Quality Assessment of Waste Waters Generated by some Important Hospitals from Cluj County

Hospitals produce large quantities of waste water that may contain various potentially hazardous materials. Moreover, these effluents usually do not undergo any specific treatment before being discharged into the urban sewage networks. As a consequence, a proper management of the hospitals effluents is vital. In the present study, the quality of the effluents, generated by 11 important hospitals from Cluj County was investigated. The analyzed parameters were: pH, chemical and biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, residual free chlorine, and detergents. For all the effluents, the biochemical oxygen demand and the detergents content were within the permissible limits for waste water discharged in the urban sewerage system, while the other parameters exceeded the permissible limits

BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AND ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY FROM FIVE TYPES OF SEEDLINGS

After germination process, the green seedlings accumulate important quantities of bioactive compounds such as: enzymes, vitamins, minerals, chlorophylls and nutrients. The current study presents a comparison between different bioactive compounds and their antioxidant capacity, after the seedling germination and growth of five seeds (arugula, lentil, wheat, beans and mustard) both on soil, in a pot (natural system), and directly on cotton wool soaked, in water (artificial system). In this study the carotenoids content and the antioxidant capacity were analysed. The data of the present study showed that the highest amount of zeaxanthin and β - carotene was found in cultivars of wheat grown in natural system, while the highest antioxidant activity was found in cultivars of wheat, lentils and beans, though in this case with no statistical differences between the systems. The results show statistical differences between the values of bioactive compounds in the five types of seedlings but also in the values obtained for the same seedlings in different systems. The best cultivars for improving the nutritional quality for human consumption are wheat seedlings followed by lentil ones

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

Stability of Carotenoids in Dried Apricots (Prunus Armeniaca L.) During Storage

Apricots are well known for the high content of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals. Several studies have pointed out the chemical composition or the biological effects of apricots, but limited information are available regarding the stability of active compounds during storage or processing. The aim of this study was to determine the stability of major carotenoids in commercial dried apricots during storage. Carotenoids were extracted monthly from dried apricots kept in a dark environment, at room temperature, for twelve months. Total carotenoids were determined using the spectrophotometric method while the most relevant carotenoids were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA) on a C30 column and using a gradient elution system. Initial carotenoid content of dried fruits was 6.72 mg/100g, while after six months of storage it decreased to 2.46 mg/100g. After twelve months of storage the total carotenoid content was 0.82 mg/100g, representing 20.35 % of the initial concentration. The major carotenoids identified in apricots were: all trans β-carotene, its geometrical isomers (9-cis-β-carotene; 13-cis-β-carotene; 9,13-di-cis β-carotene); β-carotene-5,8-epoxide; β-cryptoxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin palmitate. Significant decreases were observed for all pigments but all trans β-carotene appears to be the most sensitive pigment, with 15.7 % residual concentration. Although the concentrations of β-cryptoxanthin palmitate is small, it has shown significant increased stability compared to carotenes

Content of Carotenoids, Violaxanthin and Neoxanthin in Leaves of Triticum aestivum Exposed to Persistent Environmental Pollutants

Persistent pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, musk fragrances, and dyes are frequently detected in different environmental compartments and negatively impact the environment and humans. Understanding the impacts of diffuse environmental pollutants on plants is still limited, especially at realistic environmental concentrations of contaminants. We studied the effects of key representatives of two major classes of environmental pollutants (nine different antibiotics and six different textile dyes) on the leaf carotenoid (violaxanthin and neoxanthin) content in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using different pollutant concentrations and application times. The wheat plants were watered with solutions of selected environmental pollutants in two different concentrations of 0.5 mg L−1 and 1.5 mg L−1 for one week (0.5 L) and two weeks (1 L). Both categories of pollutants selected for this study negatively influenced the content of violaxanthin and neoxanthin, whereas the textile dyes represented more severe stress to the wheat plants. The results demonstrate that chronic exposure to common diffusively spread environmental contaminants constitutes significant stress to the plants