Halophytic plant species - isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites

Predmet proučavanja ove doktorske disertacije su sekundarni metaboliti halofita (biljaka koje naseljavaju staništa sa visokim sadržajem soli). U Srbiji se zaslanjena staništa uglavnom javljaju na teritoriji Vojvodine. U ovom radu izolovani su i hemijski okarakterisani flavonoidni glikozidi i saponini iz halofitnih vrsta roda Atriplex (A. littoralis, A. tatarica i A. prostrata) i određena je njihova različita biološka aktivnost. Pored biljaka iz roda Atriplex ispitivana je halofitna biljna vrsta Artemisia santonicum iz koje je izolovano etarsko ulje, određen hemijski sastav i ispitana biološka aktivnost. Halofitne biljne vrste se u tradicionalnoj medicini koriste u brojne svrhe kao antiseptici, diuretici, antiparazitici, antipiretici, purgativi, laksativi, za lečenje dijabetesa, visokog krvnog pritiska, astme, gihta i reumatizma. Ekstrakti i jedinjenja izolovana iz vrsta roda Atriplex pokazuju antioksidativnu, antimikrobnu, citotoksičnu, antiparazitsku, i insekticidnu aktivnost. Etarska ulja vrsta roda Artemisia su pokazala antioksidativnu, antibakterijsku, antifungalnu, antiparazitsku, hepatoprotektivnu, neuroprotektivnu i antimalarijsku aktivnost. Vrste roda Atriplex su bogat izvor sekundarnih metabolita prvenstveno flavonoida, saponina i alkaloida. U okviru ove disertacije izolovano je i okarakterisano ukupno 13 jedinjenja, od kojih je 7 novih prirodnih proizvoda (43-45, 51-54). Iz vrste A. littoralis izolovano je 6 jedinjenja, četiri flavonoidna glikozida (43-46) i dva fenolna jedinjenja (47, 48). Iz A. tatarica izolovano je 6 jedinjenja, tri flavonoidna glikozida (49-51) i tri triterpenska saponina oleanolnog tipa (52-54). Iz etarskog ulja Artemisia santonicum izolovan je oksigenovani monoterpen (55)...The subject of this doctoral dissertation are the secondary metabolites of halophytes (plants wild growing at saline habitats). In Serbia such habitats are mainly found in Vojvodina. Flavonoid glycosides and saponins from halophytic species Atriplex (A. littoralis, A. tatarica and A. prostrata) were isolated, chemically characterized and their various biological activities were determined. In addition, a halophyte species from the genus Artemisia (A. santonicum) was examined. Its essential oil was isolated, the chemical composition determined and various biological activities of this were tested. Several halophytic plant species are used in many traditional formulations as antiseptics, diuretics, antiparasitics, antipyretics, purgatives, laxatives, for the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, gout and rheumatism. Extracts and compounds isolated from the genus Atriplex show antiparasitic, insecticidal, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activity. Essential oils of the genus Artemisia have shown antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and antimalarial activity. Atriplex species are a rich source of secondary metabolites, primarily flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids. In this study, a total of 13 compounds were isolated and characterized by means of spectroscopic techniques (1D and 2D NMR, IR and MS). Among them seven (43-45, 51-54) were the new compounds. At the same time, in the extract of A. littoralis, six compounds, four flavonoid glycosides (43-46) and two phenolic compounds (47, 48) were identified. From A. tatarica six compounds, three flavonoid glycosides (49-51) and three triterpene saponins of an oleanane type (52-54) were isolated. An oxygenated monoterpene (55) was isolated from Artemisia santonicum essential oil..

Effects of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation on Gambling and Gaming: A Systematic Review of Studies on Healthy Controls, Participants with Gambling/Gaming Disorder, and Substance Use Disorder

