Characterization of odour-active compounds in Timur (Zanthoxylum armatum DC.) fruits from Nepal

Green synthesis of silver and iron nano composites using aqueous extract of zanthoxylum armatum seeds and their application for removal of acid black 234 dye

Green nanotechnology has gained attraction in recent years due to the growing awareness of the environmental and health risks associated with traditional methods of nanomaterial synthesis. In the present study, nanocomposite (NCs) of silver and Iron were prepared using Zanthoxylum Armatum seeds aqueous extract which acts as a reducing, stabilizing, and capping agent. The synthesized NCs were characterized using UV/Vis Spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and EDX. The UV/Vis spectroscopy analysis of the NCs revealed the presence of a surface plasmonic resonance band occurring at 420 nm. Examination of the NCs through SEM demonstrated that they exhibited a nearly spherical morphology, with an average particle diameter measuring 54.8 nm. The crystalline nature of these NCs was verified through X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the calculation of crystallite size using the Scherrer-Debye equation yielded a value of 12.6 nm. The adsorption ability of newly synthesized nanocomposites was investigated against Acid Black 234 Dye. The results showed that a 0.5 g of NCs dose at pH 4 removed 99.3% of 10 mg/L of Acid Black 234 Dye within 60 min. Based on the findings of this research, it can be inferred that the that Ag-Fe NCs synthesized from Zanthoxylum Armatum seeds aqueous extract hold significant potential for addressing environmental pollution caused by Acid Black 234 Dye. The NCs were used as adsorbent for the removal of Acid Black 234 dye from the wastewater sample and showed 98% removal of dye from the commercial sample within 60 min. In this context, the research highlights that the environmentally friendly synthesis of Ag-Fe nanocrystals (Ag-Fe NCs) using Zanthoxylum Armatum as a mediator offers an efficient and cost-effective solution for mitigating environmental pollution.

SMRT and Illumina RNA sequencing reveal the complexity of terpenoid biosynthesis in Zanthoxylum armatum

Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum DC) is a popular spice and is often prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine to treat vomiting, diarrhea, ascariasis and eczema, among other conditions. Volatile oils from Z. armatum leaves contain active ingredients, with terpenoids being one of the main components. In the present study, the combination of sequencing data of Z. armatum from PacBio single molecule real time (SMRT) and Illumina RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) platforms facilitated an understanding of the gene regulatory network of terpenoid biosynthesis in pepper leaves. The leaves of three developmental stages from two Z. armatum cultivars, 'Rongchangwuci' (WC) and 'Zhuye' (ZY), were selected as test materials to construct sequencing libraries. A total of 143,122 predictions of unique coding sequences, 105,465 simple sequence repeats, 20,145 transcription factors and 4719 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were identified, and 142,829 transcripts were successfully annotated. The occurrence of alternative splicing events was verified by reverse transcription PCR, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to confirm the expression pattern of six randomly selected lncRNAs. A total of 96,931 differentially expressed genes were filtered from different samples. According to functional annotation, a total of 560 candidate genes were involved in terpenoid synthesis, of which 526 were differentially expressed genes (DEGs). To identify the key genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis, the module genes in different samples, including structural and transcription factors genes, were analyzed using the weighted gene co-expression network method, and the co-expression network of genes was constructed. Thirty-one terpenoids were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The correlation between 18 compounds with significantly different contents and genes with high connectivity in the module was jointly analyzed in both cultivars, yielding 12 candidate DEGs presumably involved in the regulation of terpenoid biosynthesis. Our findings showed that full-length transcriptome SMRT and Illumina RNA-Seq can play an important role in studying organisms without reference genomes and elucidating the gene regulation of a biosynthetic pathway.

Evaluation of the Perceptual Interaction among Sulfur Compounds in Mango by Feller's Additive Model, Odor Activity Value, and Vector Model

The volatile compounds found in mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) obtained from three cultivars (TN, Tainong no. 1; KT, Keitt; and ZL, Zill; grown in China) were comprehensively analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and GC-flame photometric detection (GC-FPD) analyses. The results showed that 42, 35, and 45 compounds were identified in the TN, KT, and ZL samples, respectively. From these compounds, 19, 14, and 20 compounds were identified as important odorants with odor activity values (OAVs) greater than 1. Of these, 5, 7, and 5 sulfur compounds were respectively identified in the three samples by FPD. Importantly, methanethiol, ethanethiol, 1-propanethiol, methyl propyl disulfide, and 3-mercapto-1-hexanol were detected for the first time in mango. Five sulfur compounds were selected to study interactions using Feller's additive model, OAV, and Vector model. Among these mixtures, six mixtures exhibited a masking effect, three mixtures presented an additive effect, and one mixture showed a synergistic effect.