Agronomic management of a crop, including the application of fertilizers and biological inoculants, affects the phenol and flavonoid contents of plants producing these metabolites. Guadua angustifolia Kunth, a woody bamboo widely distributed in the Americas, produces several biologically active phenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of chemical and organic fertilizers together with the application of biological inoculants on the composition of phenolic compounds in G. angustifolia plants at the nursery stage. In 8-month-old plants, differences were observed in plant biomass (20.27 ± 7.68 g) and in the content of total phenols and flavonoids (21.89 ± 9.64 mg gallic acid equivalents/plant and 2.13 ± 0.98 mg quercetin equivalents/plant, respectively) when using the chemical fertilizer diammonium phosphate (DAP). No significant differences were found owing to the effect of the inoculants, although the plants with the application of Stenotrophomonas sp. on plants fertilized with DAP presented higher values of the metabolites (24.12 ± 6.72 mg gallic acid equivalents/plant and 2.39 ± 0.77 mg quercetin equivalents/plant). The chromatographic profile of phenolic metabolites is dominated by one glycosylated flavonoid, the concentration of which was favored by the application of the inoculants Azospirillum brasilense, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Stenotrophomonas sp. In the case study, the combined use of DAP and bacterial inoculants is recommended for the production of G. angustifolia plant material with a high content of promising biologically active flavonoids or phenolics.

Guadua angustifolia produces phenolic compounds, and this production may be influenced by the application of chemical, organic, and biological fertilizers. Currently, the effect of such fertilizers on the synthesis dynamics of this group of metabolites in bamboo is unknown. In this study, the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) in the leaves of plants fertilized with diammonium phosphate (DAP) and humus in combination with the biofertilizers Promofort^®, Azospirillum brasilense, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Stenotrophomonas sp. were determined using colorimetric techniques across three sampling events (four, five, and seven months after planting). Additionally, an approximation of the bacterial profile of G. angustifolia roots was performed using the DGGE-PCR fingerprint technique. Through repeated measures ANOVA (rmANOVA), it was determined that there is no statistically significant three-way interaction between humus or DAP application, biological fertilizers, and time for either TPC or TFC. However, there were interactions between the sampling event and the application of biological fertilizers for both TPC and TFC, with the latter being promoted by the application of Promofort^®. Finally, NMDS analyses and heatmaps with hierarchical clustering showed that the composition and abundance of OTUs in the bacterial profile varied with fertilization type and increased over time.

Medicinal plants maintain structures and diversities of bacteria, fungi, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that can interact to promote growth and therapeutic properties. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the microbiome of Lippia alba and Petiveria alliacea, species known for their high potential for medicinal benefits in Colombia. To achieve this, rhizosphere soils and roots were sampled from five departments in Colombia: Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Tolima, Putumayo, and Valle del Cauca. The results revealed that the dominant bacterial groups in both plants were primarily Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, and Actinobacteriota, with the first phylum showing the highest number of differentially abundant genera between the sampling points. In fungi, Ascomycota tended to dominate in most of the sampled locations, while Mortierellomycota was particularly abundant in roots of P. alliacea in Valle. Furthermore, the study of AMF indicated differentiation in the colonization for both plants, with the genera Glomus and Paraglomus being predominant. Differences in the Shannon diversity index were recorded between sampling types within these sampling points, possibly influenced by local and environmental factors. Our findings reveal that the microbiomes of both medicinal plants exhibit distinct community assemblies, which could be a significant factor for their future therapeutic use.

Bidens pilosa L., native to South America and commonly used for medicinal purposes, has been understudied at molecular and genomic levels and in its relationship with soil microorganisms. In this study, restriction site-associated DNA markers (RADseq) techniques were implemented to analyze genetic diversity and population structure, and metabarcoding to examine microbial composition in soils from Palmira, Sibundoy, and Bogotá, Colombia. A total of 2,984,123 loci and 3485 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, revealing a genetic variation of 12% between populations and 88% within individuals, and distributing the population into three main genetic groups, F_ST = 0.115 (p < 0.001) and F_IT = 0.013 (p > 0.05). In the soil analysis, significant correlations were found between effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) and apparent density, soil texture, and levels of Mg and Fe, as well as negative correlations between ECEC and Mg, and Mg, Fe, and Ca. Proteobacteria and Ascomycota emerged as the predominant bacterial and fungal phyla, respectively. Analyses of alpha, beta, and multifactorial diversity highlight the influence of ecological and environmental factors on these microbial communities, revealing specific patterns of clustering and association between bacteria and fungi in the studied locations.

Endocrine disruptors such as 17α-ethinylestradiol pose significant ecological risks in aquatic environments. This study assessed the catalytic performance of Fe- and Cu-impregnated delaminated clays (DCs) and layered double hydroxides (LDHs) in a Fenton-like process for EE2 removal. The effects of key parameters—including hydrogen peroxide concentration, initial contaminant load, and catalyst dosage—were analyzed using HPLC-QqTOF. Delaminated clays (DCs) demonstrated higher removal efficiencies compared to layered double hydroxides (LDHs), reaching 55% with Fe and 47% with Cu, while LDHs achieved 40% and 33% for Fe and Cu, respectively. Ecotoxicity was evaluated using bioassays (L. sativa, S. capricornutum, D. magna) and the Ames test. Notably, S. capricornutum exhibited 100% inhibition at the highest tested concentration, with IC₅₀ values of 11.2–12.4 for Cu and 31.5–32.7 for Fe. L. sativa was inhibited by Cu- and Fe-impregnated LDH/DC, with IC50 values of 71.0 (DC-Cu), 56.6 (DC-Fe), and 58.6 (LDH-Fe). D. magna exhibited 17–75% mortality when exposed to untreated EE2, while LC50 values confirmed Cu’s greater toxicity. The Ames test indicated no mutagenic effects. Integrating the Fenton-like process with complementary techniques is recommended to enhance efficiency. These findings highlight the need to optimize operational parameters for effective removal of 17α-ethinylestradiol.

El género Passiflora aporta el 17% a la producción mundial de flavonoides, por lo cual, dada la creciente demanda de dichos metabolitos, se han estudiado diversas estrategias para aumentar su producción en estas plantas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la información publicada sobre la relación del contenido de flavonoides en hojas de plantas del género Passiflora, la presencia de microorganismos, la fertilidad del suelo, el uso de abonos y acondicionadores edáficos, el manejo agronómico, factores climáticos y el estado fenológico de la planta. La búsqueda se realizó en nueve bases de datos: Web of Science, Nature, Agris, Dialnet, Scielo, Science Database-ProQuest, Scopus (Elsevier), Springer y EBSCOhost y dos motores de búsqueda: Google Académico y Semantic Scholar, obteniendo 19 artículos indexados. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los tratamientos que incluyen un solo factor biótico o abiótico en el cultivo aumentan la producción de flavonoides a nivel foliar hasta un 380%, mientras que la combinación de diferentes factores bióticos y abióticos aumentan la producción de este grupo de metabolitos hasta en un 491% a nivel foliar. Es entonces necesario evaluar el manejo agronómico integral del cultivo de Passiflora sp. para incrementar la concentración de estos metabolitos en hojas de ramas productivas con frutos en maduración plena listos para recolección (código BBCH 89), sin perder la posibilidad de uso del producto principal actual del cultivo, los frutos.