Mario Alejandro Mejía Escobar^*, Franklin Jaramillo^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 302-317, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634121

Abstract Energy alternatives have been one of the most important research focal areas of the last decade due to the imminent lack of fossil fuels. This motivation has allowed the evolution of the materials science field in areas such as electrochemistry, where high availability, low cost and negligible environmental impact are the desired principal qualities. For this reason, as an example of a photoelectrochemical device, we have proposed the use of natural dyes from 37 agro-industrial wastes in dye-sensitized solar cells. We obtained dyes from red cabbage, radish and roselle wastes with a good stability for eight hours with a constant… More >

Mario Alejandro Mejía Escobar^*, Frankin Jaramillo^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 281-291, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634142

Abstract In recent years, the development of new materials has contributed markedly to improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Mesoporous semiconductors, solid electrolyte, non-conventional catalysts and synthetic dyes without ruthenium have been the focus of study. With respect to the last, lanthanides and porphyrins have presented good properties, but these elements have the same disadvantage as rutheniumbased dyes; being complicated to synthesize and very expensive. These limitations have stimulated much research in the use of natural dyes as sensitizers due to their exceptional photoelectochemical properties and low cost. Furthermore, they are regarded as renewable and environmentally friendly materials. For… More >

Mengjiao Chen^1,2, Jinhui Zhai³, Jiajia Zhang^1,4,5,6, Hui Li^1,2, Xinjiang Niu^1,2, Yaxin Liu^1,2, Yue Ren^1,2, Hongyan Du^1,4,5,6, Jingle Zhu^1,4,5,6,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.91, No.5, pp. 1027-1044, 2022, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2022.019106

Abstract Eucommia ulmoides ‘Hongye’ is a new ornamental variety of E. ulmoides with excellent red or purple foliage. We found that E. ulmoides ‘Hongye’ exhibited a gradual change from green to red colour under light conditions. However, the colouring mechanism in the leaves of E. ulmoides ‘Hongye’ remains unclear. In this study, we compared the pigment content and leaf colour index of E. ulmoides ‘Hongye’ at five stages with those of E. ulmoides ‘Xiaoye’, which was used as the control variety. The transcriptome sequencing data of the first-period (H1, green) and fifth-period (H5, red) leaves were also analysed and compared. The… More >

Yifu Liu^1,2, Jiazhen Wang^1,2,*, Yao Xiao¹, Xiongwen Shi¹, Yixia Zeng¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.90, No.5, pp. 1549-1558, 2021, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2021.015557

Abstract The chemical compositions of tea (Camellia sinensis) are affected by numerous factors, such as cultivar, climate, leaf position, and cultivation pattern. However, under the same conditions, the chemical compositions are mainly determined by varieties. Therefore, we investigated the genetic diversity of chemical compositions of tea tree resources in China to screen excellent germplasm resources. Three chemical compositions index (including chlorophyll index, flavonoid index, and anthocyanin index) and the nitrogen balance index of tea leaves were measured in 102 tea germplasms planted in Chinese Tea Plants Improved Variety Germplasm Resources Nursery (CTPIVGRN) by Dualex on April 15 2019. Results showed that… More >

Jiao Deng^1,2,#, Fen Dong^3,#, Chaoxin Wu¹, Jiali Zhao¹, Hongyou Li¹, Juan Huang¹, Taoxiong Shi¹, Ziye Meng¹, Fang Cai¹, Qingfu Chen^1,*, Pingfang Yang^2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.90, No.3, pp. 859-870, 2021, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2021.014625

Abstract Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), a specialty crop in southwest China, is not only used as a supplement to primary grain crops but also to produce beverages, such as tea and wine. To fully exploit the products made from common buckwheat flower, ultra-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization– tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–ESI–MS/MS) was conducted to analyze the metabolites in red- (‘Guihong 2’) and white-flowered (‘Fengtian 1’) buckwheat cultivars. A total of 784 metabolites were identified of which flavonoids were the largest group with 191 components, followed by organic acids and derivatives (126), and amino acids and derivatives (95). Besides, dozens of phenylpropanoids, nucleotides… More >

FANGLIAN HE¹, WEIQING DONG^1,*, SHAOLONG WEI^2,*, ZUYANG QIU³, JINGLI HUANG⁴, HUIPING JIANG¹, SHIYU HUANG¹, LILI LIU³

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.3, pp. 785-796, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.014418

