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Buddleja davidii Franch. [Scrophulariaceae] commonly found in the mountainous regions of Taiwan, is used as herbal medicine around the world. In spite of this , no research has been conducted on the physiological activities of B. davidii extracts from different parts of the plant and from plants grown at different altitudes. In this study, B . davidii flower, stem, and leaf extracts were prepared using distilled water, methanol, and 60% ethanol as extraction solvents. The total phenolic content of the extracts served as an indicator of their activities. Our results indicated high bioactivity in the water extract of B . davidii flowers grown at 1,500 m, the 60% ethanol extract of B . davidii stems grown at 1,000 m, and the methanol extract of B . davidii leaves grown at 1,500 m. The freeze-dried leaf extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, which may be attributed to its abundance of phenylethanoid glycosides and flavonoids. The major bioactive components of the flower extract were crocin, crocetin, quercetin, and rutin. Those in the stem extract were luteolin, naringenin, quercetin, acacetin, and apigenin; and in the leaf extract were verbascoside, isoverbascoside and oleanolic acid. These compounds were potentially responsible for the antiaging and anti-inflammatory activity of the flower extract (IC 50 : 28.6–125.1 mg/L), the antibacterial activity of the stem extract (minimum inhibitory concentration: 60–100 mg/L), and the antityrosinase activity of the leaf extract (IC 50 : 38.17 mg/L). For example, the antiaging activity of B. davidii flower extract was found to be superior to or comparable with that of the positive controls, which include EGCG (IC 50 : 67.2–162.8 mg/L), 1,10-phenanthroline (IC 50 : 46.7 mg/L), gallic acid (IC 50 : 132.6 mg/L), and tannic acid (IC 50 : 140.3 mg/L). Moreover, these extracts can be deemed safe, as they demonstrated no toxic effects on CCD-966SK, HEMn, and RAW264.7 cells at a concentration of 200 mg/L. To our knowledge, this is the first report revealing differences in activities of B. davidii extracts based on plant part and altitudes. The findings provide insights for potential applications of the identified bioactive compounds in health foods, herbal medicines, and cosmetics.

The focus of this study was the analysis of the complex chemical composition from different parts of Buddleja davidii, whose species are commonly known as ornamental plants and herbal medicines in many countries. As an herbal medicine, it has been utilized for stroke treatments, headache, wound healing, neurological disorder, etc. However, the understanding of its chemical matrices is still insufficient. Therefore, an online two-dimensional reversed phase liquid chromatography x hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (RPLCxHILIC) system coupled with mass spectrometry was applied for further detailed investigation of the chemical constituents in Buddleja dividii. In this two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) method, a new at-column dilution (ACD) modulator was introduced in the 2D-LC system to solve the incompatibility problem of the mobile phase between two dimensions, which resulted in a 2D-LC analysis with high orthogonality. For the root extract, as one of the analyzed samples, the optimization of the 1D and 2D gradients was carried out carefully. With this new modulator, much better peak separation and better peak shape were achieved compared to two-dimensional liquid chromatography system using a traditional standard (TS) modulator. With a similar approach, the other four parts of Buddleja davidii were well separated. Comparing the different analyzed parts, flowers and leaves showed the most complex profiles. MS and MS/MS data were obtained successfully, which demonstrated the potential of the proposed RPLCxHILIC-MS system in the constituents’ analysis of herbal medicine. However, due to the lack of reported reference information, 24 compounds could be tentatively identified.

Lorena Salgado obtained a grant from the “Programa de Apoyo y Promoción de la Investigación 2021. Ayudas para la realización de tesis doctorales. Modalidad A: Contratos de Investigación en régimen de concurrencia competitiva (PAPI21-PF-27),” funded by the University of Oviedo and Banco Santander.

Many plant species are pollinated by butterflies. These insects are primarily attracted by visual flower cues, however, butterflies are also known to respond to flower scents and some butterfly-pollinated plants are strongly scented. One of such plants is the butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii , which is a magnet for butterflies. It is widespread in its native region in Asia and famous for its success in invasive spreading in regions throughout the world. Due to its attractiveness to butterflies and its beautiful and conspicuous inflorescences, it also is an important ornamental, found in many gardens. Here, we elucidated the signaling between the butterfly bush and one of its abundant visitors, the peacock butterfly ( Aglais io ), using chemical and behavioral approaches. We found that olfactory cues are more attractive than visual cues, and that feeding behavior is only elicited by olfactory cues, most effectively by 4-oxoisophorone and oxoisophorone epoxide. The latter compound was not known to elicit behavioral responses in pollinators before this study. The relative importance of olfactory cues was higher in our study than previously observed in any butterfly pollination system. The identified attractants might contribute to the widespread occurrence of the butterfly bush in its native region in Asia and its success in invasive spreading in regions throughout the world.

