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Helichrysum italicum has piqued the interest of many researchers in recent years, mostly for its essential oil, but increasingly for its polyphenolic content as well. In the current study, we examine the polyphenolic composition of H. italicum grown in Bulgaria. The polyphenolic complex was fractionated with solvents of various polarities, including hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and butanol, in order to assess the biological impact of the components. HPLC-PDA and UHPLC-MS/MS were used to examine all fractions. The green coffee fingerprint profile was employed as a "surrogate standard" in the polyphenolic components detection approach. From the UHPLC-MS/MS analysis, we identified 60 components of the polyphenolic complex such as quercetin 3-O-glucuronide, quercetin acetyl-glycoside, isorhamnetin acetyl-glycoside, isorhamnetin caffeoyl-glycoside, quercetin caffeoyl-malonyl-glycoside, isorhamnetin coumaroyl-glycoside, coumaroyl-caffeoylquinic acid, and diCQA-acetyl-derivative were first reported in the composition of H. italicum. The biological activity of the fractions was evaluated in vitro and in silico, which included the fight against oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (HPSA), hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (HRSA), metal-chelating activity (MChA)) and nitrosative (nitric oxide scavenging activity) (NOSA)), in vitro anti-inflammatory, and anti-arthritic activity. Results are presented as IC50 ± SD μg/mL. The analysis showed that the EtOAc fraction was characterized by highest HPSA (57.12 ± 1.14 μg/mL), HRSA (92.23 ± 1.10 μg/mL), MChA (5.60 ± 0.17 μg/mL), and NOSA (89.81 ± 2.09 μg/mL), while the hexane and chloroform fractions showed significantly higher in vitro anti-inflammatory activity (30.48 ± 2.33 μg/mL, 62.50 ± 1.69 μg/mL) compared to the standard ibuprofen. All three fractions showed potential anti-arthritic activity (102.93 ± 8.62 μg/mL, 108.92 ± 4.42 μg/mL, 84.19 ± 3.89 μg/mL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) is a plant with medicinal properties that has traditionally been used in folk medicine for its anthelmintic, antispasmodic, and choleretic effects, for the treatment of diarrhea and digestive problems, and externally, as an insecticide in veterinary practices. In the current study, we investigated, for the first time, the chemical profile and antioxidant activity of essential oil from a wild population of T. vulgare L. growing in Bulgaria. Common tansy essential oil (EO), which is rich in bicyclic monoterpenes, was obtained using hydrodistillation and characterized by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thirty-seven compounds were identified in Bulgarian tansy EO. Among the major constituents were oxygenated monoterpenes, including compounds such as camphor (25.24%), trans-chrysantenyl acetate (18.35%), cis-verbenol (10.58%), thujone (6.06%), eucaliptol (5.99%), and α-campholenal (5.98%). The analysis results identified the essential oil from T. vulgare L. grown in the western Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria as the camphor chemotype. Furthermore, its antioxidant activity was analyzed using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) method and was found to be 605.4 ± 49.3 µmol TE/mL. The essential oil was also tested for single-dose acute toxicity on Wistar rats and was found to be non-toxic by oral administration. The mean lethal dose by intraperitoneal administration was LD50 i.p. = 14.9 g/kg body weight. The results of the conducted study can serve as a basis for the evaluation and subsequent exploration of other pharmacotherapeutic effects of the essential oil obtained from the inflorescences of the Bulgarian species T. vulgare L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we have investigated the polyphenolic composition of Chenopodium botrys from Bulgaria. The polyphenols were fractionated with solvents of varying polarity (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol). The fractions were analyzed by HPLC-PDA and UHPLC-MS. The ethyl acetate fraction contained mono- and di-glycosides of quercetin, di-glycosides of kaempferol, and isorhamnetin and monoglycosides of hispidulin and jaceosidine. We found quercetin triglycosides in the butanol fraction. The ethyl acetate and butanol fractions contained 168.82 mg/g Extr and 67.21 mg/g Extr of quercetin glycosides, respectively. The main components of the polyphenolic complex in C. botrys were 6-methoxyflavones (355.47 mg/g Extr), which were found in the chloroform fraction. The flavonoids pectolinarigenin, demethylnobiletin, and isosinensetin, and the glycosides of quercetin (triglycosides, acylglycosides), kaempferol, isorhamnetin, hispidiulin, and jaceosidine, were discovered and reported in Chenopodium botrys for the first time. We used in vitro methods to assess the biological activity against oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (HPSA) and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (HRSA)), nitrosative stress (nitric oxide scavenging activity (NOSA)), anti-inflammatory activity (IAD inhibition), and anti-tryptic activity (ATA). Quercetin mono- and di-glycosides exhibited greater HPSA and HRSA (IC50 = 39.18, 105.03 µg/mL), while 6-methoxyflavones had a greater NOSA (IC50 = 146.59 µg/mL). The same components showed the highest ATA (IC50 ranging from 116.23 to 202.44 µg/mL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lavandula angustifolia is one of the most widely cultivated non-food crops used in the production of essential oil; it is used in perfumery, aromatherapy, pharmaceutical preparations, and food ingredients. In this study, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and molecular distillation (MD) were combined, primarily to enrich scCO2 extracts with lavender oxygenated monoterpenes, avoiding thermal degradation, hydrolysis, and solvent contamination, and maintaining the natural characteristics of the obtained oils. Molecular distillation was developed for the first time for the extraction of crucial lavender fragrance ingredients, i.e., from two scCO2 extracts obtained from dry flower stems of lavender cultivated in Poland and Bulgaria. The best results for high-quality distillates were obtained at 85 °C (EVT) and confirmed that linalyl acetate content increased from 51.54 mg/g (initial Bulgarian lavender extract, L-Bg-E) and 89.53 mg/g (initial Polish lavender extract, L-Pl-E) to 118.41 and 185.42 mg/g, respectively, corresponding to increases of 2.3 and 2.1 times in both distillate streams, respectively. The distillates, light oils, and extracts from lavender were