Based on the background of the exacerbating food shortage in the world, it is particularly important to diversify food resources in every possible direction. Among the choices available, edible insects have become an important alternative source of animal food with their high nutritional and functional (pharmacological) values, partially replacing normally consumed animal and livestock protein food sources. The utilization of edible insects has been an ancient custom since the dawn of civilization, attributed to their rich nutrition, alternate protein source, medicinal values, and presence of diverse secondary metabolites and alkaloids. This review provides an introduction to three key aspects of edible insects as food: freshness, long-term preservation, and medicinal value. It also provides details on the food source and products of edible insect species, their detailed nutritional composition and medicinal values, and their potential in producing alternative protein sources. Additionally, the review also encompasses rearing and producing technologies, resource utilization, and industrial development in China. Simultaneously, the problems and challenges faced in the artificial rearing and production development of edible insects, the production advantages over traditional livestock, and the farming evaluation and prospects of edible insects, as well as the lack of specific legislation on edible insects in China, are discussed. This review will be helpful in scientific knowledge propagation regarding edible insects for the public, guiding consumers to establish a diverse perception of sustainable agriculture and food sources in the world that has, as yet, been thwarted by food insecurity. Moreover, though edible insects could potentially serve as part of a commercial and industrial agri-enterprise that could generate a huge income, artificial rearing technology and edible insect product manufacturing and processing have not received sufficient attention from the government on a policy level, thereby leaving an open space for extensive research on edible insects as an alternate food source as well as an examination of the industrial prospects of edible insect products.

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Background Traditional herbs played a crucial role in the health care of the Hakka people. However, studies to identify these traditional herbs are few. Here we document and assess the potential of these plants for treating microbial infections. Many herbs used by the Hakka people could potentially be a novel medicinal resource. Methods Local herb markets were surveyed via semi-structured interviews, complemented by direct observations to obtain information on herbal usage. For each herb selected for this study, extracts in four different solvents were prepared, and tested for activity against 20 microorganisms, as well as cancerous and noncancerous cells. All data were subjected to cluster analysis to discover relationships among herbs, plant types, administration forms, solvents, microorganisms, cells, etc., with the aim to discern promising herbs for medicine. Results Ninety-seven Hakka herbs in Ganzhou were documented from 93 plants in 62 families; most are used for bathing (97%), or as food, such as tea (32%), soup (12%), etc. Compared with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and Chinese Materia Medica, 24 Hakka medicines use different plant parts, and 5 plants are recorded here for the first time as traditional medicines. The plant parts used were closely related with the life cycle: annual and perennial herbs were normally used as a whole plant, and woody plants as (tender) stem and leaf, indicating a trend to use the parts that are easily collected. Encouragingly, 311 extracts (94%) were active against one or more microorganisms. Most herbs were active against Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus (67%), Listeria innocua (64%), etc. Cytotoxicity was often observed against a tumor cell, but rarely against normal cells. Considering both antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity, many herbs reported in this study show promise as medicine. Conclusion Hakka people commonly use easily-collected plant parts (aerial parts or entire herb) as medicine. External use of decoctions dominated, and may help combating microbial infections. The results offer promising perspectives for further research since little phytopharmacology and phytochemistry has been published to date.

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Plasmopara viticola ( P. viticola , Berk. & M. A. Curtis; Berl. & De Toni) causing grapevine downy mildew is one of the most damaging pathogens to viticulture worldwide. Since its recognition in the middle of nineteenth century, this disease has spread from America to Europe and then to all grapevine-growing countries, leading to significant economic losses due to the lack of efficient disease control. In 1885 copper was found to suppress many pathogens, and is still the most effective way to control downy mildews. During the twentieth century, contact and penetrating single-site fungicides have been developed for use against plant pathogens including downy mildews, but wide application has led to the appearance of pathogenic strains resistant to these treatments. Additionally, due to the negative environmental impact of chemical pesticides, the European Union restricted their use, triggering a rush to develop alternative tools such as resistant cultivars breeding, creation of new active ingredients, search for natural products and biocontrol agents that can be applied alone or in combination to kill the pathogen or mitigate its effect. This review summarizes data about the history, distribution, epidemiology, taxonomy, morphology, reproduction and infection mechanisms, symptoms, host-pathogen interactions, host resistance and control of the P. viticola , with a focus on sustainable methods, especially the use of biocontrol agents.

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The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver a scientific opinion on the risk posed by bonsai plants from China consisting of Pinus parviflora grafted on Pinus thunbergii taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by China. All pests associated with P. parviflora and/or P. thunbergii were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this Scientific Opinion. Forty-three pests that fulfilled all relevant criteria were selected for further evaluation. For 24 pests that are not quarantine in the EU, the risk mitigation measures described in the technical dossier from China were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For these pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. While the estimated degree of pest freedom varied among pests, Setoptus parviflorae was the pest most frequently expected on the commodity. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated, with 95% certainty, that 9,114 or more bonsai plants per 10,000 will be free from Setoptus parviflorae . For 19 pests that are quarantine in the EU, the implementation of specific measures defined in point 30 and 31 of Annex VII of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 was evaluated. The requirements of point 31 are met, whereas those of point 30 are not completely fulfilled.

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Soil bacteria are important drivers of biogeochemical cycles and participate in many nutrient transformations in the soil. Meanwhile, bacterial diversity and community composition are related to soil physic-chemical properties and vegetation factors. However, how the soil and vegetation factors affect the diversity and community composition of bacteria is poorly understood, especially for bacteria associated with evergreen and deciduous trees in subtropical forest ecosystems. In the present paper, the microbial communities of rhizospheric soils associated with different types of trees were analyzed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. A total of 121,219 effective 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained, which were classified into 29 bacterial phyla and 2 archaeal phyla. The dominant phyla across all samples (>5% of good-quality sequences in each sample) were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. The bacterial community composition and diversity were largely affected by both soil pH and tree species. The soil pH was the key factor influencing bacterial diversity, with lower pH associated with less diverse communities. Meanwhile, the contents of NO3- were higher in evergreen tree soils than those associated with deciduous trees, while less NH4+ than those associated with deciduous trees, leading to a lower pH and indirectly influencing the diversity and composition of the bacteria. The co-occurrence patterns were assessed by network analysis. A total of 415 pairs of significant and robust correlations (co-occurrence and negative) were identified from 89 genera. Sixteen hubs of co-occurrence patterns, mainly under the phyla Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, may play important roles in sustaining the stability of the rhizospheric microbial communities. In general, our results suggested that local environmental conditions and soil pH were important in shaping the bacterial community of the Taihu Lake zone in east China.

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Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Bliss

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Bliss

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Bliss

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Bliss

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Bliss

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke

Ülke: China

Taxon: Dalbergia hupeana

Referans: Hunan

Kaynak: James A. Duke