Geographical and biological analysis of the water quality of Moravica spring in the Sokobanjska Moravica drainage basin, Serbia

In this work we performed a geographical analysis of the Moravica spring locality in the Sokobanjska Moravica drainage basin in Serbia, as well as an analysis of the physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the water during a one-year period. The basic sanitary characteristics and physical, chemical, and biological parameters, necessary for understanding locality conditions, were studied, and the saprobity index, class of quality, O/H index, degree of saprobity, degree of trophicity, and category based on the phosphatase activity index (PAI) were determined. Our results point to the need for continual monitoring of the water quality in the spring locality

Geographical and biological analysis of the water quality of Bovan Lake, Serbia

In this work we performed a complex geographical analysis of the Bovan Lake basin, Serbia, as well as an analysis of the physical, chemical and biological parameters of water reservoir during a one-year period. The basic sanitary characteristics and physical, chemical and biological parameters, necessary for understanding locality conditions, were studied, and the saprobity index, class of quality, index O/H, degree of saprobity, degree of trophicity and category based on the phosphatase activity index (PAI), were determined. Our results classify the ecosystem as polytrophic. The degree of saprobity is oligosaprobic - beta mesosaprobic, with a catarobic degree in winter, classifying the water as III - IV class of quality. Due to the presence of organic residues, a domination of heterotrophic bacteria in comparison to oligotrophic bacteria is evident. The ability of autopurification is weak. The results indicate the need for continual monitoring of the water quality and environmental protection of Bovan Lake

Geographical and biological analysis of the water quality of Moravica spring in the Sokobanjska Moravica drainage basin, Serbia

In this work we performed a geographical analysis of the Moravica spring locality in the Sokobanjska Moravica drainage basin in Serbia, as well as an analysis of the physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the water during a one-year period. The basic sanitary characteristics and physical, chemical, and biological parameters, necessary for understanding locality conditions, were studied, and the saprobity index, class of quality, O/H index, degree of saprobity, degree of trophicity, and category based on the phosphatase activity index (PAI) were determined. Our results point to the need for continual monitoring of the water quality in the spring locality

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SEDUM RUPESTRE L. SSP. RUPESTRE EPICUTICULAR WAXES: HORTICULTURAL VERSUS THE NATURAL PLANT HABITAT

The aim of this study was to mutually compare the chemical compositions of epicuticular waxes of two different Sedum rupestre ssp. rupestre plant material samples. These were collected during the post fructification vegetative stage from the wild-growing (NH) and cultivated populations (HH). Epicuticular waxes (isolated in the form of hexane washings of leaves and stems) were analyzed using GC-MS, GC-FID and 1D- (1H, 13C) and 2D-NMR analyses. The epicuticular wax of both samples consisted of only two alkanes and one triterpene: hentriacontane (2.9 and 4.7% in NH and HH samples, respectively), tritriacontane (31.8 and 41.3% in NH and HH samples, respectively) and germanicyl formate (61.1 and 50.5% in NH and HH samples, respectively). Based on the obtained results, it seems that the type of habitat (natural or horticultural) does not affect the qualitative but only the quantitative composition of S. rupestre ssp. rupestre epicuticular waxes. HEMIJSKI SASTAV EPIKUTIKULARNOG VOSKA BILJNE VRSTE SEDUM RUPESTRE L. SSP. RUPESTRE: HORTIKULTURNO I PRIRODNO STANIŠTECilj istraživanja je bio određivanje i upoređivanje hemijskog sastava epikutikularnih voskova dva uzorka vrste S.rupestre ssp. rupestre u vegetativnoj fazi nakon plodonošenja sa različitih lokaliteta i različitih uslova staništa (prirodni, NH, i hortikulturni uslovi, HH). GC-MS, GC-FID i 1D- (1H i 13C) i 2D-NMR analize su korišćene radi identifikacije i kvantifikacije sastojaka epikutikularnih voskova izolovanih u obliku heksanskih ispiraka listova i stabla. Oba uzorka su sadržala hentriakontan (NH 2,9% i HH 3,4 %), tritriakontan (NH 31,8% i HH 41,3%) i triterpen germanicil-formijat (NH 61,1% i HH 50,5%). Upoređivanjem dobijenih rezultata opaža se da uslovi staništa ne utiču na kvalitativni sastav, ali da postoji razlika u kvantitativnom sastavu epikutikularnih voskova biljne vrste S.rupestre ssp. rupestre.HIGHLIGHTSA comparative analysis of cuticular waxes composition of two Sedum rupestre ssp. rupestre samples was achieved.The major components of both samples (natural habitat, NH and horticulture, HH) were: hentriacontane (C31), tritriacontane (C33) and germanicyl formate (GM).The germanicyl formate structure was determined from the analysis of MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectra.Both samples were quite similar in qualitative composition, NH and HH: C31 (2.9% and 4.72%), C33 (31.76% and 41.32%) and GM (61.09% and 50.54%).There was a discrepancy in the percentage representation of the main components

Antioxidant activity, the content of total phenols and flavonoids in the ethanol extracts of Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson dried by the use of different techniques

In this study, we have examined the yield of extracted substances obtained by means of extraction using 70 % ethanol (v/v), the content of total phenols and flavonoids, as well as the antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained from the samples of the herbs dried by means of different techniques. Wild mint Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson was dried naturally in a laboratory oven at a temperature of 45 °C and in an absorptive low temperature condensation oven at 35°C. The highest yield of extracts was obtained from the naturally dried herbs and the lowest from the herbs dried in the low temperature condensation drying oven. The content of total phenols and flavonoids was determined by spectrophotometric methods with an FC reagent and by the complexation reaction with aluminium-chloride, respectively. The extract of the naturally dried herbs had the highest overall content of phenols (113.8±2.0 mg of gallic acid/g of the dry extract) and flavonoids (106.7±0.3 mg of rutin/g of the dry extract). The highest antioxidant activity determined by the FRAP and DPPH assay was determined in the extracts obtained from naturally dried herbs (2.76±0.15 mmol Fe2+/mg of the dry extract and EC50=0.022±0.001 mg/ml), while the lowest was obtained from the extracts of herbs dried in the laboratory oven (1.13±0.11 mmol Fe2+/mg of the dry extract and EC50=0.033±0.001 mg/ml). The HPLC-DAD analysis result show that the greatest content of phenolic compounds show extract obtained from naturally dried plant material. The dominant phenolic component in the all extracts is Kaempferol 3-O-glucoside. The content of all phenolic compound strongly depend on the drying conditions

The isovalerate and 2-methylbutanoate of artemisia alcohol–new compounds from Artemisia annua L. essential oil

Artemisia annua L. (sweet wormwood) is an essential oil (EO)-rich, medicinally valuable plant species from the Asteraceae family [1]. During the analysis of the biologically active A. annua EO sample (hydrodistilled from the dry aboveground parts of the plants; oil yield 0.2%, w/w; the main components (relative abundance): artemisia ketone (35.7%), a-pinene (16.7%), 1,8-cineole (5.5%), artemisyl alcohol (4.8%), and trans-pinocarveol (4.8%) [1]), we have detected two minor compounds, AA1 and AA2 (0.06% and less than 0.05% of the total oil, with RI (DB5-MS) values of 1367 and 1373, respectively) with practically identical mass spectral (MS) fragmentation patterns (EI, 70 eV; m/z (rel. int.)): 169(15), 85(100), 57(38), 41(17). The comparison of GC (≈300 unit higher RI values) and MS data of AA1 and AA2 with those of artemisyl acetate (often present in EOs containing artemisia ketone and artemisia alcohol) suggested these might be esters of artemisia alcohol and (isomers of) pentanoic acids. To confirm this tentative identification, and possibly detect some additional AA1 and AA2 homologs, we prepared esters of artemisia alcohol and valeric, isovaleric, 2-methylbutanoic, butanoic, isobutanoic and propanoic acids (Steglich esterification; the starting alcohol was obtained by LiAlH4 reduction of artemisia ketone isolated from the EO). Co-injection of the EO sample with synthetic standards confirmed AA1 and AA2 were artemisyl isovalerate and artemisyl 2-methylbutanoate (diastereomer not determined), respectively (Fig. 1). Detailed re-analysis of the EO revealed the presence of initially undetected trace amounts of artemisyl acetate. The results of this work once again confirm the importance of natural product-inspired libraries of synthetic compounds in the analysis of EOs, especially when it comes to the detection and identification of trace constituents

Worldwide diversity of endophytic fungi and insects associated with dormant tree twigs

International trade in plants and climate change are two of the main factors causing damaging tree pests (i.e. fungi and insects) to spread into new areas. To mitigate these risks, a large-scale assessment of tree-associated fungi and insects is needed. We present records of endophytic fungi and insects in twigs of 17 angiosperm and gymnosperm genera, from 51 locations in 32 countries worldwide. Endophytic fungi were characterized by high-throughput sequencing of 352 samples from 145 tree species in 28 countries. Insects were reared from 227 samples of 109 tree species in 18 countries and sorted into taxonomic orders and feeding guilds. Herbivorous insects were grouped into morphospecies and were identified using molecular and morphological approaches. This dataset reveals the diversity of tree-associated taxa, as it contains 12,721 fungal Amplicon Sequence Variants and 208 herbivorous insect morphospecies, sampled across broad geographic and climatic gradients and for many tree species. This dataset will facilitate applied and fundamental studies on the distribution of fungal endophytes and insects in trees