Analysis of BABA (β-aminobutyric acid)-induced female sterility in Arabidopsis flowers

The beta-aminobutyric acid (BABA) induces resistance in plants against a wide range of pathogen, affecting callose production and deposition in Arabidopsis. Repeated treatment with BABA, however effects the pollination of the ovules resulting female sterility. The main reasons of this phenomenon out of the structural changes in the treated Arabidopsis plants can be the interrupted pollen tubes and the callose deposition at the ovule micropyle in flowers and buds

The Importance of Protein Fingerprints in Bacterial Identification: The Maldi-Tof Technique

The available literary sources suggest the general applicability and benefits of the Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) in the field of microbiological identification including food quality and safety, and the clinical field.  Due to its high reliability, MALDI-TOF might generally be the alternative to the sequence-based and serological-based methods. The essence of the technique is to map the unique protein pattern of microbes that contributes to characterizing a wide variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. On the other hand, these applications only have reliable results under certain conditions (homogeneous infection, adequate cell count, appropriate separation technique). In this review, we focused on the application of MALDI-TOF MS for the environmental field where it has significant potential in the identification, differentiation, and categorization of environmental samples which includes (soil, water, and air), furthermore, some challenges, especially in case of the extreme conditions environment and summarize developments that have been enabled for routine application in the field of environment

Summer Gifts from the Hive: Botanical Origin, Antioxidant Capacity, and Mineral Content of Hungarian Honeys

Although Hungary is one of the biggest honey producers in the EU, there is little information on diagnostic traits, nutritional value, and potential health benefits of the honeys produced in this Central European country. The aim of this study was to perform a complex analysis of eight Hungarian summer honeys, focusing on melissopalynology, antioxidant measurements with three different assays, and the macro- and microelement profile. Light-colored honey types included a multifloral honey and unifloral phacelia, milkweed, and linden honeys; dark-colored honeys were represented by unifloral goldenrod, sunflower, and chestnut honeys and a dark multifloral honey. Pollen analysis and sensory traits confirmed the botanical origin of each unifloral honey, while the dominance of Tilia- and Lamiaceae-pollen was observed in the light- and dark-colored multifloral honeys, respectively. The total reducing capacity (TRC) assay and the microelement content clearly separated the light- and dark-colored honeys. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay highlighted the strong antioxidant activity of linden honey, comparable to that of dark-colored honeys. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed correlations between antioxidant assays, color, and mineral content of honeys. The results contribute to establishing unique character sets for each honey type, aiding proper identification and quality control of these natural products

In Vitro Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Hungarian Honeys against Respiratory Tract Bacteria

Honey is a rich source of carbohydrates, while minor compounds such as amino acids and polyphenols contribute to its health-promoting effects. Honey is one of the oldest traditional remedies applied for microbial infections, due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial and antibiofilm effects of Hungarian black locust, linden, and sunflower honeys against the most common biofilm-forming respiratory tract pathogens Haemophilus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The unifloral character of all three honey types was confirmed by melissopalynological analysis. The antibacterial activity of each honey sample against each bacterium strain was proven with agar well diffusion assay and thin layer chromatography—direct bioautography. Kinetics and mechanisms of antibacterial action were clarified with time-kill assay and membrane degradation study. The anti-biofilm activity was evidenced using crystal violet assay. In each assay, linden honey was the most effective, followed by sunflower and black locust honey. In addition, each honey sample had greater potential to suppress respiratory tract bacteria, compared to major sugar components. In conclusion, honey in general and linden honey in particular, can have a role in the treatment of respiratory tract infections caused by biofilm-forming bacteria

Sustainable synthesis of azobenzenes, quinolines and quinoxalines via oxidative dehydrogenative couplings catalysed by reusable transition metal oxide–Bi( iii ) cooperative catalysts

Heterogeneous catalytic oxidative dehydrogenative processes for N-heterocycles are presented, which enable waste-minimized (additive-, oxidant-, base-free), efficient cyclisations/couplings via transition metal oxide–Bi( iii ) cooperative catalysis

Quality Assessment of Goldenrod, Milkweed and Multifloral Honeys Based on Botanical Origin, Antioxidant Capacity and Mineral Content

The goal of the study was to evaluate the pollen spectrum, antioxidant capacity and mineral content of four Hungarian honey types, using multivariate statistical analysis. The light colored honeys were represented by milkweed honey and a multifloral (MF) honey with dominant pollen frequency of linden (MF-Tilia); the darker ones were goldenrod honey and a multifloral honey with Lamiaceae pollen majority (MF-Lamiaceae). The pollen spectrum of the samples was established with melissopalynological analysis. The absorbance of the honeys positively correlated with the antioxidant capacity determined with three of the used methods (TRC, TEAC, DPPH), but not with ORAC. The latter method correlated negatively also with other antioxidant methods and with most of the mineral values. MF-Tilia had high ORAC value, K and Na content. The MF-Lamiaceae had the highest K, Mg, P, S, Cu and Zn content, the last five elements showing strict correlation with the TRC method. The darker goldenrod honey had higher SET values and total mineral content, than the milkweed honey. The above character-sets facilitate identification of each honey type and serve as indicators of variety. The antioxidant levels and mineral content of honeys allowed their clear separation by principal component analysis (PCA)