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The recycling of REEs from the end of life (EoL) products, such as nickel metal hydride batteries (NiMH), offers great opportunities for their supply in Europe. In the presented paper, the application of 'green' extractants such as citric (CA), metatartaric (TA), and ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) (also with H2O2 addition) for the recovery of REEs was studied. The studies were conducted considering the effects of the phase contact time, the initial concentration of CA, TA, and EDDS, as well as H2O2, pH, and temperature. It was found that the addition of TA to the CA solution meant that higher rates of metal ion binding and, thus, leaching was observed. The optimal conditions were obtained in the system: CA-TA and H2O2 for the concentration 0.6M-0.3 M-2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global market of food supplements is growing rapidly with a large turnover. Fish oil supplements represent a significant part of this turnover as they are believed to have important health benefits. Conversely, there are few papers in the literature about the quality control of fish oil capsules. As prior studies illustrate, a perfect agreement with the label is rarely found, and in some isolated cases, large amounts of soybean oil are also detected, indicating a true adulteration rather than a non-compliance with the label. None of the available studies refer to the Italian market, which ranks first in Europe in the consumption of food supplements. In this present communication, a quality control of fish-oil-based supplements from the Italian market was carried out for the first time. With minor deviations, all results showed substantial agreement with the label. However, the most important conclusion from this research is that compliance with the label is not enough to judge a product of good quality. The analysis of the overall fatty acid composition showed that some supplements have a high level of saturated fatty acids, and therefore they did not undergo a proper purification process. This may represent a safety issue since the purification process also allows the removal of toxic contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is only a small acreage of planted soybeans in northern Europe, as the global production of this crop is mainly dictated by the warmer temperatures needed for bountiful yields. The defense response of soybean plants to a cold climate entails the secretion of specific compounds which help mitigate oxidative stress, i.e., antioxidants, including phenolic compounds. The objective of this study was to examine differences in the concentrations of phenolic compounds, their antioxidant properties, and the concentration of key isoflavones (namely genistein, daidzein, malonyl daidzein, malonyl genistein, and daidzin) in the seeds of six soybean cultivars from two different regions of Europe, namely Poland and France. The total phenolic contents, isoflavone levels, and in vitro antioxidant capacities of soybean seeds from most of the investigated cultivars of northeast Europe were found to be greater than those from southwest Europe. The phenolic compounds of seed extracts are primarily responsible for the free-radical scavenging of soybeans. Factors regulating the production of phenolic compounds in the seeds have not been thoroughly elucidated. Hence, the results presented in this paper can be useful in the selection of soybean cultivars with higher levels of seed phenolics, because of their beneficial impact on human health and on the soybean's defense mechanism against plant stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]