Cruciferous species

The leaf flavonoids of the cruciferous species such as Camelina sativa, Crambe abyssinica, Crambe hispanica, Thlaspi arvense, Brassica napus and Sinapis alba were separated and identified with the combination of HPLC, TLC and paper chromatography. Llavonoid aglycones were extracted by cutting fresh three-week-old leaves in tiny pieces and boiled in 50 ml of 2 M HC1 for 45 min. 

J. Onyilagha, A. Bala, R. Hallett, M. Gruber, J. Soroka and N. Westcott, Leaf flavonoids of the cruciferous species, Camelina sativa, Crambe spp., Thlaspi arvense and several other genera of the family Brassicacaea. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 31 (2003) 1309-1322. 

The Alternaria black spot fungi A. brassicae and A. brassicicola produce host-selective toxins as well. While A. brassicicola produces brassicicolin A (11) as the major host-selective phytotoxin [28], A. brassicae produces destruxin B (12) (Fig. 9.4) [29]. Consistent with the virulence of these phytopathogens, both brassicicolin A (11) and destruxin B (12) appeared to be more phytotoxic to the susceptible cruciferous species B.juncea than to the tolerant B. napus. 

Cruciferous species, in which the glucosinolates are biologically active compounds (44), have been studied in both of the latter categories. In Australia, allelopathy has been associated with introduced crucifers such as Brassica tournefortii Gouan (wild turnip) and a more complete study has been made of Camelina sativa (L.) Grants (false flax). 

Sinigrin is one of the most common mustard oil GLSs found in many cruciferous species and a few other plant families. When plant tissues are damaged, this gluco-side is hydrolyzed to release allyl thiocyanate (ATC), a volatile mustard oil (Erickson and Feeny 1974) (Fig. 4.3). Sinalbin is the predominant GLS of yellow mustard and yields mainly nonvolatile 4-hydroxybenzyl ITC responsible for the hot mouthfeel within the hydrolysis by myrosinase (Choubdar et al. 2010). Glucobrassicin and... 

Ali, A. and McKay, J.E. 1982. The chemical and physical characteristics and fatty acid composition of seed oils extracted from cruciferous species cultivated in Pakistan. Food Chem. 8 225-231. 

OTHER CRUCIFEROUS SPECIES Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz... 

Mandal, S., Yadav, S., Singh, R., Begum, G., Suneja, R, Singh, M., 2002. Correlation studies on oil content and fatty acid profile of some Cruciferous species. Genet. Resour. Crop Evol. 49,... 

In 2005, Haristoy and coworkers investigated the activities of 12 isothiocyanates (ITC) and L-sulforaphane isolated from Cruciferous plant species in 25 strains of HP. Medicinal plants from the Cruciferae are well known to have chemopreventative effects on the GI tract, and are... 

Sinigrin (III), a glycoside produced by many species of cruciferous plants, can be converted to a highly toxic aglycone, allylisothiocyanate (IV), after hydrolysis by adapted and nonadapted Insects ( 5, 1, lA). On the other hand, the mustard oil is the preferred storage form of larvae of two Pieris species, brassicae and rapae, which had developed on food... 

Isothiocyanates ( mustard oils ) and their glucosinolate precursors are widely distributed in higher plants, especially among cruciferous vegetables, and it has been established recently that sulforaphane, found in various species and particularly in broccoli, is the major source of their anticarcinogenic action [181]. 

The insect antifeedant activity of root bark powders and ethanol extracts of C. angulatus against the cruciferous leaf beetle, Colaphellus bowringi was recorded in 1936 and since then a body of work on the activity of the extract against several insect species has been carried out [128]. This finding prompted several scientific groups to initiate an extensive research on this species to extract the active components. 

Camalexin, 3-thiazol-2 -yl-indole, is an indole alkaloid belonging to the family of phytoalexins which is constituted by more than 300 compounds identified in diverse plant species and are involved in defense against a wide range of pathogens [195, 196]. Camalexin was first identified in 1991 [197], specially found in cruciferous... 

Although there is a common view that isothiocyanates are important odor components of intact brassicaceous plants, field levels are extremely low and are usually below the level of detection of the usual analytical techniques. The principal vapor component of turnip and radish is hexenyl acetate see Chapter 2). Even in the case of disrupted tissue of cauliflower, turnip, radish, and wallflower (Alyssum), the principal component was Z-hex-3-enyl acetate (Wallbank and Wheatley, 1976). These data suggest that green leaf volatiles may be involved in the attraction of many species of insects to cruciferous plants. 

Other cruciferous vegetables may be used in the human diet either as condiments, as it is the case of Sinapis alba (white mustard) or as salad crops, such as Nasturtium officinale (watercress), Eruca sativa (salad rocket), and Diplotaxis tenuifolia (wild rocket). These species are eaten all over the world in salads and soups. Predominantly, the leaves of these species are eaten raw or cooked, although Eruca and D. catholica flowers are also consumed. Other species from Diplotaxis genus such as D. acris and D. simplex have been reported to be edible components of green salads in North Africa, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. Finally, other crops can be used because of their roots, as it is the case of Raphanus sativus (radish), which is an important vegetable crop worldwide, especially in China, Japan, Korea, and Southeastern Asia. 

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