Polyphenolic Profiles of Selected Medicinal Herbs

The total phenolic contents and contents of main individual phenolics in plant extracts of bilberry, willow gentian, wild raspberry, spearmint and peppermint were determined. The above-ground parts of plants were subjected to the exhaustive extraction with ethanol using Soxhlet apparatus. The total phenolic content for the medicinal herbs, ranged from 2.8 to 15.2 mg GAE/g dm, were as follows: spearmint > peppermint > willow gentian > wild raspberry > bilberry. Using high-performance liquid chromatography, an extremely high content of rosmarinic acid was revealed in peppermint sample (849 mg/100 g dm). The plant of bilberry was characterized by greater amounts of chlorogenic acid, rutin and sinapinic acid (367, 248, and 229 mg/100 g dm, respectively) than the above-ground parts of other analyzed species

Optimization and Kinetic Modelling of Total Phenols and Flavonoids Extraction from Tilia cordata M. Flowers

The main goal was to optimize and establish the kinetics and the thermodynamics of the extraction process. An investigation into the effects of ethanol  concentration (0–100 %), liquid to solid ratio (30–60 mL g–1), extraction temperature (25–65 °C), and extraction time (40–200 min) on the extraction of total  phenols (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) from linden (Tilia cordata M.) flowers was performed using single-factor experiments. Experimental results  showed that extraction conditions had a significant effect on the extraction of phenolic compounds. The optimized conditions were 50 % ethanol, liquid  to solid ratio 60 mL g–1 for 120 min at 55 °C, with values of 17.05 mg GAE g–1 dry weight (d.w.) for TP and 13.32 mg CE g–1 d.w. for TF. Extracted phenolic  compounds were analyzed by HPLC. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by DPPH and ABTS assays. The applicability of different  mathematical models (model based for the unsteady diffusion through the plant material, model based on the film theory and model of Ponomaryov) to  describe the kinetics of the extraction process of TP and TF from linden flowers was studied as well. The mathematical models applied showed a good  agreement with the experimental results, which allows their application in modelling and optimizing the solid/liquid extraction process to extract TP and  TF from linden flowers.&nbsp

Optimizacija ekstrakcije makroelemenata iz matičnjaka metodom odzivne površine

The effects of liquid-solid ratio (15-30 ml g-1, solvent volume per g of dry material), temperature (40-100oC) and time extraction (20-80 min) such as their interaction on extractability of macroelements of lemon balm were studied. The optimal conditions for the macroelements extraction were determined by response surface methodology. The 23 design showed that polynomial regression models were in good agreement with the experimental results with the linear correlation coefficients of 0.9997, 0.9992, 0.9985 and 0.9989 for K, Ca, Mg and P, respectively.Proučavani su efekati solvomodula (15-30 ml g-1, zapremina rastvarača po g suvog materijala), temperature (40-100oC) i vremena ekstrakcije (20-80 min) kao i njihovih interakcija na ekstrakciju makroelemenata iz matičnjaka. Optimalni uslovi za ekstrakciju makroelemenata određeni su metodom odzivne površine. Trofaktorijalni dizajn na dva nivoa (23) pokazao je dobro slaganje polinomnog regresionog modela sa eksperimentalnim rezultatima, pri čemu su linerni korelacioni koeficijenti iznosili 0,9997, 0,9992, 0,9985 i 0,9989 za K, Ca, Mg i P, respektivno

Kinetika ekstrakcije vanilinske kiseline iz semena bundeve

In this sdudy, the extraction of vanillic acid from pumpkin seeds, using the maceration process, were investigated. The influence of temperature (25-45oC) and time (10-100 min) on the content of vanillic acid in extracts was confirmed. Based on the experimental results of the extraction of kinetics, a modeling of pumpkin seeds-40% ethanol (v/v) extraction system was performed using hyperbolic model. Also, based on the average values of the RMS, SD and R2, it was found that the hyperbolic model show acceptable agreement.U ovom radu proučena je ekstrakcija vanilinske kiseline iz semena bundeve primenom postupka meceracije. Ispitan je uticaj temperature (25-45oC) i vremena (10-100 min) ekstrakcije na sadržaj vanilinske kiseline u ekstraktima. Na osnovu eksperimentalnih rezultata kinetike ekstrakcije izvešeno je modelovanje ekstrakcionog sistema seme bundeve-40% etanol (v/v) primenom hiperbolnog modela. Takođe, na osnovu srednjih vrednosti RMS, SD i R2 modelovanih i eksperimentalnih vrednosti sadržaja vanilinske kiseline, utvrđeno je da hiperbolni model pokazuje prihvatljivo slaganje

