Sarcopoterium spinosum (S. spinosum) is used by Bedouin medicinal practitioners for the treatment of diabetes. While the anti-diabetic activity of S. spinosum root extract was validated in previous studies, the activity of aerial parts of the same plants has not been elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to clarify the glucose lowering properties of the aerial parts of the shrub.

The age of living massive olive trees is often assumed to be between hundreds and even thousands of years. These estimations are usually based on the girth of the trunk and an extrapolation based on a theoretical annual growth rate. It is difficult to objectively verify these claims, as a monumental tree may not be cut down for analysis of its cross-section. In addition, the inner and oldest part of the trunk in olive trees usually rots, precluding the possibility of carting out radiocarbon analysis of material from the first years of life of the tree. In this work we present a cross-section of an olive tree, previously estimated to be hundreds of years old, which was cut down post-mortem in 2013. The cross-section was radiocarbon dated at numerous points following the natural growth pattern, which was made possible to observe by viewing the entire cross-section. Annual growth rate values were calculated and compared between different radii. The cross-section also revealed a nearly independent segment of growth, which would clearly offset any estimations based solely on girth calculations. Multiple piths were identified, indicating the beginning of branching within the trunk. Different radii were found to have comparable growth rates, resulting in similar estimates dating the piths to the 19th century. The estimated age of the piths represent a terminus ante quem for the age of the tree, as these are piths of separate branches. However, the tree is likely not many years older than the dated piths, and certainly not centuries older. The oldest radiocarbon-datable material in this cross-section was less than 200 years old, which is in agreement with most other radiocarbon dates of internal wood from living olive trees, rarely older than 300 years.

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), the major drug metabolizing enzyme, by dietary compounds has recently attracted increased attention. Evaluating the potency of the many known inhibitory compounds is a tedious and time consuming task, yet it can be achieved using computing tools. Here, CDOCKER and Glide served to design model inhibitors in order to characterize molecular features of an inhibitor. Assessing nitro-stilbenoids, both approaches suggested nitrostilbene to be a weaker inhibitor of CYP3A4 than resveratrol, and stronger than dimethoxy-nitrostilbene. Nitrostilbene and resveratrol, but not dimethoxy-nitrostilbene, engage electrostatic interactions in the enzyme cavity, and with the haem. In vitro assessment of the inhibitory capacity supported the in silico predictions, suggesting that evaluating the electrostatic interactions of a compound with the prosthetic group allows the prediction of inhibitory potency. Since both programs yielded related results, it is suggested that for CYP3A4, computing tools may allow rapid identification of potent dietary inhibitors.

Olive (Olea europaea L.) trees are widespread in Mediterranean agroecosystems and are now extensively cultivated in different warm-temperate regions of the world such as North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and even in the monsoon systems of China and India. In the Mediterranean area, the biological and agronomical success of this species is due to its adaptability to the Mediterranean climatic conditions: mild, wet winters with temperatures that drop below 10 °C but rarely below 0 °C and warm, dry summers. When weather conditions become more extreme (drought, high, or low temperatures) or soil conditions are not optimal for olive growth (salinity, low oxygen, nutrient deficiencies), the plant can be subjected to abiotic stresses, which may have negative effects on its physiology. The damages derived from stresses caused by environmental constrains are often not immediately recognized in olive orchards, since plants are largely grown in non-specialized planting systems that are managed with limited cultural practices. However, due to the renewed interest in extra-virgin olive oil for its beneficial health effects, olive cultivation has now been modified from traditional low-density and low-input to high-density and high-input growing systems. Information on the effect of abiotic stresses on trees under the new cultivation systems is scarce due to the wide differences in management practices, environmental conditions and the increase in the use of selected varieties. Under these new conditions, the abiotic factors and their related stresses might have a strong impact on both yield and quality. In this chapter, we focus on physiological responses of olive trees to drought, salinity, and temperature stress. The reader can refer to the existing literature for other abiotic stresses.

Development and ripening processes differ in pollinated and parthenocarpic fruit. While the facultative parthenocarpic common-type fig fruit serves as a receptacle for flower development, it becomes fleshy by either pollination or through a parthenocarpic process. Here we studied the effect of pollination on common-type fig fruit development and ripening characteristics compared to the parthenocarpic fruit under otherwise identical conditions. The effects of pollination on fruit development were investigated on the tree and in storage. Pollinated fruit showed altered developmental processes. Ripened pollinated fruit were round, in contrast to the pear-like shape of the parthenocarpic fruit. The pollinated fruit also had a larger diameter and weight and improved firmness compared to the parthenocarpic fruit. At harvest, the pollinated fruit exhibited more commercially desirable physical and taste characteristics, with advanced fertile nutlets compared to the sterile undeveloped non-bearing nutlets of the parthenocarpic fruit. During storage, senescence and spoilage of the pollinated fruit were slower than in parthenocarpic fruit, as manifested by firmness, internal texture, weight, size, shriveling, and decay. Thus, pollination of the common-type fig cultivar Brown Turkey delayed senescence and extended the shelf life of its fruit. The external and internal morphological differences throughout post-pollination development make common-type fig an excellent research tool for studies of physiological and molecular aspects of pollination.

