Cirsium

The antimicrobial activities of Circium arvense extracts were evaluated against two human gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus) and four gram negative pathogen (Escherichia coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, Klebsiella pneumoniae). The Methanol extracts of Circium arvense were used to obtain various fractions (X1) n-hexane, (X2) chloroform, (X3) ethyl acetate and (X4) n-butanol. The agar well diffusion assay and agar dilution susceptibility testing were carried out to determine the zone of inhibitions and the minimum inhibitory concentration respectively. Antifungal activity was employed by agar well diffusion method. The Ampicilline, Ofloxacine and Itraconazole were used as standard agents. Almost all fractions exhibited more or less antimicrobial activity. The X2 (Chloroform) fraction was reported as highly active fraction with good antimicrobial activity MIC 0.312 mg/ml against staphylococcus areous. The MBC values of fraction X2 (chloroform) was 2 ti...

Floral scent, together with visual floral cues, are important signals to adult butterflies searching for food-rewarding plants. To identify which compounds in a floral scent are more attractive and, thus, of biological importance to foraging butterflies, we applied electrophysiological methods. Antennal responses of male and female adults of the tropical butterfly Heliconius melpomene L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) to individual compounds of natural floral scents and synthetic floral scent mixtures were investigated using gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD). The natural floral scents included those of two tropical plant species, Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) and Warszewiczia coccinea (Vahl) Kl. (Rubiaceae), and two temperate species, Buddleja davidii Franchet (Loganiaceae) and Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Asteraceae). The two synthetic floral scent mixtures contained many of the compounds found in the natural scents, but all in equal quantities....

Amidase associated acyl transfer activity transfers an acyl group of different amides to hydroxylamine to form the corresponding hydroxamic acid. Bacterial isolate BR-1, isolated from rhizosphere of cyanogenic plant Cirsium vulgare and identified as Pseudomonas putida BR-1 by 16S rDNA sequencing, exhibited high acyl transfer activity for N-substituted aromatic amide resulting in the formation of the corresponding hydroxamic acid. Optimization of media, nitrogen source tryptone (0.6%), inducer isobutyronitrile, pH 8.5, growth temperature 25∞C in 56 h resulted in a 7-fold increase in acyl transfer activity. Further, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and multiple feeding approach (20 mM after 14 h) of inducer led to a 29% enhancement of acyl transfer activity from 77.71 ± 0.02 Umgdcm–1 to 100.64 ± 0.03 Umgdcm–1 from this organism. The half life (t1/2) of this enzyme at 50∞C and 60∞C was 3 h and 1 h, respectively. The acyl transfer activity of amidase of Pseudomonas putida BR-1 makes i...

A rhizobacterial community, associated with the roots of wild thistle Cirsium arvense (L.) growing in an arsenic polluted soil, was studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis in conjunction with cultivation-based methods. In the bulk, rhizosphere, and rhizoplane fractions of the soil, the qualitative picture obtained by FISH analysis of the main phylogenetic bacterial groups was similar and was predominantly comprised of Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria. The arsenic-resistant isolates belonged to 13 genera, the most abundant being those of Bacillus, Achromobacter, Brevundimonas, Microbacterium, and Ochrobactrum. Most bacteria grew in the presence of high arsenic concentrations (over 100 mM arsenate and 10 mM arsenite). Most strains possessed the ArsC, ArsB and ACR3 genes homologous to arsenate reductase and to the two classes of arsenite efflux pumps, respectively, peculiar to the ars operon of the arsenic detoxification system. ArsB and ACR3 were present simultaneously in highly resistant strains. An inconsistency between 16S rRNA phylogenetic affiliations and the arsenate reductase sequences of the strains was observed, indicating possible horizontal transfer of arsenic resistance genes in the soil bacterial community. Several isolates were able to reduce arsenate and to oxidise arsenite. In particular, Ancylobacter dichloromethanicum strain As3-1b possessed both characteristics, and arsenite oxidation occurred in the strain also under chemoautotrophic conditions. Some rhizobacteria produced siderophores, indole acetic acid and 1-amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase, thus possessing potential plant growth-promoting traits.

