Z. Naturforsch. 55 b, 459—461 (2000); received February 21, 2000 Biomineralization, Silica, Silicon-Accumulating Plants A series of silicon-accumulating plants [different Equisetum (horse tail) species, Echium vulgare, and Symphytum officinale] were studied by solid-state 29Si NMR experiments. For this purpose, selected parts of these plants were freeze-dried and then investigated by solid-stat...

The methanolic extract of the whole plant of Echium glomeratum Poir. (Boraginaceae) has afforded five pyrrolizidine alkaloids, three that were (7S, 8R)-petranine (1), (7S, 8S)-petranine (2), and (7R, 8R)-petranine (3a) or (7R, 8S)-petranine (3b), comprising a tricyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloids subclass; and two that were known but to the species: 7-angeloylretronecine (4) and 9-angeloylretroneci...

The pyrrolizidine alkaloids previously identified in floral honey attributed to Echium vulgare (Boraginaceae) have been detected (8000-14 000 ppm) in pure pollen collected from the anthers of Echium vulgare. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and/or their N-oxides were isolated from the aqueous acid extracts of pollen by use of strong cation-exchange, solid-phase extraction and identified by liquid chroma...

OBJECTIVE Fish oil, containing omega-3 fatty acids, attenuates atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that omega-3 fatty acid-enriched oils are atheroprotective through alteration of monocyte subsets and their trafficking into atherosclerotic lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS Low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout and apolipoprotein E(-/-) mice were fed diets containing 10% (calories) palm oil and 0....

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Oceanic islands offer unparalleled opportunities to investigate evolutionary processes such as adaptation and speciation. However, few genomic resources are available for oceanic island endemics. In this study, we publish transcriptome sequences from three Macaronesian endemic plant species (Argyranthemum broussonetii [Asteraceae], Descurainia bourgaeana [Brassicaceae], and...

How climate-change induced environmental stress may alter the effects of inbreeding in patchy populations of rare species is poorly understood. We investigated the fitness of progeny from experimental self- and cross-pollinations in eight populations of different size of Echium wildpretii, a rare endemic plant of the arid subalpine zone of the Canarian island of Tenerife. As control treatments ...