Search Results (3,421)

Cooked-rice aroma strongly affects consumer choice, yet the chemical traits distinguishing glutinous rice from normal-amylose japonica rice remain underexplored because earlier studies targeted only a few dozen volatiles using one-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this study, four glutinous and seven normal Japanese cultivars were cooked under identical conditions, their headspace volatiles trapped with MonoTrap and qualitatively profiled by comprehensive GC × GC-TOFMS. The two-dimensional platform resolved 1924 peaks—about ten-fold previous coverage—and, together with hierarchical clustering, PCA, heatmap visualization and volcano plots, cleanly separated the starch classes (78.3% cumulative PCA variance; Euclidean distance >140). Volcano plots highlighted 277 compounds enriched in the glutinous cultivars and 295 in Koshihikari, including 270 compounds that were not previously documented in rice. Normal cultivars were dominated by ethers, aldehydes, amines and other nitrogenous volatiles associated with grainy, grassy and toasty notes. Glutinous cultivars showed abundant ketones, furans, carboxylic acids, thiols, steroids, nitro compounds, pyrroles and diverse hydrocarbons and aromatics, yielding sweeter, fruitier and floral accents. These results expand the volatile library for japonica rice, provide molecular markers for flavor-oriented breeding and demonstrate the power of GC × GC-TOFMS coupled with chemometrics for grain aroma research. Full article

Salinization hinders the restoration of vegetation in salt-affected soils by negatively impacting plant growth and development. Halophytes play a key role in the restoration of saline and degraded lands due to unique features explaining their growth aptitude in such extreme ecosystems. Suaeda fruticosa is an euhalophyte well known for its medicinal properties and its potential for saline soil phytoremediation. However, excessive salt accumulation in soil limits the development of this species. Research findings increasingly advocate the use of extremophile rhizosphere bacteria as an effective approach to reclaim salinized soils, in conjunction with their salt-alleviating effect on plants. Here, a pot experiment was conducted to assess the role of a halotolerant plant growth-promoting actinobacterium, Glutamicibacter sp., on the growth, nutritional status, and shoot content of proline, total soluble carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds in the halophyte S. fruticosa grown for 60 d under high salinity (600 mM NaCl). Results showed that inoculation with Glutamicibacter sp. significantly promoted the growth of inoculated plants under stress conditions. More specifically, bacterial inoculation increased the shoot concentration of proline, total polyphenols, potassium (K⁺), nitrogen (N), and K⁺/Na⁺ ratio in shoots, while significantly decreasing Na⁺ concentrations. These mechanisms partly explain S. fruticosa tolerance to high saline concentrations. Our findings provide some mechanistic elements at the ecophysiological level, enabling a better understanding of the crucial role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) in enhancing halophyte growth and highlight their potential for utilization in restoring vegetation in salt-affected soils. Full article

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the global economy, but it increasingly faces sustainability challenges in meeting rising food demands. The intensive use of mineral fertilizers not only improves yields, but also causes negative environmental impacts such as increasing greenhouse gas emissions, water eutrophication, and soil degradation. To develop more sustainable solutions, the focus is on organic fertilizers, which are produced using waste and biostimulants such as amino acids. The aim of this study was to develop and characterize liquid nitrogen–calcium–magnesium fertilizers produced by decomposing dolomite with nitric acid followed by further processing and to enrich them with a powdered amino acid concentrate Naturamin-WSP and liquid extracts from digestate, a by-product of biogas production. Nutrient-rich extracts were obtained using water and potassium hydroxide solutions, with the latter proving more effective by yielding a higher organic carbon content (4495 ± 0.52 mg/L) and humic substances, which can improve soil structure. The produced fertilizers demonstrated favourable physical properties, including appropriate viscosity and density, as well as low crystallization temperatures (eutectic points from –3 to –34 °C), which are essential for storage and application in cold climates. These properties were achieved by adjusting the content of nitrogenous compounds and bioactive extracts. The results of the study show that liquid fertilizers enriched with organic matter can be an effective and more environmentally friendly alternative to mineral fertilizers, contributing to the development of the circular economy and sustainable agriculture. Full article

