Australian native shrubs: Delivering benefits to livestock, soil, plants and people

Exploring the anthelmintic properties of Australian native shrubs with respect to their potential role in livestock grazing systems.

We measured in vitro anthelmintic activity in extracts from 85 species of Australian native shrub, with a view to identifying species able to provide a degree of worm control in grazing systems. Approximately 40% of the species showed significant activity in inhibiting development of Haemonchus contortus larvae. The most active extracts showed IC50 values of 60-300 microg/ml. Pre-incubation wit...

Sesquiterpenoids Lactones: Benefits to Plants and People

Sesquiterpenoids, and specifically sesquiterpene lactones from Asteraceae, may play a highly significant role in human health, both as part of a balanced diet and as pharmaceutical agents, due to their potential for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancer. This review highlights the role of sesquiterpene lactones endogenously in the plants that produce them, and explores mechanisms b...

Rhizoremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soil using Australian native grasses.

Rhizoremediation involves the breakdown of contaminants in soil resulting from microbial activity that is enhanced in the plant root zone. The objective of this study was to assess Australian native grasses for their ability to stimulate removal of aliphatic hydrocarbons from a mine site soil. Time-course pot experiments were conducted in a greenhouse with three grass species (Cymbopogon ambigu...

GSS Delivering The Benefits

Providing a level playing field has been discussed as a benefit of GSS. The concept of participation can be an influencing factor when deciding to use a GSS as a process to support group problem solving or gathering information. This paper will explore the issue of domination, participation and verbal communication by examining the GSS environment and making some comparisons to an equivalent ma...

Benefits of using shrubs as nurse plants for reforestation in Mediterranean mountains: a 4-year study