DFT study of the radical scavenging activity of isoxanthohumol, humulones (α-acids), and iso-α-acids from beer

Humulones and iso-humulones are potent natural antioxidants found in beer. In this study, density functional theory (DFT) method was applied for elucidating the structure-antioxidant activity relationship and molecular mechanism of antioxidant activity of eight bioactive humulones previously identified in different beer samples: isoxanthohumol, (R)- and (S)-adhumulone, cis- and trans-iso-adhumulone, cis- and trans-iso-n-humulone, and desdimethyl-octahydro-iso-cohumulone. The calculated bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) suggest that desdimethyl-octahydro-iso-cohumulone was the most potent compound with BDEs 5.1 and 23.9 kJ/mol lower compared to the values for resveratrol in gas phase and water, respectively. The enolic –OH is the most reactive site for hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). The presence of β-keto group with respect to enolic –OH diminishes the HAT potency via the formation of a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond. Another common antioxidant mechanism, single electron transfer followed by proton transfer (SET-PT), is only feasible for isoxanthohumol. The results of this study indicate a strong correlation between the increased antioxidant activity of beer products and the higher content of reduced iso-α-acids

Common millet and soybean intercropping with bio-fertilizer as sustainable practice for managing grain yield and quality

Climate changes are one of the biggest threats to food security. Sustainable agriculture, focused on eco-friendly practices for highly efficient food production, enables greater resilience and safety. This study experimented on intercropping and bio-fertilizer application as convenient ecological solutions for crop yield stability and quality. The experiment was conducted during 2018 and 2020 with soybean and common millet sown in three sowing patterns: alternating rows, alternating strips 1 (2 rows of soybean + 2 rows of millet), and alternating strips 2 (2 rows of soybean + 4 rows of millet), as well as sole crops (control), with or without a bio-fertilizer Coveron. Grain yield and nutrient grain yield response were calculated through land equivalent ratio (LER) and element-LER (E-LER), while quality was estimated based on the concentration of antioxidants (phytate phosphorus, total phenolic compounds, and yellow pigment) and elements in grains, including potential bio-availability of essential elements. Results revealed LER values to be >1 for all sowing patterns, with the highest one achieved in alternating strips 1 (1.38) together with a greater level of all antioxidants in millet grain. Intercropping significantly enhanced Fe and Mn accumulation in both crops and simultaneously decreased the concentration of potentially toxic elements (Al, Cr) in millet grain. Potential bio-availability of essential elements, expressed through the ratio between phytic acid and Ca, Mg, Fe, and Zn revealed smaller values in intercropped soybean and millet with the bio-fertilizer. The bio-fertilizer also increased the concentration of some micro-elements in millet grain, classifying it as a highly dependent plant to microbial inoculation. Interaction of intercropping and bio-fertilizer was most pronounced for LER, E-LER, and accumulation of Fe and Mn in grains. These results highlighted the benefits of soybean–common millet intercropping, especially in combination with the bio-fertilizer, in light of enhanced land utilization and nutrient absorption, thus increasing the resilience of soybean and millet under dry land conditions and low-input systems toward stability and food security

Supplementary material for the article: Krstić, Đ.; Vukojević, V.; Mutić, J.; Fotirić Akšić, M.; Ličina, V.; Milojković-Opsenica, D.; Trifković, J. Distribution of Elements in Seeds of Some Wild and Cultivated Fruits. Nutrition and Authenticity Aspects. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2019, 99 (2), 546–554. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.9213

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.9213]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/343]Related to accepted version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3200

Supplementary material for the article: Krstić, Đ.; Vukojević, V.; Mutić, J.; Fotirić Akšić, M.; Ličina, V.; Milojković-Opsenica, D.; Trifković, J. Distribution of Elements in Seeds of Some Wild and Cultivated Fruits. Nutrition and Authenticity Aspects. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2019, 99 (2), 546–554. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.9213

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.9213]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/343]Related to accepted version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3200

Phenolic Composition Influences the Health-Promoting Potential of Bee-Pollen

Supplementary material: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3775

Supplementary data for article: Božinović, N.; Ajdačić, V.; Lazic, J.; Lecerf, M.; Daventure, V.; Nikodinovic-Runic, J.; Opsenica, I. M.; Dimitrov, J. D. Aromatic Guanylhydrazones for the Control of Heme-Induced Antibody Polyreactivity. ACS Omega 2019, 4 (24), 20450–20458. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b01548

Supporting information for: [https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b01548]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3793

