulolytic enzymes.

Asparagus officinalis L. is a dioecious plant. A region called the M-locus located on a pair of homomorphic sex chromosomes controls the sexual dimorphism in asparagus. The aim of this work was to clone the region determining sex in asparagus from its position in the genome. The structure of the region encompassing M should be investigated and compared to the sex-determining regions in other dioecious model species. To establish an improved basis for physical mapping, a high-resolution genetic map was enriched with AFLP markers closely linked to the target locus by carrying out a bulked segregant analysis. By screening a BAC library with AFLP-and STS-markers followed by chromosome walking, a physical map with eight contigs could be established. However, the gaps between the contigs could not be closed due to a plethora of repetitive elements. Surprisingly, two of the contigs on one side of the M-locus did not overlap although they have been established with two markers, which mapped in a distance as low as 0.25 cM Xanking the sex locus. Thus, the clustering of the markers indicates a reduced recombination frequency within the M-region. On the opposite side of the M-locus, a contig was mapped in a distance of 0.38 cM. Four closely linked BAC clones were partially sequenced and 64 putative ORFs were identiWed. Interestingly, only 25% of the ORFs showed sequence similarity to known proteins and ESTs. In addition, an accumulation of repetitive sequences and a low gene density was revealed in the sex-determining region of asparagus. Molecular cytoge-netic and sequence analysis of BACs Xanking the M-locus indicate that the BACs contain highly repetitive sequences that localize to centromeric and pericentromeric locations on all asparagus chromosomes, which hindered the locali-zation of the M-locus to the single pair of sex chromosomes. We speculate that dioecious Silene, papaya and Asparagus species may represent three stages in the evolution of XX, XY sex determination systems. Given that asparagus still rarely produces hermaphroditic Xowers and has homomorphic sex chromosomes, this species may be an ideal system to further investigates early sex chromosome evolution and the origins of dioecy.

Ethno botanical studies were carried out to collect information on the use of Medicinal tree species by the tribal people of Munchangiputtu Mandalam, who live in forests of interial hills in Visakha patnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ethnomedicinal uses of 69 tree species along with local name, botanical name, family, part used, ailments for which the drug is administrated, mode of administration are presented. They belong to 57 genera and 33 angiosperms families. These plants use to cure different type of ailments. Most remedies were taken orally, accounting for 60 % of medicinal use. The most widely sought after plant parts in the preparation of remedies in the areas are the stem bark and leaves. Tribal people have high number of medicinal plant species for the treatment of different type of diseases.

Background: Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is one of the most ancient vegetables, and it is rich in asparagine. Enzyme-treated asparagus extract (ETAS™; Amino Up Chemical Co., Ltd., Sapporo, Japan) is the final product of enzyme-treatment of asparagus stems and subsequent extraction. Two constituents were purified from ETAS and identified: 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), an abundant constituent, and (S)-asfural, a novel constituent, which is a derivative of HMF. ETAS has been reported to increase the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs), which are essential for the repair or removal of defective proteins. The expression of Hsp family genes is regulated by the transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). It is unknown whether ETAS and its constituents elicit anti-inflammatory effects, such as the suppression of nitric oxide (NO), an inflammatory mediator synthesized by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in interleukin (IL)-1β-treated hepatocytes.

Objective: To examine the anti-inflammatory effects of ETAS, we treated rat hepatocytes with ETAS, or its constituents (S)-asfural or HMF, and IL-1β and then analyzed the expression of the iNOS gene and other genes involved in inflammation.

Methods: Primary cultured rat hepatocytes were prepared by collagenase perfusion. ETAS, (S)-asfural, or HMF was added to the medium with IL-1β and incubated at 37 °C. When necessary, an inhibitor of HSF1 was added. NO in the medium was measured by the Griess method, and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were determined. To analyze the mRNA expression, a reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed. Antibody arrays were used to determine the levels of cytokines and chemokines in the medium.