Physiological drought response was evaluated for two olive cultivars commonly grown under rain fed conditions (‘Souri’ and ‘Picual’) and another selected for intensive, irrigated cultivation (‘Barnea’). ‘Souri’ is a traditional local Israeli cultivar, ‘Picual’ originated in Spain and ‘Barnea’ is a modern Israeli cultivar. Trees in pots were alternatively provided well irrigated conditions (100% FC, field capacity) or allowed to dry, first to 33% FC and then to 10% FC. Under conditions of greatest water availability, the ‘Barnea’ cultivar had the highest stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis, significantly higher than that found in ‘Souri’. Stomatal conductance and leaf water potential of ‘Souri’ and ‘Picual’ at 33% FC were not affected relative to the well irrigated treatment but decreased significantly at 10% FC. Photosynthetic parameters of ‘Souri' and ‘Picual’ were not affected by water stress. Stem growth was also not affected by drought in ‘Souri’ but was reduced at 10% FC in ‘Picual’. In contrast, the ‘Barnea’ showed higher sensitivity to low water availability with stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis reduced at 33% FC and sharp decreases in these and leaf water potential occurring at 10% FC. At 10% FC ‘Barnea’ trees showed stem shrinkage, a phenomenon not observed in the other cultivars. These results suggest a tradeoff between selection for suitability in intensively irrigated orchards and tolerance to drought.

Expression of 13 genes encoding chlorophyll biosynthesis and degradation was evaluated. Chlorophyll degradation was differentially regulated in pollinated and parthenocarpic fig fruits, leading to earlier chlorophyll degradation in parthenocarpic fruits.

Many dietary compounds, including resveratrol, are potent inhibitors of CYP3A4. Here we examined the potential to predict inhibition capacity of dietary polyphenolics using an in silico and in vitro approaches and synthetic model compounds. Mono, di and tri-acetoxy resveratrol were synthesized, a cell line of human intestine origin and microsomes from rat liver served to determine their in vitro inhibition of CYP3A4 and compared to that of resveratrol. Docking simulation served to predict the affinity of the synthetic model compounds to the enzyme. Modelling of the enzyme’s binding site revealed three types of interaction: hydrophobic, electrostatic and H-bonding. The simulation revealed that each of the examined acetylations of resveratrol led to the loss of important interactions of all types. Tri-acetoxy resveratrol was the weakest inhibitor in vitro despite being the more lipophilic and having the highest affinity for the binding site. The simulation demonstrated exclusion of all interactions between tri-acetoxy resveratrol and the heme due to distal binding, highlighting the complexity of the CYP3A4 binding site, which may allow simultaneous accommodation of two molecules. Finally, the use of computational modelling may serve as a quick predictive tool to identify potential harmful interactions between dietary compounds and prescribed drugs.

In the unconventional climacteric fig (Ficus carica) fruit, pollinated and parthenocarpic fruit of the same genotype exhibit different ripening characteristics. Integrative comparative analyses of tissue-specific transcript and of hormone levels during fruit repining from pollinated vs. parthenocarpic fig fruit were employed to unravel the similarities and differences in their regulatory processes during fruit repining. Assembling tissue-specific transcripts into 147,000 transcripts with 53,000 annotated genes provided new insights into the spatial distribution of many classes of regulatory and structural genes, including those related to color, taste and aroma, storage, protein degradation, seeds and embryos, chlorophyll, and hormones. Comparison of the pollinated and parthenocarpic tissues during fruit ripening showed differential gene expression, especially in the fruit inflorescence. The distinct physiological green phase II and ripening phase III differed significantly in their gene-transcript patterns in both pulp and inflorescence tissues. Gas chromatographic analysis of whole fruits enabled the first determination of ripening-related hormone levels from pollinated and non-pollinated figs. Ethylene and auxin both increased during fruit ripening, irrespective of pollination, whereas no production of active gibberellins or cytokinins was found in parthenocarpic or pollinated ripening fruit. Tissue-specific transcriptome revealed apparent different metabolic gene patterns for ethylene, auxin and ABA in pollinated vs. parthenocarpic fruit, mostly in the fruit inflorescence. Our results demonstrate that the production of abscisic acid (ABA), non-active ABA–GE conjugate and non-active indoleacetic acid (IAA)–Asp conjugate in pollinated fruits is much higher than in parthenocarpic fruits. We suggest that fruit ripening is coordinated by the reproductive part of the syconium and the differences in ABA production between pollinated and parthenocarpic fig fruit might be the key to their different ripening characteristics.

Naturally growing populations of olive trees are found in the Mediterranean garrigue and maquis in Israel. Here, we used the Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) genetic marker technique to investigate whether these represent wild var. sylvestris. Leaf samples were collected from a total of 205 trees at six sites of naturally growing olive populations in Israel. The genetic analysis included a multi-locus lineage (MLL) analysis, Rousset’s genetic distances, Fst values, private alleles, other diversity values and a Structure analysis. The analyses also included scions and suckers of old cultivated olive trees, for which the dominance of one clone in scions (MLL1) and a second in suckers (MLL7) had been shown earlier.