A comparative study of chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Morchella esculenta (L.) Pers. from Portugal and Serbia

A comparative study on chemical composition (nutritional value, primary and secondary metabolites), antioxidant properties (scavenging activity, reducing power and inhibition of lipid peroxidation), and antimicrobial activity (antibacterial and demelanizing properties) of two samples of Morchella esculenta (morel) from different countries (Portugal and Serbia) was performed. This species was chosen for being one of the most highly prized edible mushrooms in the world. Both samples are rich in carbohydrates (including free sugars) and proteins, and contain several bioactive compounds such as organic acids, phenolic compounds and tocopherols. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were the most abundant compounds followed by mono or saturated fatty acids. Sample from Portugal (SP) gave higher radical scavenging activity and reducing power, while sample from Serbia (SS) showed higher lipid peroxidation inhibition. Both samples gave antibacterial activity against five bacteria (in some cases even better than standard antibiotics) and demelanizing activity against four micromycetes, showing SS higher activities. As far as we know, this is the first study reporting chemical compounds and bioactivity of morel samples from Portugal and Serbia. Furthermore, a novel method for evaluation of demelanizing activity was presented.The authors are grateful to Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) and COMPETE/QREN/EU (research project PTDC/AGR-ALI/110062/2009; bilateral cooperation action Portugal/Serbia 2011; strategic projects PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011 and PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2011), and to Serbian Ministry of Education and Science (grant number 173032) for financial support. S.A. Heleno (BD/70304/2010) and L. Barros (BPD/4609/2008) also thank FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE

Disease-specific assessment of Vision Impairment in Low Luminance (VILL) in age-related macular degeneration – a MACUSTAR study report

Background/Aims: To further validate the Vision Impairment in Low Luminance (VILL) questionnaire, which captures visual functioning and vision-related quality of life under low luminance, low contrast conditions relevant to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: The VILL was translated from German into English (UK), Danish, Dutch, French, Italian and Portuguese. Rasch analysis was used to assess psychometric characteristics of 716 participants (65% female, mean age 72±7 years, 82% intermediate AMD) from the baseline visit of the MACUSTAR study. In a sub-set of participants (n=301), test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient, ICC; coefficient of repeatability, CoR) and construct validity were assessed. Results: Four items were removed from the VILL-37 due to misfit. The resulting VILL-33 has three subscales with no disordered thresholds and no misfitting items. No differential item functioning and no multidimensionality were observed. Person reliability and person separation index were 0.91 and 3.27 for the reading subscale (VILL-R), 0.87 and 2.58 for the mobility subscale (VILL-M) and 0.78 and 1.90 for the emotional subscale (VILL-E). ICC and CoR were 0.92 and 1.9 for VILL-R, 0.93 and 1.8 for VILL-M and 0.82 and 5.0 for VILL-E. Reported visionrelated quality of life decreased with advanced AMD stage (p<0.0001) and was lower in the intermediate AMD group than in the no AMD group (p≤0.0053). Conclusion: The VILL is a psychometrically sound patient-reported outcome instrument and the results further support its reliability and validity across all AMD stages. We recommend the shortened version of the questionnaire with three subscales (VILL-33) for future use. Trial registration number NCT03349801