Fertilization is a critical measure for vegetation restoration and ecological reconstruction in degraded grasslands. However, little is known about the long-term effects of different combinations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) on plant and microbial communities in degraded grasslands. This study conducted a four-year (2017–2020) N, P, K addition experiment in the Khorchin Grassland, a degraded typical grassland located in Zhalute Banner, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia, to investigate the effects of fertilization treatment on plant functional groups and microbial communities after grazing exclusion. Our results showed that the addition of P, NP, and NPK compound fertilizers significantly increased aboveground biomass of the plant community, which is mainly related to the improvement of nutrient availability to promote the growth of specific plant functional groups, especially annual and biennial plants and perennial bunchgrasses. However, the addition of N, P, and NP fertilizers significantly reduced the species diversity of the plant community. At the same time, the addition of N, P, and NP fertilizers and the application of N and NP significantly reduced fungal species diversity but had no significant effect on soil bacteria. Our study provides new insights into the relationships between different types of fertilization and plant community productivity and biodiversity in degraded grasslands over four years of fertilization, which is critical for evaluating the effect of fertilization on the restoration of degraded grassland. Full article

This review summarises the possible applications and basic methodologies for the synthesis of six-membered polyazo heterocycles, namely, diazines, triazines, and tetrazines. The time period covered by the analysed works ranges from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. This period was chosen because it was during this time that synthetic chemistry, as defined by physicochemical research methods, became capable of solving such complex problems as efficiently as possible. The first part of the review describes the applications of polyazo heterocyclic compounds, whose frameworks are found in the composition of drugs, dyes, and functional molecules for materials chemistry, as well as in a wide variety of natural compounds and their synthetic analogues. The review also systematises the methods for assembling six-membered aromatic polyazo heterocycles, including intramolecular and sequential cyclisation, which determine the possible structural and functional diversity based on the presence and arrangement of nitrogen atoms and the position of the corresponding substituents. Full article

This study presents the development and optimization of a functional soy sauce fermented with Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris), a medicinal fungus known for its high cordycepin and polysaccharide content. Using C. militaris as the sole starter culture, the process aimed to improve both nutritional and functional properties. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize the entire fermentation process. During the koji stage, temperature, aeration, and inoculum concentration were adjusted to maximize protease activity and cordycepin production. In the fermentation stage, temperature, brine concentration, and water-to-material ratio were optimized to increase amino acid nitrogen and bioactive compound levels. Under optimal conditions (24 °C, 679.60 LPM aeration, 9.6% inoculum for koji; 32 °C, 12% brine, 1.53:1 water-to-material ratio for fermentation), the resulting soy sauce contained 1.14 ± 0.05 g/100 mL amino acid nitrogen and 16.88 ± 0.47 mg/100 mL cordycepin. Compared with traditionally fermented soy sauce, the C. militaris product exhibited a darker color, enhanced umami taste, and a distinct volatile profile featuring linoleic acid, methyl palmitate, and niacinamide. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using C. militaris in soy sauce fermentation and its potential as a novel functional condiment with improved bioactivity and sensory quality. Full article

Fused and spiro nitrogen-containing heterocycles play an important role as structural motifs in numerous biologically active natural products and pharmaceuticals. The review summarizes various approaches to the synthesis of three-, four-, five-, and six-membered fused and spiro heterocycles with one or two nitrogen atoms. The assembling of the titled compounds via cycloaddition, oxidative cyclization, intramolecular ring closure, and insertion of sextet intermediates—carbenes and nitrenes—is examined on a vast number of examples. Many of the reactions proceed with high regio-, stereo-, or diastereoselectivity and in excellent, up to quantitative, yield, which is of principal importance for the synthesis of chiral drug-like compounds. For most unusual and hardly predictable transformations, the mechanisms are given or referred to. Full article

The transition to sustainable energy sources has intensified interest in lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) as a feedstock for second-generation biofuels. However, the inherent structural recalcitrance of LCB requires the utilization of an effective pretreatment to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation yields. This manuscript presents a novel, single-step, and optimized nitrogen explosive decompression system (NED 3.0) designed to address the critical limitations of earlier NED versions by enabling the in situ removal of inhibitory compounds from biomass slurry and fermentation inefficiency at elevated temperatures, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for post-treatment detoxification. Aspen wood (Populus tremula) was pretreated by NED 3.0 at 200 °C, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. The analytical results confirmed substantial reductions in common fermentation inhibitors, such as acetic acid (up to 2.18 g/100 g dry biomass) and furfural (0.18 g/100 g dry biomass), during early filtrate recovery. Hydrolysate analysis revealed a glucose yield of 26.41 g/100 g dry biomass, corresponding to a hydrolysis efficiency of 41.3%. Fermentation yielded up to 8.05 g ethanol/100 g dry biomass and achieved a fermentation efficiency of 59.8%. Inhibitor concentrations in both hydrolysate and fermentation broth remained within tolerable limits, allowing for effective glucose release and sustained fermentation performance. Compared with earlier NED configurations, the optimized system improved sugar recovery and ethanol production. These findings confirm the operational advantages of NED 3.0, including reduced inhibitory stress, simplified process integration, and chemical-free operation, underscoring its potential for scalability in line with the EU Green Deal for bioethanol production from woody biomass. Full article

