The problem of misidentification between edible and poisonous wild plants: Reports from the Mediterranean area

Today, in many European countries, people are looking for wild edible plants to experience new tastes and flavors, by following the new trend of being green and environmentally friendly. Young borage and spinach leaves can be easily confused by inexpert pickers with those of other plants, including poisonous ones, such as Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. (mandrake) or Digitalis purpurea L. (foxglove), common in southern and northern Italy respectively. In the last twenty years, several cases of intoxication by accidental ingestion of mandrake and foxglove have been reported. The purpose of this work was to perform a pharmacognostic characterization of young leaves from borage, mandrake, foxglove and spinach, by micro-morphological, molecular and phytochemical techniques. The results showed that each of the three techniques investigated could be sufficient alone to provide useful information for the identification of poisonous species helping the medical staff to manage quickly the poisoned patients. However, the multi-disciplinary approach proposed could be very useful to asses the presence of poisonous plants in complex matrices, to build a database containing morphological, molecular and phytochemical data for the identification of poisonous species or in forensic toxicology, given their increasingly frequent use due to their low cost and relatively common availability.

Traditional uses of plants in the Eastern Riviera (Liguria, Italy)

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of the present study was to explore the traditional plant knowledge of a zone of the Ligurian coast, known as Riviera spezzina (RS), Eastern Liguria, Italy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ethnobotanical information was obtained through open informal interviews. The informants were residents, belonging to families living in the study area since generations, and involved, at least partially, in agriculture.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

A total of 120 botanical taxa were recorded. Ethnobotanical data included medicinal (40.4%), alimentary (46.5%), veterinary (4.6%), domestic and cosmetic (4.3%), magic and ritual (1.8%) and other uses (2.4%). Medicinal plants are used to treat a wide range of diseases, mainly disorders of digestive system, skin, and genital-urinary and respiratory traits. The key role played by undomesticated edible herbs, locally known as "erbette", in traditional cooking recipes of RS was shown. These botanicals are rich in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, vitamins, complex sugars, essential fatty acids and fibers, and therefore might offer a valid protection against pathological conditions. Plant uses by RS people were compared with previous ethnobotanical literature, concerning the neighbouring areas of Liguria. Our results highlight the role of the traditional use of plants in the maintenance of health and the prevention of chronic and age-related diseases.

Arbuscular mycorrhizae increase the arsenic translocation factor in the As hyperaccumulating fern Pteris vittata L

Phytoremediation techniques are receiving more attention as decontaminating strategies. Phytoextraction makes use of plants to transfer contaminants from soil to the aboveground biomass. This research is devoted to study the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) on growth and As hyperaccumulation in the Chinese brake fern Pteris vittata. We grew for 45 days P. vittata sporophytes, infected or not infected with the AM fungi Glomus mosseae or Gigaspora margarita, in a hydroponic system on quartz sand. As-treated plants were weekly fed with 25 ppm As. The As treatment produced a dramatic increase of As concentration in pinnae and a much lower increase in roots of both mycorrhizal and control plants. Mycorrhization increased pinnae dry weight (DW) (G. margarita = G. mosseae) and leaf area (G. margarita > G. mosseae), strongly reduced root As concentration (G. mosseae > G. margarita), and increased the As translocation factor (G. mosseae > G. margarita). The concentration of phosphorus in pinnae and roots was enhanced by both fungi (G. margarita > G. mosseae). The quantitatively different effects of the two AM fungi on plant growth as well as on As and P distribution in the fern suggest that the As hyperaccumulation in P. vittata can be optimized by a careful choice of the symbiont.

Structural and histochemical features of Stylosanthes scabra (Leguminosae; Papilionoideae) seed coat as related to water entry

The structural and histochemical features of the seed coat of Stylosanthes scabra Vog. were investigated by bright-field and fluorescence light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The palisade cells consisted of two parts, different in structure and in histochemical characteristics: an upper furrowed part and an irregularly ending cylindrical part. The former showed a light line just below the outer ends that owing to the presence of callose, could act as a water barrier. In the hilar region a raised circular outgrowth all around the hilar fissure consisted of two parts: the rim aril, a rampart-like border of vertically oriented cells, and the remaining part with a roughly triangular-shaped cross section called funicular remnants. The rim aril showed affinity with alcian blue and did not fluoresce with either auramine O or aniline blue. It did not hinder water entry. The funicular remnants, except the parts towards the hilar fissure, reacted positively with ferric chloride and vanillin and fluoresced intensely with aniline blue and auramine O. Thus it is possible that three substances are involved in impermeability at this level: phenolics, callose, and hydrophobic lipid substances. In the hilar area, another more internal water barrier could be the prominent light line. Key words: Stylosanthes scabra, seed coat, structure, histochemistry.

[Effect of cryopreservation on pollen viability]

The viability of pollen at room temperature lowers and disappears in few days; on the contrary the cryopreservation lengthens the pollen viability. Pollen of Pinus brutia, P. canariensis, P. halepensis, P. pinaster has been stored at -20 degrees C for one year with the aim of checking the variation of viability. The viability has been tested by fluorescein diacetate; the germination by in vitro culture for 96 hours has been observed and daily percentage of germinated pollen grains and maximum lengths of pollen tubes have been checked. The tests have been carried out at the drawing of pollen and then 6 months and 12 months after. The pollen viability lowers during this period but it does not disappear. The germination power decreases in Pinus canariensis and P. pinaster, while in Pinus brutia and P. halepensis it is increased by low temperature. Therefore the cryopreservation has to be considered an important method for the maintenance of the germplasm of those plants, like the pines, which are important from the naturalistic point of view.

[Observations on the germinability in vitro of pollen from Camellia japonica L. (Theaceae)]

Pollen grains from samples of Camellia japonica living in soil (A) and in greenhouse (B) were collected daily from just-opened anthers. The pollen was sown in various liquid media and incubated at 28 C. Higher germinative ability of A in comparison with B was observed and related to the relative humidity which is higher in soil than in greenhouse. This phenomenon recurs even if the composition of the culture medium is changed. However the composition of the medium greatly influences the percentage of germination of both A and B notwithstanding the environmental conditions. The pollen collected from anthers dehiscing in the first day of the anthesis has a high germinative ability which suddenly decreases in the ripe pollen of the following days.

Sensory neuropeptides (substance P) and 4-11 SP enhance human neutrophils chemiluminescence; the role of L-arginine

Investigations on the effect of a naturally occurring neuropeptide, substance P (SP) and one of its synthetic analogues, 4-11 SP, on luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are presented. Both peptides elicited a strong burst of CL with different time course and dose-response curves. SP- and tuftsin-induced CL were similar, both peptides sharing a Lys-Pro-Arg terminal; 4-11 SP, which lacks the terminal arginine, peaked earlier than the natural peptide. Surprisingly when PMN were pre-incubated with L-arginine (L-Arg) this enhancing effect was abolished or diminished. L-Arg and an L-Arg synthetic derivative (PCF-39) were also evaluated; PCF-39 strongly increased the PMN CL, while L-arginine showed a significant CL enhancement only in 43% of the donors tested. Peptide- and arginine-induced CL were Ca++/MG++ dependent.