Explore the vast range of titles available.

Soil health is supported by diverse communities of organisms, including springtails and earthworms, facilitating essential processes such as nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and soil structure maintenance. Cultural control methods promoted through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are often assumed to be environmentally friendly, and their potential effects on soil health have received limited attention. Biofumigation, a cultural tactic, utilizes cruciferous plants like Brassica juncea (Brassicales: Brassicaceae), or their byproducts, to control soil-borne pests, yet their impacts on non-target organisms remain understudied. In this greenhouse study, we evaluated the impact of soil biofumigation with brown mustard seed meal (BMSM) on the springtail Folsomia candida (Entomobryomorpha: Isotomidae) and the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Opisthopora: Lumbricidae). An 85% reduction in springtail populations was recorded within 1 h of BMSM application. However, the springtail population recovered and surpassed the number of springtails in untreated media after 26 days. Earthworms preferred untreated media over BMSM-treated media immediately after incorporation. However, earthworms reared in the biofumigated media had higher body weight and produced more viable cocoons compared to those reared in untreated media. The negative effects of biofumigation on springtails and the deterrence of earthworms appeared to be short-lived and may later contribute to their reproductive fitness.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin that frequently contaminates cereals and cereal byproducts. This study investigates the effect of AFB1 on the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of piglets and evaluates if a diet containing grape seed meal (GSM) can counteract the negative effect of AFB1 on inflammation and oxidative stress. Twenty-four weaned piglets were fed the following diets: Control, AFB1 group (320 μg AFB1/kg feed), GSM group (8% GSM), and AFB1 + GSM group (8% GSM + 320 μg AFB1/kg feed) for 30 days. AFB1 has an important antioxidative effect by decreasing the activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant status. As a result of the exposure to AFB1, an increase of MAP kinases, metalloproteinases, and cytokines, as effectors of an inflammatory response, were observed in the MLNs of intoxicated piglets. GSM induced a reduction of AFB1-induced oxidative stress by increasing the activity of GPx and SOD and by decreasing lipid peroxidation. GSM decreased the inflammatory markers increased by AFB1. These results represent an important and promising way to valorize this waste, which is rich in bioactive compounds, for decreasing AFB1 toxic effects in mesenteric lymph nodes.

Increasing productivity of maize while decreasing production costs and maintaining soil health are emerging challenges for the rice–maize system in South Asia. A range of integrated nutrient and weed management practices were tested in winter maize for their effects on yield, profitability, and soil health. The nutrient management treatments were a partial substitution of nitrogen with bulky (Farmyard manure; vermicompost) and concentrated organic manures (Brassicaceous seed meal, BSM; neem cake), whereas weed management practices compared chemical controls only versus an integrated approach. The N supplementation through BSM diminished the weed growth by reducing weed N uptake, and enhanced the maize crop uptake of nutrients. As compared to the sole chemical approach, atrazine-applied pre-emergence followed by hoeing reduced weed density by 58 and 67% in years 1 and 2, respectively. The N supplementation through BSM resulted in the maximum yield of maize grain (6.13 and 6.50 t ha−1 in year 1 and year 2, respectively) and this treatment increased yield in year 2 compared to N application through synthetic fertilizer. Hoeing in conjugation with herbicide enhanced the maize grain yield by 9% over herbicide alone. The maximum net return and economic efficiency were achieved with the application of BSM for N supplementation, together with the integrated weed management practice.

This study aimed to obtain antioxidant peptides from perilla seed meal (PSM), which is normally discarded as an industrial waste during seed oil extraction. PSM protein was hydrolyzed using trypsin and fractionated by ultrafiltration. Molecular weight fraction (<3 kDa) with the highest antioxidant activity was purified using prep‐HPLC and analytical HPLC. The purification fold of the peptide (fraction V) obtained from PSM protein hydrolysate on DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical scavenging activity, and reducing power was 1.79‐, 1.59‐, and 1.81‐fold, respectively, after the three‐step purification procedure. The sequence of the purified peptide from fraction V that exhibited free radical scavenging activity and reducing power was identified as Ile‐Ser‐Pro‐Arg‐Ile‐Leu‐Ser‐Tyr‐Asn‐Leu‐Arg (1,330.77 Da). These results demonstrate that PSM protein, a by‐product from the oil seed extraction, can be used as a source of natural antioxidant peptides for food and/or nutraceutical applications. Antioxidant peptides from perilla seed by‐products.