also evaluated for their antimicrobial properties by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by the broth microdilution method. Generally, Gram-positive bacteria and Candida spp. were more sensitive to all distilled fractions and extracts than Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal dynamics of anthropogenic impacts on the Pchelina Reservoir is assessed based on chemical element analysis of three sediment cores at a depth of about 100–130 cm below the surface water. The 137Cs activity is measured to identify the layers corresponding to the 1986 Chernobyl accident. The obtained dating of sediment cores gives an average sedimentation rate of 0.44 cm/year in the Pchelina Reservoir. The elements' depth profiles (Ti, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo, Sn, Sb, Pb, Co, Cd, Ce, Tl, Bi, Gd, La, Th and Unat) outline the Struma River as the main anthropogenic source for Pchelina Reservoir sediments. The principal component analysis reveals two groups of chemical elements connected with the anthropogenic impacts. The first group of chemical elements (Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo, Sn, Sb and Co) has increasing time trends in the Struma sediment core and no trend or decreasing ones at the Pchelina sampling core. The behavior of these elements is determined by the change of the profile of the industry in the Pernik town during the 1990s. The second group of elements (Zn, Pb, Cd, Bi and Unat) has increasing time trends in Struma and Pchelina sediment cores. The increased concentrations of these elements during the whole investigated period have led to moderate enrichments for Pb and Unat, and significant enrichments for Zn and Cd at the Pchelina sampling site. The moderately contaminated, according to the geoaccumulation indexes, Pchelina Reservoir surface sediment samples have low ecotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inhibition of certain digestive enzymes by target food matrices represents a new approach in the treatment of socially significant diseases. Proving the ability of fruits to inhibit such enzymes can support the inclusion of specific varieties in the daily diets of patients with diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's disease, etc., providing them with much more than just valuable micro- and macromolecules. The current study aimed atidentifying and comparing the GC-MS metabolic profiles of eight peach varieties ("Filina", "Ufo 4, "Gergana", "Laskava", "July Lady", "Flat Queen", "Evmolpiya", and "Morsiani 90") grown in Bulgaria (local and introduced) and to evaluate the inhibitory potential of their extracts towards α-glucosidase, α-amylase, lipase, and acetylcholinesterase. In order to confirm samples' differences or similarities, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were also applied to the identified metabolites. The results provide important insights into the metabolomic profiles of the eight peach varieties and represent a first attempt to characterize the peels of the peach varieties with respect to α-glucosidase-, α-amylase-, lipase-, and acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory activities. All of the studied peach extracts displayed inhibitory activity towards α-glucosidase (IC50: 125–757 mg/mL) and acetylcholinesterase (IC50: 60–739 mg/mL), but none of them affected α-amylase activity. Five of the eight varieties showed inhibitory activity towards porcine pancreatic lipase (IC50: 24–167 mg/mL). The obtained results validate the usefulness of peaches and nectarines as valuable sources of natural agents beneficial for human health, although further detailed investigation should be performed in order to thoroughly identify the enzyme inhibitors responsible for each activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb and J. sabina L. contain essential oil (EO), while J. sabina also contains podophyllotoxin, which is used as a precursor for anti-cancer drugs. Two studies were conducted. The first assessed the variability in the EO profile and podophyllotoxin concentration of the two junipers, depending on the location and tree gender. The main EO constituents of J. excelsa were α-cedrol, α-limonene and α-pinene, while the constituents in J. sabina were sabinene, terpinen-4-ol, myrtenyl acetate and α-cadinol. The podophyllotoxin yield of 18 J. sabina accessions was 0.07–0.32% (w/w), but this was not found in any of the J. excelsa accessions. The second study assessed the effect of hydrodistillation (Clevenger apparatus) and steam distillation (in a semi-commercial apparatus) on the EO profile and bioactivity. The extraction type did not significantly alter the EO composition. The EO profiles of the two junipers and their accessions were different and may be of interest to the industry utilizing juniper leaf EO. Breeding and selection programs could be developed with the two junipers (protected species) in order to identify chemotypes with (1) a high EO content and desirable composition, and (2) a high concentration of podophyllotoxin in J. sabina. Such chemotypes could be established as agricultural crops for the commercial production of podophyllotoxin and EO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deterioration of water quality is a major problem world widely according to many international non-governmental organizations (NGO). As one of the European Union (EU) countries, Bulgaria is also obliged by EU legislation to maintain best practices in assessing surface water quality and the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes. For these reasons studies were undertaken to utilize ecotoxicological (Microtox®, Phytotoxkit FTM, Daphtoxkit FTM), instrumental (to determine pH, electrical conductivity (EC), chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), chlorides, sulphates, Cr, Co, Cu, Cd, Ba, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Se, Pb), as well as advanced chemometric methods (partial least squares–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)) in data evaluation to comprehensively assess wastewater treatment plants' (WWTPs) effluents and surface waters quality around 21 major Bulgarian cities. The PLS-DA classification model for the physicochemical parameters gave excellent discrimination between WWTP effluents and surface waters with 93.65% correct predictions (with significant contribution of EC, TSS, P, N, Cl, Fe, Zn, and Se). The classification model based on ecotoxicological data identifies the plant test endpoints as having a greater impact on the classification model efficiency than bacterial, or crustaceans' endpoints studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]