Honey and Diabetes: The Importance of Natural Simple Sugars in Diet for Preventing and Treating Different Type of Diabetes

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder with multifactorial and heterogeneous etiologies. Two types of diabetes are common among humans: type 1 diabetes that occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin and type 2 diabetes, the most common form, that may be caused by several factors, the most important being lifestyle, but also may be determined by different genes. Honey was used in folk medicine for a long time, but the health benefits were explained in the last decades, when the scientific world was concerned in testing and thus explaining the benefits of honey. Different studies demonstrate the hypoglycemic effect of honey, but the mechanism of this effect remains unclear. This review presents the experimental studies completed in the recent years, which support honey as a novel antidiabetic agent that might be of potential significance for the management of diabetes and its complications and also highlights the potential impacts and future perspectives on the use of honey as an antidiabetic agent

Multidirectional Activities for Gene Pool Conservation in GCEARS-PSP

The Global Centre of Excellence for Advance Research in Sericulture and Promotion of Silk Production (GCEARS-PSP), recognised by ISC since 2014, was created with the main purposes: development of advanced research in sericulture and diagnostic services using modern techniques, achievement of a gene pool of different silkworms races and promotion of silk production. The objective of this study was to characterize the races from the GCEARS-PSP, in order to conserve the most valuable and resistant ones. This characterisation is a part of GCEARS-PSP’s strategy for the revival and development of sericulture and silk production in Romania. The GCEARS-PSP represents an important point of reference for Romanian sericulture. The experimental data described showed a good prospective for a proper functioning of the research centre and the obtained results are promising for the next lines of research

MORUS SPP. Material Conservation and Characterization and its Importance for Romanian Sericulture and GCEARS-PSP Development- A Review

Morus spp. is a perennial and woody plant, belonging to Moraceae family, genus Morus and is essential for sericulture. One of the main aims of Global Centre of Excellence for Advance Research in Sericulture and Promotion of Silk Production (GCEARS-PSP) is to create a reserve of Morus spp., to multiply the vegetal material and to provide it to farmers and also to create an important biotechnological support for further scientifically works. As in Romania the intensive plantations are almost non-existent, one of the main objective of the centre is to create a real base for sericulture revival (the existence of nutritional base for silkworms) and to develop the biotechnological scientific component of the centre. The aims of this review are to create a clear overview of moriculture for sericulture and to reveal the biotechnological potential and pharmacological uses of different mulberry parts. In this review the major findings regarding description of Kokuso 21 variety, mulberry micropropagation and bioactive compounds of different vegetal parts from Mulberry spp. are presented, and represent only the first stage of the GCEARS-PSP activity

Does Genetic Engineering Influence the Nutritional Value of Plums? Case Study on Two conventional and One Genetically Engineered Plum Fruits

Plums are low-calorie fruits with a low glycaemic index score. Prunus domestica L. is one of the tree fruits threatened by Plum pox potyvirus (PPV), a quarantine disease that causes fruit loss to plums and other stone fruits. HoneySweet is a plum tree created to be resistant to this virus. Beside genetical determinations, chemical composition and nutritional value are important for a future acceptance in the cultivation of this type of fruit trees. Two conventional (Renclod Althan and Stanley) and one genetically engineered (HoneySweet) plum fruits were evaluated for the nutritional value determination. The analyzed samples showed nutritionally valuable features. HoneySweet variety had a balanced content of individual carbohydrates. The total lipid content had values quite close to the HoneySweet and Stanley varieties, far superior to Renclod Althan variety. HoneySweet transgenic plum had the highest total protein content. Also, HoneySweet variety is distinguished by a balanced protein and lipid content. By comparing the three analyzed varieties from the perspective of the most important physic-chemical nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and lipids), the highest nutritional value was registered in Stanley variety, closely followed by HoneySweet, and then by Reine Claude d’Althan

Baccharis dracunculifolia and Dalbergia ecastophyllum, Main Plant Sources for Bioactive Properties in Green and Red Brazilian Propolis

Nowadays, propolis is used as a highly valuable product in alternative medicine for improving health or treating a large spectrum of pathologies, an ingredient in pharmaceutical products, and also as a food additive. Different vegetal materials are collected by honeybees and mixed with wax and other own substances in order to obtain the final product, called propolis. It is known as the bee product with the widest chemical composition due to the raw material collected by the bees. Different types are known worldwide: green Brazilian propolis (having Baccharis dracunculifolia as the major plant source), red Brazilian propolis (from Dalbergia ecastophyllum), European propolis (Populus nigra L.), Russian propolis (Betula verrucosa Ehrh), Cuban and Venezuelan red propolis (Clusia spp.), etc. An impressive number of scientific papers already demonstrate the pharmacological potential of different types of propolis, the most important activities being the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant activities. However, the bioactive compounds responsible for each activity have not been fully elucidated. This review aims to collect important data about the chemical composition and bioactive properties of the vegetal sources and to compare with the chemical composition of respective propolis types, in order to determine the connection between the floral source and the propolis properties

Utilization of Transgenic Bombyx mori for Biomaterials Production

Bombyx mori is one of the most studied species of Lepidoptera by the scientific community, being a permanent model organism especially for life sciences. Two major proteins named fibroin and sericin are found in silk thread used in the cocoon. Fibroin is widely used as a biomaterial due to the high biocompatibility, mechanical strength and biodegradability. Besides the great economic importance, over the past decade, Bombyx mori has received major attention as a bioreactor for large scale production of recombinant proteins. One of the greatest advantages of silkworms is the number of genes which are homologous to human genes, but also it is important to mention their short generation time and the rich genetic resource. In this article, we summarized a review of using the transgenic silkworm as a bioreactor to produce recombinant proteins. The recombinant proteins are currently used to optimize the biomaterials, which have a significant impact for the progress of human and veterinary medicine. For example, sericin hydrogels, containing human acidic fibroblast growth factor supporting wound healing, have been developed. Also, to improve cell adhesive properties, silk fibroin/hyaluronic scaffolds for human mesenchymal stem cell culture have been produced