A preliminary investigation of phytoplankton of karstic pools (Dugi otok island, Croatia)

Phytoplankton in the karstic pools of Croatian islands has not been investigated in recent times. This paper describes phytoplankton and environmental conditions in three karstic pools on Dugi Otok island (Dalmatia). The pools are small (ca 20 m2) and shallow (max. depth 2 m), with Charophytes and vascular plants covering the bottoms. Eighty-five taxa of net phytoplankton were recorded. These included 22 Cyanobacteria, 14 Chlorophyceae, 17 Charophyceae (Zygnematales), 15 Euglenophyceae, and 17 Bacillariophyceae. Low species richness is owed to the predominance of Cyanobacteria. Despite their similar physicochemical regimes, the pools had different phytoplankton communities. The data presented here contribute baseline information concerning biological diversity, essential for evaluation of environmental changes in the future. Conservation of karstic pools is one way to preserve the overall biodiversity of karstic islands

Antioxidants, radical-scavenging and protein carbonylation inhibition capacity of six monocultivar virgin olive oils in Istria (Croatia)

Six monocultivar virgin olive oils (VOOs) produced from five autochthonous (Buža, Buža Puntoža, Istarska Bjelica, Porečka Rosulja, and Rosinjola) and one referent cultivar (Leccino), were investigated. The mass fractions of orthodiphenols (ORT) and tocopherols (TOC) were analysed by VIS spectroscopy and HPLC. The radical-scavenging capacity was evaluated by electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) using galvinoxyl free radical and the DPPH test. Results revealed a high level of total TOC in VOOs of Buža Puntoža (243 mg kg−1) and Porečka Rosulja (325 mg kg−1). VOOs contained in 100 g from 79% (Istarska Bjelica) to 261% (Porečka Rosulja) of recommended daily allowance of α-tocopherol. The mass fraction of ORT in Istarska Bjelica and Rosinjola was >250 mg kg−1 (on average 30–40% higher in comparison to other studied cultivars). Istarska Bjelica and Porečka Rosulja showed the highest antioxidant capacity in both methods of measurement. The highest capacity to inhibit protein carbonylation (PC) in response to oxidative stress (54–56%) was displayed by Buža Puntoža, Leccino, and Buža. High level of positive linear correlation between ORT mass fraction and radical-scavenging capacity measured by DPPH test (r=0.768), as well as strong negative correlation between PC inhibition and mass fraction of ORT (r= −0.697), were observed

Nutritive characteristics of probiotic quark as influenced by type of starter

Quark was manufactured, under laboratory conditions, by standard batch process, from two types of milk: I) partially skimmed, with 1.6 % of fat and II) whole milk, with 3.5 % of fat. As starters, two probiotic cultures were applied: I) DVS-Probio-TecTM ABT- 1, Lactobacillus acidophilus-5, Bifidobacterium-12, S. thermophilus and II) DVS-Probio-TecTM ABT-2, Lactobacillus acidophilus-5, Bifidobacterium-12, S. thermophilus. Also, the traditional cheese culture (CH - N22) was used. The obtained Quark samples were tested by standard methods in order to determine their nutritive characteristics. The results have shown that probiotic starter ABT-1 ensured the highest level of utilization of fat, proteins, lactose and phosphorus from partially skimmed milk. Probiotic culture ABT-2 was less effective, but combined with the traditional starter and applied to a whole milk could give Quark with acceptable nutritive characteristics. When sensory characteristics of products were tested, it has been proven that the application of ABT-2 culture and combination of probiotic starters ABT-2 and traditional culture gave good products with typical mild flavor. On the contrary, inoculation with ABT-1 probiotic starter resulted in lower-quality products in case of both kinds of milk applied.

A preliminary investigation of phytoplankton of karstic pools (Dugi otok island, Croatia)

Phytoplankton in the karstic pools of Croatian islands has not been investigated in recent times. This paper describes phytoplankton and environmental conditions in three karstic pools on Dugi Otok island (Dalmatia). The pools are small (ca 20 m2) and shallow (max. depth 2 m), with Charophytes and vascular plants covering the bottoms. Eighty-five taxa of net phytoplankton were recorded. These included 22 Cyanobacteria, 14 Chlorophyceae, 17 Charophyceae (Zygnematales), 15 Euglenophyceae, and 17 Bacillariophyceae. Low species richness is owed to the predominance of Cyanobacteria. Despite their similar physicochemical regimes, the pools had different phytoplankton communities. The data presented here contribute baseline information concerning biological diversity, essential for evaluation of environmental changes in the future. Conservation of karstic pools is one way to preserve the overall biodiversity of karstic islands

Industrially produced enriched sterilized milk drinks for children nutrition

Nepravilna ishrana bogata mastima i ugljikohidratima, a siromašna u biološki visokovrijednim sastojcima hrane, prisutna je odavno i još uvijek u našoj zemlji. Ova ispitivanja su izvedena sa ciljem dobivanja zdrave hrane na bazi mlijeka za djecu, obogaćene proteinima, vitaminima i mineralnim tvarima. U industrijskim uvjetima su uspješno proizvedeni sterilizirani mliječni napici: mlijeko, čokoladni i karamel napitak, obogaćeni Na-kazeinatom, vitaminom A i željezom. Fizičko-kemijska, mikrobiološka i organoleptička kvaliteta proizvoda je kontrolirana tokom tromjesečnog skladištenja.The irregular nutrition, rich in fats and carbohydrates, and poor in biologically highly valuable food components, is present from long ago up to now in our country. These investigations were carried out in the aim of obtaining dairy based healthy foods for children, enriched in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Sterilized dairy drinks with the taste of milk, chocolate and caramel, enriched with Na-caseinate, vitamin A and iron were successfully produced under industrial conditions. Physico-chemical, microbiological and organoleptical qualities of the products were controlled during the three months storage

