Traditional use of wild herbs in the area of Brotnjo (Čitluk, BiH)

Cilj ovoga rada bio je utvrditi najčešće vrste samonikloga bilja koje se na području Brotnja (Čitluk, BiH) koriste kao hrana, kao čajno bilje ili za neke druge namjene. Istraživanje je provedeno od travnja 2022. do travnja 2023. godine te su zabilježena tradicionalna znanja i suvremeno korištenje samoniklih biljaka na području Brotnja. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da se najveći broj samoniklih biljaka najčešće koristi kao: sirove salate ili kuhano povrće (22 vrste), sirovo divlje voće (18 vrste), svakodnevni / ili medicinski čajevi (37 vrsta), začinske biljke (9 vrsta), a 9 vrsta ima specifičnu medicinsku uporabu. Kao samoniklo povrće, začini i čajevi na području Brotnja koristi se 50 nekultiviranih biljnih vrsta svrstanih u 31 porodicu. Najzastupljenije porodice su Lamiaceae (9), Asteraceae (7 vrsta) Apiaceae (3 vrste), dok su ostale porodice manje zastupljene. Najzastupljenije porodice samoniklog divljeg voća su Rosaceae (8) i Moraceae (3). U ovom istraživanju su sudjelovali ispitanici koji su rođeni u istraživanom području i / ili su na istraživanom području proveli veći dio svog života.The aim of this work was to determine the most common types of wild plants that are used as food, as tea plants or for some other purposes in the area of Brotnjo (Čitluk, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The research was conducted from April 2022 to April 2023, and traditional knowledge and contemporary use of wild plants in the Brotnjo area were recorded. The results of this research show that the largest number of wild plants are most often used as: raw salads or cooked vegetables (22 species), raw wild fruits (18 species), everyday/or medicinal teas (37 species), herbs (9 species), and 9 species have specific medicinal uses. In the area of Brotnjo, 50 uncultivated plant species divided into 31 families are used as wild vegetables, spices and teas. The most represented families are Lamiaceae (9), Asteraceae (7 species) and Apiaceae (3 species), while other families are less represented. The most abundant wild fruit families are Rosaceae (8) and Moraceae (3). Respondents who were born in the researched area and/or spent most of their life in the researched area participated in this research

VARIJABILNOST SADRŽAJA MASNIH KISELINA, OKSIDACIJSKA STABILNOST I NUTRITIVNA KAKVOĆA ULJA U ODABRANIM GENOTIPOVIMA SOJE

The purpose of this study (2010‒12) was to investigate the fatty acid profiles (palmitic – PA, stearic – SA, oleic – OA, linoleic – LA, linolenic – LNA, saturated fatty acids – SFA, monounsaturated fatty acids – MUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids – PUFA), oxidative stability (MUFA/PUFA, OA/LA), and nutritive quality (LA/LNA) of oil produced by 13 early soybean genotypes created at the Agricultural Institute Osijek, Croatia. The analysis of variance determined significant effect of genotype (G), year (Y), and GxY interaction on all examined traits. The correlation analysis indicated the most important positive correlation existed between the SA and OA, SA and LNA, and LA and LNA, and the most important negative relationship between OA and LA, and OA and LNA. The principal component analysis yielded four significant principal components (PCs) with the eigenvalues > 1, which together accounted for 57.84% of the total variability in the data set. The Eigen analysis of the correlation matrix loadings indicated MUFA/PUFA, MUFA, OA/LA, and OA mostly contribute to the PC1 axis and are in a positive correlation with it, while PUFA, LA, and LNA mostly contribute to a negative direction. These results will facilitate the planning of future breeding programs, aimed at adjusting the fatty acid profiles according to the needs of the processing industry and end consumers.Cilj ovoga istraživanja (2010. – 2012.) bio je procijeniti sadržaj masnih kiselina (palmitinska – PA, stearinska – SA, oleinska – OA, linolna – LA, linolenska – LNA, zasićene masne kiseline – SFA, mononezasićene masne kiseline – MUFA, polinezasićene masne kiseline – PUFA), oksidacijsku stabilnost (MUFA/PUFA, OA/LA) i nutritivnu kakvoću (LA/LNA) ulja 13 ranih genotipova soje nastalih u Poljoprivrednome institutu Osijek, Hrvatska. Analizom varijance utvrđeno je postojanje varijabilnosti za sva testirana svojstva, pri čemu su genotip (G), godina (Y) i GxY značajni izvori varijacije. Najznačajnije pozitivne korelacije su utvrđene između SA i OA, SA i LNA i LA i LNA, a najznačajnije negativne između OA i LA i OA i LNA. Analizom glavnih sastavnica utvrđeno je kako postoje četiri primarne osi sa svojstvenim vrijednostima > 1, koje zajedno objašnjavaju 57,84% varijabilnosti ukupnih podataka. Prva primarna os (PC1) najviše je u pozitivnome smjeru vezana za svojstva MUFA/PUFA, MUFA, OA/OALA i OA, a u negativnome smjeru za PUFA, LA i LNA. Ovi rezultati bit će od pomoći pri planiranju budućih oplemenjivačkih programa usmjerenih k prilagodbi sastava i sadržaja masnih kiselina prema potrebama prerađivačke industrije i krajnjih korisnika

