Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2024 Oct 28;15:1283-1296. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.15.104. eCollection 2024. Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by sol-gel and microwave-assisted sol-gel methods and their photocatalytic properties. Vlăduț CM(1), Anastasescu C(1), Preda S(1), Mocioiu OC(1), Petrescu S(1), Pandele-Cusu J(1), Culita D(1), Bratan V(1), Balint I(1), Zaharescu M(1). Author information: (1)Institute of Physical Chemistry ''Ilie Murgulescu'' of the Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest, Romania. Although the microwave-assisted sol-gel method is quite frequently used for the preparation of oxide nanostructures, the synergism of the reaction pathways is not fully explained. However, state-of-the-art theoretical and practical results of high novelty can be achieved by continuously evaluating the as-synthesized materials. The present paper presents a comparative study of Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by both sol-gel and microwave-assisted sol-gel methods. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the as-obtained powders were established and correlated with their newly proved functionality, namely, the ability to photogenerate distinct reactive oxygen species (·OH or O2 -) and to act as photoactive materials in aqueous media. The solar light-induced mineralization of oxalic acid by Mn-doped ZnO materials was clearly observed while similar amounts of generated CO2 were measured for both catalysts. These inexpensive semiconductor materials, which proved to be light-responsive, can be further used for developing water depollution technologies based on solar light energy. Copyright © 2024, Vlăduț et al. DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.15.104 PMCID: PMC11535566 PMID: 39502944 2. Plant Cell Environ. 2024 Nov 5. doi: 10.1111/pce.15261. Online ahead of print. A Detailed Proteomics and Metabolomics Landscape Sheds Light on the Mechanistic Insights Into the Resistance Response of Transgenic Pigeon Pea Against Wilt Stress. Karmakar S(1), Selvaraj S(2), Gayen D(3), Baig MJ(1). Author information: (1)ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, India. (2)Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. (3)Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India. Pigeon pea, vital for farmers in semi-arid regions, suffers yield losses from Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium udum. This study demonstrates that introducing the rice oxalate oxidase 4 (Osoxo4) gene significantly boosts wilt resistance. Enhanced resistance in transgenic lines was confirmed through gene expression analysis, enzyme activity assays, biochemical assessments, histochemical staining and in vitro and in vivo bioassays, including spore germination tests. We performed proteomics and metabolomics analyses to investigate mechanisms of enhanced resistance. LC-MS/MS-based label-free proteomics of wilt-infected transgenic and wild-type pigeon pea leaves identified 2386 proteins, with 1048 showing significant abundance changes-738 upregulated and 310 downregulated-in transgenic plants. Notably, proteins such as HMG1/2-like protein, Putative nucleosome assembly protein C364.06, DEAD-box ATP-dependent RNA helicase 3, Lipoxygenase 1, Annexin D1 and Annexin-like protein RJ4 were significantly upregulated, indicating their potential role in developing wilt-resistant cultivars. Metabolomic analysis showed elevated levels of amino acids, sugars, oxalic acid, sugar alcohols and myo-inositol in transgenic pigeon pea, with upregulated pathways in Sugar and Starch Metabolism and Inositol Phosphate Metabolism, indicating enhanced resilience to wilt stress. This study highlights unique regulatory proteins and metabolites, offering insights into stress adaptation and guiding genetic interventions for breeding disease-resistant pigeon pea varieties. © 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. DOI: 10.1111/pce.15261 PMID: 39501468 3. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024 Nov 4;287:117272. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117272. Online ahead of print. Study on the enhancement effect of EDTA and oxalic acid on phytoremediation of Cr(VI) from soil using Datura stramonium L. Shi C(1), Lv J(2), Pei Z(3), Wang H(4), Chang N(5), Fang X(6), Wang K(7). Author information: (1)School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China. Electronic address: shicong@tiangong.edu.cn. (2)School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China. Electronic address: 2230040591@tiangong.edu.cn. (3)College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China. Electronic address: pzyght@outlook.com. (4)School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China. Electronic address: wanghaitao@tiangong.edu.cn. (5)School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China. Electronic address: changna@tiangong.edu.cn. (6)College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. Electronic address: 1120210521@mail.nankai.edu.cn. (7)College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. Electronic address: kfwang3333@163.com. This study investigated the enhancing effects of soil treatment with ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and oxalic acid (OA) on the remediation of Cr(VI) contaminated soil by Datura stramonium L. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted, where Cr(VI) contaminated soil was treated with 100 mg/kg Cr(VI) and varying concentrations of EDTA (5 and 10 mmol/kg) and OA (5 and 10 mmol/kg). The effects of these soil treatments on biomass, chlorophyll content, antioxidant enzyme activities, and Cr(VI) enrichment and translocation efficiency of D. stramonium were evaluated. The results showed that added OA to soil significantly increased the biomass and chlorophyll content of D. stramonium. The addition of 10 mmol/kg of OA to soil increased the plant biomass by 67.16 % and chlorophyll b content by 40.01 %. In addition, OA soil treatment significantly enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) by 6.36 %, peroxidase (POD) by 163.13 %, catalase (CAT) by 36.92 %, and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) by 32.12 %, which effectively alleviated the oxidative stress induced by Cr(VI). In contrast, soil treatment with a high concentration of EDTA (10 mmol/kg) significantly reduced plant biomass and chlorophyll content, although it increased the biological concentration factor (BCF) of the stem and leaf, as well as the translocation factor (TF). In conclusion, appropriate amounts of EDTA and OA added to soil can enhance the phytoremediation efficiency of D. stramonium grown in Cr(VI) contaminated soil, with OA added to soil being more effective than addition of EDTA. This study revealed the potential mechanisms of chelating agents EDTA and OA in enhancing the phytoremediation of Cr(VI) contaminated soil by D. stramonium, providing a scientific basis for further optimization of phytoremediation techniques. Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117272 PMID: 39500257 Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Cong Shi reports financial support was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Cong Shi reports financial support was provided by National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Cong Shi reports financial support was provided by Tianjin Agriculture and Rural Committee. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 4. Heliyon. 2024 Oct 11;10(20):e39184. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39184. eCollection 2024 Oct 30. Investigation of cellulose nanocrystals fabricated via sulfuric acid combined with deep eutectic solvent route. Yang J(1), Yao S(1), Song Z(1), Wu C(1), Han H(1), Gong J(1), Hu C(2), Liu Y(2), Wang Y(2), Chen L(2). Author information: (1)Technology Center, China Tobacco Shaanxi Industrial Co., Ltd., NO.38 Fenghui Road, Xi'an, 710000, China. (2)College of Tobacco Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, NO. 136 Kexue Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China. To make full use of tobacco waste in cigarette production and enhance resource utilization efficiency, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were prepared by a method of sulfuric acid combined with a deep eutectic solvent. This method was compared with conventional methods, and the CNCs were thoroughly characterized. The results indicated that the yield of CNCs prepared by the sulfuric acid combined with a deep eutectic solvent method exceeded 26 %, with the highest yield reaching 29.5 %, surpassing the yields from two other methods of 12.5 %, 17.2 %, corresponding to sulfuric acid and sulfuric acid-oxalic acid, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a laminar morphology of CNCs, in which the CNCs maintained a cellulose type I structure with well-preserved crystallinity. In addition, CNCs prepared by the sulfuric acid combined with a deep eutectic solvent method exhibited good thermal stability, with maximum mass loss at temperature of 342.8 °C during third pyrolysis stage, higher than that of sulfuric acid at 316.7 °C and sulfuric acid-oxalic acid at 335.9 °C. Steady-state rheological testing revealed that the viscosity of the CNCs suspension decreased with an increasing shear rate, which is characteristic of pseudoplastic fluid shear thinning behavior. CNCs prepared by the sulfuric acid combined with DES method reduced the amount of sulfuric acid, and the yield was much higher than that of the other two methods. Moreover, the method using sulfuric acid combined with DES method was simple and safe, and the obtained CNCs had high thermal stability and viscosity, which expands the application prospects in biocomposite material fields. © 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39184 PMCID: PMC11532825 PMID: 39498032 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Lijuan Chen reports financial support was provided by Science and Technology Research Project of Henan province, Science and Technology Plan Project of Shaanxi Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. Lijuan Chen, Zuguo Song, Jianli Yang, Siyu Yao, Chengchun Wu has patent licensed to ZL 202310758383.8. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 5. BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Nov 5;24(1):1042. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05706-0. Response to oxalic acid: an important supplement screening against stem rot resistance in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Veerendrakumar HV(1)(2), Kiranmayee B(1), Vasanthi RP(2), Kumar ARN(2), Pandey MK(3), Sudini HK(4). Author information: (1)International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, 502324, India. (2)Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, 522034, India. (3)International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, 502324, India. Manish.Pandey@icrisat.org. (4)International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, 502324, India. Harikishan.Sudini@icrisat.org. BACKGROUND: Stem rot, caused by the soil-borne pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii, pose a serious challenge in the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L) cultivation. Although this disease is widespread globally but had most adverse impact in groundnut growing regions of United States, India, and Australia. The pathogen primarily targets the crown region of the plant, resulting in systemic collapse and potentially leading to yield losses up to 80%. Effective genetic control measures are essential to mitigate the impact of this disease on groundnut production. Realizing the time and resource-consuming complex field-based phenotyping, the availability of easy and repeatable phenotyping methods may fasten the process of donor and gene discovery efforts. RESULTS: Multi-season phenotyping was performed for stem rot on 184 minicore germplasm accessions, including checks, under two conditions: sick field screening and response to oxalic acid assay. This study demonstrated medium to high heritability (52-63% broad-sense heritability) and significant environmental influence (36%). The response to the oxalic acid assay showed a high proportion of similarity (approximately 80%) with the percent mortality observed in the sick field indicating an easy way of performing precise phenotyping. Notably, seven genotypes-ICG163, ICG721, ICG10479, ICG875, ICG11457, ICG111, and ICG2857-exhibited stable resistance, with less than 30% mortality against stem rot disease. Among these, ICG163, ICG875, and ICG111 displayed low mortality and consistent stability across multiple seasons in both the sick field and controlled conditions of the oxalic acid assay. CONCLUSIONS: The oxalic acid assay developed in this study effectively complements field phenotyping, as a reliable method for assessing stem rot resistance. Seven resistant genotypes identified through this assay can be utilized for the introgression of stem rot resistance into elite genotypes. Given the significant influence of the environment on stem rot resistance, it is essential to implement multi-season phenotyping to obtain precise results. Furthermore, the response to oxalic acid serves as a valuable supplement to traditional field phenotyping, since maintaining uniform disease pressure during field screenings is often challenging. © 2024. The Author(s). DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05706-0 PMCID: PMC11536941 PMID: 39497083 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests.