To study the effect of high temperature, rice seedlings 20, 30, 40 and 50 d were kept at 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm water depth in a water pool. Meteorological findings indicated that water temperature varied up to 10 cm but became stable below this depth. Deep water inflicted higher tiller mortality, minimal increase in dry weight of aerial parts and leaf area, decrease in root length, and decrease in root dry weight especially at 20 cm water depth and produced an unbalanced T/R ratio (top versus root dry weight). However, deep water tended to increase plant length. These parameters, however, excel in shallow water. Older seedlings, with the exception of root dry weight, could not perform well compared to young seedlings in all physiological and morphological aspects. The study revealed that seedlings, particularly young ones, stand well in shallow water and can cope with high temperature.
Desiccation ; Organ Size ; Oryza ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; growth & development ; physiology ; Plant Components, Aerial ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Plant Roots ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Seedlings ; cytology ; growth & development ; Temperature ; Time Factors ; Water ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo study on growth characteristics of Curcuma wenyujin, and provide theoretical basis for the development of high-quality and high-yield medical material.

METHODThe morphological change of the plant was observed periodically, the content of volatile oil and dry matter in leaves, rhizome, root tuber was determine.

RESULTThe growth of C. wenyujin could be divided into 5 stages, i. e. seed germination, seedling, leaf growth, rhizome expansion, accumulation of dry matter, respectively. Before the stage of rhizome expansion, over 70% dry matter was accumulated in the aerial part of the plant, and during the stage of leaf growth, the maximum increase rate of dry matter in aerial part was 3.90 g/p/d. During the stage of rhizome expansion, the ratio of dry matter of rhizome increased quickly and reached above 33% , and the increase rate of dry matter of rhizome rise up to 3.83 g/p/d, in the end of the stage, the content of volatile oil in the rhizome also rose up to 1.20 mL x 100 g(-1).

CONCLUSIONDuring the whole growth stage, there are two growth centers, when the two curves of dry matter increase of aerial part and rhizome intersect, it is regarded as a signal that the growth transformed form the aerial part to rhizome. When the rate of dry matter from rhizome rise, the content of volatile oil in rhizome rises quickly with the increase of dry matter in rhizome. The optimal harvest time is in mid-December.

Curcuma ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Germination ; Oils, Volatile ; analysis ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Seasons ; Seedlings ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Seeds ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo analyze the natural change rule of active components of E. purpuea by measuring content of cichoric acid.

METHODReverse HPLC method was used.

RESULTThe maximum cichoric acid content of the roots occured in seedling age of May, and that of the flowers occured in blooming stage of mid July, but cichoric acid in stems was generally low anyway. The maximum content of cichoric acid in the plant above ground occured in the blooming stage of mid July.

CONCLUSIONThe measuring method of content of cichoric acid is successful and reliable. The optimum stage of harvest in Echinacea purpuea should be guided by natural change rule of cichoric acid content.

Caffeic Acids ; analysis ; Echinacea ; chemistry ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Seasons ; Succinates ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo study the biological and growth characteristics of Thesium chinense.

METHODThe wild population was observed in certain sites, pot and indoor experiments were applied for cultivated plant.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONT. chinense is an obligate root hemiparasite and perennial herb, stem and leaf were green, there were haustoriums on its root, can only achieve its whole life process when parasitized to host. T. chinense grows mostly in the humid wasteland and herbaceous community where water is generally abundant. T. chinense likes light, warm climate and acidic to neuter soil. The seeds of T. chinense have dormancy characteristics. The life history of T. chinense can divide into 5 stages: seedling, ramify, florescence, fructification and withering periods.

Flowers ; growth & development ; Plant Leaves ; growth & development ; Plant Roots ; growth & development ; Plant Stems ; growth & development ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; Santalaceae ; growth & development ; Seasons ; Seedlings ; growth & development ; Seeds ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo reveal the antibacterial activity of sequentially extracted different cold organic solvent extracts of fruits, flowers and leaves of Lawsonia inermis (L. against) some pathogenic bacteria.

METHODSPowders of fruits, flowers and leaves of L. inermis were continuously extracted with dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate and ethanol at ambient temperature. The dried extracts were prepared into different concentrations and tested for antibacterial activity by agar well diffusion method, and also the extracts were tested to determine the available phytochemicals.

RESULTSExcept DCM extract of flower all other test extracts revealed inhibitory effect on all tested bacteria and their inhibitory effect differed significantly (P<0.05). The highest inhibitory effect was showed by ethyl acetate extract of flower against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and ethyl acetate extract of fruit on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). The ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of flower, fruit and leaf expressed inhibition even at 1 mg/100 µl against all test bacteria. Among the tested phytochemicals flavonoids were detected in all test extracts except DCM extract of flower.

CONCLUSIONSThe study demonstrated that the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of fruit and flower of L. inermis are potentially better source of antibacterial agents compared to leaf extracts of respective solvents.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Bacteria ; drug effects ; Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Lawsonia Plant ; chemistry ; Phytochemicals ; chemistry ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Solvents ; Sri Lanka

OBJECTIVETo study the shade-endurance property of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and provide rationale for the practice of inter-cropping G. uralensis with trees.

