Category: Plants & Medicine

The plant-based antiviral agent thapsigargin (TG), derived from a group of poisonous plants known as ‘deadly carrots’, appears to be effective against all variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the lab – and that includes the quick-spreading Delta variant. (Click on title for full story.)

Kratom vendors aren’t the only ones who have been accused of misrepresenting scientific research. (Click on title for full story)

Plant cells have been used to produce monoclonal antibodies or antimicrobial peptides for topical applications to decrease colonization of pathogenic microbes on dental surface. Therefore, we investigated an affordable method for dental biofilm disruption by expressing lipase, dextranase or mutanase in plant cells via the chloroplast genome. (Click on title for full story)

Relying on biomass for energy has a punishing impact not only on the environment, but also on marginalized communities — perpetuating decades of environmental racism in predominantly Black communities (Click on title for full story)

So dogs can smell sick plants, but what can the plants smell? Well, quite a lot. In fact, we’ve known for years that plants are extremely sensitive to tiny amounts of a whole range of volatile chemicals in the air. That’s how plants talk to each other, passing on messages about the presence of herbivores, for example, so if we want to exploit that ability, all we need do is engineer plants to detect things we’re interested in. (Click on title for full story.)

A compound derived from the thunder god vine — an herb used in China for centuries to treat joint pain, swelling and fever — is able to kill cancer cells and potentially improve clinical outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer. (Click on title for full story.)

This novel use of tomato plants as a natural source of L-DOPA also offers benefits for people who suffer adverse effects – including nausea and behavioural complications – of chemically synthesised L-DOPA . (Click on title for full story.)

“We wanted to provide a systematic overview that brings promising drug candidates to the forefront, opening up new chemical space for discovery. Our review can serve as a starting point for chemists to consider whether they could possibly optimize any of these compounds to become scaffolds for antibiotics treatments.” (Click on title for full story.)

The bark is transformed into a brown, bitter, bubbly fluid. This precious goo does many things well, and it happens to be the raw material for one of the world’s most coveted vaccine adjuvants: QS-21. Adjuvants are compounds that boost the body’s immune reaction to a vaccine. Owing to their potential risks to human health, however, only a handful of adjuvants have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and QS-21 is one of the newest. (Click on title for full story)

The researchers used leaves from a Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa). The veins of the leaves have a fractal pattern that makes the surface highly flexible and shearable. Silver nanowires were attached to the leaf skeleton, and the surface was encapsulated in a biodegradable transparent tape. (Click on title for full story.)