"In order to resolve taxonomic ambiguity in the Cirsium arizonicum species complex, replicate collections from 58 locations across the southwestern United States were used to examine patterns of character variation within plants, within populations and between populations. The hypothesis of their red-flowered some-what pendant morphology being indicative of hummingbird pollination was examined in a field study. By comparing measures of within- to between-group variance, 34 morphometric distance characters from florets, stems and basal leaves were evaluated for taxonomic utility. Several approaches to achene shape, including outline descriptors, were compared with traditional distance measurements. Discrete characters were shown to have little reliability of taxonomic identity. Questions were raised about the interpretation of pollen viability as a measure of male sterility. The utility of bivariate ratios was shown to be context dependent. A limited test of the effects of scaling by geometric mean showed it to be of value in multivariate ordinations. Seasonal variation was found to affect several characters and their allometric relationships. For many of the characters in this study, this is the first record of their quantitative usage in thistle taxonomy. Hummingbirds were observed the most ubiquitous visitors to the C. arizonicum complex, although many arthropods also visit these thistles. Hummingbirds and bees appeared as the most likely candidates to actually move pollen between plants. The pollination system was found to be affected by climate conditions, visitor population dynamics, and standing floral crop size, both within the thistle patch and in the sympatric flowers competing for pollinator attention. Fifteen morphological units were identified within the Cirsium arizonicum complex. The recognition of C. turneri, C. clokeyi, C. calcareum, C. arizonicum, C. pulchellum, and C. chellyense are supported by quantitative morphological differences. Recognition of C. rothrockii was not supported. Subunits of C. arizonicum, C. calcareum, and C. puchellum were delineated. Two new taxa, C. surrepticum and C. aleatorium, were proposed."

Phyllosticta cirsii, a fungal pathogen isolated from diseased Cirsium arvense leaves and evaluated as a biocontrol agent of this noxious perennial weed, produces different phytotoxic metabolites with potential herbicidal activity when grown in liquid cultures. Phyllostictines A-D, four novel oxazatricycloalkenones, were recently isolated from this pathogen and chemically and biologically characterized. Further purification of the same organic extract provided two other metabolites, named phyllostoxin (1) and phyllostin (2), which were characterized by spectroscopic technique (essentially NMR and MS). Phyllostoxin and phyllostin proved to be a new pentasubstituted bicyclo-octatrienyl acetic acid ester and a new pentasubstituted hexahydrobenzodioxine carboxylic acid methyl ester, respectively. When tested on punctured C. arvense leaves, phyllostoxin proved to be highly phytotoxic, causing rapid and large necrosis, whereas phyllostin had no phytotoxicity in this bioassay. This is not surprising, considering the noteworthy structural differences between the two compounds, suggesting the presence of active functional groups in phyllostoxin not present in the other metabolite. These results further support the focused approach of finding novel metabolites with herbicidal properties by looking at the culture extracts of weed fungal pathogens.

In this study, the antioxidant activities of methanol and
acetone extracts of Cirsium bulgaricum DC. (Asteraceae)
were evaluated by five antioxidant assays, including
phosphomolybdate method, cupric ion reducing capacity
(CUPRAC), 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-
sulfonicacid)/persulfate) ABTS/Persulfate, N, N-dimethyl-pphenylenediamine
(DMPD) and a Ce(IV)-based reducing
capacity (CERAC) methods. The 80% methanol and acetone
extracts showed 0.005-6.16±0.03 mmol/g and 0.004-
5.02±0.02 [(trolox (TR), catechin (CT), epicatechin (EC),
rutin (RT), quercetin (QR), naringin (NG) in CUPRAC and
ABTS/Persulfate methods, respectively]. According to DMPD
methods, inhibition effect were showed 2.3%±0.02 for 80%
methanol and 4.6%±0.07 for acetone. Ascorbic acid equivalent
mmol (AA)/g extract in CERAC method was found to be
0.0834±0.09 for 80% methanol and 0.5622±0.05 for acetone.
Ascorbic acid equivalent μg ascorbic acid (AA) /mL extract
were found 807.6±0.07 for 80% methanol and 292.4±0.01 for
acetone in phpsphomolybdate method. In the addition to the
antioxidant activity of the extract, the total flavonoid content
was measured. Total flavonoid content of 80% methanol and
acetone extracts was found to be 105.5-645±0.04 μg/ml
quercetin and rutin equivalent. For the determination of
antibacterial activities Escherichia coli (E.coli) ATCC 25922,
Escherichia coli(E.coli) O157:H7 ATCC 33150, Salmonella
E n t e r i t i d i s(S.E n t e r i t i d i s ) AT C C 1 3 0 7 6 , Listeria
monocytogenes(L.monocytogenes) AT C C 7 6 4 4 ,
Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus) ATCC 25923 bacteria were
used as test bacteria. Acetone extracts showed antibacterial
activity against all of the tested bacteria ranged between
17.00±1.72- 19.88±1.75 mm and 80% methanol extracts
showed antibacterial activity against all of the tested bacteria
ranged between 11.35±1.43-14.43±1.32 mm.
Keywords: Antioxidant Activity, Antimicrobial Activity,
Total Flavonoid Contents, Cirsium bulgaricum