Correlations Between Somatic Cells Count and Milk Composition with Regard to the Season

On four farms with 1100 cows of Black-and-White breed the correlations between somatic cell count (SCC) in milk and milk composition in different seasons of the year were studied. Three-year data from AP milk recording were analysed (years 2000 to 2002), which meant 29,298 samples of milk. Milk fat, proteins and lactose were determined using Milco-Scan while somatic cells were determined with Fossomatic 90. The three-year average content of fat was 4.16 % (CV=18.75 %), 3.41 % (CV=12.02 %) of proteins, and 4.58 % (CV=5.68 %) of lactose. SCC averaged to 499.2 x 103 / ml milk. The threeyear average showed a statistically significant (p≤ 0.0001) positive correlation between LSCC and fat content (0.130) and protein content (0.240), and a statistically highly significant negative correlation between LSCC and lactose content (-0.423) and daily milk production (-0.286). In special seasons of the year the correlations for fat (0.177), proteins (0.287) and amount of milk (- 0.327) were the highest in spring, while (-0.461) in autumn for lactose; all of them were statistically highly significant. The milk composition was in a statistically highly significant correlation with SCC in milk and year season

Examination of the polyphenol content and bioactivities of Prunus spinosa L. fruit extracts

We investigated the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the anthocyanin profiles in aqueous, ethanol and acetone extracts of Prunus spinosa (Rosaceae) fruit, and their antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic and antitumor properties. The contribution of polyphenol contents to the bioactivity of the extracts was calculated and observed through Pearson’s coefficient of correlation. The acetone extract was the richest in phenols and anthocyanins and the ethanol extract in flavonoids. Cyanidin was the most abundant anthocyanin compound in all examined extracts. The ethanol extract showed the most promising antioxidant activity in DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays. Tested bacteria were more affected by the ethanol than by the aqueous extract. Both the ethanol and aqueous extracts exhibited potential antidiabetic effects, observed as inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, enzymes linked with diabetes mellitus type II. The ethanol extract was a potent α-glucosidase-inhibitor with a significantly lower IC50 value than the positive control, glucobay, used to treat diabetes mellitus type II. Neither the ethanol nor the aqueous extracts had any effects on tested human malignant cell lines. Our results indicate that the ethanol extract showed the most pronounced in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, and a potential antidiabetic activity, which can be ascribed to its high flavonoid content. Our results indicate that research of compounds, particularly of flavonoids present in the ethanol extract and their anti-diabetic properties should be examined further

Prunus spinosa L. leaf extracts: polyphenol profile and bioactivities

Prunus spinosa leaf extracts in solvents of different polarity (water, ethanol and acetone), their phenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents and biological properties were the object of this study. The richest in phenols as well as in flavonoids was acetone extract with 181.19 mg GAE and 80.10 mg QE per gram of dry extract, respectively. Moreover, the quantity of anthocyanins obtained by HPLC analysis was also the highest in acetone sample. Examined samples possessed antioxidant properties evaluated through four in vitro assays (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and TRC). The acetone extract was proved to be the best antioxidant among tested samples, which could be ascribed to polyphenols, especially anthocyanins. The aqueous and the ethanol extract exhibited antibacterial effects, being particularly active against B. cereus and E. cloacae. T. viride, P. funiculosum, P. ochrochloron, P. verrucosum var. cyclopium were the most susceptible among fungal microorganisms examined. Both, the aqueous and the ethanol extract expressed inhibitory activity towards enzymes linked to diabetes mellitus type II. Additionally, the ethanol extract showed significantly higher potential in inhibiting α-glucosidase than the drug used as the positive control. Furthermore, the aqueous sample revealed antitumor effects on following malignant cell lines: HeLa, K562 and MDA-MB-453. The results presented herein suggest that P. spinosa leaves should be considered as a natural source of bioactive compounds with potential application in phytopharmacy and food industry

Phlomis fruticosa l. exerts in vitro antineurodegenerative and antioxidant activities and induces prooxidant effect in glioblastoma cell line

Despite the significant advances in drug development we are witnessing the inability of health systems to combat both neurodegenerative diseases and cancers, especially glioblastoma. Hence, natural products are comprehen-sively studied in order to provide novel therapeutic options. This study aimed to explore anti-neurodegenerative and anti-glioblastoma potential of extract of Phlomis fruticosa L. using in vitro model systems. It was found that the methanol extract of P. fruticosa was able to efficiently reduce activities of enzymes linked to neurodegenera-tive disease including acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and tyrosinase. Furthermore, P. fruticosa ex-tract has shown excellent antioxidant potential, as evidenced by six different methods. Analysis of cytotoxic ef-fect of P. fruticosa extract on A172 glioblastoma cell line revealed that the concentration of the extract necessary for 50 % inhibition of A172 growth (IC50) was 710 μg/mL. The extract did not induce changes in proliferation and morphology of A172 glioblastoma cells. On the other side, production of ROS was increased in A172 cells treated with the extract. Observed cytotoxic effect of P. fruticosa extract might be based on increase in ROS generation upon treatment. Quantitative chemical analysis revealed the presence of twelve different polyphenols with the cis 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid being the most abundant. This study provided scientific evidence for further exploration of P. fruticosa as a promising natural anti-neurodegenerative therapeutic option.This work has been supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (451-03-9/2021-14/200007 and 451-03-68/2022-14/200042). The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scien-tific employment program-contract for M.I. Dias and L. Barros; to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal program for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E and TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio