Plants

The light spectrum and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) are key environmental factors that significantly influence the morphophysiological development and survival of micropropagated woody plants during acclimatization. However, few studies have focused on their interactive effects under ex vitro conditions. This study examined the combined effects of four light spectra (white, blue, red, and red–blue) and two VPD levels (low: 0.2 kPa; high: 1.0 kPa) on growth, photosynthesis pigments, biochemical indices, and leaf temperature of Pistacia spp. ‘UCB1’ plantlets over a 30-day acclimatization period. The results demonstrated that red–blue light under low VPD significantly enhanced plantlet performance across multiple parameters, resulting in the highest leaflet number (79.25 pieces), stem diameter (2.13 mm), leaf dry weight (0.048 g), leaf fresh weight (0.15 g), root length (1.48 cm), and leaf area (103.3 cm²). Furthermore, this treatment markedly increased anthocyanin, total soluble carbohydrate content, and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids). Principal component and correlation analyses identified that red–blue light under low VPD was strongly associated with traits linked to growth and photosynthetic ability, whereas blue and white light under high VPD showed the weakest responses. Entropy-weighted TOPSIS ranked red–blue light under low VPD as the most effective treatment for balanced morpho-physiological functions during acclimatization. These findings highlight the importance of optimizing spectral quality and VPD to enhance autotrophic transition and ex vitro establishment in pistachio plantlets. These findings are important for improving ex vitro survival and large-scale propagation efficiency of micropropagated pistachio plantlets.

Diabetes mellitus is a major global health burden, and plant-derived polyphenols are increasingly explored as adjuncts for metabolic control. Hence, the hypoglycaemic potential of Pinus nigra bark extract from Serbia was evaluated using complementary in silico and in vivo approaches. Major constituents reported for P. nigra bark (catechin, epicatechin, taxifolin, caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric, protocatechuic, and syringic acids) were docked against selected metabolic targets (LXRα, LXRβ, PTP1B, and SUR1) as hypothesis-generating screening due to the frequent PAINS behaviour of small polyphenols. For in vivo assessment, normoglycaemic and alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats received a 7-day oral treatment with ethanol bark extract (100 mg/kg) alone or combined with metformin (100 mg/kg) or gliclazide (10 mg/kg), and fasting glycaemia, oral glucose tolerance, lipid profile, and body weight were assessed. The ethanol extract reduced glycaemia, improved glucose tolerance, and favourably modulated dyslipidaemia, with additive effects observed in combinations with metformin or gliclazide. These findings suggest activity relevant to hypoglycaemic-relevant activity of P. nigra bark extract in vivo; however, comprehensive chemical profiling, mechanistic confirmation, and safety evaluation are required before translational consideration.

Galeopsis tetrahit L. (Lamiaceae) is a traditional European medicinal species rich in phenolic compounds, among which verbascoside is a key bioactive marker with strong antioxidant potential. This study reports the standardization of a G. tetrahit leaf extract in verbascoside using a fully validated UHPLC–PDA method developed according to ICH Q2(R2) requirements. Leaves of wild-grown G. tetrahit collected from southwest Romania flora were extracted with 70% ethanol, yielding 17.28% dry extract. Chromatographic identification of verbascoside was confirmed by retention time, UV–PDA spectra, and QDa mass spectrometry (m/z 623.3 [M–H]⁻). The method showed excellent performance, including high specificity, linearity over 1.875–60 μg/mL (r = 0.999955), low LOD and LOQ (0.2649 and 0.8028 μg/mL, respectively), and robust precision and accuracy. Dry extract contained 345.8 ± 28.3 mg verbascoside per g (34.6%, w/w), corresponding to approximately 59.8 mg/g in dried leaves. Antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP), TPC and TFC confirmed notable radical scavenging and reducing activity, with pure verbascoside showing markedly stronger effects, supporting its major contribution to the extract’s antioxidant potential. These results demonstrate a reliable analytical approach and establish a verbascoside-based standardization framework for G. tetrahit extracts of documented Romanian origin.