The advancement of non-thermal disinfection technologies represents a critical pathway for ensuring food safety, meeting environmental sustainability requirements, and meeting consumer preferences for clean-label products. This study systematically evaluated the combined preservation effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water (US+SAEW) on mirror carp fillets during refrigeration. Results demonstrated that US+SAEW exhibited superior antimicrobial efficacy compared to individual US or SAEW, achieving reductions of 0.73, 0.74, and 0.79 log CFU/g in total viable counts (TVC), Aeromonas bacteria, and lactic acid bacteria counts compared to the control, respectively. Furthermore, the combined intervention significantly suppressed microbial proliferation throughout the refrigeration period while simultaneously delaying protein and lipid degradation/oxidation induced by spoilage bacteria, thereby inhibiting the formation of alkaline nitrogenous compounds. Consequently, lower levels of pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), protein carbonyl, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were observed in US+SAEW compared to the other treatments. Multimodal characterization through low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), texture, and color analysis confirmed that US+SAEW effectively preserved quality characteristics, extending the shelf life of mirror carp fillets by four days. This study provides a novel non-thermal preservation strategy that combines microbial safety maintenance with quality retention, offering particular advantages for thermolabile food. Full article

Nitrogen (N) availability often limits primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance plant N acquisition. This study investigated the interactive effects of N fertilization and AMF inoculation on N uptake, plant performance and phenolic acid content in Hyssopus officinalis L., with the aim of promoting sustainable N management in H. officinalis cultivation. A factorial randomized complete block design was employed to evaluate four AMF inoculation strategies (no inoculation, root inoculation, soil inoculation and combined root–soil inoculation) across three N application rates (0, 0.5 and 1,1 g N pot⁻¹ (7 L)) in a controlled greenhouse environment. Combined root and soil AMF inoculation alongside moderate N fertilization (0.5 mg N pot⁻¹) optimized N use efficiency, maximizing plant biomass and bioactive compound production. Compared to non-inoculated controls, this treatment combination increased N uptake by 30%, phosphorus uptake by 24% and potassium uptake by 22%. AMF colonization increased chlorophyll content and total phenolic compounds under moderate N supply. However, excessive N application (1 g N pot⁻¹) reduced AMF effectiveness and secondary metabolite accumulation. Notably, AMF inoculation without N fertilization yielded the highest levels of anthocyanin and salicylic acid, indicating differential N-dependent regulation of specific biosynthetic pathways. The interaction between AMF and N demonstrated that moderate N fertilization (0.5 g N pot⁻¹) combined with dual inoculation strategies can reduce total N input requirements by 50%, while maintaining optimal plant performance. These findings provide practical insights for developing N-efficient cultivation protocols in medicinal plant production systems, contributing to sustainable agricultural practices that minimize environmental N losses. Full article

Olive Mill Solid Waste (OMSW) presents an environmental challenge due to its toxicity and difficulties in its recycling. Prior studies suggest its potential as a substrate ingredient for cultivating edible mushrooms. Here, we investigate how varying OMSW concentrations in the substrate affect the synthesis pathways of α-glucan and β-glucan polysaccharides, alongside transcriptional and metabolic changes in Pleurotus eryngii. We also assessed the mushroom’s protein and nitrogen content. Our results highlight the critical role of substrate composition, demonstrating that the OMSW concentration significantly influences mushroom growth, yield, protein content, gene expression, and metabolite profiles. These findings establish OMSW not only as a viable recycling resource but also as a modulator of health-promoting compound synthesis in P. eryngii. Full article

The arid-hot valleys of Sichuan Province contain extensive engineered gravel deposits, where ecological restoration has become the predominant remediation strategy. Accelerating vegetation recovery and continuously improving productivity are important prerequisites for the protection of regional biodiversity. We employed fertilization and sowing cultivation to facilitate ecological restoration. We have conducted continuous ecological experiments for two years using the following experimental treatments, covering indigenous soil, adding organic fertilizer, and applying compound fertilizer and organic fertilizer, with six types of sowing established under each soil treatment: monoculture and pairwise mixed cropping utilizing Elymus dahuricus (EDA), Dactylis glomerata (DGL), and Medicago sativa (MSA). Through the analysis of variance and the calculation of effect factors, our results indicated that compound fertilizer and organic fertilizer adding significantly improved vegetation cover and increased aboveground biomass, and the highest productivity was observed in the mixed sowing treatment of EDA and MSA. The effect coefficient model analysis further showed that the combination of EDA and MSA resulted in the highest selection and compensation effects on aboveground productivity. Two potential mechanisms drive enhanced productivity in mixed grasslands: the strengthening of the selection effect via increased legume nitrogen fixation, and the enhancement of the compensation effect through niche differentiation among species. Full article

