Rapid extraction of total RNA from Eucalyptus leaves is difficult due to the high content of polyphenolics and polysaccharides. A rapid and simple method was developed by using an extraction buffer containing sodium isoascorbate at a concentration of 500 mM. This method consisted of one or two chloroform extractions, one acid guanidium-phenol-chloroform extraction, and isopropanol precipitation...

Hepatic diseases are serious health issues as various pharmaceuticals, xenobiotics, environmental/chemical pollutants, some natural products and dietary supplements when used in overdose have tendency to cause hepatotoxicity. Present study was aimed at investigating hepatoprotective activity of aqueous methanolic extract of Euphorbia prostrata against paracetamol and carbon tetrachloride induce...

Isolation of high quality RNA and DNA from plants especially cotton (Gossypium hirsutum; family Malvaceae) is notoriously difficult. This problem has been attributed to high content of phenolic terpenoids and tannins present in cotton cells (Katterman, and Shattuck, 1983). These compounds bind to RNA and DNA upon cell lysis and cannot be removed by conventional extraction procedures. Such RNA i...

Various side effects of synthetic drugs, has necessitated the move to more natural antioxidants. The demand for highly effective antioxidants having low or no side effects for use in preventive medicine and the food industry is increasing. As plants produce significant amount of secondary methabolites, mostly antioxidant compounds, they are almost replacing the synthetic antioxidants. Plant ant...

Mushrooms have been valued as a traditional source of natural bioactive compounds for centuries and have recently been exploited for potential components in the cosmetics industry. Numerous mushrooms and their ingredients have been known to be beneficial to the skin and hair. The representative ingredients are as follows: phenolics, polyphenolics, terpenoids, selenium, polysaccharides, vitamins...

Historically, Mangifera indica L. cultivations have been widely planted in tropical areas of India, Africa, Asia, and Central America. However, at least 20 years ago its spreading allowed the development of some cultivars in Sicily, an island to the south of Italy, where the favourable subtropical climate and adapted soils represent the perfect field to create new sources of production for the ...

Because DNA degradation is mediated by secondary plant products such as phenolic terpenoids, the isolation of high quality DNA from plants containing a high content of polyphenolics has been a difficult problem. We demonstrate an easy extraction process by modifying several existing ones. Using this process we have found it possible to isolate DNAs from four fruit trees, grape (Vitis spp.), app...

Dualex (dual excitation) is a field-portable instrument, hereby described, for the assessment of polyphenolic compounds in leaves from the measurement of UV absorbance of the leaf epidermis by double excitation of chlorophyll fluorescence. The instrument takes advantage of a feedback loop that equalizes the fluorescence level induced by a reference red light to the UV-light-induced fluorescence...

Polyphenolics were extracted from peels, pulp and kernels of mango fruits (Mangifera indica L. cv. 'Tommy Atkins') and characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. In the peel 18 gallotannins and five benzophenone derivatives were detected which were tentatively identified as galloylated maclurin and iriflophenone glucosides. Twenty-one and ...