Gambling disorder (GD) and internet gaming disorder (IGD) are formally recognized behavioral addictions with a rapidly growing prevalence and limited treatment options. Recently, transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) techniques have emerged as potentially promising interventions for improving treatment outcomes by ameliorating cognitive functions implicated in addictive behaviors. To systematize the current state of evidence and better understand whether and how tES can influence gambling and gaming-related cognitive processes, we conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review of the literature, focusing on tES effects on gaming and gambling in a diverse range of population samples, including healthy participants, participants with GD and IGD, as well as participants with substance abuse addictions. Following the literature search in three bibliographic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus), 40 publications were included in this review, with 26 conducted on healthy participants, 6 focusing on GD and IGD patients, and 8 including participants with other addictions. Most of the studies targeted the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and assessed the effects on cognition, using gaming and gambling computerized cognitive tasks measuring risk taking and decision making, e.g., balloon analogue risk task, Iowa gambling task, Cambridge gambling task, etc. The results indicated that tES could change gambling and gaming task performances and positively influence GD and IGD symptoms, with 70% of studies showing neuromodulatory effects. However, the results varied considerably depending on the stimulation parameters, sample characteristics, as well as outcome measures used. We discuss the sources of this variability and provide further directions for the use of tES in the context of GD and IGD treatment

Application of plants in remediation of contaminated sites

The concern for environmental protection has existed since the time of first human civilization. As society develops, the chain of changes during the natural flow of processes in ecosystems has been supplemented by a new link - pollutants. They have an effect on all other members of the ecosystem (changes may be visible immediately or harder to spot), which leads to an extremely complex relationship with nature. The values of some parameters of pollutants reached an alarmingly high level. The tendency to reduce the risk of air, soil, water, plant, and animal pollution to a tolerable limit, which would salvage the environment and most importantly human health, became a global problem. Heavy metals as pollutants have been an interest of researchers for their conduct, especially in forest ecosystems, which has been expressed in the previous year's more than ever. With its numerous toxic effects, heavy metals are endangering the existence of plant species that live in already contaminated environments. This is all an argument regarding the fight of modern society that the emission of polluted materials gets reduced in order to avoid multiple negative effects, which can endanger the existence of living organisms in general, as an argument for the continuation of numerous researches that are conducted in this area. The monitoring of heavy metals is of significant importance because their toxicity and accumulations are vital for the ecosystem. Polluted soils can be reduced and they can restore their function using physical, chemical, and biological techniques. Physical and chemical methods are very expensive and cause mainly irreversible changes, thus destroying biological variety. The biological recovery of contaminated soil represents an efficient method of reducing health risks for both mankind and the ecosystem.  For this purpose, biological indicators are used. Numerous researches have led to improvements of the initial idea about using plants as a remediation of the environment and the removal of different contaminants from contaminated medias into promising technologies of environmental protection under the title "Phytoremediation". This technology consists of the reduction of concentrations of polluted materials in polluted soils, water, or air. Plants have the ability to store, degrade, or eliminate metals, pesticides, solutions, explosives, and crude oils. Its derivatives and various other contaminants form mediums that contain them. This paper especially considers methods of the possibility of the usage and application of plants in restoring soil contaminated by heavy metals as well as other pollutants

Phyto-pharmacological aspects of Nepeta nuda L.: A systematic review

Nepeta nuda L. (syn. N. pannonica L.) is a herbaceous perennial plant that is the most widespread species of the genus Nepeta, the largest genera in Lamiaceae family. N. nuda is divided into four subspecies according to morphological differences which occur within large geographical range of distribution: subsp. nuda, subsp. albiflora, subsp. lydiae, and subsp. glandulifera. In this review, previous reports on N. nuda concerning its botanical description and systematics, phytochemistry, use in traditional medicine, pharmacology, and posibilities for other applications were summarized. All of these data indicate N. nuda as a highly promising species for application in food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in agriculture for the development of natural pesticides

Blinding in tDCS Studies: Correct End-of-Study Guess Does Not Moderate the Effects on Associative and Working Memory

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has become a valuable tool in cognitive neuroscience research as it enables causal inferences about neural underpinnings of cognition. However, studies using tDCS to modulate cognitive functions often yield inconsistent findings. Hence, there is an increasing interest in factors that may moderate the effects, one of which is the participants’ beliefs of the tDCS condition (i.e., real or sham) they received. Namely, whether participants’ correct guessing of sham condition may lead to false-positive tDCS effects. In this study, we aimed to explore if participants’ beliefs about received stimulation type (i.e., the success of blinding) impacted their task performance in tDCS experiments on associative (AM) and working memory (WM). We analyzed data from four within-subject, sham-controlled tDCS memory experiments (N = 83) to check if the correct end-of-study guess of sham condition moderated tDCS effects. We found no evidence that sham guessing moderated post-tDCS memory performance in experiments in which tDCS effects were observed as well as in experiments that showed null effects of tDCS. The results suggest that the correct sham guessing (i.e., placebo-like effect) is unlikely to influence the results in tDCS memory experiments. We discuss the results in light of the growing debate about the relevance and effectiveness of blinding in brain stimulation research