PurposeBrassica seed meals (BSMs) are widely used as biofumigants to control various soil-borne plant diseases. However, the mechanism of bacterial community reconstruction following fumigation with BSMs remains poorly understood.MethodsIn the present study, to decipher the mechanism of bacterial community reconstruction in fumigated soil and to understand the effect of bacterial communities in fumigated soil on rhizosphere recruitment and subsequent disease control, we investigated the bulk soil and rhizosphere bacterial communities using field experiments in soils treated with various fumigants (Brassica campestris seed meal, Brassica juncea seed meal, and the chemical fumigant dazomet) in two greenhouses subsequently used to grow tomato and cantaloupe, respectively.ResultsThis study revealed that bulk soil bacterial community composition changed significantly after fumigation extinction and recovery. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, showing high resistance and resilience in the extinction and recovery processes, respectively, represented the key microorganisms for community reconstruction and rhizosphere recruitment. Moreover, nutrients supplied by BSMs, especially available phosphorus (AP), in fumigated soils determined the post-restoration changes in bacterial community composition. Additionally, BSMs showed greater potential than chemical fumigant dazomet in rebuilding beneficial bacterial communities and controlling potential soil pathogens by enriching gram-positive phyla Firmicutes and Actinobacteria and their respective affiliated genera Bacillus and Streptomyces.ConclusionThese results provide a fundamental ecological understanding of the response of soil-inhabiting microbes to fumigation and the reconstruction of soil beneficial bacterial communities after BSM fumigation. Thus, this study improves the understanding of the effects of biofumigants on soil-borne plant disease control in agriculture.

Lycium barbarum seed meal contains a variety of bioactive compounds, but the use of L. barbarum seed meal in the food industry is rare. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of reducing sugars on the structural and flavor properties of the Maillard reaction products (MRPs) of the Lycium barbarum seed meal hydrolysate (LSH). The results showed that the flavors and tastes of the MRPs were affected by reducing sugars. In comparison to oligosaccharides, monosaccharides were more suitable for the development of MRPs with good sensory qualities. The structural characteristics of L. barbarum seed meal precursor MRPs were also affected by reducing sugars. The MRPs produced with the participation of monosaccharides had higher ultraviolet absorption and browning than the MRPs produced with oligosaccharides. The molecular weights of the MRPs were found to be 128–500 Da and 500–1000 Da. Compared to the MRPs made from other sugars, xylose-meridian products (X-MRPs) had a stronger meaty flavor. The mellowness and continuity of the MRPs made from monosaccharides were superior to those made from oligosaccharides. The MRPs formed by L. barbarum seed meal exhibited the characteristics of umami and meat flavor. MRPs with better flavors may be used to develop new types of seasoning salts.

