Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Cesaro Patrizia
Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy
Keynote: Effects of common hyphal network in tomato plants during the early stages of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis
Biography:
Patrizia Cesaro is a researcher at the Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Italy. She graduated cum laude in Biological Sciences at the University of Torino, she received a Specialization in Applied Biothecnology with an evaluation cum laude and finally she received PhD in "Environmental Science, internal waters and agroecosystems" at the University of Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro”. Her research has been focused in molecular biotechnology, she has a good expertise molecular biological techniques.
Abstract:
Arbuscular mycorrhizae represent the most common type of plant symbiosis. It is commonly considered mutualistic; however, considering that the interactions between organisms can change during their life cycle, a more correct interpretation describes it as a continuum between mutualism and parasitism. The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus, belonging to the phylum Glomeromycota, supplies nutrients to the host plant and in return it receives photosynthates to complete its life cycle. Numerous evidences suggest that this symbiosis can modify different plant physiological aspects. AM fungi are generally inoculated as mixtures of spores and root colonized fragments. In these conditions, hyphae or germinating spore tubes present in the inoculum colonize the roots of the germinated seedling and the fungus does not yet have a dense hyphal network to absorb water and minerals. Until the fungus reaches full development, the extra-radical mycelium is built only at the expense of the carbon provided by the plant. Conversely in natural conditions the colonization of the fungus is often carried out starting not only from the spores, but also from the extraradical hyphae of the fungi linked to other mycorrhizal plants, that form a dense network called Common Mycorrhizal Network (CMN). Under these conditions the fungus already has a large hyphae network capable of receiving the carbon that it needs from the plants previously colonized.
Keynote Forum
Djebbar Atmani
Laboratoire de Biochimie Appliquée, Algeria
Keynote: Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of Pistacia lentiscus fruit extracts during the ripening stages: Potential uses in the food industry
Biography:
Professor Djebbar Atmani is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Bejaia (Algeria). He obtained his Master of Science degree from California State University, Los Angeles (USA) and his PhD from the University of Sétif (Algeria). His research interest is natural products from medicinal plants. He published over sixty papers in high impact scientific journals, attended several seminars and symposia worldwide and served as reviewer for many journals.
Abstract:
The phenolic composition of Pistacia lentiscus fruits extracts at five different maturation stages were investigated for their phenolic composition, antioxidant capacity and enzyme-inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase and acetylcholine esterase activity. Optimization of the extraction of phenolic compounds from the last stage of ripening has also been undertaken.
This study revealed the presence of thirty molecules, including nine anthocyanins, two phenolic acids, one newly-identified stilbene, seven flavanols, seven flavonols, two flavanones, one flavanonol and one dihydrochalcone. The early stages of ripening were the richest in flavonoids and phenolic acids, while anthocyanins accumulated towards the end of fruits development. The extracts of Pistacia lentiscus fruits showed good antioxidant and α-glucosidase-inhibitory potential as well as a moderate inhibitory action against acetylcholine esterase activity, with variations depending on the stage of maturation, although the early stages of fruit development presented the greatest potential.
Optimization of the extraction allowed the implementation of an eco-responsible anthocyanin extraction model, thereby saving time, solvent and plant material.
The results obtained in the present study indicate that ripe Pistacia lentiscus fruits are an important source of anthocyanin-based nutraceuticals and for food, while unripe fruits would be an interesting source of other flavonoids to produce natural extracts enriched in flavonols and flavanols.
- Plant Morophology and Plant Metabolism | Soil Science and Soil-Plant Nutrition | Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Sciences | Agricultural Sciences
Location: Webinar
Session Introduction
Ademola Emmanuel Adetunji
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Title: Capsaicin: A two-decade systematic review of global research output and recent advances against human cancer
Biography:
Ademola has completed his PhD in Biology at the age of 35 years from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Molecular and Cell biology, University of Cape Town, South Africa where he co-supervises postgraduate students (Hons, MSc, and PhD) and oversees seed and cosmentic research projects. He has published 15 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an invited reviewer for reputable journals
Abstract:
Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is one of the most important natural products in the genus Capsicum. Due to its numerous biological effects, there has been extensive and increasing research interest in capsaicin, resulting in increased scientific publications in recent years. Therefore, an in-depth bibliometric analysis of published literature on capsaicin from 2001 to 2021 was performed to assess the global research status, thematic and emerging areas, and potential insights into future research activities. Furthermore, recent research advances of capsaicin and its combination therapy on human cancer as well as their potential mechanisms of action were described. In the last two decades, research outputs on capsaicin have increased by an estimated 18% per year and were dominated by research articles at 93% of the 3753 assessed literature. In addition, anti-cancer/pharmacokinetics, cytotoxicity, in vivo neurological and pain research studies were the keyword clusters generated and designated as thematic domains for capsaicin research. It was evident that the United States, China, and Japan accounted for about 42% of 3753 publications that met the inclusion criteria. Also, visibly dominant collaboration nodes and networks with most of the other identified countries were established. Assessment of the eligible literature revealed that the potential of capsaicin for mitigating cancer mainly entailed its chemo-preventive effects, which were often linked to its ability to exert multi-biological effects such as anti-mutagenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, clinical studies were limited, which may be related to some of the inherent challenges associated with capsaicin in the limited clinical trials. This review presents a novel approach to visualizing information about capsaicin research and a comprehensive perspective on the therapeutic significance and applications of capsaicin in the treatment of human cancer.