Procjena fenotipske varijabilnosti saharida kod genotipova soje prikladnih za uzgoj u Europi

Given the great potential of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) as a staple crop for food, feed and pharmaceutical industry, improving the genetic basis of seed quality is one of the main breeding aims on a global scale. An important quality trait is saccharide composition since it affects digestibility and nutritional value of soybean seed, affecting the usability of this agricultural commodity. This 3-year research (2010-2012) investigated soybean variability by measuring saccharide contents (glucose, fructose, sucrose, raffinose, stachyose) in high-yielding genotypes (maturity groups 00-II) suitable for almost all European regions, while taking into consideration the effect of weather conditions. Statistical analyses included calculating the basic measures of descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), determining correlation and using the Nearest Neighbour clustering to construct a dendrogram based on the Euclidean distance. Results showed the existence of diversity in saccharide content with the influence of genotype, year and their interaction being statistically significant. The lack of correlation between investigated parameters indicates the use of indirect selection is not possible. Nevertheless, the determined divergence indicates the given set of genotypes is suitable for use in future crossing programmes aiming to produce cultivars with more beneficial sugar content in comparison to the existing ones.Uzimajući u obzir izniman potencijal soje (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) kao sirovine za farmaceutsku industriju te proizvodnju ljudske i stočne hrane, poboljšavanje genetske osnove za kvalitetu zrna soje jedan je od osnovnih oplemenjivačkih ciljeva na globalnoj razini. Značajno svojstvo kvalitete soje je sastav saharida jer utječe na probavljivost i nutritivnu vrijednost zrna o čemu ovisi iskoristivost soje kao sirovine. Cilj ovog trogodišnjeg (2010. - 2012.) istraživanja bio je procijeniti varijabilnost odabranih linija soje mjerenjem sadržaja saharida (glukoze, fruktoze, saharoze, rafinoze i stahioze) u visokoprinosnim genotipovima (grupe zriobe 00 - II) pogodnim za uzgoj u većini područja Europe. Pri tome je uzet u obzir i utjecaj uvjeta okoline. Statistička obrada podataka uključivala je izračun osnovnih mjera deskriptivne statistike, analizu varijance (ANOVA), korelacijsku analizu te je konstruiran dendrogram temeljen na Euklidskoj udaljenosti prema metodi najbližeg susjeda. Rezultati su pokazali postojanje različitosti testiranog materijala prema sadržaju saharida pri čemu su genotip i godina bili statistički značajan izvor varijabilnosti. Nedostatak korelacije između testiranih parametara ukazuje na nemogućnost indirektne selekcije. Ipak, utvrđena divergentnost potvrđuje opravdanost uporabe materijala u budućim programima križanja čiji je cilj stvaranje kultivara s povoljnijim sadržajem saharida u odnosu na postojeće

