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Prunus Nipponica
''Prunus nipponica'', also called , is a shrub which originates from the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. It grows to a height of about and can grow in sandy, loamy, and clay soils. This species is one of the hardiest of cherry trees, well-suited to cold climates. The flowers are a very light pink or even white in color. Flowers bloom in the first half of spring. They have 5 petals and are in diameter. The pistils are usually longer than the stamen. The leaves are serrated and the bark is gray. In autumn the leaves turn yellow and orange-red; these are rare autumnal colors for a cherry tree. ''P. nipponica'' wood contains significant amounts of these flavonoids: ''d''-catechin, naringenin, sakuranetin, eriodictyol, taxifolin, genistein, and prunetin. Being a member of the genus ''Prunus'', ''P. nipponica'' would contain amygdalin and prunasin which form hydrocyanic acid when combined with water. This acid is poisonous but in very small doses it can improve respiration, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jinzō Matsumura
was a Japanese botanist. Biography Matsumura was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, of a samurai family. He took a great interest in botany as a young man. In 1883, he had been made assistant professor of botany in the University of Tokyo under Ryōkichi Yatabe. Matsumura then studied abroad at the Würzburg and Heidelberg between 1886 and 1888. In 1890, he became professor at the University of Tokyo and in 1897 director of the Koishikawa Botanical Gardens.Brummitt, RK; CE Powell. 1992. ''Authors of Plant Names''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He also served as dean of the botanical department. In 1922, Matsumura retired from teaching, and began to publish ''Waka'' poetry. Legacy The genus ''Matsumurella'' is named for Matsumura. Selected publications Matsumura assisted in the preparation of Brinkley's ''Unabridged Japanese-English Dictionary'' (1896), and he published many important works on the flora of Japan, including: *''Nomenclature of Japanese Plants in Latin, Japanese, and C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxifolin
Taxifolin (5,7,3',4'-flavan-on-ol), also known as dihydroquercetin, belongs to the subclass flavanonols in the flavonoids, which in turn is a class of polyphenols. Stereocenters Taxifolin has two stereocenters on the C-ring, as opposed to quercetin which has none. For example, (+)-taxifolin has (2R,3R)-configuration, making it 1 out of 4 stereoisomers that comprise 2 pairs of enantiomers. Natural occurrences Taxifolin is found in non-glutinous rice boiled with adzuki bean (adzuki-meshi). It can be found in conifers like the Siberian larch, ''Larix sibirica'', in Russia, in ''Pinus roxburghii'', in ''Cedrus deodara'' and in the Chinese yew, '' Taxus chinensis var. mairei''. It is also found in the silymarin extract from the milk thistle seeds. Taxifolin is present in vinegars aged in cherry wood. Taxifolin, and flavonoids in general, can be found in many beverages and products. Specifically, taxifolin is found in plant-based foods like fruit, vegetables, wine, tea, and coco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance. The sites are judged to contain " cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity". To be selected, a World Heritage Site must be a somehow unique landmark which is geographically and historically identifiable and has special cultural or physical significance. For example, World Heritage Sites might be ancient ruins or historical structures, buildings, cities, deserts, forests, islands, lakes, monuments, mountains, or wilderness areas. A World Heritage Site may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humanity, and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet, or it might be a place of great natural beauty. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirakami-Sanchi
270px, Shirakami Mountains Relief Map (with UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū, Japan. This mountainous area includes the last virgin forest of Siebold's beech which once covered most of northern Japan. The area straddles both Akita and Aomori Prefectures. Of the entire , a tract covering 169.7 was included in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1993. Fauna found in the area includes Japanese black bear, the Japanese serow, Japanese macaque and 87 species of birds. The Shirakami-Sanchi was one of the first sites entered on the World Heritage List in Japan, along with Yakushima, Himeji Castle, and '' Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area'' in 1993. Permission is needed from Forest Management to enter the heart of the Shirakami-Sanchi. Location Shirakami-Sanchi is a wilderness area covering one third of Shirakami mountain range. It has the largest remaining virgin beech forest in East Asia, and is a remnant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prunus Incisa
''Prunus incisa'', the Fuji cherry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, which gets its scientific name from the deep incisions on the leaves. It is an endemic species in Japan and grows wild in Kantō, Chūbu and Kinki regions. It is also called Fuji cherry because it grows especially heavily around Mount Fuji and Hakone.Toshio Katsuki. (2015) ''Sakura''. pp.170–173 Iwanami Shoten. A dainty slow-growing, early white-flowering cherry, this century-old cultigen from Hondo, Japan is highly regarded as an ornamental but the wood has no industrial value. It is hardy to -20 °C, and crossed with ''Prunus speciosa'', has yielded the cultivar ''Prunus'' 'Umineko'. It is in the ornamental section ''Pseudocerasus'' of the cherry subgenus ''Cerasus'' of the genus ''Prunus''. Ma et al. classified it in a group with ''Prunus nipponica''. The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: *'The Bride' *'Kojo-no-mai' *'O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrogen Cyanide
Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an industrial scale and is a highly valued precursor to many chemical compounds ranging from polymers to pharmaceuticals. Large-scale applications are for the production of potassium cyanide and adiponitrile, used in mining and plastics, respectively. It is more toxic than solid cyanide compounds due to its volatile nature. Structure and general properties Hydrogen cyanide is a linear molecule, with a triple bond between carbon and nitrogen. The tautomer of HCN is HNC, hydrogen isocyanide. Hydrogen cyanide is weakly acidic with a p''K''a of 9.2. It partially ionizes in water solution to give the cyanide anion, CN−. A solution of hydrogen cyanide in water, represented as HCN, is called ''hydrocyanic acid''. The salts of the cyanide ani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prunasin
(''R'')-prunasin is a cyanogenic glycoside related to amygdalin. Chemically, it is the glucoside of (''R'')-mandelonitrile. Natural occurrences Prunasin is found in species in the genus ''Prunus'' such as ''Prunus japonica'' or '' P. maximowiczii'' and in bitter almonds. It is also found in leaves and stems of '' Olinia ventosa'', '' O. radiata'', '' O. emarginata'' and '' O. rochetiana'' and in ''Acacia greggii''. It is a biosynthetic precursor of and intermediate in the biosynthesis of amygdalin, the chemical compound responsible for the taste of bitter almond. It is also found in dandelion coffee, a coffee substitute. Sambunigrin Sambunigrin, a diastereomer of prunasin derived from (''S'')-mandelonitrile instead of it the (''R'')-isomer, has been isolated from leaves of the elder tree (''Sambucus nigra''). Sambunigrin is present in the leaves and stems of elder at a 1:3 ratio of sambunigrin to prunasin, and 2:5 in the immature seed. It is not found in the root. Biosynthe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amygdalin
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums. Amygdalin is classified as a cyanogenic glycoside because each amygdalin molecule includes a nitrile group, which can be released as the toxic cyanide anion by the action of a beta-glucosidase. Eating amygdalin will cause it to release cyanide in the human body, and may lead to cyanide poisoning. Since the early 1950s, both amygdalin and a chemical derivative named ''laetrile'' have been promoted as alternative cancer treatments, often under the misnomer vitamin B17 (neither amygdalin nor laetrile is a vitamin). Scientific study has found them to not only be clinically ineffective in treating cancer, but also potentially toxic or lethal when taken by mouth due to cyanide poisoning. The promotion of laetrile to treat cancer has been described in the medical literature a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prunetin
Prunetin is an O-methylated isoflavone, a type of flavonoid. It has been isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 in the bark of ''Prunus emarginata'' (the Oregon cherry). Prunetin isolated from pea roots can act as an attractant for ''Aphanomyces euteiches'' zoospores. It is also an allosteric inhibitor of human liver aldehyde dehydrogenase. Prunetin can lower blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats and relax isolated rat aortic rings through calcium channel block mechanisms in vessel smooth muscles. Glycosides * 8-C-glucosyl prunetin, isolated from the leaves of ''Dalbergia hainanensis'' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genistein
Genistein (C15H10O5) is a naturally occurring compound that structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones. It is described as an angiogenesis inhibitor and a phytoestrogen. It was first isolated in 1899 from the dyer's broom, ''Genista tinctoria''; hence, the chemical name. The compound structure was established in 1926, when it was found to be identical with that of prunetol. It was chemically synthesized in 1928. It has been shown to be the primary secondary metabolite of the ''Trifolium'' species and ''Glycine max L''. Natural occurrences Isoflavones such as genistein and daidzein are found in a number of plants including lupin, fava beans, soybeans, kudzu, and psoralea being the primary food source, also in the medicinal plants, '' Flemingia vestita'' and '' F. macrophylla'', and coffee. It can also be found in ''Maackia amurensis'' cell cultures. Biological effects Besides functioning as an antioxidant and anthelmintic, many isoflavones have been sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eriodictyol
Eriodictyol is a bitter-masking flavanone, a flavonoid extracted from yerba santa (''Eriodictyon californicum''), a plant native to North America. Eriodictyol is one of the four flavanones identified in this plant as having taste-modifying properties, the other three being homoeriodictyol, its sodium salt, and sterubin. Eriodictyol was also found in the twigs of ''Millettia duchesnei'', in ''Eupatorium arnottianum'', and its glycosides (eriocitrin) in lemons and rose hips The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollinat ... (''Rosa canina''). References {{Flavanone Flavanones Bitter-masking compounds Catechols Resorcinols ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaidō is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city. Sakhalin lies about 43 kilometers (26 mi) to the north of Hokkaidō, and to the east and northeast are the Kuril Islands, which are administered by Russia, though the four most southerly are claimed by Japan. Hokkaidō was formerly known as ''Ezo'', ''Yezo'', ''Yeso'', or ''Yesso''. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hokkaidō" in Although there were Japanese settlers who ruled the southern tip of the island since the 16th century, Hokkaido was considered foreign territory that was inhabited by the indigenous people of the island, known as the Ainu people. While geographers such as Mogami Tokunai and Mamiya Rinzō explored the isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