Content of Trace Metals in Medicinal Plants and their Extracts

The heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) contents of selected plant species, grown in Southeast region of Serbia, that are traditionally used in alternative medicine were determined. Among the considered metals, iron content was the highest one and varied from 137.53 up to 423.32 mg/kg, while the contents of Cu, Zn and Mn were remarkably lower, and ranged from 8.91 to 62.20 mg/kg. In addition, an analysis of plants extracts showed a significant transfer of heavy metals during extraction procedure; therefore, the corresponding extraction coefficients reached values up to 88.8%. Those were especially high in the ethanol based extracts. Moreover, it is was established that such coefficients mostly depend on the solvent nature and also on the treated plant species. The obtained results impose that medicinal plants from Southeast region of Serbia due to rather low content of heavy metals are appropriate for preparation of teas and medicinal extracts

Antioxidant Capacities and Phenolic Levels of Different Varieties of Serbian White Wines

The biologically active compounds in wine, especially phenolics, are responsible for reduced risk of developing chronic diseases (cardiovascular disrease, cancer, diabetes, etc.), due to their antioxidant activities. We determined the contents of total phenolics (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) in selected Serbian white wines by colorimetric methods. Total antioxidant activity (TAA) of the white wines was analyzed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity assay. Međaš beli had the highest content of TP, TF and TAA. The radical scavenging capacity (RSC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA) of white wines were 15.30% and 1.055 mM Trolox equivalent, respectively. Total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents in white wines ranged from 238.3 to 420.6 mg gallic acid equivalent per L of wines and 42.64 to 81.32 mg catechin equivalent per L of wines, respectively. A high and significant correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content was determined in wines (R2 = 0.968, p < 0.01). For the individual polyphenols determination we used a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detection (DAD) technique. The majority of white wine polyphenols was represent by four hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs)

Determination of Total and Individual Anthocyanins in Raspberries Grown in South Serbia

Raspberry fruits of four cultivars (Willamette, Meeker, Polana and Malling Promise) grown in South Serbia were analyzed for total and individual anthocyanins. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was used to study individual anthocyanins. The major anthocyanin was cyanidin-3-sophoroside, followed by cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-sophoroside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside. The monomeric anthocyanin contents of the acidified 80% methanol extracts were determined using the pH-differential method. The highest total and individual anthocyanins contain raspberries cv. Willamette, followed by cvs. Meeker, Polana and Malling Promise

HERBICIDE PHOSPHINOTHRICIN CAUSES DIRECT STIMULATION HORMESIS

Herbicide phosphinothricin (PPT) inhibits glutamine synthetase (GS), a key enzyme in nitrogen assimilation, thus causing ammonia accumulation, glutamine depletion and eventually plant death. However, the growth response of Lotus corniculatus L. plants immersed in solutions with a broad range of PPT concentrations is biphasic, with pronounced stimulating effect on biomass production at concentrations ≤ 50 μM and growth inhibition at higher concentrations. The growth stimulation at low PPT concentrations is a result of activation of chloroplastic isoform GS2, while the growth suppression is caused by inhibition of both cytosolic GS1 and GS2 at higher PPT concentrations. Since the results are obtained in cell-free system (e.g. protein extracts), to which the principles of homeostasis are not applicable, this PPT effect is an unambiguous example of direct stimulation hormesis. A detailed molecular mechanism of concentration-dependent interaction of both PPT and a related GS inhibitor, methionine sulfoximine, with GS holoen- zymes is proposed. The mechanism is in concurrence with all experimental and literature data

Laparoscopic Surgery in the Treatment of Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a benign disease, which affects about 10% of reproductive age women and almost 50% of infertile women. Although every year at least 300 new articles deal with this topic, endometriosis is still a enigmatic disease starting with theories of etiopathogenesis where there is still no consensus about the major cause of endometriosis. Also there is still no consensus about the management of the disease, mainly when there is an infertile patient who is preparing for in vitro fertilization procedure

Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activity of Sour Cherries From Serbia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of phenolics: the total phenols (TP), flavonoids (TF), anthocyanins (TA), as well as the total antioxidant\ud capacity (TAC) in three sour cherry cultivars (Prunus cerasus L.) introduced to the southeast Serbia climate conditions. Among the investigated sour cherries,\ud „Oblačinska“ cultivar contained the highest amounts of all groups of phenolics, followed by „Cigančica“ > „Marela“. A significant difference were observed in the phenolic content among different cultivars and growing seasons (p  0.05), and the phenolic compounds were significantly higher in the growing season 2009. The examined cultivars possess a high antioxidant capacity, and all phenolics of highy correlation with TAC. The following compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC-DAD: 4 anthocyanins, the most abundant of which was cyanidin-3-glucoside in “Marela” and “Oblačinska”, and cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside in „Cigančica“, and 4 hydroxycinnamic acids, the most abundant of which was neochlorogenic acid in all sour cherry cultivars. The growing and ripening process on the tree of sour cherry cv. „Oblačinska“ was evaluated also. The results showed significant increases in total phenols during the ripening, the total anthocyanins and total antioxidant capacity and 4 quantified anthocyanins, however the neochlorogenic acid decreased during the ripening. The study indicated that the growing and climate conditions in southeast Serbia are convenient for introducing sour cherry cultivars.\u