VARIABILITY IN PHENOTYPIC EXPRESSION OF SEED QUALITY TRAITS IN SOYBEAN GERMPLASM

Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio procijeniti genetsku varijabilnost odabranih linija soje u svojstvima kvalitete zrna utvrđivanjem raznolikosti fenotipske ekspresije za masu 1000 zrna te koncentraciju bjelančevina i ulja u zrnu. Tijekom tri vegetacijske sezone (2010.-2012.), na Poljoprivrednom institutu Osijek postavljen je poljski pokus s 22 linije soje, u 2 ponavljanja po slučajnome bloknome rasporedu. Svake godine pokusa nakon žetve određena je masa 1000 zrna, koncentracija bjelančevina i koncentracija ulja u zrnu soje, a statistička obrada rezultata tih analiza uključivala je izračun standardnih mjera varijacije i analizu varijance. Nakon završene analize podataka, utvrđena je raznolikost istraživanoga biljnoga materijala u fenotipskoj ekspresiji svojstava kvalitete zrna, odnosno potvrđeno je postojanje genetske varijabilnosti uz statistički značajan utjecaj genotipa i godine.The aim of this research was to determine the genetic variability of chosen soybean lines in seed quality by determining diversity in phenotypic expression of 1000 seed weight, as well as protein and oil concentrations in the seed. Field trials were set up in a randomized, complete block design with two replications, at the Agricultural Institute Osijek during three growing seasons (2010-2012). Each year, after harvest, 1000 seed weight, and protein and oil concentrations in the seed were determined. Statistical analyses of the results included: calculating basic measures of variation and analysis of variance. The analyzed data showed the existence of plant material\u27s diversity in phenotypic expression of investigated seed quality traits, as well as the existence of statistically significant genotype and year effects

Revealing molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in neuroprotection and neuroregeneration after central nervous system injury