METHODBlack shading nets were used to provide five different environments of light intensities (light penetration rates of 100%, 75%, 65%, 50% and 25%, respectively). To assess the shade-endurance capacity of G. uralensis, several aspects were evaluated, including growth characters, physiological and ecological characters, biomass, and chemical contents.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONG. uralensis is a light-favored plant. The growth indices such as plant height, stem diameter, leaves number, root diameter, biomass, and daily average photosynthetic rate (Pn) are highest when light permeation rate is 100%. All these indices decrease when light intensity decreases. However, G. uralensis possesses shade-endurance capacity to some degree; it adapts to the shading environment by increasing the leaf area and chlorophyll contents. Shading has no obvious effect on the absolute light energy utilization rate (Eu) or Fv/Fm ratio. The influence of shading on the chemical contents of G. uralensis is obvious.

Adaptation, Physiological ; Chlorophyll ; analysis ; Glycyrrhetinic Acid ; analysis ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; chemistry ; growth & development ; physiology ; Photosynthesis ; Plant Components, Aerial ; anatomy & histology ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; physiology ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development ; physiology ; Sunlight ; Trees ; growth & development

Based on the research of plant taxonomy and botanical investigation, microscopic characteristics of the root, stem, leaf transverse section and powder of Atropa belladonna were studied for identification of the herb. The research detailed and made clear to the description identification and microscopic characteristics of officinal parts of the herbs. The work provided reference for the identification of A. belladonna herbs and pieces of work in the future, as well as a theoretical basis for the further research, development, medicinal use and the upgrading of quality standards.
Atropa belladonna ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; Microscopy ; methods ; Plant Epidermis ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; Plant Roots ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; Plant Stems ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; Plant Stomata ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of changing source-sink ratio on dry matter accumulation yield, distribution and interrelated physiological index of Cynanchum bungei.

METHODBud, fruit or side tress of C. bungei were picked artificially in the development stage. LAI, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis of single leaf, accumulation and distribution of dry matter at different and treatments were measured. The untreated plant was used as the control.

RESULTAlthough leaf decrease can be compensated by the increasing photosynthesis rate of single leaf, the LAI was small, chlorophyll decomposes quickly and these leaves showed the signs of early ageing. The matter accumulation was lower than that of control. Picking bud and fruit made photosynthesis rate of single leaf descend, chlorophyll decomposes slowly and its content keeps high, that inhibited ageing of the plant obviously. The LAI keeps larger, photosynthate was abundant. Dry matter accumulation and distribution to the root were higher than that of control and that of side tress picked. So, the yield with this treatment increased.

CONCLUSIONPicking bud can increase LAI, postpone the decomposition of chlorophyll, and protract the functional leaves. Consequently, picking bud can add the accumulation of dry matter, increase proportion to radix and improve the yield and economy benefit.

Biomass ; Chlorophyll ; metabolism ; Cynanchum ; growth & development ; metabolism ; physiology ; Fruit ; physiology ; Photosynthesis ; physiology ; Plant Leaves ; physiology ; Plant Roots ; metabolism ; physiology ; Plant Shoots ; physiology ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; metabolism ; physiology

Forty-three annual Citrus aurantium grafted seedlings from Chongqing, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi and other main producing areas were collected, and the plant height, rootstock diameter, scion diameter, root length, root diameter, lateral root number, root breadth, branch number, branch length, green leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, thorns and other indicators were measured. Through the K-cluster analysis of SPSS 19.0 software, the classification standards were obtained. Combined with the production practice, plant height, scion diameter and branch number were taken as the quality classification indexes of C. aurantium seedlings(annual grafted seedlings), and three classification standards were established. If it does not meet the three-level standard, it is unqualified seedling and cannot be used as seedling. It is suggested to use the first and second level seedlings in production.
Citrus ; Plant Leaves ; Plant Roots ; Seedlings

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) is the first rate-limiting enzyme for sesquiterpene synthesis in the mevalonate (MVA) pathway. The specific primers were designed according to the transcript sequence of AsHMGR2 from the Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg transcriptome database. The full-length cDNA of AsHMGR2 was cloned by RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology, and was analyzed at bioinformatics levels; AsHMGR2 expression profiles in different tissues and in responds to different treatments were analyzed by real-time PCR. The length of AsHMGR2 Open Reading Frame (ORF) was 1 749 bp, encoding 582 amino acids. The GenBank accession number is KC140287. Tissue expression analysis indicated that AsHMGR2 was mainly expressed in root and shoot tips, followed by stem, and was lowest in leaves. Inducible-experiments showed that the genes were induced by mechanical wound as well as chemical liquid induction, and reached the highest expression level at 6 h and 8 h, separately. The full-length cDNA of AsHMGR2 and its expression patterns will provide a foundation for further research on its function in agarwood sesquiterpene biosynthesis.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Gene Amplification ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Isoenzymes ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Plant Leaves ; enzymology ; Plant Roots ; enzymology ; Plant Shoots ; enzymology ; Plant Stems ; enzymology ; Plants, Medicinal ; enzymology ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Thymelaeaceae ; enzymology