Tuberaria lignosa (Sweet) Samp. (Cistaceae) is a herbaceous species native to southwestern Europe, traditionally used to treat wounds, ulcers, and inflammatory or infectious skin conditions. This study aimed to characterize the phytochemical profile of its aqueous leaf extract and evaluate its skin-related in vitro biological activities. The phenolic composition was determined using UHPLC-HRMS/MS, HPLC-DAD, and quantitative colorimetric assays. Antioxidant activity was assessed against synthetic free radicals, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, transition metals, and pro-oxidant enzymes. Enzymatic inhibition of tyrosinase, hyaluronidase, collagenase, and elastase were evaluated using in vitro assays. Cytocompatibility was tested on human keratinocytes and NIH/3T3 fibroblasts using MTT and resazurin assays, respectively, while wound healing was evaluated on NIH/3T3 fibroblasts using the scratch assay. Antifungal activity was investigated against several Candida and dermatophyte species, while antibiofilm activity was tested against Epidermophyton floccosum. The extract was found to be rich in phenolic compounds, accounting for nearly 45% of its dry weight. These included flavonoids, phenolic acids, and proanthocyanidins, with ellagitannins (punicalagin) being the predominant group. The extract demonstrated potent antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase, anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, and antidermatophytic activities, including fungistatic, fungicidal, and antibiofilm effects. These findings highlight the potential of T. lignosa as a valuable and underexplored source of bioactive phenolic compounds with strong potential for the development of innovative approaches for skin care and therapy. Full article

The olive oil sector constitutes a fundamental pillar in the Mediterranean region from socio-economic and cultural perspectives. Nonetheless, it produces significant amounts of waste, leading to numerous environmental issues. These waste streams contain valuable compounds that can be recovered and utilized as inputs for various applications. This study introduces a novel value chain for olive wastes, focused on extracting lignin from olive pomace by ionic liquids and polyphenols from olive mill wastewater, which are then incorporated as hybrid nanoparticles in the formulation of an innovative starch-based biofertilizer. This biofertilizer, obtained by using residual wastewater as a source of soluble nitrogen, acting at the same time as a plasticizer for the biopolymer, was demonstrated to surpass traditional NPK biofertilizers’ efficiency, allowing for root growth and foliage in drought conditions. In order to recognize the environmental impact due to its production and align it with the technical output, the circularity and environmental performance of the proposed system were innovatively evaluated through a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI). LCA results indicated that the initial upcycling process was potentially characterized by significant hot spots, primarily related to energy consumption (>0.70 kWh/kg of water) during the early processing stages. As a result, the LCA score of this preliminary version of the biofertilizer may be higher than that of conventional commercial products, due to reliance on thermal processes for water removal and the substantial contribution (56%) of lignin/polyphenol precursors to the total LCA score. Replacing energy-intensive thermal treatments with more efficient alternatives represents a critical area for improvement. The MCI value of 0.84 indicates limited potential for further enhancement. Full article

Benzothiazole derivatives have emerged as being highly significant in drug discovery due to their versatile biological activities and structural adaptability. Incorporating nitrogen and sulfur, this fused heterocyclic scaffold exhibits wide-ranging pharmacological properties, including anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, and diagnostic applications. A diverse set of clinically approved and investigational compounds, such as flutemetamol for Alzheimer’s diagnosis, riluzole for ALS, and quizartinib for AML, illustrates the scaffold’s therapeutic potential in varied applications. These agents act via mechanisms such as enzyme inhibition, receptor modulation, and amyloid imaging, demonstrating the scaffold’s high binding affinity and target specificity. Advances in synthetic strategies and our understanding of structure–activity relationships (SARs) continue to drive the development of novel benzothiazole-based therapeutics with improved potency, selectivity, and safety profiles. We also emphasize recent in vitro and in vivo studies, including drug candidates in clinical trials, to provide a comprehensive perspective on the therapeutic potential of benzothiazole-based compounds in modern drug discovery. This review brings together recent progress to help guide the development of new benzothiazole-based compounds for future therapeutic applications. Full article