The inability of adult mammals to regenerate central nervous system (CNS) after injury is one of the greatest challenges of modern neuroscience, which has not yet revealed how to fully restore the lost functions of damaged neuronal tissue in the brain and spinal cord.To address this problem, we established two new experimental in vitro models suitable for CNS injury research: in vitro culture of neonatal rat spinal cord tissue with longer period of viability (more than 24h), in which we investigated molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection, and primary cortical cell cultures derived from postnatal opossums, to investigate CNS development and the possibility of its regeneration after mechanical or pharmacological experimental injury. The main goal of the research was to discover key cellular and molecular mechanisms that control and enable neuroprotection and neuroregeneration of the mammalian CNS, in order to develop new strategies for treatment of CNS injuries.The results of the study showed that the heat shock protein HSP70 plays a major role in the survival of motoneurons after experimental rat spinal cord injury in vitro and thus has a neuroprotective effect. Therefore, we pharmacologically induced HSP70 expression and confirmed early protection of motoneurons during acute in vitro rat spinal cord injury. Furthermore, the results of the neuroregeneration studies on neonatal opossums indicated that transcription factor ATF3 plays an important role in control of maturation of mammalian neural progenitor stem cells, and that, consequently, ATF3 is an important factor in regeneration of brain neurons of young opossum after injury. The overall achievements of this study could, in future, allow the development of new neuroprotective strategies for the treatment of mammalian brain and spinal cord injuries, as well as new strategies to promote neuroregeneration of mammalian CNS, which lose this ability during early embryonic or postnatal development.Nemogućnost odraslih sisavaca da regeneriraju središnji živčani sustav (SŽS) nakon ozljede jedan je od najvećih izazova suvremene neuroznanosti koja još uvijek nije odgovorila na pitanje kako u potpunosti vratiti funkciju oštećenog živčanog tkiva mozga i leđne moždine. Kako bi pridonijeli rješavanju ovog problema, uspostavili smo dva nova eksperimentalna in vitro modela pogodna za istraživanje ozljeda SŽS-a: dugotrajnu (više od 24h) in vitro kulturu tkiva leđne moždine neonatalnog štakora na kojoj smo istraživali molekularne i stanične mehanizme neurodegeneracije i neuroprotekcije, te primarne stanične kulture korteksa postnatalnog oposuma koje smo koristili za istraživanje razvoja SŽS, te mogućnosti njegove regeneracije nakon eksperimentalne mehaničke ili farmakološke ozljede. Glavni cilj istraživanja bio je otkrivanje ključnih staničnih i molekularnih mehanizama koji kontroliraju i omogućuju neuroprotekciju i neuroregeneraciju SŽS-a sisavaca, kako bi se razvile nove strategije liječenja ozljeda istoga. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da protein toplinskog šoka HSP70 igra jednu od glavnih uloga u preživljavanju motoneurona nakon eksperimentalne ozljede leđne moždine štakora in vitro te da stoga ima neuroprotektivno djelovanje. Farmakološki smo stoga inducirali ekspresiju HSP70 i potvrdili ranu zaštitu motoneurona tijekom akutne ozljede tkiva leđne moždine štakora in vitro. Nadalje, rezultati istraživanja neuroregeneracije SŽS-a oposuma ukazali su da transkripcijski faktor ATF3 ima važnu ulogu u kontroli sazrijevanja neuralnih matičnih praroditeljskih stanica sisavaca, te posljedično da je važan čimbenik u regeneraciji moždanih neurona mladih oposuma nakon ozljede. Sveukupna postignuća ovog istraživanja mogla bi u budućnosti omogućiti razvoj novih neuroprotetivnih strategija za tretman ozljeda mozga i leđne moždine sisavaca, kao i novih strategija koje bi potaknule neuroregeneraciju SŽS-a sisavaca, koji tu sposobnost gube tijekom ranog embrionalnog ili postnatalnog razvoja

Revealing molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in neuroprotection and neuroregeneration after central nervous system injury

