Correlation between the presence of metals with potential for intoxication, omega 3 deficiency, increased omega 6: omega 3 ratio and their associated symptoms

Objectives. The study aims to determine the correlation between the presence of heavy metals with intoxication potential (mercury, aluminum, arsenic), increasing the values for the omega 6: omega 3 ratio, decreasing the concentration of omega 3 and it’s impact on health. Another objective of this study is the use of an integrated protocol, developed by an interdisciplinary team, based on a customized alignment program and a treatment plan. Materials and methods. We evaluated in a retrospective observational study, 77 patients who came to the Nutribalance Clinic between September 2017 and December 2019, with specific symptoms of intoxication with toxic metals, especially mercury, aluminum, arsenic and omega 3 deficiencies. The manifested symptoms required a complete set of blood tests for each sub-ject in the study group, tests that showed the presence of one, two and three toxic metals in the case of all 77 subjects. The interdisciplinary team developed a personalized treatment and diet plan, monitoring the evolution on the symptoms initially manifested by each subject. Outcomes. The results of this study shows the beneficial impact of the personalized diet plan and supplements used on the decrease in omega 6: omega 3 ratio, the significant increases in omega 3 which support the detoxification process of heavy metals and a significant improvement in the symptoms of each patient. Conclusions. This study reveals that the process of chelating or detoxifying heavy metals is a complex one and that implies the presence of a complementarity between food and nutritional supplement therapy, avoiding one single direction, as results can be obtained for a short or insignificant period of time

COMPETENCES AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES OF ORGANIC MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS DOMAIN DEVELOPED BY HERBAL.MEDNET PROJECT

Herbal.Mednet project aims to design an e-learning training program for advisors and trainers in the field of organic Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) in order to equip them with knowledge, competences and skills necessary for providing a support and technical and managerial assistance to producers, processors and traders of organic medicinal and aromatic plants domain. The results showed that more than 65% of the participants are quite familiar with using competences to describe a job profile, hence the overall feedback is of high importance.Almost of all users respond that competences are very useful in the thematic area of organic MAPs.The most of survey participants (over 65%) already are familiar and use the competence to describe job opportunities, and believe that it is a useful tool. From the results, it can be seen that the competence list that is been identified and is being used by the Herbal.Mednet consortium, reflects the needs in the organic MAPs job profiles

Fast Electrochemical Measurement of Laccase Activity for Monitoring Grapes’ Infection with Botrytis cinerea

Grapes’ infection with the fungi Botrytis cinerea is one of the major causes of economic loss in the winemaking sector worldwide. The laccase activity of grapes is considered an appropriate indicator of this type of fungal infection, and enzymatic activity higher than 3 U/mL indicates a high risk of irreversibly damaged grape must due to enzymatic browning. This work describes a fast test for the measurement of laccase activity based on a dual optical and electrochemical detection method. A paper sensor impregnated with the enzymatic substrate dye 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) provides a semi-quantitative optical measurement. While the paper sensor can be used independently, when combined with a screen-printed electrode and amperometry measurements, it enables the quantitative detection of laccase activities down to 0.4 U/mL in only 5 min. The method was applied for monitoring the artificial infection of white, rosé, and red grapes with different strains of Botrytis cinerea. The results were confirmed by parallel analysis using the spectrophotometric method of laccase activity determination based on syringaldazine. The influence of the fungal strain and type of grape on laccase activity levels is reported. The demonstrated robustness, simplicity, and versatility of the developed method make it ideal for application on-site in the vineyard or at grape processing points.Financial support provided by the Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI), ERANET-MANUNET-III-WINBIOTOOL-2, contract 151/9.03.2020 grant (for A.V), contract150/9.03.2020 (for P.E) and contract 152/9.03.2020 (for C.P. (Catalina Pantazi), E.B., and M.I.); the Romanian Academy grant RO1567-IBB05/2021 (for R.R. and C.P. (Cristina Purcarea)); the Basque Government and the European Union through the European regional development fund 2014–2020 (FEDER) (ZL-2020/00532 and ZL-2021/00340); and the Diputación Foral de Álava (ALAVA INNOVA program—INNOEM-2020/00045) for Bodegas de los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal; and the Diputación Foral de Álava (ALAVA INNOVA program— INNOEM-2020/00045) for Bodegas de los Herederos del Marqués de Risca is gratefully acknowledged

QUALITY CONTROL OF Scomber Scombrus (MACKEREL) MARKET IN ROMANIA

Different types of Scomber Scombrus (mackerel) available on the Romanian market (frozen, smoked, oil canned) have been analyzed, in order to highlight the differences in chemical composition between foods obtained using different preservation methods. For this, water content, total acidity, NaCl content, ammonium, total nitrogen and eight essential and/or potentially toxic elements (Cu, Cd, Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Mg) were determined in five types of mackerel commercial products. The analyses were completed with sensorial analysis, and qualitative identification of antiseptic preservatives (hydrogen sulfide, formaldehyde and benzoic acid) has been performed. Hydrogen sulfide was not detected in any of the products studied, but benzoic acid and formaldehyde were detected in frozen and canned mackerel samples. The highest concentrations of essential elements were observed in frozen mackerel muscles, except iron (the highest value was found in canned mackerel). It can be concluded that concentrations of many essential elements decreased in the fish muscle due to smoking and sterilization. This study showed that the analyzed mackerel samples contain potentially toxic elements at levels without health risks

Progress in Electrochemical (Bio)Sensors for Monitoring Wine Production

Electrochemical sensors and biosensors have been proposed as fast and cost effective analytical tools, meeting the robustness and performance requirements for industrial process monitoring. In wine production, electrochemical biosensors have proven useful for monitoring critical parameters related to alcoholic fermentation (AF), malolactic fermentation (MLF), determining the impact of the various technological steps and treatments on wine quality, or assessing the differences due to wine age, grape variety, vineyard or geographical region. This review summarizes the current information on the voltamperometric biosensors developed for monitoring wine production with a focus on sensing concepts tested in industry-like settings and on the main quality parameters such as glucose, alcohol, malic and lactic acids, phenolic compounds and allergens. Recent progress featuring nanomaterial-enabled enhancement of sensor performance and applications based on screen-printed electrodes is emphasized. A case study presents the monitoring of alcoholic fermentation based on commercial biosensors adapted with minimal method development for the detection of glucose and phenolic compounds in wine and included in an automated monitoring system. The current challenges and perspectives for the wider application of electrochemical sensors in monitoring industrial processes such as wine production are discussed

ANALYTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PRECIPITATIONS

The properties of precipitation are mainly determined by solid, liquid and gaseous substances that exist in suspended or dissolved form. These substances come from many complex interactions between the atmosphere – hydrosphere – lithosphere – biota. The analytical characterization of precipitation has been based on the analysis of several chemical parameters: pH, conductivity, chloride, fluoride and ammonium ions, total hardness, alkalinity, H2S and sulphides, COD (Mn), nitrites, phosphorous, metallic ions (total iron, copper and chromium). In this purpose were collected rainwater, ice and snow from different areas (cities Năvodari, Constanţa, Buzău and Mihail Kogălniceanu) during November 2007 till February 2008. This study shows that chemical characteristics of the analyzed water samples vary from one region to another depending on the mineralogical composition of zones crossed, the contact time, temperature, weather conditions, the sampling period (day or night) and the nature of sample (rain, snow, ice)

Research and Science Today Supplement No. 1/2014

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