The development of approaches to healing through the ages

According to archaeological evidence, the need to relieve the intensity of pain is as old as the desire to explore new tools. Like hard flint used to make knives and axes, drugs in nature rarely occur in their most applicable form. Active ingredients and medicinal components must be first collected, processed and prepared to be inserted into a curative form. Introduction to the development of ideas about drugs, methods of healing and evolution of the profession increase the ability of medical professionals to respond to the challenges that arise with the expansion of their professional roles. Conventional (Western) medicine successfully manages acute emergency states, traumatic injuries, bacterial infections and some highly sophisticated surgical interventions. Priority intervention involves resisting and overcoming the symptoms of a disease, and not its cause (e.g., application of analgesics, anaesthetics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antipyretics, etc.). Since conventional medicine deals with parts and symptoms rather than building the overall operating system, energy, thought and feelings, it does not combat systemic diseases of long duration (e.g., arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, mental illness, etc.). Introduction of the different methods of healing developed over time increased the ability of medical professionals to meet the challenges that arise with the expansion of their professional roles. Methods of healing of cave people were undeveloped. Methods applied in Chinese medicine are focused on balancing the internal and external energies. Ayurveda represents a holistic and sophisticated system of healing. Egyptian medicinal texts show a close relationship between supernatural and empirical healing. Illyrians applied hydrotherapy and physiotherapy. Thracians had experience in the field of religious medicine and the first medical institutions. Healing in Ancient Greece was based on the law of similarity. Greek physicians associated diet and life adaptations with the use of drugs. Roman sanitary legislation regulated public hygiene and sanitation facilities. Galen made efforts to balance body fluids by using drugs of opposite nature. Keywords: conventional medicine, analgesics, anaesthetics, Ayurved

Validation and Application of a Gas Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Fatty Acids and Sterols in the Total Diet

ABSTRACT

Lithium content in potable water, surface water, ground water, and mineral water on the territory of Republic of Macedonia

The aim of this study was to determine lithium concentration in potable water, surface water, ground, and mineral water on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. Water samples were collected from water bodies such as multiple public water supply systems located in 13 cities, wells boreholes located in 12 areas, lakes and rivers located in three different areas. Determination of lithium concentration in potable water, surface water was performed by the technique of inductively coupled plasma mas spectrometry, while in ground water samples from wells boreholes and mineral waters with the technique of ion chromatography. The research shows that lithium concentration in potable water ranging from 0.1 to 5.2 μg/L; in surface water from 0.5 to 15.0 μg/L; ground water from wells boreholes from 16.0 to 49.1 μg/L and mineral water from 125.2 to 484.9 μg/L. Obtained values are in accordance with the relevant international values for the lithium content in water. Key words: Ground water, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, ion chromatography, lithium, mineral water, potable water, surface wate

Fatty acid composition of edible oils and fats

The content of fatty acids as well as the ratio between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids is important parameter for determination of nutritional value of certain oil. Therefore the newest trend in food processing industry is notifying the composition of edible oils and other food commodities for the content of each individual fatty acid. The main objective of this work was to identify the fatty acid composition of several vegetable oils and fats. Eleven vegetable oils and fats (n=121) were analyzed for its fatty acid composition by gas chromatography (GC-FID) on HP-FFAP and SPBTM-1 column, respectively. Among the evaluated oils the higher contents of saturated fatty acids were found in palm kernel oil (76.0% ± 1.95) and coconut fat ( 90.5% ± 2.95) with predominant presence of lauiric acid (C12:0) and myristic acid (C14:0) compared to content of total saturated fatty acids in linseed oil (9.65% ±1.05), sunflower seed oil (8.8% ±0.8) and safflower oil (7.2% ± 0.73). The result showed that the sunflower oil, safflower oil and linseed oil contain the highest percentage of long chain mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids: oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3). Two varieties of canola oil, high linolenic (44.0% ± 2.02, n=21) and high oleic acid (59.5% ± 1.907, n=20) were found. The highest P/S index (Polyunsaturated/Saturated index) was found for safflower oil (10.55) and the lowest P/S indexes were found for palm kernel oil (0.016) and coconut fat (0.005). The fatty acid composition of safflower and sunflower oil contains a healthy mixture of all the types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid. The value of P/S index which is associated to the impact in the human health is also high for safflower (10.55) and sunflower oil (6.76), which makes them the most suitable edible oils for mass consumption. Key words: Fatty acid, Lauric acid, Myristic acid, Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid, P/S index, Gas chromatograph

Development and validation of a method for the simultaneous determination of 20 organophosphorus pesticide residues in corn by accelerated solvent extraction and gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection

The method for simultaneous determination of 20 organophosphorus pesticide residues in corn samples has been developed and validated. For the extraction of organophosporus pesticide residues from the samples, the accelerated solvent technique with the mixture of dichloromethane: acetone (1:1, V/V) was used. Clean up was done using liquid – liquid extraction with n – hexane, followed by solid phase extraction on primary secondary amine adsorbent, and elution with the mixture of acetone: toluene (65:35). The determination of the pesticides was carried out by gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection. Separation and quantitative determination of the analytes were performed on a fused silica capillary ZB-35 column (30 m x 0.25 mm i.d. x 0.25 μm, Phenomenex). The recovery was investigated in blank corn samples fortified with mevinphos, diazinon, dimethoate, bromofos-methyl, chlorfenvinphos, fenamiphos, ethion and phosalone at 5 ng/g, 10 ng/g, 15 ng/g , 20 ng/g and 25 ng/g, respectively and with methacrifos, phorate, etrimfos, parathion-methyl, pirimiphos - methyl, fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos, malathion, parathion, bromofos-ethyl, phosmet and azinphos-methyl at 10 ng/g, 20 ng/g, 30 ng/g, 40 ng/g and 50 ng/g, respectively. The recovery ranged from 76.0% to 112.0%. Repeatability expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 8.2%. Linearity expressed as correlation coefficient (R2) ranged from 0.9935 to 0.9996. Measurement uncertainty (Ux) was lower than 14.2% for all tested pesticides. The limits of quantification (LOQ) were bellow 5 ng/g for all tested pesticides. The satisfactory Z-score results of international proficiency tests confirm good analytical performances of the developed method. Keywords: Organophosporus Pesticide Residues, Gas Chromatography, Accelerated Solvent Extraction, Solid Phase Extractio

Determination of some volatile compounds in fruit spirits produced from grapes (Vitis Vinifera L.) and plums (Prunus domestica L.) cultivars

Fruit spirits contain a large array of volatile compounds among which the important role from toxicological aspect besides ethanol has methanol, aliphatic esters and fusel alcohols. This study evaluates the content of ethanol, ethyl acetate, methanol, isopropyl alcohol (2-propanol), n-propyl alcohol (propan-l-ol), isobutyl alcohol (2-methylpropan-1-ol), n-butyl alcohol (1-butanol), isoamyl alcohol (3-methyl-1-butanol) and n-amyl alcohol (pentan-1-ol) in different grapes and plum brandies industrially produced at Republic of Macedonia. Gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID) was applied for the characterization of all investigated volatile compounds. The obtained results revealed that the highest methanol content was present in the samples of plum brandy, which is mainly due to the higher content of pectin in the raw material. The most important higher alcohols of grape and plum brandies were found to be: n-propyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol and isoamyl alcohol. In all the analyzed samples of grape and plum brandies, the most abundant was isoamyl alcohol which content ranged from 50.3 to 290.7 mg/100 mL a.a. Comparing the results with the data from the literature, it can be concluded that the concentrations of all investigated volatile compounds in the samples of grape and plum brandies are commonly acceptable. Keywords: Fruit Spirits, Gas Chromatography (GC), Methanol, Ethyl Acetate, Fusel Alcohol

Original scientific paper UDC 663

Abstract Beside ethyl alcohol, the major active component of alcoholic beverages, almost all alcoholic drinks contain volatile and non-volatile substances called congeners. They are present in different concentrations depending on beverage type and manufacturing methods. In the current study, the major volatile compounds besides ethanol as: methanol, ethyl acetate, 1-propanol (n-propanol), 2-propanol (i-propanol), 1-butanol (n-butanol), i-butanol (2-methylpropan-1-ol), n-amyl alcohol (n-pentanol), i-amyl alcohol (3-methyl-1-butanol) were characterized by gas chromatography (GC-FID) on HP-Inowax column and Supecowax column, respectively. For that purpose, hundred samples of three types of grape brandies (lozova rakia, komova rakia and vinjak) and thirty samples of plum brandies (slivova rakia) from domestic producers were analyzed. In order to evaluate the difference in composition regarding the type of brandy it has been compared the mean value (MV) obtained for each volatile. When compared the mean values of volatiles in plum vs grape brandies, for methanol, ethyl acetate and n-propanol, the MV of plum brandies were significantly higher. Mean value for methanol in plum brandy was 1903 mg/100 mL anhydrous alcohol a.a, in grape brandy lozova was 464.7 mg/100 mL a.a, in grape brandy komova was 721 mg/100 mL a.a and in grape brandy vinjak was 169 mg/100 mL a.a. Mean value for ethyl acetate in plum brandy was 132.5 mg/100 mL a.a, which was 2.2 as high as mean value for ethyl acetate in grape brandy lozova (60.3 mg/100 ml a.a.). Mean value for n-propanol in plum brandy was 110.4 mg/100 mL a.a, in grape brandy lozova was 28.52 mg/100 mL a.a, in grape brandy komova was 42 mg/100 mL a.a., and in grape brandy vinjak was 33.2 mg/100 mL a.a. The highest mean value for i-amyl alcohol content was found in grape brandy komova rakia 176.6 mg/100 mL a.a. The content and the type of volatile congeners in some strong spirits which are produced by process of fermentation of fruits and distillation could be considered as a marker of fermentation and (or) botanical origin. Ethyl acetate in fruit brandies is formed by enzymes' reactions during fermentation. Higher alcohols and fusel alcohols (1-propanol, 2-methylpropan-1-ol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol and phenyl ethyl alcohol) are formed in biochemical reactions by yeast on amino acids and carbohydrates. The amounts in different beverages vary considerably. Methanol represented the major volatile component, characteristic to fruit brandies which is released by enzymatic degradation of methoxylated pectin's and is not a by-product of yeast fermentation Therefore this molecule can be considered not only a parameter of distillate safety, but also as an indicator of natural origin of distillate