The inability of adult mammals to regenerate central nervous system (CNS) after injury is one of the greatest challenges of modern neuroscience, which has not yet revealed how to fully restore the lost functions of damaged neuronal tissue in the brain and spinal cord.To address this problem, we established two new experimental in vitro models suitable for CNS injury research: in vitro culture of neonatal rat spinal cord tissue with longer period of viability (more than 24h), in which we investigated molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection, and primary cortical cell cultures derived from postnatal opossums, to investigate CNS development and the possibility of its regeneration after mechanical or pharmacological experimental injury. The main goal of the research was to discover key cellular and molecular mechanisms that control and enable neuroprotection and neuroregeneration of the mammalian CNS, in order to develop new strategies for treatment of CNS injuries.The results of the study showed that the heat shock protein HSP70 plays a major role in the survival of motoneurons after experimental rat spinal cord injury in vitro and thus has a neuroprotective effect. Therefore, we pharmacologically induced HSP70 expression and confirmed early protection of motoneurons during acute in vitro rat spinal cord injury. Furthermore, the results of the neuroregeneration studies on neonatal opossums indicated that transcription factor ATF3 plays an important role in control of maturation of mammalian neural progenitor stem cells, and that, consequently, ATF3 is an important factor in regeneration of brain neurons of young opossum after injury. The overall achievements of this study could, in future, allow the development of new neuroprotective strategies for the treatment of mammalian brain and spinal cord injuries, as well as new strategies to promote neuroregeneration of mammalian CNS, which lose this ability during early embryonic or postnatal development.Nemogućnost odraslih sisavaca da regeneriraju središnji živčani sustav (SŽS) nakon ozljede jedan je od najvećih izazova suvremene neuroznanosti koja još uvijek nije odgovorila na pitanje kako u potpunosti vratiti funkciju oštećenog živčanog tkiva mozga i leđne moždine. Kako bi pridonijeli rješavanju ovog problema, uspostavili smo dva nova eksperimentalna in vitro modela pogodna za istraživanje ozljeda SŽS-a: dugotrajnu (više od 24h) in vitro kulturu tkiva leđne moždine neonatalnog štakora na kojoj smo istraživali molekularne i stanične mehanizme neurodegeneracije i neuroprotekcije, te primarne stanične kulture korteksa postnatalnog oposuma koje smo koristili za istraživanje razvoja SŽS, te mogućnosti njegove regeneracije nakon eksperimentalne mehaničke ili farmakološke ozljede. Glavni cilj istraživanja bio je otkrivanje ključnih staničnih i molekularnih mehanizama koji kontroliraju i omogućuju neuroprotekciju i neuroregeneraciju SŽS-a sisavaca, kako bi se razvile nove strategije liječenja ozljeda istoga. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da protein toplinskog šoka HSP70 igra jednu od glavnih uloga u preživljavanju motoneurona nakon eksperimentalne ozljede leđne moždine štakora in vitro te da stoga ima neuroprotektivno djelovanje. Farmakološki smo stoga inducirali ekspresiju HSP70 i potvrdili ranu zaštitu motoneurona tijekom akutne ozljede tkiva leđne moždine štakora in vitro. Nadalje, rezultati istraživanja neuroregeneracije SŽS-a oposuma ukazali su da transkripcijski faktor ATF3 ima važnu ulogu u kontroli sazrijevanja neuralnih matičnih praroditeljskih stanica sisavaca, te posljedično da je važan čimbenik u regeneraciji moždanih neurona mladih oposuma nakon ozljede. Sveukupna postignuća ovog istraživanja mogla bi u budućnosti omogućiti razvoj novih neuroprotetivnih strategija za tretman ozljeda mozga i leđne moždine sisavaca, kao i novih strategija koje bi potaknule neuroregeneraciju SŽS-a sisavaca, koji tu sposobnost gube tijekom ranog embrionalnog ili postnatalnog razvoja

Traditional use of wild herbs in the area of Brotnjo (Čitluk, BiH)

The aim of this work was to determine the most common types of wild plants that are used as food, as tea plants or for some other purposes in the area of Brotnjo (Čitluk, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The research was conducted from April 2022 to April 2023, and traditional knowledge and contemporary use of wild plants in the Brotnjo area were recorded. The results of this research show that the largest number of wild plants are most often used as: raw salads or cooked vegetables (22 species), raw wild fruits (18 species), everyday/or medicinal teas (37 species), herbs (9 species), and 9 species have specific medicinal uses. In the area of Brotnjo, 50 uncultivated plant species divided into 31 families are used as wild vegetables, spices and teas. The most represented families are Lamiaceae (9), Asteraceae (7 species) and Apiaceae (3 species), while other families are less represented. The most abundant wild fruit families are Rosaceae (8) and Moraceae (3). Respondents who were born in the researched area and/or spent most of their life in the researched area participated in this research

Tradicionalna upotreba samoniklog bilja na području Brotnja (Čitluk, BiH)

Cilj ovoga rada bio je utvrditi najčešće vrste samonikloga bilja koje se na području Brotnja (Čitluk, BiH) koriste kao hrana, kao čajno bilje ili za neke druge namjene. Istraživanje je provedeno od travnja 2022. do travnja 2023. godine te su zabilježena tradicionalna znanja i suvremeno korištenje samoniklih biljaka na području Brotnja. Rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da se najveći broj samoniklih biljaka najčešće koristi kao: sirove salate ili kuhano povrće (22 vrste), sirovo divlje voće (18 vrste), svakodnevni / ili medicinski čajevi (37 vrsta), začinske biljke (9 vrsta), a 9 vrsta ima specifičnu medicinsku uporabu. Kao samoniklo povrće, začini i čajevi na području Brotnja koristi se 50 nekultiviranih biljnih vrsta svrstanih u 31 porodicu. Najzastupljenije porodice su Lamiaceae (9), Asteraceae (7 vrsta) Apiaceae (3 vrste), dok su ostale porodice manje zastupljene. Najzastupljenije porodice samoniklog divljeg voća su Rosaceae (8) i Moraceae (3). U ovom istraživanju su sudjelovali ispitanici koji su rođeni u istraživanom području i / ili su na istraživanom području proveli veći dio svog života