Plants provide many ecosystem services in urban environments, including improving ambient air quality. Leaves of plants permit the deposition of particulate matter (PM) and, depending on their leaf traits, PM may be immobilized within the epicuticular wax (EW) layer, on trichomes, on hyphae of fungi, or inside stomatal cavities. In this study, leaves of 96 perennial urban plant species consisting of 45 deciduous broadleaf/needle-like trees, 32 deciduous broadleaf shrubs, 12 evergreen needle/scale-like trees, 5 evergreen broadleaf trees, and 2 climber species were investigated in June and September 2016 to determine the effectiveness of distinct leaf surfaces in PM immobilization after leaf washing treatment. The leaf surfaces were washed vigorously using a vortex shaker. The magnetizable component of accumulated and immobilized PM on the leaf surfaces was estimated using saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) of the unwashed and washed leaves, respectively. In June, the washed leaf SIRM of deciduous (broadleaf/needle-like) tree and shrub species ( n = 77) ranged between 0.1 and 13.9 μA. In September, the washed leaf SIRM of all investigated plant species ( n = 96) ranged between 1.2 and 35.0 μA. Outcomes of this study indicate that leaves of Buddleja davidii , Viburnum lantana , and Sorbus intermedia showed the highest washed leaf SIRM and thus were the most effective in immobilizing PM on their leaf surfaces while leaves of Populus alba , Robinia pseudoacacia , and Abies fraseri with lowest washed leaf SIRM were the least effective. On average, more than half (i.e., 60%) of the magnetic signal still remained after vigorous washing but a large variation exists between species (9–96%). The leaf SIRM of washed leaves of deciduous broadleaf tree and shrub species was significantly higher compared to leaves of evergreen needle/scale-like species. Evidently, the magnetic signal of unwashed leaves was higher than washed ones and higher in September than in June. Leaf traits significantly influenced the magnetic signal of both washed and unwashed leaves: leaves with a high trichome density or high leaf wettability showed a higher unwashed and washed leaf SIRM compared to leaves with no trichomes or low leaf wettability. The effect of epicuticular wax structure types on leaf SIRM was indicated to be only marginally significant. Moreover, also the immobilized fraction of PM was significantly affected by trichome density and leaf wettability, thus substantiating that plant species with high trichome density and/or leaf wettability not only accumulate more PM but are also less prone to PM re-suspension than other species. In general, the results also indicate that leaf SIRM of unwashed leaves can be a good indicator to determine the effectiveness of a plant species in PM immobilization. Plant species effective in immobilizing PM on their leaf surfaces may likely improve ambient air quality when planted in urban environments. However, it is vital that leaves of these plant species (i.e., with high PM immobilization abilities) are carefully recycled as they may be polluted.

Weeds are a major problem in cutting propagation and compete with the main crop for water, sunlight, and nutrients, thus reducing growth and marketable quality of rooted cuttings. Due to the high labor cost of hand weeding, mulches can be an alternative method for weed control in the propagation environment. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of mulches (coarse vermiculite, rice hulls, paper pellets, and pine pellets) on rooting of stem cuttings and weed control when applied at 0.5- and 1-inch depths. Cuttings of three plant species [‘Nanho Blue’ butterfly bush ( Buddleja davidii ), ‘Catawba’ crape myrtle ( Lagerstroemia indica ), ‘Phantom’ hydrangea ( Hydrangea paniculata )] were stuck in 2.5-inch-diameter containers filled with pine bark substrate and treated with mulch. In a separate study, seeds of four weed species [creeping woodsorrel ( Oxalis corniculata ), hairy bittercress ( Cardamine hirsuta ), large crabgrass ( Digitaria sanguinalis ), mulberry weed ( Fatoua villosa )] were sown onto the mulch surface. Rooting percentage was unaffected by mulch type or depth for any of the three crop species (‘Nanho Blue’ butterfly bush, ‘Catawba’ crape myrtle, ‘Phantom’ hydrangea). Pine pellets did not affect root dry weight of any crop species, but root length and volume of ‘Catawba’ crape myrtle was reduced by pine pellets at 1-inch depth. Rice hulls slightly reduced the root length and volume of ‘Catawba’ crape myrtle, but the reduction was less than 50%. Pine pellets and paper pellets (both depths) reduced growth of all four weed species. Even though weed seeds germinated in pine and paper pellets, seedlings did not grow large enough to potentially affect crop rooting. In conclusion, pine pellets and paper pellets at 0.5-inch depth can be effective in suppressing weed populations with minimal effect on rooting.