Hemijski sastav etarskog ulja Dragocephalum moldavica L. iz Vojvodine (Srbija)

Dracocephalum moldavica L., also called Moldavian balm or Moldavian dragonhead, is native to temperate climate of Asia, but it was naturalized in Eastern and Central Europe, North Africa, China and northeastern United States. This is an annual plant, with numerous stems (up to 6), 22-45 cm high, and blue flowers arranged in pseudo-whorls growing in leaf axils. Essential oil accumulates in exogenous oil-containing cells at the dorsal sides of the leaves, and in the inflorescence. Because of this, the entire plant has a citrus-like flavor, resembling that of lemon balm and catnip. This plant is extensively used as a spice and for composition of tea blends, in food aromatization (canned fish, jams, candies, syrups), perfumery, alcohol industry, soaps and detergents. Dracocephalum moldavica from Vojvodina Province, Serbia contains geranial (29.6%), geranyl acetate (27.2%) and neral (19.4%) as the most abundant compounds. Further investigations will be focused on the influence of weather conditions on essential oil composition, as well as on bioactive potential of this essential oil.Biljka Dracocephalum moldavica L., poznata je kao Moldavska melisa ili Moldavska zmajeglavka. Poreklom je iz umerenog klimata Azije, ali je naturalizovana u Istočnoj i Centralnoj Evropi, Severnoj Africi, Kini i severo-istočnom delu SAD. Iz korena ove jednogodišnje biljke izbija veći broj stabljika (do 6), koje su 22-45 cm visine, sa plavim cvetovima raspoređenim u lažnim pršljenastim cvastima u pazusima listova. Etarsko ulje se akumulira u egzogenim uljanim ćelijama sa donje strane listova i u cvetovima. Zbog etarskog ulja koje ima citrusnu notu ova biljka podseća na matičnjak i macinu travu. Biljka se intenzivno koristi kao začin i kao dodatak čajnim mešavinama, za aromatizaciju hrane (konzervirana riba, džemovi, slatkiši, sirupi), parfimeriji, alkoholnoj industriji, proizvodnji sapuna i deterdženata. Etarsko ulje D. moldavica iz AP Vojvodine, Srbije sadrži geranial (29,6%), geranil-acetat (27,2%) i neral (19,4%) kao najzastupljenije komponente. Dalja istraživanja biće usmerena na uticaj vremenskih uslova na sastav etarskog ulja, kao i na njegov biološki potencija

Relationships between leaf traits and morphological attributes in one-year bareroot Fraxinus anguslifolia Vahl. seedlings

Leaf traits were investigated as morphological attributes for quality estimation of one-year-old bareroot seedlings of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. Leaf traits (number of simple - NSL and compound leaves - NCL, leaf average - ALA and total area - TLA and leaf area ratio - LAR) show similar relations to morphological attributes, the strongest to shoot growth (height - HT, root collar diameter - DIA and shoot dry weight - SDW). Increases of seedling morphological attributes are strongly related to increases of ALA. Given to strong positive correlations with other morphological attributes, ALA (R = 0.68-0.88) and TLA (R = 0.46-0.92) are suitable for seedlings quality testing. TLA explained a larger proportion of the variation of SDW (R-2 = 0.85) and ALA explained a large proportion of the variation of DIA (R-2 = 0.81). Leaf traits can be considered as valuable morphological attributes of seedling quality, in addition to strong correlation with other morphological attributes

The IL-1β and IL-1Ra gene polymorphisms and chronic inflammation of the middle ear

Constitutional polymorphisms in the proinflamatory cytokine genes influence the individual cytokine secretion levels, the course and severity of inflammation. Aim of our study was to investigate the association of IL-1β +3953 C/T and IL1-Ra86 bp VNTR gene polymorphisms with the development of chronic otitis media (COM) in 144 patients and 103 controls. Frequencies of the alleles and genotypes of the IL-1Ra gene polymorphism were significantly different between the patients and controls (alleles: p=0.003; genotypes: p=0.0001). Non-carriers of IL-1Ra allele 2 had significatly higher risk for COM occurence (p=0.002; OR=2.98; ±95%CI, 1.68-5.26). This allele is a potential protective genetic marker for COM.5th Congress of the Serbian Genetic Society : Book of abstracts; September 28 - October 2, Kladovo, 2014

Can Transcranial Electrical Stimulation modulate gambling and gaming behaviors?