Proteomic analysis of opossum Monodelphis domestica spinal cord reveals the changes of proteins related to neurodegenerative diseases during developmental period when neuroregeneration stops being possible

One of the major challenges of modern neurobiology concerns the inability of the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) to regenerate and repair itself after injury. It is still unclear why the ability to regenerate CNS is lost during evolution and development and why it becomes very limited in adult mammals. A convenient model to study cellular and molecular basis of this loss is neonatal opossum (Monodelphis domestica). Opossums are marsupials that are born very immature with the unique possibility to successfully regenerate postnatal spinal cord after injury in the first two weeks of their life, after which this ability abbruptly stops. Using comparative proteomic approach we identified the proteins that are differentially distributed in opossum spinal tissue that can and cannot regenerate after injury, among which stand out the proteins related to neurodegenerative diseases (NDD), such as Huntington, Parkinson and Alzheimer's disease, previously detected by comparative transcriptomics on the analog tissue. The different distribution of the selected proteins detected by comparative proteomics was further confirmed by Western blot (WB), and the changes in the expression of related genes were analysed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Furthermore, we explored the cellular localization of the selected proteins using immunofluorescent microscopy. To our knowledge, this is the first report on proteins differentially present in developing, non-injured mammalian spinal cord tissue with different regenerative capacities. The results of this study indicate that the proteins known to have an important role in the pathophysiology of neurodegeneration in aged CNS, could also have an important phyisological role during CNS postnatal development and in neuroregeneration process

The role of ATF3 in neuronal differentiation and development of neuronal networks in opossum postnatal cortical cultures

Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), a member of the ATF/cAMP response element binding (CREB) family, is upregulated by various intracellular and extracellular signals such as injury and signals related to cell proliferation. ATF3 also belongs to the regeneration-associated genes (RAG) group of transcription factors. RAG and ATF/CREB transcription factors that play an important role in embryonic neuronal development and PNS regeneration may also be involved in postnatal neuronal differentiation and development, as well as in the regeneration of the injured CNS. Here we investigated the effect of ATF3 in differentiation, neural outgrowth, network formation, and regeneration after injury using postnatal dissociated cortical neurons derived from neonatal opossums (Monodelphis domestica). Our results show that RAG and ATF genes are differentially expressed in early differentiated neurons versus undifferentiated neurospheres and that many members of those families, ATF3 in particular, are upregulated in cortical cultures obtained from younger animals that have the ability to fully functionally regenerate spinal cord after injury. In addition, we observed different intracellular localization of ATF3 that shifts from nuclear (in neuronal progenitors) to cytoplasmic (in more mature neurons) during neuronal differentiation. The ATF3 inhibition, pharmacological or by specific antibody, reduced the neurite outgrowth and differentiation and caused increased cell death in early differentiating cortical neuronal cultures, suggesting the importance of ATF3 in the CNS development of neonatal opossums. Finally, we investigated the regeneration capacity of primary cortical cultures after mechanical injury using the scratch assay. Remarkably, neonatal opossum-derived cultures retain their capacity to regenerate for up to 1 month in vitro. Inhibition of ATF3 correlates with reduced neurite outgrowth and regeneration after injury. These results indicate that ATF3, and possibly other members of RAG and ATF/CREB family of transcription factors, have an important role both during cortical postnatal development and in response after injury