ContextCities are heterogeneous landscapes, composed of different urban uses with diverse histories. A thorough description of these urban landscapes is required to understand ecological patterns, particularly concerning high-stakes species such as invasive alien plants (IAP) which are abundant in cities.ObjectivesWe assessed the effects of urban uses and linear structural elements on the distributions of seven IAP in a medium-sized French city (Blois). We examined how the relative contributions of these variables vary between three spatial scales of analysis (100 m, 200 m and 400 m) and three urban classifications.MethodsWe characterized the use and age of urban neighborhoods through three classifications with different levels of details and described road and rail networks of Blois. We analyzed their effects on the distribution of seven invasive plants recorded throughout the whole city using GLM models.ResultsUrban use was the most significant variable in explaining IAP distribution. This variable was especially important at the finest spatial scale which allowed a detailed urban classification. Individual residential neighborhoods of different ages explained the distribution of Buddleja davidii, Berberis aquifolium and Acer negundo, whereas industrial areas explained Ailanthus altissima distribution. The effects of linear structural elements were lower and differed between species.ConclusionsWe show that combining fine-scale spatial analyses with detailed characterization of urban use diversity is critical to understanding ecological patterns at the city scale. Investigating planting choices and dispersal process of IAP could complete our results. Urban descriptions based on explicit urban forms could also contribute to understanding species distribution in cities.

The North American nitrogen-fixing shrub Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo) is an aggressive invader of riverine habitats in Europe, though the reasons for its success are poorly understood. We hypothesized that its spread on the floodplain of the Tagliamento River in Northern Italy was enabled by anthropogenic phosphorus (P) enrichment. To investigate this hypothesis, we surveyed seed production at different locations along the river and performed a growth chamber experiment in which seedlings of three common floodplain shrubs ( A. fruticosa , Salix eleagnos and Buddleja davidii ) were grown at 10 levels of both nitrogen (N) and P. As a bioassay of N and P availabilities, we analyzed concentrations of these nutrients in Salix eleagnos leaves collected at different positions along the river. P availability was significantly higher in the lower reaches of the river, where A. fruticosa was abundant, than at its upstream limit. Numbers of A. fruticosa seeds per inflorescence increased strongly in a downstream direction and there was a trend for higher seed weight. In the growth experiment, A. fruticosa was more P-demanding than the other species, producing little biomass and no rhizobial nodules at low P. It also exhibited greater plasticity than the other species in both root mass fraction and ratio of longest root length to root mass. We conclude that anthropogenic P enrichment enabled A. fruticosa to invade what was originally a very oligotrophic environment. This N 2 -fixing shrub exhibits greater phenotypic plasticity than native S. eleagnos , giving it a competitive advantage under conditions of high P availability.

Sustainable alternatives to peat in horticultural substrates are increasingly sought. This study assessed the use of coffee silverskin (CS), a byproduct of coffee roasting, as a substrate component for rooting and growing ornamental plants—Buddleja, Lythrum, and Veronica. Plants were cultivated in peat-based substrates with 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% CS addition. In order to determine the effect of substrate modification with CS, the following parameters were analyzed: rooting efficiency, plant growth, pigment content, physiological indices (SPAD, Fv/Fm, NFI), and substrate properties. A 25% CS addition supported high rooting success (94.4% on average) without negatively affecting root or shoot traits, and even improved flowering earliness. At 50% CS, Buddleja showed moderate tolerance, while Lythrum and Veronica performed poorly. The substrate with 75% CS addition significantly reduced rooting and growth across all species. Elevated pH and electrical conductivity in high-CS substrates likely contributed to plant stress. Physiological indicators confirmed minimal stress at 25% CS, but increased stress response at 75%. Overall, CS can replace up to 25% of peat in substrates without compromising plant performance, offering a sustainable alternative in nursery production. However, higher CS levels require structural or chemical adjustments to reduce compaction and stress effects. Further research is needed to improve CS-based substrate formulations for broader horticultural use.

Aim To explore how a highly invasive plant species (Buddleja davidii Franch.), managed honeybees and flower diversity affected plant–flower visitor interactions over the whole elevational range distribution of the exotic plant. Location Italian Alps. Methods We selected nine pairs of sites (one invaded and one non‐invaded by B. davidii) across gradients in honeybee abundance and diversity of flower resources. We observed plant–flower visitor interactions every three weeks, for a total of five surveys covering the full flowering season of B. davidii (June–August). We tested how B. davidii, honeybee abundance and flowering plant diversity affected network robustness, overlap in flower resource use of wild flower visitors with honeybees and flower visitor specialization. We also tested for an interaction between B. davidii presence and honeybee abundance, and tested whether the effects of the two variables changed among insect orders. Results Buddleja davidii and honeybees had contrasting effects on network robustness and on several species‐level metrics. Network robustness increased with increasing honeybee abundance and flower diversity. Increasing honeybee abundance generally increased specialization of lepidopterans and dipterans that tended to switch to less visited plant species, possibly in order to avoid competition. Specialization of flower visitors declined in sites invaded by B. davidii, indicating that the invasive plant attracted pollinators, which in turn also visited co‐occurring species in the neighbourhood. Main conclusions Although increasing honeybee abundance was associated with higher network stability, it also modified plant–flower visitor interactions by forcing species to shift their diet irrespective of floral diversity. The effect was particularly strong for non‐bee flower visitors. The consequences of these changes in plant–flower visitor interactions for the reproductive success of flowering plants are still largely unknown.