Explore the vast range of titles available.

Micronization is an emerging technology used in food production, in which the size of particles is reduced to microns in the processing of plant raw materials and by-products, thus making it an interesting research topic. Spinach stems are by-products of spinach leaf processing, but there is little information regarding their processing and possible reuse. In this study, wet and dry ball mill micronization, in combination with freeze drying, was used to process spinach stems and leaves to obtain functional powders. The color and particle size of the micronized spinach leaf and stem powders were evaluated. The antioxidant activity (AA) of the powders and phenolic compounds present in them were determined using GC-MS analysis. The results obtained showed that the dry micronization of leaves and stems resulted in smoother and brighter powders than wet micronization. Significantly smaller particle sizes were achieved using the dry micronization of the leaves and stems (Dv50 = 19.5 and 10.1 µm, respectively) rather than wet micronization (Dv50 = 84.6 and 112.5 µm, respectively). More phenolic compounds, such as o-coumaric acid and gallic acid, were extracted from the dry-micronized powders. The dry micronization of the stems significantly increased the total phenolic content, and the AA of these powders was also increased. These findings demonstrate that spinach leaves and stems subjected to dry micronization can be valuable functional components of food.

AI video creator Daryl Anselmo explains the process of generating videos with artificial intelligence.

Nature integrates complex biosynthetic and energy-converting tasks within compartments such as chloroplasts and mitochondria. Chloroplasts convert light into chemical energy, driving carbon dioxide fixation. We used microfluidics to develop a chloroplast mimic by encapsulating and operating photosynthetic membranes in cell-sized droplets. These droplets can be energized by light to power enzymes or enzyme cascades and analyzed for their catalytic properties in multiplex and real time. We demonstrate how these microdroplets can be programmed and controlled by adjusting internal compositions and by using light as an external trigger. We showcase the capability of our platform by integrating the crotonyl–coenzyme A (CoA)/ethylmalonyl-CoA/hydroxybutyryl-CoA (CETCH) cycle, a synthetic network for carbon dioxide conversion, to create an artificial photosynthetic system that interfaces the natural and the synthetic biological worlds.

Preparation of an environmentally friendly organic green dye, an alternative to the harmful industrial chemical green dye which is used to optical and industrial applications. The dye is extracted from spinach plant by solvent extraction process. The optical and morphological characterizations of green spinach dye are measurements, the absorbance spectrum of green spinach accord in visible region and the dye have two peaks at wavelengths (λ 1 =440 nm, λ 2 =685 nm) where the band gap energy is E g =2.81 eV at λ 1 and the refractive index of spinach dye (n=1.36682). The fluorescence spectrum show the maximum absorption wavelength λ 1 , λ 2 shifted towers red region about Δλ 1 =90 nm and Δλ 2 =195 nm respectively, and that accentuated the absorption region are extend to the dye. Also, the average particles size of spinach measured by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)=59.587 nm. These characterizations obtained the green dye can used in optical and industrial applications and made it a safer alternative for the toxic chemical green dye and thus protecting the environment by replacing polluting industrial chemical and their consequences.

Plant preparations have been used to treat various diseases and discussed for centuries. Research has advanced to discover and identify the plant components with beneficial effects and reveal their underlying mechanisms. Flavonoids are phytoconstituents with anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, and antimicrobial properties. Herein, we listed and contextualized various aspects of the protective effects of the flavonols quercetin, isoquercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin and the flavones luteolin, apigenin, 3′,4′-dihydroxyflavone, baicalein, scutellarein, lucenin-2, vicenin-2, diosmetin, nobiletin, tangeretin, and 5-O-methyl-scutellarein. We presented their structural characteristics and subclasses, importance, occurrence, and food sources. The bioactive compounds present in our diet, such as fruits and vegetables, may affect the health and disease state. Therefore, we discussed the role of these compounds in inflammation, oxidative mechanisms, and bacterial metabolism; moreover, we discussed their synergism with antibiotics for better disease outcomes. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics allows the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains; thus, bioactive compounds may be used for adjuvant treatment of infectious diseases caused by resistant and opportunistic bacteria via direct and indirect mechanisms. We also focused on the reported mechanisms and intracellular targets of flavonols and flavones, which support their therapeutic role in inflammatory and infectious diseases.

A country's economic growth heavily relies on agricultural productivity, specifically nutrition derived from vegetables and leafy greens. Spinach, abundant in iron, vitamins, and other essential nutrients, plays a vital role in maintaining the health of human tissues, cartilage, and hair. However, extreme summer heat and plant diseases can significantly reduce spinach yields, making it less nutritious and harder to obtain. Implementing improved detection and classification of bacterial and fungal diseases affecting spinach leaves is crucial for minimizing pesticide use and enhancing agricultural output. A cutting-edge approach was introduced for identifying diseases in spinach leaves through deep learning object detection. To tackle these issues, the DenseNet-121-DO model served as the basis for developing the Custom Monochromatic LeafAdaptNet (MLAN). Spinach leaves were classified as Half-Spinach, Curry Leaves, Drumstick Leaves, and Lettuce, with the aid of Google-Colaboratory. This model displayed impressive results, achieving an accuracy of 99.10% and a mean Average Precision (mAP) of 98.16%. Such outcomes promote higher agricultural productivity and reduced pesticide costs by showcasing the system’s effectiveness in accurately identifying and classifying spinach leaf diseases.

