Toxicity of pokeberries (fruit of Phytolacca americana large) for turkey poults

Importance of Habitat Context in Modelling Risk Maps for Two Established Invasive Alien Plant Species: The Case of Ailanthus altissima and Phytolacca americana in Slovenia (Europe)

Forests are important ecosystems that face threats from climate change and global environmental shifts, with invasive alien plant species being a significant concern. Some of these invasive species have already become established, while others are in the process of naturalisation. Although forests are a relatively stable ecosystem, extreme weather events increase their vulnerability to change, and clearings left after natural disturbances are particularly susceptible to invasion by alien plant species (IAPS). We created risk maps of two species that have spread rapidly in the last decade: American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) and the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). We prepared a generalised linear model based on the occurrence data collected within the LIFE ARTEMIS project. Eleven environmental variables were used to determine habitat characteristics. We constructed two models for each species: one covering the entirety of Slovenia and the other specifically for the forested areas in Slovenia, with the latter incorporating forest-specific variables (such as forest sanitation felling and monocultures). We observed the presence of both species at lower altitudes and in close proximity to water sources. American pokeweed tends to occur nearer to railways, while the presence of the tree of heaven is associated with areas lacking carbonate parent material and influenced by land use patterns. In forested areas, the occurrence of American pokeweed is influenced by forest habitat characteristics, such as disturbances caused by extreme weather events or the prevalence of Norway spruce monocultures. In contrast, the occurrence of the tree of heaven is influenced by more general environmental variables, such as altitude and proximity to railways. Consequently, we have generated risk maps for the entirety of Slovenia and separately for forested areas, both of which indicate similar levels of risk, particularly for the tree of heaven. The risk map for American pokeweed highlights numerous vulnerable areas, especially forest edges, which are highly susceptible to invasion. Furthermore, there is a higher likelihood of this species occurring in areas that have undergone sanitation felling. This study suggests that the production of risk maps of IAPS could be improved by focussing on habitat types and taking into account habitat-specific variables. This approach could enhance the early detection and management of these invasive species.

The Optimization of Medium Conditions and Auxins in the Induction of Adventitious Roots of Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana L.) and Their Phytochemical Constituents

Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana L., is considered a widely spreading invasive plant, while saponin contents accumulated in the roots have pharmaceutical uses, such as rheumatism treatments and anti-inflammation. Adventitious root cultures are an important source of diverse secondary metabolites, which have significant applications in various fields. This study focused on the optimization of parameters for root induction using different medium states and treatments with auxins on a pokeweed leaf. Semisolid and liquid MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) media were supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/L. Root growth parameters, e.g., induction percentage, root numbers, length, and weight, were measured to determine the adventitious root induction efficiency. Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, total saponin content, and antioxidant activity were recorded. Results showed that adventitious roots induced in semisolid MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L NAA exhibited a high density of lateral roots. Appropriate medium state and auxin for adventitious root induction in pokeweed were determined as semisolid medium supplemented with 2 mg/L NAA. Considering phytochemicals, adventitious roots induced in liquid medium containing 0.5-1 mg/L NAA had the highest yield extract percentage. Additionally, adventitious roots cultivated in a liquid medium enriched with 1 mg/L NAA exhibited the highest phenolic and saponin contents. A principal component analysis (PCA) biplot and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) heatmap demonstrated different response patterns between semisolid and liquid media applied with NAA. The results of the semisolid media were grouped together due to high expression levels of the root induction parameters, while elevated phytochemical values were observed in the liquid media treatments. The results suggested two different media that provide the highest adventitious root induction efficiency and the greatest phytochemical contents: semisolid medium with 2 mg/L NAA and liquid medium with 1 mg/L NAA, respectively. These culture media can be applied to optimize adventitious root culture of pokeweed and in vitro phytochemical production.

Subchronic Toxicity Assessment of Phytolacca americana L. (Phytolaccaceae) in F344 Rats

Phytolacca americana L. is traditionally used in Korea, Japan, and China as a diuretic, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory agent, and also in the treatment of hepatitis B, psoriasis, edema, and rheumatism. In this study, we evaluated the subchronic toxicity of an aqueous extract of P. americana (PAAE) in male and female F344 rats. The rats were orally administered PAAE (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg body weight) once daily for 13 weeks. Mortality rate, body weight, food consumption, and organ weights were measured and assessed. Additionally, ophthalmological, hematological, and histopathological parameters were evaluated. Urinalysis and necropsy were also performed. The clinical chemistry values for potassium in the treated female groups (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/ body weight/day) were higher than those in the control. Further, the relative weights of the kidneys in the treated female groups (1000 and 2000 mg/kg/ body weight/day) were higher than those in the control. However, these changes were not consistent in either sex, and no abnormalities were found in the corresponding pathological findings. Thus the results showed no adverse effects in all the parameters assessed. The findings show that after 13 weeks of treatment, the “no-observed-adverse-effect level” of PAAE is 2000 mg/kg body weight in both male and female F344 rats under the experimental conditions applied. Although treatment-related adverse effects were not seen, potassium-level changes in the blood should be examined to establish the safety profile of PAAE after long-term treatment.

