Wild fruits are commonly consumed in the rural communities of South Africa. The information on their nutritionally important fatty acids is, however, limited. Three wild fruit species, Diospyros blancoi, Landolphia kirkii and Sclerocarya birrea from Limpopo Province were selected for evaluation of fatty acid content. Fatty acids composition of dried fruits of Diospyros blancoi (Db), Landolphia ...

The first investigation of the chemical constituents and bioactivities of Diospyros rubra Lec. is reported. D. rubra extracts were screened for antimicrobial, antimalarial and cytotoxic activities. They were only shown to be active antimalarials. The extracts with good antimalarial activity were isolated and extensively purified to give lupeol (1), lupenone (2), betulin (3), lupeol acetate (4),...

Three new dimeric naphthoquinones, 5,4'-dihydroxy-1'-methoxy-6,6'-dimethyl-7,3'-binaphthyl-1,4,5',8'-tetraone (1), 5',8'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-6,6'-dimethyl-7,3'-binaphthyl-1,4,1',4'-tetraone (2) and 8,5',8'-trihydroxy-6,6'-dimethyl-7,3'-binaphthyl-1,4,1',4'-tetraone (3), were isolated from the roots of Diospyros lotus. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques, including 1D an...

The white-thread blight and black rot (WTBR) caused by basidiomycetous fungi of the genus Ceratobasidium is emerging as an important plant disease in Brazil, particularly for crop species in the Ericales such as persimmon (Diospyros kaki) and tea (Camellia sinensis). However, the species identity of the fungal pathogen associated with either of these hosts is still unclear. In this work, we use...

This paper contributes to the revisionist historiography on the legendary encounter between Samuel Wilberforce and Thomas Henry Huxley at the 1860 meeting in Oxford of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. It discusses the contents of a series of letters written by John William Draper and his family reflecting on his experience at that meeting. The letters have recently been r...

The physical and chemical characteristics of composts of invasive Acacia longifolia and Acacia melanoxylon shrubs were evaluated to identify compost limitations as a substrate component. The bulk density was <0.4 g cm and the total pore space was >85% of the total volume. Air capacity, the easily available water and buffering capacity were also within acceptable recommended values for horticult...

Female mate preference is central to sexual selection, and all indirect benefit models require that there is genetic variation in female preference. This has rarely been tested however, with relatively few studies documenting heritable variation in female preference and even fewer that have directly selected on mate preference to unequivocally show that it can evolve. Additionally, costs of mat...

The removal of chromium(VI) from an aqueous solution using persimmon gel was examined. The amount of chromium(VI) removed was strongly affected by the pH of the solution, with all chromium(VI) being removed at pH 2 or lower. However, in a solution containing, 15 mg dry weight of immobilized persimmon gel, the amount of removed chromium(VI) decreased as the pH increased. A part of chromium(VI) w...