THE CLASTOGENIC EFFECT OF TARTRAZINE, A SYNTHETIC YELLOW DYE, IN PLANT MERISTEMATIC TISSUES

Food dyes is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking. One of the colorants is tartrazine (Tz), a synthetic lemon yellow dye. The purpose of this paper was to highlight the clastogenic effect of Tz to plants meristematic tissues, using the Allium assay. Three different concentrations (0.3, 1 and 1.3%) were used, the exposure time being 6 hours. The statistical analysis of the obtained results indicates that with the increase Tz concentration, mitotic activity is inhibited, while the chromosomal aberration rate in the cells in mitosis as well as the frequency of nuclear abnormalities in the interphase cells increases. The main genetic abnormalities identified were laggards, stickiness, C-mitosis and micronucleus. These results suggest prudence regarding the consumption of processed foods which containing tartrazine

ORGANOLEPTIC AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL ANALYSES ON APPLE FRUITS - COMPARATIVE STUDY

Fresh fruits are one of the indispensable components of rational human nutrition. The nutritional value of freshly consumed fruits is due to their chemical components easily accessible to the human body, plus a series of tasteful, olfactory and visual excitements that make them enjoyable at any time of the day or season.The quality of an agricultural product is the result of a set of characteristics that can be observed, determined, measured, tried, compared to a norm. This gives the product the degree to which the determined properties correspond to the needs of the customer, that meaning the extent to which the products satisfy a particular need. Considering the consequences that emphasize the importance of apple fruit consumption, in this paper we have made a comparative study between different apple varieties, namely in terms of organoleptic characteristics and physico-chemical properties of the fruits, two important aspects particular in determining the variability of the fruits' quality and their marketing. Following the organoleptic analysis, the romanian apples (both the Jonathan and the Golden varieties) are distinguished, with an intense flavor specific to their variety. According to the conducted physico-chemical analysis, we can state the fact that the romanian apples (both the Jonathan and the Golden varieties) show the highest values for the soluble dry substance and also for the total sugar content (expressed as % invert sugar)

THE ROLE OF FORESTS IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ROMANIA

The aim of our paper is to analyze the factors that play an important role in adopting a sustainable management strategy for the Romanian forests. The underlying methodology of our research is based on the review of mainstream literature and on the quantitative analysis of national and international statistical data in order to design a model of sustainable development. Research findings show that critical factors contributing to environmental degradation fall into three categories: human factors, national legislation and environmental factors. Our findings reveal that forest management in Romania display several peculiarities that have a negative impact on the degradation of the ecosystem, reduction of the renewable capacity of forests and lowering of the quality of life. In conclusion, drafting a sustainable development strategy is not effective if we do not take into consideration the factors that could turn into challenges and barriers in the implementation of the strategy

STUDY CONCERNING THE LEVEL OF NITRATES CONCENTRATION IN SOME VEGETAL PRODUCTS SOLD IN CRAIOVA

The accumulation of nitrates in vegetables and fruits is subject to factors such as applied agricultural technique and, in particular, applied fertilizers for the basic and additional fertilization, vegetable species and the biochemical and physiological genotypes, phase of vegetation, time of harvest, etc. The process of accumulation of the vegetable product is a complex process that can though be controlled by growers. Their tendency to obtaining yields as high as possible by applying high doses of nitrogen and often not supported by appropriate doses of P and K, with the risk of vegetables with high contents of nitrate, must be stopped first by an intense educational, informative activity, and then the controls in markets. The results obtained in this study were compared to the maximum permissible limit for each product. In almost all analyzed vegetable species, irrespective of their origin, the nitrate content is far below the LMA, which can make us consider that health standards are respected, regarding the maximum limits for nitrates in foods of plant origin