Bar-HRM: a reliable and fast method for species identification of ginseng (Panax ginseng, Panax notoginseng, Talinum paniculatum and Phytolacca Americana)

Background

Korean ginseng has long been famous and is one of the most well known forms of ginseng. The root of plants in the genus Panax is commonly recognized as ginseng. Different Panax species of ginseng root have been used as treatments. Although many other herbs are called ginseng, they do not contain the active compounds of ginsenosides. In Thailand, we have Thai ginseng which is of course not one of Panax species. Thai ginseng is the root from Talinum paniculatum and, due to its morphological root similarity, it is almost impossible to differentiate between them. Also, another plant species, Phytollacca americana, has significantly similar root morphology to real ginseng but its seeds and root are poisonous. Misunderstanding what true ginseng is compared to others could endanger lives and cause financial loss by buying inferior products.

Methods

DNA barcoding combination with High Resolution Melting (called Bar-HRM) was used for species discrimination of the Panax ginseng and others. Five regions included ITS2, matK, psbA-trnH and rbcL were evaluated in the analyses.

Results

The ITS2 region was found to be the most suitable primers for the analysis. The melting profile from the HRM analyses using the chosen ITS2 primers showed that Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) could be discriminated from other Penax species. Also, other ginseng species with morphological similarity could be easily distinguished from the true ginseng. The developed Bar-HRM method poses a great potential in ginseng species discrimination and thus could be also useful in ginseng authentication.

The effect of mushroom and pokeweed extract on salmonella, egg production, and weight loss in molting hens

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of mushroom and pokeweed extract alone or in combination with alfalfa meal on Salmonella spp. population, egg production, and weight loss in laying hens during a 10-d molting period. The trial used 54 active laying hens approximately 77 wk of age that were naturally infected with Salmonella spp. The layers were subjected to 1 of 9 treatment groups, replicated 3 times with 2 hens per replicate cage. The treatment conditions were as follows: 1) full-fed + H(2)0 (FFW), 2) full-fed + mushroom (FFM), 3) full-fed + pokeweed (FFP), 4) nonfed + H(2)0 (NFW), 5) nonfed + mushroom (NFM), 6) nonfed + pokeweed (NFP), 7) full-fed alfalfa meal + H(2)0 (FFAW), 8) full-fed alfalfa meal + mushroom (FFAM), and 9) full-fed alfalfa meal + poke-weed (FFAP). The results showed that the base-10 logarithm values of Salmonella from the ceca significantly increased (P <or= 0.05) in treatment NFW (3.48), NFM (3.22), and FFAW (3.33), whereas the greatest reduction was observed in treatment FFAM (2.72). The number of Salmonella bacteria recovered from the crop was significantly greater in the NFW treatment (3.43) and lowest in treatment FFAM (2.62). Treatment FFAM (30.0%) had the lowest BW loss and differed significantly from treatment NFW (42.3%), NFM (39.7%), and NFP (41.5%) but not from FFAW (38.0%) and FFAP (34.0%). Ovary weights for treatments NFW, NFP, FFAM, and FFAP did not differ significantly from each other but did so for NFM and FFAW (38.0%), which had the lowest weight. Return to egg production at 2 mo lagged behind in treatments FFAM, NFP, and FFM more than in any other treatments. At 3 mo, treatments FFAAM and NFW differed from the other treatments. Findings indicate that a greater decrease in the natural Salmonella population in the ceca and crop can be obtained with the combination of full-fed alfalfa plus mushroom extract in molting hens and induce a comparable molt with feed withdrawal.

The effect of pokeberry ingestion on immune response in turkeys

The experiments were conducted to determine the effect of pokeberry ingestion on immune response in turkeys. In the first experiment, addition of pokeberries to a control diet at levels of 2.5% or 5.0% had no significant effect on feed consumption or production or sheep's red blood cell (SRBC) antibodies. In the second experiment, drenching with a pokeberry suspension had no significant effect on production of SRBC antibodies.