Water extracts of Centaurea species:chemical and biological profiles : diploma thesis

Vodeni ekstrakti biljaka koriste se još od davnina iako njihova svojstva nisu u potpunosti istražena. Biljke su bogate mnogim ljekovitim svojstvima pa se veliki dio istraživanja danas posvećuje upravo njima. U ovom radu korišteni su vodeni ekstrakti koji su uzeti iz divljeg uzgoja vrsta Centaurea ragusina, C. salonitana, C. alba, C. solstitialis, C. scabiosa, C. rupestris, C. jacea, C.calcitrapa i C. spinosociliata. Cilj je bio ispitati kemijski sastav te biološku aktivnost vodenih ekstrakata odnosno antioksidacijski potencijal i inhibiciju enzima acetilkolinesteraze i butirilkolinesteraze. Analizom kemijskog sastava vodenih ekstrakata dokazano je prisustvo fenolnih spojeva kao i identifikacija istih u biljkama roda Centaurea. Fenolnim spojevima danas se pridaje velika važnost upravo jer pokazuju antioksidacijski potencijal koji je ključan faktor u obrani organizma od bolesti. Rezultati testiranja sposobnosti hvatanja slobodnog DPPH radikala kao i redukcijske sposobnosti testirane FRAP metodom pokazali su slab antioksidacijski potencijal testiranih vodenih ekstrakata. Također vodeni ekstrakti biljaka roda Centaurea kao i otopine čistih fenolnih spojeva pokazali su slabu sposobnost inhibicije enzima acetilkolinesteraze i butirilkolinesteraze.Water extracts of plants are used since ancient times even though their properties were not fully investigated. These plants are rich in many healing properties, so a large part of today's research is devoted just to them. All water extracts used in this experiment were taken from wild breeding species of Centaurea ragusina, C. salonitana, C. alba, C. solstitialis, C. scabiosa, C. rupestris, C. jacea, C. calcitrapa ,C. spinosociliata. The aim was to investigate the chemical composition and also the biological activity of water extracts: antioxidant potential and inhibition of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. A few analysis of the chemical composition of water extracts have proven the presence of phenolic compounds as well as the identification of the same in plants of the genus Centaurea. Today the phenolic compounds attract a huge attention because of the antioxidant potential. The antioxidant potential is a key factor in the defense of the organism from diseases. Results of testing DPPH radicals scavenging ability and the extracts reducing power, tested by FRAP method, showed low atioxidant potential of Centaurea water extracts. Also the water extracts of Centaurea species along with pure phenolic compounds showed a low inhibitiory activity on acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase

Die jugoslawischen Fabriken guten Geschmacks

Anhand verschiedener Primärquellen, darunter unveröffentlichter jugoslawischer Archivdokumente und der Kochbücher, neuer Sekundärliteratur und insbesondere einer Reihe von Oral-History-Interviews werden im Beitrag die seit den 1960er Jahren entstandenen und sich wandelnden Repräsentationen der jugoslawischen Küche in Berlin untersucht. Der erste Teil der Arbeit widmet sich den Kochbüchern als Quellen für die Analyse von Repräsentationen. Im zweiten Teil werden vor allem anhand von Oral-History-Interviews die Entstehung und Entwicklung der jugoslawischen Küche in Berlin sowie die damit verbundenen Prozesse rekonstruiert. Kernthese der Arbeit ist, dass es die jugoslawischen Arbeitsmigranten waren, die ein einzigartiges Produkt kreierten, nämlich die "jugoslawische Küche"