This study investigated ameliorative effects of dietary oyster mushroom ( Pleurotus ostreatus ) spent substrate (OMSS) in broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with combined marula seed cake (MSC) and mucuna seed meal (MSM) replacing soya bean meal (SBM). In a completely randomised design (CRD), 400 day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly allocated to 5 iso-nitrogenous-energetic diets (control with 100% SBM, control with 60% MSC and 40% MSM replacing SBM (MSC + MSM), MSC + MSM with 1.25% OMSS, MSC + MSM with 2.5% OMSS, and MSC + MSM with 5% OMSS) each with 8 replicate pens of 10 during starter, grower and finisher phases. Dietary MSC + MSM decreased ( P  < 0.001) feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE); slaughter weight, hot carcass weight (HCW), cold carcass weight (CCW), breast weight, and back lengths ( P  < 0.001); serum SDMA and alanine transaminase ( P  < 0.05). In contrast, it increased the weights of the thigh ( P  < 0.001), wing ( P  < 0.01), liver ( P  < 0.001), proventriculus ( P  < 0.001), gizzard ( P  < 0.001), duodenum ( P  < 0.001), jejunum ( P  < 0.001), ileum ( P  < 0.001), and caecum ( P  < 0.01) and serum alkaline phosphatase ( P  < 0.05) and cholesterol ( P  < 0.01). Further, it increased meat redness and decreased its hue angle at 45 min post-slaughter ( P  < 0.01) whilst it decreased its pH ( P  < 0.01) and increased its shear force ( P  < 0.05) at 24 h post-slaughter. Compared to higher levels, low (1.25%) dietary OMSS improved, though limitedly, FI, BWG, and FCE at grower and finisher phases only ( P  < 0.001) whilst it reversed MSC plus MSM-induced deleterious effects on slaughter weight, HCW, and CCW ( P  < 0.001) and increases in gizzard weight ( P  < 0.001) and meat shear force at 24 h post-slaughter ( P  < 0.05). Otherwise, OMSS generally decreased ( P  < 0.05) serum SDMA and alanine transaminase whilst it abrogated and augmented increases in serum alkaline phosphatase ( P  < 0.05) and cholesterol ( P  < 0.01), respectively, and reversed the increase and decrease in meat redness ( P  < 0.01) and hue angle ( P  < 0.05), respectively. In conclusion, dietary replacement of SBM with combined MSC plus MSM induced deleterious effects in broiler chickens that were limitedly abrogated by low (1.25%) inclusion level of OMSS.

The defatted Brassica napus (rapeseed) meal can be high-protein feed for livestock as the protein value of rapeseed meal is higher than that of the majority of other vegetable proteins. Extensive work has already been carried out on developing canola rapeseed where the focus was on reducing erucic acid and glucosinolate content, with less consideration to other antinutritional factors such as tannin, phytate, sinapine, crude fiber, etc. The presence of these antinutrients limits the use and marketing of rapeseed meals and a significant amount of it goes unused and ends up as waste. We investigated the genetic architecture of crude protein, methionine, tryptophan, total phenols, β-carotene, glucosinolates (GLSs), phytate, tannins, sinapine, and crude fiber content of defatted seed meal samples by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS), using a diversity panel comprising 96 B. napus genotypes. Genotyping by sequencing was used to identify 77,889 SNPs, spread over 19 chromosomes. Genetic diversity and phenotypic variations were generally high for the studied traits. A total of eleven genotypes were identified which showed high-quality protein, high antioxidants, and lower amount of antinutrients. A significant negative correlation between protein and limiting amino acids and a significant positive correlation between GLS and phytic acid were observed. General and mixed linear models were used to estimate the association between the SNP markers and the seed quality traits and quantile-quantile (QQ) plots were generated to allow the best-fit algorithm. Annotation of genomic regions around associated SNPs helped to predict various trait-related candidates such as ASP2 and EMB1027 (amino acid biosynthesis); HEMA2, GLU1 , and PGM (tryptophan biosynthesis); MS3, CYSD1 , and MTO1 (methionine biosynthesis); LYC (β-carotene biosynthesis); HDR and ISPF (MEP pathway); COS1 (riboflavin synthesis); UGT (phenolics biosynthesis); NAC073 (cellulose and hemicellulose biosynthesis); CYT1 (cellulose biosynthesis); BGLU45 and BGLU46 (lignin biosynthesis); SOT12 and UGT88A1 (flavonoid pathway); and CYP79A2, DIN2 , and GSTT2 (GLS metabolism), etc. The functional validation of these candidate genes could confirm key seed meal quality genes for germplasm enhancement programs directed at improving protein quality and reducing the antinutritional components in B. napus .