Mentha L. essential oils composition and in vitro antifungal activity

ABSTRACT: The essential oils isolated by hydro-distillation from the leaves of wild growing Mentha piperita and Mentha spicata (Lamiaceae

Fatty acid composition of edible oils and fats

Abstract The content of fatty acids as well as the ratio between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids is important parameter for determination of nutritional value of certain oil. Therefore the newest trend in food processing industry is notifying the composition of edible oils and other food commodities for the content of each individual fatty acid. The main objective of this work was to identify the fatty acid composition of several vegetable oils and fats. Eleven vegetable oils and fats (n=121) were analyzed for its fatty acid composition by gas chromatography (GC-FID) on HP-FFAP and SPB TM-1 column, respectively. Among the evaluated oils the higher contents of saturated fatty acids were found in palm kernel oil (76.0% ± 1.95) and coconut fat ( 90.5% ± 2.95) with predominant presence of lauiric acid (C 12:0 ) and myristic acid (C 14:0 ) compared to content of total saturated fatty acids in linseed oil (9.65% ±1.05), sunflower seed oil (8.8% ± 0.8) and safflower oil (7.2% ± 0.73). The result showed that the sunflower oil, safflower oil and linseed oil contain the highest percentage of long chain mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids: oleic acid (C 18:1 ), linoleic acid (C 18:2 ) and linolenic acid (C 18:3 ). Two varieties of canola oil, high linolenic (44.0% ± 2.02, n=21) and high oleic acid (59.5% ± 1.907, n=20) were found. The highest P/S index (Polyunsaturated/Saturated index) was found for safflower oil (10.55) and the lowest P/S indexes were found for palm kernel oil (0.016) and coconut fat (0.005). The fatty acid composition of safflower and sunflower oil contains a healthy mixture of all the types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid. The value of P/S index which is associated to the impact in the human health is also high for safflower (10.55) and sunflower oil (6.76), which makes them the most suitable edible oils for mass consumption

Определување на масни киселини во масла за јадење со техника на капиларна гасна хроматографија

Концентрацијата на масни киселини во маслата за јадење, како и односот помеѓу незаситените и заситените масни киселини во нив, е исклучително важен индикатор за определување на хранливата вредност на маслата. Аналитичките методи кои се применуваат за идентификација и определување на масните киселини со примена на техниката на капиларна гасна хроматографија, најчесто вклучуваат дериватизација на масните киселини со BF3 во метанол или со H2SO4 во метанол, при што масните киселини се определуваат како метил естри. Меѓутоа, реагенсите кои се користат за сериватизација се токсични и корозивни. Цел:Од овие причини, цел на нашите испитувања, беше да се разработи едноставна, брза, прецизна и точна метода за определување на содржината на масни киселини со долг низ: C16:0; C18:0; C18:1;C18:2 и C18:3 во масла за јадење без употреба на реагенси за дериватизација. Методата за определување на масните киселини во маслата за јадење вклучува развој и оптимизирање на експерименталните услови за изолација на масните киселини од маслата како и нивна идентификација и определување со техника на капиларна гасна хроматографија. Принцип на методата: По сапонификацијата која се врши со метанолен раствор на KOH (0,5 mol/l), масните киселини се ослободуваат со додавање на 25 % (волумен/волумен) раствор на хлороводородна киселина (pH=3), по што се екстрахираат со петрол-етер (40-60). Масните киселини се определуваат како слободни (недериватизирани) со техника на капиларна гасна хроматографија (GLC) со употреба на HP-FFAP колона. Идентификацијата и определувањето на секоја поединична масна киселина се врши со споредба со соодветен референтен стандард. Споредбата на добиените резултати за определување на масните киселини (C16:0; C18:0; C18:1;C18:2 и C18:3) во сончогледово масло за јадење (n=40), добиени со директната метода на определување, како и на резултатите добиени со методата за определување како метил естри (со дериватизација со употреба на H2SO4 во метанол), не покажуваат статистички значајна разлика. Клучни зборови: капиларна гасна хроматографија, колонска хроматографија, масни киселини, метил естри на масни киселини, масла за јадењ