The current article reported the investigation of metal toxicity on the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in Spinacia oleracea related to depletion in chloride ion concentration, an essential part of the photosystem (II). The greenhouse experiment was conducted where S. oleracea was cultivated in three replicates with control plants (plants \"a\") treated with tap water. Moreover, 30 ppm of Cu[sup.2+] ion solution and Pb[sup.2+] ion solution was used to irrigate the rest of the plants, labeled as plants \"b\" and \"c\", respectively, on alternative days. Advanced technologies such as Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and UV-visible Spectrophotometry were used to monitor the essential nutrients in leaves to validate the function of the photosystem (I and II). Reduced Cl[sup.−] ions contents showed that both metals (Cu[sup.2+] and Pb[sup.2+] ) altered the essential elements of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem (II), required to maintain the coordination structure of the Mn[sub.4] CaO[sub.5] cluster. SEM analysis revealed the modified leaf structure of the S. oleracea under Cu[sup.2+] and Pb[sup.2+] accumulation due to which distorted cellular structure, reduced surface area, and the (shattered) stomatal opening compared to the plants \"a\" were observed. The EDS analysis of plants \"b\" and \"c\" showed high oxygen contents followed by reduced chloride contents over plants \"a\", reflecting the infirmity of OEC to push out oxygen, which leads to generating oxidative stress. The lower pigment concentration in leaves of metal-contaminated plants \"b\" and \"c\" impacts carbon assimilation, which is linked to the reduced stomatal opening and influences the gaseous exchange rates. Additionally, increased contents of K[sup.+] and Ca[sup.2+] may be due to self-defense mechanisms under low chloride contents to speed up oxygen evolution to protect plants against oxidative stress. It was concluded that Cu[sup.2+] and Pb[sup.2+] metal toxicity influences essential Cl[sup.−] and K[sup.+] contents, which modify the photosystem II system; subsequently, a reduced growth rate was observed.

Water spinach ( Ipomoea reptans ) is Indonesia’s widely used vegetable type. This vegetable has a good taste and contains nutrients that benefit the body. Water spinach is generally grown traditionally, but some are produced with a hydroponic system. This research aims to validate the MPM method and determine the antioxidant content in two growth systems of water spinach samples. The validation parameters are linearity, LoD, LoQ, RSD, and % recovery. The research results show that the MPM method is valid to use. Statistically, the antioxidant content in the two types of water spinach was significantly different, where the antioxidant content in traditionally grown was higher than others.

The members of the myeloblastosis (MYB) family of transcription factors (TFs) participate in a variety of biological regulatory processes in plants, such as circadian rhythm, metabolism, and flower development. However, the characterization of MYB genes across the genomes of spinach Spinacia oleracea L. has not been reported. Here, we identified 140 MYB genes in spinach and described their characteristics using bioinformatics approaches. Among the MYB genes, 54 were 1R-MYB, 80 were 2R-MYB, 5 were 3R-MYB, and 1 was 4R-MYB. Almost all MYB genes were located in the 0–30 Mb region of autosomes; however, the 20 MYB genes were enriched at both ends of the sex chromosome (chromosome 4). Based on phylogeny, conserved motifs, and the structure of genes, 2R-MYB exhibited higher conservation relative to 1R-MYB genes. Tandem duplication and collinearity of spinach MYB genes drive their evolution, enabling the functional diversification of spinach genes. Subcellular localization prediction indicated that spinach MYB genes were mainly located in the nucleus. Cis-acting element analysis confirmed that MYB genes were involved in various processes of spinach growth and development, such as circadian rhythm, cell differentiation, and reproduction through hormone synthesis. Furthermore, through the transcriptome data analysis of male and female flower organs at five different periods, ten candidate genes showed biased expression in spinach males, suggesting that these genes might be related to the development of spinach anthers. Collectively, this study provides useful information for further investigating the function of MYB TFs and novel insights into the regulation of sex determination in spinach.

The photoperiod is a major environmental factor in flowering control. Water spinach flowering under the inductive short-day condition decreases the yield of vegetative tissues and the eating quality. To obtain an insight into the molecular mechanism of the photoperiod-dependent regulation of the flowering time in water spinach, we performed transcriptome sequencing on water spinach under long- and short-day conditions with eight time points. Our results indicated that there were 6615 circadian-rhythm-related genes under the long-day condition and 8691 under the short-day condition. The three key circadian-rhythm genes, IaCCA1, IaLHY, and IaTOC1, still maintained single copies and similar IaCCA1, IaLHY, and IaTOC1 feedback expression patterns, indicating the conservation of reverse feedback. In the photoperiod pathway, highly conserved GI genes were amplified into two copies (IaGI1 and IaGI2) in water spinach. The significant difference in the expression of the two genes indicates functional diversity. Although the photoperiod core gene FT was duplicated to three copies in water spinach, only IaFT1 was highly expressed and strongly responsive to the photoperiod and circadian rhythms, and the almost complete inhibition of IaFT1 in water spinach may be the reason why water spinach does not bloom, no matter how long it lasts under the long-day condition. Differing from other species (I. nil, I. triloba, I. trifida) of the Ipomoea genus that have three CO members, water spinach lacks one of them, and the other two CO genes (IaCO1 and IaCO2) encode only one CCT domain. In addition, through weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA), some transcription factors closely related to the photoperiod pathway were obtained. This work provides valuable data for further in-depth analyses of the molecular regulation of the flowering time in water spinach and the Ipomoea genus.