Results: ETAS suppressed NO production in IL-1β-treated hepatocytes without causing cytotoxicity. ETAS decreased the levels of both iNOS mRNA and the antisense transcript, whereas it increased the levels of Hsf1 mRNA and Hsp70 mRNA. ETAS also suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in hepatocytes. When (S)-asfural and HMF were added to the medium, they suppressed NO production and iNOS gene expression. The IC50 value of (S)-asfural was approximately 3-fold lower than that of HMF. In contrast, (S)-asfural increased the levels of Hsf1 mRNA. Interestingly, the KRIBB11, an inhibitor of HSF1, reduced the expression of the iNOS gene. When both (S)-asfural and KRIBB11 were added, the level of iNOS mRNA was lower than when (S)-asfural alone was added.

Conclusion: ETAS and its constituents (S)-asfural and HMF suppressed NO production and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, thus showing anti-inflammatory effects. Our data suggest the possibility that the increased HSF1 level is involved in suppression of NO by ETAS and its constituents, although HSF1 is essential for the expression of the iNOS gene.

Disease suppression of Fusarium crown rot and the changes in free amino acid contents in mycorrhizal asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L., cv. “Welcome”) plants were investigated. Sixteen weeks after arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF; Glomus intraradices) inoculation, mycorrhizal plants showed higher dry weight of shoots than non-mycorrhizal plants, and AMF colonization level in a root system reached up to 73.3%. Ten weeks after Fusarium proliferatum (Fp; N1-31, SUF1207) inoculation, control plants showed 100% incidence and high severity in the 2 Fp isolates. However, AMF plants showed lower severity than non-AMF plants in the 2 Fp isolates. Ten weeks after Fp (N1-31) inoculation, the increase in 7 constituents of amino acids (glutamine, arginine, aspartic acid, alanine, citrulline, GABA, glycine) in shoots, and 9 in roots (asparagine, arginine, threonine, serine, glutamine, citrulline, valine, GABA, histidine) occurred in AMF plants. From these findings, plant growth promotion and suppression of Fusarium crown rot occurred in mycorrhizal asparagus plants, and the disease tolerance was supposed to be associated with the symbiosis-specific increase in free amino acids.

Wild asparagus, Asparagus acutifolius L., produces edible spears used in local diets of Mediterranean countries for millenia. Recently, interest has risen for its cultivation as frugal crop for niche markets, but only limited information exists on the nutritional values of this vegetable. In this paper, the nutritional values and metabolic profile (i.e. moisture content, total proteins, lipids and phenols, folic

Nanoparticles recently play remarkable roles in modern agriculture and biotechnology due to specific exclusively physicochemical and biological characteristics of the particles. In recent years, nanoparticles are been using as fertilizers and elicitors to improve crops. Nutritionists are constantly seeking natural antioxidants without side effects to using for healthcare and treatment. Asparagus officinalis L. as medicinal plant treated by iron (0, 10, 50 and 100 mg/L) and selenium (0, 0.5, and 1 mg/L) nanoparticles as nano elicitors. Then the antioxidant capacity of A. officinalis L. was detected and measured by α, α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, for assessment of the antioxidant activity. The iron nanoparticles concentration significantly increases the antioxidant activity of both male and female asparagus stem, as well as selenium nanoparticles. When combined iron and selenium used as nano elicitors then cause the antioxidant activity significantly decreases. But the integration of two nano elicitors (iron and selenium) decreased antioxidant capacity while the use of nano-selenium could enhance antioxidant capacity. The application of nano elicitor increased antioxidant capacity in the female stem than male.

The main aim of this paper is to present the classification and identification of the plant known in Classical Greek as ἀσφάραγος and in Latin asparagus. The interest in plants in ancient times was rather big and in consequence led to splitting the Botany as a separate scientific category, which finally materialised in the works of Theophrastus of Eresos. He was the first amongst the Greek Philosophers to treat the Plant Science independently, excluded from Medicine or Pharmacy, performed for itself.
Theophrastus in his Enquiry into Plants mentions four times the Greek name ἀσφάραγος. In this paper I will focus on what pieces of information about the plant the Greek Author gives and how these can be related to modern botany. To present the history of asparagus in Antiquity in full perspective I will also get some pieces of information from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History. This action of identifying the plant will allow me to perform the second part of the paper, which includes reconstruction of recipes preserved in Apicius’ De re coquinaria.
The usage of asparagus in Culinary Art is well now as per nowadays, but this is not the invention of the modern times that the asparagus found its place in the culinary tradition. Over the centuries the Greek and Latin authors like Discurides, Galen and others appreciated the plant, but as the Apicius’ cookbook is the only Ancient culinary book preserved to our times, I will focus mainly on the recipes placed there. All in all this shall give the image, how the plant could have been used and the reconstructions of the recipes will allow to the Ancient Rome a bit