Aromatic Guanylhydrazones for the Control of Heme-Induced Antibody Polyreactivity

In a healthy immune repertoire, there exists a fraction of polyreactive antibodies that can bind to a variety of unrelated self- and foreign antigens. Apart from naturally polyreactive antibodies, in every healthy individual, there is a fraction of antibody that can gain polyreactivity upon exposure to porphyrin cofactor heme. Molecular mechanisms and biological significance of the appearance of cryptic polyreactivity are not well understood. It is believed that heme acts as an interfacial cofactor between the antibody and the newly recognized antigens. To further test this claim and gain insight into the types of interactions involved in heme binding, we herein investigated the influence of a group of aromatic guanylhydrazone molecules on the heme-induced antibody polyreactivity. From the analysis of SAR and the results of UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy, it was concluded that the most probable mechanism by which the studied molecules inhibit heme-mediated polyreactivity of the antibody is the direct binding to heme, thus preventing heme from binding to antibody and/or antigen. The inhibitory capacity of the most potent compounds was substantially higher than that of chloroquine, a well-known heme binder. Some of the guanylhydrazone molecules were able to induce polyreactivity of the studied antibody themselves, possibly by a mechanism similar to heme. Results described here point to the conclusion that heme indeed must bind to an antibody to induce its polyreactivity, and that both pi-stacking interactions and iron coordination contribute to the binding affinity, while certain structures, such as guanylhydrazones, can interfere with these processes

Supplementary data for article: Božinović, N.; Ajdačić, V.; Lazic, J.; Lecerf, M.; Daventure, V.; Nikodinovic-Runic, J.; Opsenica, I. M.; Dimitrov, J. D. Aromatic Guanylhydrazones for the Control of Heme-Induced Antibody Polyreactivity. ACS Omega 2019, 4 (24), 20450–20458. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b01548

Supporting information for: [https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b01548]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3793

Leaching of Major and Minor Elements during the Transport and Storage of Coal Ash Obtained in Power Plant

In power plant, coal ash obtained by combustion is mixed with river water and transported to the dump. Sequential extraction was used in order to assess pollution caused by leaching of elements during ash transport through the pipeline and in the storage (cassettes). A total of 80 samples of filter ash as well as the ash from active (currently filled) and passive (previously filled) cassettes were studied. Samples were extracted with distilled water, ammonium acetate, ammonium oxalate/oxalic acid, acidic solution of hydrogen-peroxide, and a hydrochloric acid. Concentrations of the several elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Ba, Ca, Mg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in all extracts were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Pattern recognition method was carried out in order to provide better understanding of the nature of distribution of elements according to their origins. Results indicate possible leaching of As, Ca, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb. Among these elements As, Cd, and Pb are toxicologically the most important but they were not present in the first two phases with the exception of As. The leaching could be destructive and cause negative effects on plants, water pollution, and damage to some life forms

Production of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and its application as a solid support in transition metal catalysed cross-coupling reactions

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) emerged as an attractive advanced biomaterial that provides desirable properties such as high strength, lightweight, tailorable surface chemistry, hydrophilicity, and biodegradability. BNC was successfully obtained from a wide range of carbon sources including sugars derived from grass biomass using Komagataeibacter medellinensis ID13488 strain with yields up to 6 g L-1 in static fermentation. Produced BNC was utilized in straightforward catalyst preparation as a solid support for two different transition metals, palladium and copper with metal loading of 20 and 3 wt%, respectively. Sustainable catalysts were applied in the synthesis of valuable fine chemicals, such as biphenyl-4-amine and 4'-fluorobiphenyl-4-amine, used in drug discovery, perfumes and dye industries with excellent product yields of up to 99%. Pd/BNC catalyst was reused 4 times and applied in two consecutive reactions, Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction followed by hydrogenation of nitro to amino group while Cu/BNC catalyst was examined in Chan-Lam coupling reaction. Overall, the environmentally benign process of obtaining nanocellulose from biomass, followed by its utilisation as a solid support in metal-catalysed reactions and its recovery has been described. These findings reveal that BNC is a good support material, and it can be used as a support for different catalytic systems.This is the peer-reviewed version of the article: Jeremic, S., Djokic, L., Ajdačić, V., Božinović, N., Pavlovic, V., Manojlović, D. D., Babu, R., Senthamaraikannan, R., Rojas, O., Opsenica, I., & Nikodinovic-Runic, J. (2019). Production of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and its application as a solid support in transition metal catalysed cross-coupling reactions. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 129, 351–360. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.01.154][https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813018349213?via%3Dihub