Revizija roda Fritillaria (Liliaceae) u Hrvatskoj

Botanical research into taxa of the genus Fritillaria (Liliaceae), which until today have not been fully identified and in the taxonomy of which there were ambiguities and confusion, was conducted on the entire territory of Croatia from 2012 to 2014. We studied the existing taxa in Croatia, partly also their ecology and certain features, taxonomy and distribution in the continental, coastal and island parts of Croatia. the name Fritillaria messanensis Raf. subsp. gracilis (Ebel) Rix caused most of the confusion with other taxa; however it was discovered at eight localities in southern Croatia, in the region of Konavle and the Dubrovnik riviera. Based on the analysis of populations at 90 localities, five taxa were recognized and described: Fritillaria messanensis subsp. neglecta (Parl.) Nyman (endemic to Croatia), Fritillaria messanensis Raf. subsp. gracilis (Ebel) Rix, Fritillaria meleagris L., Fritillaria montana Hoppe ex W.D.J.Koch and Fritillaria graeca Boiss. & Spruner subsp. thessala (Boiss.) Rix, with one locality on the island of Pag. The herbarium revision included four Croatian herbaria.Rad donosi rezultate botaničkog istraživanja svojti roda kockavica, Fritillaria (Liliaceae), koje do danas nisu bile potpuno određene i u čijoj taksonomiji je bilo nedoumica i zbrke, a koje je provedeno na cjelokupnom području Hrvatske od 2012. do 2014. godine. Proučavali smo postojeće svojte u Hrvatskoj, djelomično njihovu ekologiju i neke osobine, taksonomiju i rasprostranjenost u kontinentalnim, obalnim i otočnim dijelovima Hrvatske. Ime Fritillaria messanensis Raf. subsp. gracilis (Ebel) Rix uzrokovalo je najviše zbrke u odnosu na ostale svojte; svojta je utvrđena na osam lokaliteta u južnoj Hrvatskoj, u Konavlima i Dubrovačkoj rivijeri. Na temelju analize populacija na 90 lokaliteta, utvrđeno je i opisano pet svojti: Fritillaria messanensis subsp. neglecta (Parl.) Nyman (endemična za Hrvatsku), Fritillaria messanensis Raf. subsp. gracilis (Ebel) Rix, Fritillaria meleagris L., Fritillaria montana Hoppe ex W.D.J.Koch i Fritillaria graeca Boiss. & Spruner subsp. thessala (Boiss.) Rix, s jednim lokalitetom na otoku Pagu. Revizija herbarija uključila je četiri hrvatska herbarija

Partisan liquidations in the deanery of Cetina in World War II and in post- war period (1941-1947)

U središtu autorova zanimanja su brojne osobe iz Cetinskog dekanata (do 14. studenoga 1954. zvao se Triljski / Sinjski deka- nat) koje je za vrijeme Drugoga svjetskog rata likvidirala partizanska vojska izvan ratnih djelovanja te osobe koje su u istom dekanatu pred kraj rata i u poratnom razdoblju uglavnom pod okriljem noći mučki ubijene od strane pristaša novouspostavljene vlasti, koja je kao i partizanski pokret bila pod kontrolom Komunističke partije. Članak započinje uvodom u kojem je sabrana sva najvažnija literatura o temi stradanja. Zatim slijedi poglavlje u kojem se u tabličnom obliku donosi cjelokupan, premda još uvijek ne i konačan broj ljudi koji su u Cetin- skom dekanatu stradali od svih vojski za vrijeme Drugoga svjetskog rata. Članak je nastao na temelju bibliografije i arhivske građe, objavljene i neobjavljene, i upućuje na potrebu daljnjih istraživanja teme.The centre of the author’s interest are numerous persons from the Deanery of Cetina (up to November 14th 1954 it was called the Deanery of Trilj/Sinj) who were liquidated by the partisan army beyond the war operations, as well as the persons who were bru- tally murdered, mainly under cover of darkness, in the same Dea- nery at the end of the war and in the post-war period by the newly established government, which was, as well as the partisan move- ment, under the control of the Communist Party. The reason for cho- osing this subject lies solely in the fact that those liquidations and repressions were generally shrouded in silence until the beginning of the democratic changes. The introduction of the article presents all the important references to the subject of suffering. Then follows the chapter that shows in tabular form the entire, though still not the final, number of people who were killed by all the armies in the Deanery of Cetina in the World War II. The article originated on the basis of bibliography and archival materials, published and unpublished. This article only partially uses up the subject and opens new areas of work. The author is convinced that it is necessary to work on until the final number of victims in the Deanery is discovered and the circumstances of their suffering investigated, which is the hardest part of the process of research, but is also a major pre- requisite for an interdisciplinary approach to the subject

