ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY OF THE PEK RIVER BASED ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Levels of physicochemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, sulphates, chlorides, temperature,turbidity, total hardness, iron, manganese, copper, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, total suspendedsolid, ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen and orthophosphates ) were determined in the water samplescollected from Pek River at 4 sample sites during 6 months. Monitoring was done at the source of river,on the border between the municipalities Majdanpek and Kučevo, on the border between themunicipalities Kučevo and Veliko Gradište and at the confluence of Pek into Danube River. Some ofthe physicochemical parameter values fall within national standard and WHO limits, some are not

ESSENTIAL OIL AND EXTRACTS FROM THYMUS PRAECOX OPIZ SSP. POLYTRICHUS AS NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS

Spices and herbs have been used for centuries by many cultures to enhance the flavor and aroma offoods. Early cultures also recognized the value of using spices and herbs in preserving foods and fortheir medicinal value. In the present study the essential oil of wild growing Thymus praecox Opiz ssp.polytrichus was isolated by hydrodistillationprocess. Extracts of T. praecox ssp.polytrichuswereprepared by using solvents of varying polarity. Antioxidant potential and ability of essential oil andextractsto neutralize DPPH radicals was investigated. The essential oil showed significantlyhigher antioxidant activity compared with synthetic antioxidants BHA and BHT. This workprovides the basis for the present rapidly increasing interest for the use of natural antioxidants as foodantioxidants, functional food ingredients and/or as nutritional supplements

Hemijski sastav i antioksidativna aktivnost etarskog ulja Thymus serpyllum L.

Wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) is a popular remedy regarding both tradetional and conventional medicine. It is used as the antiseptic, aromatic, expectorant, stomachic, antispasmodic, carminative and preservative substance. For the purpose of this paper, wild thyme essential oil was isolated from the dried herb T. serpyllum by hydrodistillation. Original semi-industrial distillation device SP-130 performing distillation by water and steam was used for the hydrodistillation of T. serpyllum essential oils. The temperature during the hydrodistillation in the device SP-130 ranged from 100-102 °C at atmospheric pressure, and the whole process lasted 5 hours. The isolated essential oil is a liquid of light yellow colour and the odour characteristic of the genus Thymus. Obtained yield of essential oil was 0.08 %, with 65 components identified in the tested essential oil. The most represented chemical groups are sesquiturpene hydrocarbons with 35.1%, and oxygenated sesquiturpenes with 34.8%. The main components of essential oil of T. serpyllum were: trans-nerolidol (24.2%), germacrene D (16.0%), thymol (7.3%), δ-cadinene (3.7%) and β-bisabolene (3.3%). The essential oil showed significantly better ability to neutralize DPPH free radicals (IC50 = 0.503 μL/mL) compared with synthetic antioxidants BHA and BHT. Synthetic chemical compounds such as BHA and BHT are used in food industry as antioxidants due to their ability to prolong the shelf-life of foodstuffs by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation, such as fat rancidity, colour changes, degradation of the flavor and loss of nutrient value. In recent years, there is a considerable interest in finding natural compounds that could replace sinthetic antioxidants because of adverse toxicological reports on many synthetic compounds. Lamiaceae herbs and their essential oils or extracts application has proven to be the effective preservation agents for the extension shelf-life of foodstuffs, indicating their potential use in food industry as functional ingredients and food additives. The antioxidant activity of extracts from some Lamiaceae herbs is comparable to that of the most common synthetic antioxidants BHT and BHA. Free radicals are a major cause of many degenerative diseases, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, skin aging, old age dementia and arthritis. Epidemiological data and randomized clinical trials provide sample indications that antioxidants play a fundamental role in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. They act as scavengers of reactive oxygen species and metal chelators that protect human cells and reduce oxidative damages. Natural antioxidants are important in the food industry because they can have a double functionality, that is, they can be useful as a food preservation agents while providing important health benefits for humans by maintaining our health and preventing disease. This investigation showed that the essential oil of T. serpyllum can be an important source for the production and application in the food industry as nutritional supplements, functional food components or natural food antioxidants.Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitivanje hemijskog sastava i antioksidativnog potencijala etarskog ulja majčine dušice (Thymus serpyllum L.). Etarsko ulje majčine dušice izolovano je iz osušene herbe T. serpyllum postupkom hidrodestilacije. Za hidrodestilaciju etarskog ulja T. serpyllum koriščen je originalni poluindustrijski destilacioni uređaj SP-130 koji radi na principu destilacije vodom i vodenom parom. Gasnohromatografskom analizom određene su najzastupljenije komponente kod etarskog ulja T. serpyllum: trans-nerolidol (24,2%), germakren D (16,0%), timol (7,3%), δ-kadinen (3,7%) i β-bisabolen (3,3%). Etarsko ulje je pokazalo značajno bolju sposobnost neutralizacije slobodnih DPPH radikala (IC50 = 0,503 μL/ml) u poređenju sa sintetskim antioksidansima BHA i BHT