Rubber ( Hevea brasiliensis ) is a perennial plant crop grown in many parts of Africa, South East Asia, and South America, especially within the hot and humid climatic regions. Rubber seed, either as feed or food, is a useful raw material to produce edible oil and protein. Despite the huge quantity of rubber seeds produced in Nigeria and its potential as a protein source, rubber seeds still appear neglected and under-utilised as feed/food given its perception as inedible and toxic due to the high concentration of cyanogenic glycoside. Therefore, the quest for effective processing technique(s) that would enhance its food use application is very fitting. This current study was directed to determine the changes in anti-nutrient, phytochemical, and micronutrient contents of different processed rubber seed meals. Specifically, the rubber seeds underwent processing, which employed boiling and the combined action of boiling and fermentation methods that brought about three seed meal flour groups, i.e., raw (RRSM), boiled (BRSM), and fermented (FRSM) seed meals. These were subsequently analysed for anti-nutrient/phytochemical (oxalate, phytate, tannin, phenols, saponin, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), alkaloids, flavonoids, and trypsin inhibitors), and micronutrient (which involved minerals (magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, sodium, manganese, lead, and selenium) and vitamin (vitamin B1, B2, B3, C, E, and beta carotene)) contents. The results showed that the processing methods used to achieve the RRSM, BRSM, and FRSM, reduced the anti-nutrients (phytate, tannin, and oxalate) below the acceptable limits, and the HCN below the toxic levels. Importantly, the processing methods herein have not yet succeeded in removing HCN in the (processed) rubber seed meals, but can be seen to be heading toward the right direction. The FRSM obtained significantly lower ( p < 0.05) anti-nutrient/phytochemical, but significantly higher ( p < 0.05) mineral contents, compared with the other groups (RRSM and BRSM), except for flavonoids that obtained a 30% increase over the BRSM. Some mineral and vitamin contents could be lost in the BRSM compared to the others (RRSM and FRSM) in this study. Additionally, the FRSM obtained higher vitamin contents, after those of RRSM. Overall, the combined action of boiling and fermentation should be recommended for the proper utilisation of rubber seed as food/feed.

The present investigation deals with comparisons drawn among three types of different mustard seed coat colors, namely, Black (Brassica nigra), Brown (Brassica juncea), and White (Sinapis alba), with respect to protein’s bio-availability through pepsin digestibility, with and without the involvement of major anti-nutritional factors (glucosinolate type AITC, Allylisothiothiocyanate) and relative food functions. These are validated by means of crude protein determination, precipitated protein isolate preparation for evaluating the fat absorption capacity (FAC), emulsifying activity (EA), emulsion stability (ES), whippability, foam stability (FS), the nitrogen solubility index (NSI), and the protein dispersibility index (PDI). The results indicate that the partial removal of glucosinolates from brown mustard (0.91 to 0.31%), black mustard (0.74 to 0.31%), and white mustard (0.58 to 0.30%) improved protein’s digestibility, as analyzed through a pepsin assay, with values of 12.84, 12.60, and 4.53% in brown, black, and white mustard, respectively. Among functional properties, the highest FAC, whippability, foam stability, and NSI values were noted in the brown mustard seed meal, derived from precipitated protein isolates, while EA and PDI were the highest in white mustard seeds, and black seeds possessed the highest ES value. Interestingly, these mustard seed meals are limited in their consumption, albeit by virtue of the different phytochemical and food functional parameters that are being elucidated here. The present research shows the relevance of different food functional properties and the presence of anti-nutritional factors, and uses protein-digestibility tests, which are important deciding parameters for enhanced food consumption in animal diets. Additionally, targeted molecular and protein–protein docking results revealed how and why the mustard seed meals are limited in their consumption by virtue of various metabolite interactions. This thereby opens the gateways to many required in vivo and in silico future research insights among AITC–pepsin, AITC–myrosinase, pepsin–myrosinase, and cruciferin–myrosinase complexes. Consequently, the metabolic pathways governing AITC involved in the glucosinolate–myrosinase system need to be studied in depth for a better understanding of in vivo AITC metabolism. This knowledge can guide future studies in improving the health benefits of mustard seeds and seed meals while addressing their consumption limitations.