THE EFFECT OF TANNIC ACID ON THE CARDIAC MUSCLE OF HYPERGLYCEMIC RATS

Cilj: Cilj ovog diplomskog je pokazati potencijalni pozitivni ili negativni učinak taninske kiseline na srčani mišić hiperglikemičnih štakora i ekspresiju koneksina 43 upotrebom koncentracije koja je već pokazala korisne učinke. Materijal i metode: U ovom je istraživanju dvanaest muških Wistar štakora podijeljeno u tri skupine na temelju napitaka koje su konzumirali. U svakoj skupini bila su po četiri štakora, a ispitivanje je trajalo dvadeset tjedana. Prva skupina, odnosno kontrolna skupina konzumirala je čistu vodu za piće, a druga skupina 30%-tnu vodenu otopinu saharoze. Treća skupina konzumirala je 30%-tnu vodenu otopinu saharoze i 0,1% taninsku kiselinu. Mjerena im je težina, a koncentracije glukoze u plazmi određivane su s glukometrom. Životinje su eutanazirane te njihova srca su uklonjena. Tkivo je pripremljeno i zatim obojeno trikromnim bojanjem po Mallory-ju. Također je napravljeno imunofluorescencijsko bojanje pa su slikane mikrofotografije. Analizirane su pomoću Adobe Photoshop 7 i Image J (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, SAD) programa. GraphPad Prism 5 (McIntosh, CA, USA) korišten je za statističku analizu. Rezultati: Nakon 20 tjedana eksperimenta, razina glukoze u krvi u skupini koja je konzumirala 30%-tnu vodenu otopinu saharoze značajno je povećana u usporedbi s kontrolnom skupinom (p <0,05). Razine glukoze u krvi u skupini štakora koje su dodatno konzumirale tanninsku kiselinu (0,1%) manje su povećane. Također je došlo do značajnog smanjenja težine (p <0,05) u toj skupini. Nakon analize ustanovili smo da se oštećenje srca uzrokovano visokom koncentracijom glukoze u krvi i taninskom kiselinom značajno razlikuje među skupinama (p <0,05). Taninska kiselina nije uzrokovala značajno smanjenje ili povećanje ekspresije konjeksina 43 u srcu zbog velike varijabilnosti u skupini tretiranoj taninskom kiselinom (p <0,05). Zaključak: Zaključili smo da se oštećenje srčanog mišića značajno razlikuje među skupinama. Taninska kiselina zajedno s hiperglikemijom u dozi od 0,1% ne uzrokuje značajno smanjenje ili povećanje ekspresije koneksina 43 u srcu. Dodatne studije su potrebne za određivanje uloge koneksina 43 u drugim dijelovima srca te su potrebna daljnja istraživanja za određivanje drugih djelovanja taninske kiseline, neovisnih o njenom antioksidativnom učinku.Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the potential positive or negative effect of the tannic acid on the cardiac muscle of hyperglycemic rats and the expression of the connexins 43 using a concentration that has already shown beneficial effects. Material and Methods: In this trial twelve male Wistar rats were divided into three groups based on beverages they were consuming. There were four rats in each group and Trial lasted twenty weeks. The control group consumed clean drinking water and the second group consumed 30% aqueous sucrose solution. Third group consumed 30% aqueous solution of sucrose and 0,1% tannic acid. They were weighed on electronic balance and their glucose concentrations in plasma were determined with glucometer at the same time. Animals were euthanized and their hearts were removed. The tissue was prepared and then stained by Mallory's trichrome stain. Tissues were also analysed with immunohistochemistry and then microphotographies were taken. Microphotographies were analyzed by Adobe photoshop 7 and Image J (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA). GraphPad Prism 5 (McIntosh, CA, USA) was used for statistical analysis. Results: After 20 weeks of experiment blood glucose levels of group that had consumed 30% aqueous solution of sucrose significantly increased compared to the control group (p <0,05). Blood glucose levels in the group of rats that additionally consumed tannic acid (0,1%) blood increased less. Also there was significant weight reduction (p <0,05) in that group. After analysis we found that damages of the heart caused by high blood glucose concentration and consumation of tannic acid were significantly different among the groups (p <0.05). Tannic acid did not caused statistically significant (p <0,05) reduction or increase in the expression of connexins 43 in the heart because of great variability in group that consumed tannic acid. Conclusion: We concluded that heart muscle damage is significantly different among the groups. Tanic acid together with hyperglycemia in a dose of 0.1% does not cause a significant decrease or increase in the expression of connexin 43 in the heart muscle. Additional studies are needed to determine the role of connexin 43 in other parts of the cardiac muscle and further research is needed to determine the other effects of tannic acid regardless of its antioxidant effect

Distribution of genus Rubus in Croatia

Zahvaljujući klimatskim uvjetima i zemljopisnom položaju, Hrvatska flora je bogata biljnim vrstama. Među njima postoji velik broj samoniklih voćnih vrsta, zanimljivih zbog natprosječne kakvoće svojih plodova. Podaci iz postojeće literature kao i oni vlastitih istraživanja uspoređeni su s popisom svojti rasprostranjenih u Europi. Zbog jednostavnog međuvrsnog križanja svojti roda Rubus, postoji velika genetska raznolikost unutar roda koja je u prošlosti korištena za izravni odabir iz prirodnih populacija i stvaranje brojnih sorti. Neke od tih vrsta mogu se rabiti i u budućim oplemenjivačkim programima.Thanks to its climatic conditions and geographic location, Croatian flora is rich in plant species. Among existing plants there is a distinct number of autochthonous edible fruit species interesting for their outstanding fruit quality. Data from existing Croatian literature and data from our own investigations were compared with the list of Rubus spp. plant taxa that grow in Europe. Easy interspecific hybridization of Rubus species is responsible for high genetic variety of Rubus spp., which was in the past used for direct selection in natural populations and breeding of various cultivars all over the world. It could also be used in future fruit breeding programmes, practically without limitations