Carotenoid-based sexual traits are thought to be reliable indicators of male quality because they might be scarce and therefore might indicate the ability of males to gather high-quality food and because they are involved in important physiological functions (as immune enhancers and antioxidants). We performed an experiment where male and female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were provided...

Background & Aim:Iranian ox-tongue (Echium amoenum Fisch. & Mey.) is an endemic Iranian medicinal plant belongs to Boraginaceae family. The violet-blue petals of this plant have been used in traditional medicine. Drying is one of the most critical and fundamental operations in the post-harvest processing of medicinal plants. Experimental: This re...

Background & Aim:Iranian ox-tongue (Echium amoenum Fisch. & Mey.) is an endemic Iranian medicinal plant belongs to Boraginaceae family. The violet-blue petals of this plant have been used in traditional medicine. Drying is one of the most critical and fundamental operations in the post-harvest processing of medicinal plants. Experimental: This re...

Carotenoids have been shown to have potential beneficial effects on human health which has led to an increasing interest in the study of their bioavailability. A Caco-2 cell model, as previously described, was employed to examine the percentage transfer of the carotenoids alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, astaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin through an intact, highly di...

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of paclobutrazol as an anti-gibberellin on some morpho-physiological characteristics of Petunia × grandiflora ‘Bravo Blue’, and determine the optimum concentration of paclobutrazol for drought resistance in this plant. The experiment was carried out as factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications in greenhouse. T...

Carotenoids are thought to contribute to the beneficial effects of increased vegetable consumption. Various dietary factors have an effect on the bioavailability of carotenoids. The type of food matrix in which carotenoids are located is a major factor. The bioavailability of beta-carotene from vegetables in particular has been shown to be low (14% from mixed vegetables) compared with that of p...

The carotenoid pigments in the whole human retina and in the macular region were measured quantitatively by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Approximately a five-fold larger amount of carotenoids was found in the human macula (35-120 ng) than in previously reported work. The dominant carotenoids in the whole retina are lutein and zeaxanthin. Zeaxanthin is concentrated in the macular ...