Identification and Characterization of Pseudocercospora pyricola Causing Leaf Spots on Aronia melanocarpa

Leaf spot disease on black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) was observed at several locations in Korea during 2014–2015. Leaf spots were distinct, scattered over the leaf surface and along the leaf border, subcircular to irregular and brown surrounded by a distinct dark color, and were expanded and coalesced into irregularly shaped lesions. Severely infected leaves became dry and fell off eventually. The causative agent was identified as Pseudocercospora pyricola. Morphological observations and phylogenetic analyses of multiple genes, including internal transcribed spacer, translation elongation factor 1-alpha, actin, and the large subunit ribosomal DNA were conducted. The pathogenicity test was conducted twice yielding similar results, fulfilling Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report on P. pyricola infection of A. melanocarpa globally.

Simultaneous determination of procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2, procyanidin B4, rutin, and quercetin in Aronia melanocarpa berry by UPLC / 中草药

Objective: The ultra performance liquid chromatography diode array detection method was used to establish the determination methods for the contents of procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2, procyanidin B4, rutin, and quercetin in Aronia melanocarpa berry. Methods: Waters Acquity UPLC® HSS T3 C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) was used. The mobile phase was methanol (A)-0.03% phosphoric acid in water (B) for the gradient elution with flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The column temperature was 35℃. The determination wavelength for procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2 and procyanidin B4 was 280 nm, and that for rutin and quercetin was 360 nm. Results: There was a linear correlation between the concentration of procyanidin B1 2.2-44.0 μg/mL (r = 0.999 2), procyanidin B2 50-1 000 μg/mL (r = 0.999 5), procyanidin B4 3.6-54.0 μg/mL (r = 0.999 2), rutin 7.4-148.0 μg/mL (r = 0.999 4), and quercetin 2.1-42.0 μg/mL (r = 0.999 7). The average recovery rates of procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2, procyanidin B4, rutin, and quercetin were 101.23% (RSD = 2.13%), 99.64% (RSD = 1.23%), 102.31% (RSD = 2.89%), 98.74% (RSD = 2.96%), and 103.53% (RSD = 2.64%), respectively. The average contents of procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2, procyanidin B4, rutin, and quercetin in Aronia melanocarpa berry were 129.78, 3 834.99, 196.02, 134.40 and 79.10 μg/g, respectively. Conclusion: The analysis method is simple, rapid, reproducible, accurate, and reliable, and can be used to identify and evaluate the quantitative determination of five constituents in A. melanocarpa berry.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Alternaria tenuissima on Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) in Korea

In July 2015, diseased leaves of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) were observed in Danyang and Gochang, Korea. The symptoms appeared as circular or irregular brown leaf spots, from which Alternaria tenuissima was isolated. The isolates were cultured on potato dextrose agar, and their morphological characteristics were observed under a light microscope. The colonies were whitish to ash colored. The pathogenicity test on healthy black chokeberry leaves produced circular brown spots, in line with the original symptoms. Molecular analyses of the ITS, GPD, RPB2, and TEF genes were conducted to confirm the identity of the pathogen. The phylogeny of the multi-gene sequences indicated that the causal agent was A. tenuissima. This study is the first report of A. tenuissima leaf spot on black chokeberry (A. melanocarpa).

The Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Aronox Extract on Metabolic Abnormality and Hypertension

BACKGROUND: Aronox is an anthocyanin-rich extract from Aronia melanocarpa E which is known to have anti-inflammatory effect in atherosclerosis due to high anti-oxidative activity. This study was conducted to evaluate the preventive and therapeutic effect of Aronox on hypertension and metabolic status in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: Seven-week-old male SHR were orally administrated with Aronox (low dose; 100 mg/kg, n = 4 or high dose; 200 mg/kg, n = 3) or amlodipine (10 mg/kg, n = 7) and sham (n = 10) for 8 weeks. Aronox was administered 30 mg/kg for the first 3 weeks and then increased to 100 mg/kg (low dose group) or 100 mg/kg to 200 mg/kg (high dose group). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured every week by tail cuff method. At 8 weeks, fasting lipid level was measured. Heart and kidney stained with Masson's trichrome. RESULTS: Aronox or amlodipine treatment showed significantly lower SBP compared with sham (202.2 +/- 10.2 mm Hg in low dose group, 202.0 +/- 12.6 mm Hg in high dose group and 187.4 +/- 22.7 mm Hg in amlodipine group vs. 224.4 +/- 12 mm Hg in sham-SHR, p < 0.005). There were no significant differences in cardiac and renal weight corrected by body weight among 3 groups. Aronox and amlodipine treatments significantly decreased fasting glucose and showed a trend of decrease in triglyceride level. Aronox or amlodipine treatment for 8 weeks showed less collagen deposition changes compared to sham. CONCLUSIONS: Aronox showed significant antihypertensive effects, decreased fasting glucose, and less cardiac and renal fibrosis in SHR. These results suggest that Aronox can be used as an adjuvant therapy or functional food in hypertension.