Gambling Disorder (GD) and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) are formally recognized behavioral addictions with a rapidly growing prevalence and limited treatment options. Recently, transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) techniques have emerged as potentially promising interventions for improving treatment outcomes by ameliorating cognitive functions implicated in addictive behaviors. To systematize the current state of evidence and better understand whether and how tES can influence gambling and gaming-related cognitive processes, we conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review of the literature focusing on tES effects on risky gambling and gaming behaviors in a diverse range of population samples, including healthy participants, participants with GD and IGD, as well as substance abuse addictions. Following the literature search in three bibliographic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) 40 publications have been included in this review, with 26 conducted on healthy participants, six focusing on GD and IGD patients, and eight including participants with other addictions. Most of the studies targeted the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The results indicated that tES could change gambling and gaming behaviors and positively influence GD and IGD symptoms. However, the results varied considerably depending on the stimulation parameters, sample characteristics, as well as outcome measures used. We discuss the sources of this variability and provide further directions for the use of tES in the context of GD and IGD treatment

Примена lc–ms/ms технике са јонском покретљивошћу за хемијску анализу екстраката прополиса са антимикробним потенцијалом.

The objective of this study was to test four-dimensional LC-ESI-MS/MS chromatography in analysis of complex mixture such as ethanol extracts of different propolis samples. In total more than 1200 picks were identified and only for 185 literature conformation was found. The given data represent the result of tentative identification, and summarized results are given in the text. Comparing the samples, from different altitudes, 96 components were detected as characteristic in high altitude samples and 18 in samples collected at low altitudes. Antimicrobial activity of ethanol extracts of propolis (EEP) and pro­pyl­ene glycol extracts of propolis (PGEP) were carried out on S. aureus, B. cereus, M. flavus, L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, S. typhimurium, E. coli and E. cloacae bacterial strains and compared with broad-spectrum antibiotics, streptomycin and ampicillin. Anti-quorum sensing activity was performed on P. aeruginosa by testing the effect of representative propolis extracts on bio­film formation, twitching and motility activity and production of pyocyanin. We demonstrated that the majority of explored propolis extracts have greater or equal minimal inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concen­tra­tion values compared to antibiotics, independently of the solvent used for the extraction. The samples collected from the highest altitude emerged as least active antimicrobial agents but with the greatest potential as anti-quorum sen­sing agents.Циљ овог истраживања је билo тестирање четвородимензионалне LC–ESI-MS/MS хроматографије у анализи комплексних смеша, као што су етанолни екстракти различитих узорака прополиса. Укупно је идентификовано више од 1200 пикова, а самo за 185 смо нашли литературну потврду. Приказани подаци представљају тентативну идентификацију и сумирани резултат је дат у тексту. Поређењем узорака са различитих надморских висина, за 96 једињења је утврђено да се налазе само у узорцима са високе надморске висине и 18 само у узорцима прикупљеним на нижим надморским висинама. Антибактеријске активности етанолних и пропиленгликолних екстрактата прополиса (EEP и PGEP, редом) тестиране су на S. aureus, B. cereus, M. flavus, L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, S. typhimurium, E. coli и E. cloacae бактеријским линијама и поређене са анти- биотицима широког спектра деловања, стрептомицином и ампицилином. Anti-quorum sensing активност је тестирана на P. aeruginosa испитивањем ефекта репрезентативних екстраката прополиса на формирање биофилма, тестовима покретљивости руба коло- није (twitching и mobility) и производње пиоцианина. Показали смо да највећи број, коришћених екстраката прополиса, има истe и/или мање MIC и MBC вредности, у поре- ђењу са атибиотицима, независно од растварача коришћеног за екстракцију. Узорци прикупљени на високим надморским висинама су се показали као најмање активни антибактерициди али имају велики anti-quorum sensing потенцијал.Part of the theme issue honoring Professor Emeritus Slobodan Milosavljevićs 80th birthday