A research work was conducted to find out the chemical composition of Asparagus densiflorus sprengeri under the influence of different agro-climatic conditions of Punjab province, Pakistan. Experiment conducted with Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Triplicate samples of shoots and roots collected from various localities were analyzed for each treatment. Fresh plants of A. densiflorus sprengeri were collected from seven different sites of Punjab. Time of sampling is from March to April. After air drying, samples were analyzed for their Malondialdehyde (MDA), Ascorbic Acid (AsA) and Total Phenolic (TPhe). MDA, AsA and TPhe concentrations differed significantly (p<0.05) from locality to locality. As the contents of MDA concerned the maximum concentrations were recorded from the shoot (4.54 ± 0.027 mg g-1) and root (3.03 ± 0.307 mg g-1) of plants selected from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) and TT Singh respectively while the lowest from shoot (1.13 ± 0.165 mg g-1) and root (0.94 ± 0.120 mg g-1) collected from Multan and UAF respectively. The highest AsA concentrations of shoot (0.436 ± 0.0023 mg g-1) and root (0.424 ± 0.0035 mg g-1) were recorded from UAF and Govt. College University, Faisalabad (GCUF) respectively whereas minimum of AsA of shoot (0.206 ± 0.0008 mg g-1) and root (0.224 ± 0.0093 mg g-1) from TT Singh. The highest TPhe were present in the shoot (0.451 ± 0.019 mg g-1) and root (0.529 ± 0.019 mg g-1) of plants collected from UAF and Nursery (Faisalabad) respectively while minimum of shoot (0.165 ± 0.0065 mg g-1) and root (0.265 ± 0.012 mg g-1) from Multan and TT Singh respectively. On the basis of results obtained it can be concluded that environmental conditions significantly (p<0.05) influenced the chemical composition of A. densiflorus.

In the most comprehensive study to date we explored the phylogeny and evolution of the genus Asparagus, with emphasis on the southern African species. We included 211 accessions, representing 77 (92%) of the southern African, 6 (17%) of the tropical African, 10 (56%) of the strictly European and 6 (9%) of the Eurasian species. We analysed DNA sequences from three plastid regions (trnH-psbA, trnD-T, ndhF) and from the nuclear region phytochrome C (PHYC) with parsimony and maximum likelihood methods, and recovered a monophyletic Asparagus. The phylogeny conflicts with all previous infra-generic classifications. It has many strongly supported clades, corroborated by morphological characters, which may provide a basis for a revised taxonomy. Additionally, the phylogeny indicates that many of the current species delimitations are problematic. Using biogeographic analyses that account for phylogenetic uncertainty (S-DIVA) and take into account relative branch lengths (Lagrange) we confirm...

The performance of asparagus (Asparagus offi cinalis L.) under the desert conditions of the Arabian Peninsula was evaluated. Ten cultivars introduced from six countries were studied. Two months old seedlings were transplanted into fi eld plots in February 2007 and spears produced in the second year were harvested over a period of four weeks. Signifi cant differences were found among cultivars for the number and quality of spears. The average number of spears harvested per plant varied between 5.0 and 26.4 and the spear yield between 36.3 and 159.2 g plant-1. The spear number and yield were highest in cultivar PI 277824. Seed yields from the fi rst year of harvest varied from 29.7 to 136.2 g plant-1 among cultivars. In many cultivars, spear yields obtained in the second year were comparable to the yields reported from the productive environments in the tropics. The results show that asparagus has considerable potential for cultivation under the desert conditions of the Arabian Penins...

Milk production is a complex physiologic process involving physical and emotional factors and the interaction of multiple hormones. Galactogogues are medications or other substances believed to assist initiation, maintenance, or augmentation of milk production in animals. Most galactagogues (eg, medications, foods, herbal therapies etc.) exert their pharmacologic effects through interactions with dopamine receptors, resulting in increased prolactin levels and thereby augmenting milk supply. Numerous botanicals ...