Industrially produced enriched sterilized milk

Nepravilna ishrana bogata mastima i ugljenim hidratima, a siromašna u biološki visokovrijednim sastojcima hrane prisutna je još uvijek u našoj zemlji. Ova ispitivanja su izvedena sa ciljem dobivanja zdrave hrane na bazi mlijeka, obogaćene proteinima, vitaminima i mineralnim tvarima. U industrijskim uvjetima su uspješno proizvedena sterilizirana mlijeka obogaćena Na-kazeinatom, vitaminom A, D i željezom. Fizičko-kemijska, mikrobiološka i organoleptička kvaliteta proizvoda je kontrolirana tokom tromjesečnog skladištenja.The irregular nutrition, rich in fats and carbohydrates, and poor in biologically highly valuable food components, is still present in our country. These investigations were carried out in the aim of obtaining dairy based healthy foods enriched with proteins, vitamins and minerals. Sterilized milks enriched with Na-caseinate, vitamin AD and iron, were successfully produced under industrial conditions. Physico-chemical, microbiological and organoleptical qualities of the products were controlled during three months storage

Determination of biological activity of protein component in milk, modified for infant feeding, by pepsin-pancreatin digest index

Kao alternativa humanom mlijeku, u slučajevima kada majka ne može da hrani dijete vlastitim mlijekom, danas se u svijetu koristi najčešće kravlje mlijeko čiji je sastav modificiran da bi se približio sastavu humanog mlijeka. Kravlje mlijeko ima 3,5 puta više proteina od humanog mlijeka; osim toga u sastavu proteina kravljeg mlijeka nalazi se 79% kazeina i 21% serum proteinu, a u proteinima humanog mlijeka 35% kazeina i 65% serum proteina. Sastav serum proteina također nije identičan. U skladu sa ovim razlikuje se i amino-kiselinski sastav navedenih proteina i njihova biološka vrijednost. Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitivanje biološke aktivnosti modificiranih proteina u smjeru kazein-serum protein u proizvodnji "infant formula" pepsin-pankreatin testom. Ustanovljeno je utoliko veće povećanje aktivnosti ukoliko je sustav bliži proteinu humanog mlijeka.This study was carried out with the aim to determine biological activity of milk proteins, modified to supstitute human milk proteins in infant formulae, by pepsin-pancreatin digest index. The better biological activity was obtained by samples with higher simmilarity of modified milk proteins to human milk proteins

Determination of biological activity of protein component in milk, modified for infant feeding, by pepsin-pancreatin digest index

Kao alternativa humanom mlijeku, u slučajevima kada majka ne može da hrani dijete vlastitim mlijekom, danas se u svijetu koristi najčešće kravlje mlijeko čiji je sastav modificiran da bi se približio sastavu humanog mlijeka. Kravlje mlijeko ima 3,5 puta više proteina od humanog mlijeka; osim toga u sastavu proteina kravljeg mlijeka nalazi se 79% kazeina i 21% serum proteinu, a u proteinima humanog mlijeka 35% kazeina i 65% serum proteina. Sastav serum proteina također nije identičan. U skladu sa ovim razlikuje se i amino-kiselinski sastav navedenih proteina i njihova biološka vrijednost. Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitivanje biološke aktivnosti modificiranih proteina u smjeru kazein-serum protein u proizvodnji "infant formula" pepsin-pankreatin testom. Ustanovljeno je utoliko veće povećanje aktivnosti ukoliko je sustav bliži proteinu humanog mlijeka.This study was carried out with the aim to determine biological activity of milk proteins, modified to supstitute human milk proteins in infant formulae, by pepsin-pancreatin digest index. The better biological activity was obtained by samples with higher simmilarity of modified milk proteins to human milk proteins

Enzymatic oligomerization and polymerization of arylamines: state of the art and perspectives

The literature concerning the oxidative oligomerization and polymerization of various arylamines, e.g., aniline, substituted anilines, aminonaphthalene and its derivatives, catalyzed by oxidoreductases, such as laccases and peroxidases, in aqueous, organic, and mixed aqueous organic monophasic or biphasic media, is reviewed. An overview of template-free as well as template-assisted enzymatic syntheses of oligomers and polymers of arylamines is given. Special attention is paid to mechanistic aspects of these biocatalytic processes. Because of the nontoxicity of oxidoreductases and their high catalytic efficiency, as well as high selectivity of enzymatic oligomerizations/polymerizations under mild conditions-using mainly water as a solvent and often resulting in minimal byproduct formation-enzymatic oligomerizations and polymerizations of arylamines are environmentally friendly and significantly contribute to a "green'' chemistry of conducting and redox-active oligomers and polymers. Current and potential future applications of enzymatic polymerization processes and enzymatically synthesized oligo/polyarylamines are discussed