Natkritični CO2 biljni ekstrakti kao dodaci u proizvodnji i preradi mesa

One of the most important trends in food industry today is application of natural flavours, spices, antioxidants and pigments, With supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide from some plant species of Lamiaceae family it is possible to obtain extracts with antioxidant characteristics. The possibilities of isolation of fractions with antioxidant characteristics from the plants of the Lamiaceae family (rosmary, Rosmarinus officinalis L. sage, Salvia officinalis L. and hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis L) from the Balkans by application of supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide are presented in this paper. Esential oil fractions were first isolated at the pressure of 11,5 MPa and temperature of 40ºC. Then, the antioxidative fraction was isolated at the pressure of 30 MPa and temperatures of 40ºC and 100ºC. With the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction at the temperature of 100ºC significantly higher yields of antioxidative fractions were obtained than at temperature of 40ºC. .Jedan od najznačajnijih trendova u prehrambenoj industriji danas je primena prirodnih aroma, začina, antioksidanasa i pigmenata. Procesom natkritične ekstrakcije ugljenik(IV)-oksidom iz nekih vrsta biljne familije Lamiaceae moguće je da se dobiju ekstrakti sa antioksidativnim svojstvima. U ovom radu prezentovane su mogućnosti izolacije frakcija sa antioksidativnim svojstvima iz biljaka familije Lamiaceae (ruzmarin, žalfija i izop) sa područja Balkana, primenom frakcione natkritične ekstrakcije ugljenik(IV)-oksidom. Prvo je izolovana frakcija etarskih ulja na pritisku od 11,5 MPa i temperaturi od 40ºC. Antioksidativna frakcija je potom izolovana na pritisku od 30 MPa i temperaturama od 40ºC i 100ºC. Natkritičnom ekstrakcijom na temperaturi od 100ºC ostvareni su znatno veći prinosi antioksidativnih frakcija nego na temperaturi od 40ºC

Amtimicrobial activity of essential oil of Melissa officinalis L, Lamiaceae

The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Melissa officinalis was investigated in this paper. The essential oil was obtained by the principle of water and steam and analyzed by GC and GC-MS using FID and MSD. The main components of the oil of Melissa officinalis were geranial (17.30%), neral (14.70%) and citronellal (10.70%). The antimicrobial properties were tested against the following bacterial species: B subtilis, B.cereus Bifidobacterium sp., Corynobacterium sp., E. coli, Klebsiella sp., L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, Listeria monocytogenes, P. vulgaris, P. aerugenosa, S. enteritidis, Shigella sp., S. aureus, and fungi Candida albicans, Alternarija sp. and Aspergillus niger. The diffusion technique was used for testing: the antimicrobial activity, and the MIC was determined by the broth dilution method. The essential oil of M. officinalis showed high antimicrobial activity

Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Thymus praecox supercritical extracts

The chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of Thymus praecox extracts obtained by fractional supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with carbon dioxide were investigated. Properties of supercritical extracts and extracts obtained by Soxhiet extraction were compared. The chemical composition of extracts was determined using GC-FID and GC-MS analytical methods. The antimicrobial activity of extracts was evaluated against 16 pathogenic microorganisms using microdilution method. Antioxidant potential of extracts to neutralize DPPH radicals was also investigated. Investigated supercritical extracts showed better antimicrobial activity than commercial antibiotics (streptomycin and ampicillin) and commercial fungicides (bifonazol and ketoconazole) against all tested strains. For bacteria MIC and MBC were 38-200 mu g/m1 and 75-300 mu g/ml, respectively, while for fungi MIC and MFC were 17-150 mu g/ml and 35-300 mu g/ml, respectively

Fruit Wines Inhibitory Activity Against alpha-Glucosidase

Background: Fruit wines are well known for their profound health-promoting properties including both enzyme activations and inhibitions. They may act preventive in regard to diabetes melitus and other chronic diseases. Objectives: Potential alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity of fruit wines made from blueberry, black chokeberry, blackberry, raspberry and sour cherry was the subject of this study. Method: In order to increase the alcohol content due to enriched extraction of total phenolics, sugar was added in the fruit pomace of the half of the examined fruit wine samples. Results: Compared with acarbose used as a positive control (IC50 = 73.78 mu g/mL), all fruit wine samples exhibited higher alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Indeed, blueberry wine samples stood out, both prepared with IC50 = 24.14 mu g/mL, lyophilised extract yield 3.23% and without IC50 = 46.39 mu g/mL, lyophilised extract yield 2.89% and with addition of sugar before fermentation. Chlorogenic acid predominantly contributed to alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the blueberry, black chokeberry and sour cherry wine samples. However, ellagic acid, a potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitor possessing a planar structure, only slightly affected the activity of the blueberry wine samples, due to the lower concentration. In addition to this, molecular docking study of chlorogenic acid pointed out the importance of binding energy (-8.5 kcal/mol) for the inhibition of the enzyme. Conclusion: In summary, fruit wines made from blueberry should be primarily taken into consideration as a medicinal food targeting diabetes mellitus type 2 in the early stage, if additional studies would confirm their therapeutic potential for the control of postprandial hyperglycemia

Transgenic Overexpression of Galectin-3 in Pancreatic β Cells Attenuates Hyperglycemia in Mice: Synergistic Antidiabetic Effect With Exogenous IL-33

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) has diverse roles in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. There is evidence that Gal-3 plays a role in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. While the role of Gal-3 expression in immune cells invading the pancreatic islets in the experimental model of type 1 diabetes mellitus has been already studied, the importance of the overexpression of Gal-3 in the target β cells is not defined. Therefore, we used multiple low doses of streptozotocin (MLD–STZ)–induced diabetes in C57Bl/6 mice to analyze the effect of transgenic (TG) overexpression of Gal-3 in β cells. Our results demonstrated that the overexpression of Gal-3 protected β cells from apoptosis and attenuated MLD–STZ–induced hyperglycemia, glycosuria, and ketonuria. The cellular analysis of pancreata and draining lymph nodes showed that Gal-3 overexpression significantly decreased the number of pro-inflammatory cells without affecting the presence of T-regulatory cells. As the application of exogenous interleukin 33 (IL-33) given from the beginning of MLD–STZ diabetes induction attenuates the development of disease, by increasing the presence of regulatory FoxP3+ ST2+ cells, we evaluated the potential synergistic effect of the exogenous IL-33 and TG overexpression of Gal-3 in β cells at the later stage of diabetogenesis. The addition of IL-33 potentiated the survival of β cells and attenuated diabetes even when administered later, after the onset of hyperglycemia (12–18 days), suggesting that protection from apoptosis and immunoregulation by IL-33 may attenuate type 1 diabetes