Impact of COVID pandemic on attitude and prevalence of plant-based food products consumption in Serbia

COVID pandemic influence on eating behavior and dietary habits with respect to various plant-based foods in Serbia were estimated by an anonymous questionnaire. Most examinees agree that fruits and vegetables contribute to strengthening immunity and that herbal medicines and natural products have beneficial effects on health. Around 55% of examinees consider their diet balanced, and 4% have started to drink herbal teas more often when the pandemic started. Garlic and ginger were the most frequently reported newly included plants in examinees’ diet. The attitudes toward plant-based food products are not strongly dependent on the education level. The age and previous dietary habits of examinees have great influence in the current frequency of consuming fruits, vegetables, herbal teas, spices, and dietary supplements. There was a significant shift toward greater use of herbal teas and dietary supplements, especially among the population that has already consumed them occasionally. Somewhat concerning is the fact that around half of respondents use dietary supplements without the recommendation of an expert. People with good dietary habits and the elderly were most prone to improving their diet. Roughly 15% of all respondents now have the same habits as before the pandemic, although they improved their diets temporarily at the beginning of COVID pandemic

Assessment of polyphenol content, in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and toxic potentials of wild growing and cultured rue

 Ruta graveolens L. (rue) is edible medicinal plant that is traditionally used in various countries. This study aimed to investigate and compare the phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of wild growing and cultured rue. The total phenolic content of the tested extracts varied from 57.90 to 166.91 mg of catechin equivalent (CE)/g of extract and the total flavonoid content from 4.18 to 26.87 mg of rutin equivalent (Ru)/g of extract.  All the tested samples exhibited significant antioxidant potential in DPPH radicals scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays (comparable with activity of rutin in the same test systems), antimicrobial activity determined by microdilution method (particularly against Gram (+) bacteria strains) and ability to induce inhibition of HeLa cells growth and proliferation (up to 71.81%). In addition, rue-treated HeLa cells showed various morphological changes after 72 h of incubation with rue extracts. Extracts from wild growing rue with the highest polyphenol, tannin and flavonoid contents demonstrated the strongest activities in all tested systems. The present study also emphasized the fact that the rue leaves and herb should be harvested at the beginning of blossoming stage in order to achieve the maximal level of secondary metabolites and optimal pharmacological effects.