ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Leaves of Spinacia oleracea have been widely used as vegetarian foods. Some studies on the chemical composition of spinach have shown that it contains a high content of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), and has an important economic value with some agronomic advantages. S. oleracea in traditional medicine is reported to cure more than one health problem. OBJECTIVE: This review focuses on the ethnopharmacological uses and pharmacological and phytochemical studies of Spinacia oleracea. METHODS: Information on S. oleracea was obtained via electronic search of scientific databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scirus, Science Direct, Scielo, Web of Science, Medline, Springerlink, BioMed Central (BMC), and SciFinder for publications on this plant. In addition, books on medicinal herbs were also consulted. RESULTS: Approximately 100 chemical compounds were isolated and characterized from S. oleracea. The major active components of the plant are flavones, flavanols, methylenedioxyflavonol glucuronides, glucuronides, and carotenoids, which were extensively investigated. This review revealed potential pharmacological properties of these isolated compounds such as anti-obesity, anti-α-amylase, bileacid binding capacity, anti-mutagenic, anti-oxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, cognitive and mood effect, hypoglycemic, and anti-hypertriglyceridemia. CONCLUSION: S. oleracea is an important edible plant also used for ethnomedical therapy of obesity, inflammation of lungs, lumbago, flatulence, and treatment of urinary calculi. Pharmacological and phytochemical studies of this plant including bioactives, which have been adequately studied, support its uses in traditional medicine. Additionally, prospects and future trends of this plant are proposed.
Subject(s)
Antimutagenic Agents/pharmacology , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/pharmacology , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Phytochemicals/pharmacology , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Spinacia oleracea/chemistry , Animals , Antimutagenic Agents/chemistry , Antimutagenic Agents/isolation & purification , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/chemistry , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/isolation & purification , Antioxidants/chemistry , Antioxidants/isolation & purification , Functional Food/analysis , Humans , Phytochemicals/chemistry , Phytochemicals/isolation & purification , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Plant Extracts/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
A nitrogen supply is necessary for all plants. The multifaceted reasons why this nutrient stimulates plant dry weight accumulation are assessed herein. We compared tomato plants grown in full sunlight and in low light environments under four N doses and evaluated plant growth, photosynthetic and calorimetric parameters, leaf anatomy, chloroplast transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a high resolution profile of optical leaf properties. Increases in N supplies allow tomato plants to grow faster in low light environments (91.5% shading), displaying a robust light harvesting machinery and, consequently, improved light harvesting efficiency. Ultrastructurally, high N doses were associated to a high number of grana per chloroplast and greater thylakoid stacking, as well as high electrodensity by TEM. Robust photosynthetic machinery improves green light absorption, but not blue or red. In addition, low construction and dark respiration costs were related to improved total dry weight accumulation in shade conditions. By applying multivariate analyses, we conclude that improved green light absorbance, improved quantum yield and greater palisade parenchyma cell area are the primary components that drive increased plant growth under natural light-limited photosynthesis.