Abstract Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) is an important crop in Africa, Southeast Asia, and subtropics and is used as a food and medicine. The purple color pigmentation is an appealing character in taro. We sampled taro corms of the cultivar ‘Lipu Taro’ at four developmental stages, including LPYS1 (without purple pigment, 50 days of development (DOD)), LPYS2 (very few purple pigments, 75 DOD), LPYS3 (moderate purple pigments, 115 DOD) and LPYS4 (high purple pigments, 205 DOD). The purpose of our study was to identify the key genes underpinning the purple pigmentation in taro based on RNA-sequencing. Through RNA-Seq, 6453 differentially… More >

Dhriti Kapoor¹, Kapani Kavani¹, Amandeep Rattan², Marco Landi^3,*, Anket Sharma^4,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.90, No.2, pp. 489-501, 2021, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2021.012359

Abstract Heavy metal toxicity is one of the major ecosystem concerns globally in present time and is also responsible for significant threat to agronomic crops. The current work was conducted to investigate the possible ameliorative role of proline in Coriandrum sativum L. seedlings treated with mercury (Hg). The seedlings were exposed to different concentrations of Hg (0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mM) for 20 days. The effects of pre-sowing treatment with proline were studied on C. sativum seedlings in terms of pigment (chlorophylls, carotenoids and anthocyanins), malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant compound (glutathione, total phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid) and osmolytes (proline, glycine betaine).… More >

Wei Tan¹, Mingxiu Xu¹, Siqi Xie¹, Yan Zhang¹, Shuai Wu¹, Qinyan Zou¹, Qifeng Zhao², Qingliang Li^3,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.90, No.2, pp. 553-570, 2021, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2021.014082

Abstract To understand the anthocyanin characteristics of wine grape varieties, the anthocyanin composition and content of 31 wine grape varieties were analyzed to explore the use of anthocyanins as chemical fingerprints to distinguish varieties. Results showed that a total of 21 anthocyanins were detected in the skins, including cyanidin, delphinidin, petunidin, peonidin and malvidin 3-monoglucosides (or 3,5-diglucosides) along with the corresponding acetyl and p-coumaroyl derivatives. The highest and lowest total amount of anthocyanins were detected in ‘Ruby Cabernet’ and ‘Muscat Rouge’, respectively. In the 21 Vitis vinifera grapes, there were 3~11 monoglucoside anthocyanins detected, however, there were 4 to 9 monoglucoside… More >

Hanna Amoanimaa-Dede, Chuntao Su, Akwasi Yeboah, Chunhua Chen, Shaoxia Yang, Hongbo Zhu^*, Miao Chen^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.89, No.4, pp. 805-833, 2020, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2020.011979

Abstract Sweet potato is a multifunctional root crop and a source of food with many essential nutrients and bioactive compounds. Variations in the flesh color of the diverse sweet potato varieties are attributed to the different phytochemicals and natural pigments they produce. Among them, carotenoids and anthocyanins are the main pigments known for their antioxidant properties which provide a host of health benefits, hence, regarded as a major component of the human diet. In this review, we provide an overview of the major pigments in sweet potato with much emphasis on their biosynthesis, functions, and regulatory control. Moreover, current findings on… More >

S. J. Reyes-Zambrano^1,†, M. L. Ramírez-Merchant^1,†, C. Arias-Castro², M. A. Rodríguez-Mendiola², C. A. Lecona-Guzmán¹, V. M. Ruíz-Valdiviezo¹, D. González-Mendoza³, F. A. Gutiérrez-Miceli^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.88, No.3, pp. 277-284, 2019, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2019.06504

Abstract A. americana L. is a crop with very little genetic variability. In order to evaluate the effect of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) to induce variability in in vitro plantlets of A. americana, different explants (meristems, leaves and roots) were evaluated for the production of callus. MS medium supplemented with ANA (2.68 μM) and BAP (2.68 μM) was used. Callus obtained from apical meristem were treated with 15 mM EMS for two hours after which shoot formation was induced using 2,4-D (0.11 μM) and BAP (44 μM). The EMS induced variations in the morphometric and morphological parameters of the plantlets obtained, with… More >