Search

Background. The study is of particular importance in view of the increasing pace of global climate aridization. The article highlights the results of an experiment on the effect of drought on the physiological status of seedlings of cv. ‘Poseidon 625’ representing an important food crop – sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Materials and methods. The experiment included a group of control samples grown with sufficient moisture and four impact groups subjected to osmotic stress. The intensity of accumulation of lipid peroxidation products (LPP) was measured by the reaction of malondialdehyde (MDA) with thiobarbeturic acid; catalase activity was assessed by a photocolorimetric method based on the interaction between hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide; the content of pigments (Chl a, Chl b, Сar) was calculated spectrophotometrically in acetone extract. Results. The degree of POL accumulation in the impact groups of the experiment was found to be many times higher than the values in the control samples, which was confirmed by a rapid increase in the MDA concentration in response to a growing water shortage. The accumulation of oxygen free radicals triggered the mechanisms of antioxidant protection of seedlings by synthesizing catalase, the concentration of which increased proportionally to the accumulation of POL. At the same time, the rapid accumulation of POL in the absence of irrigation and under osmotic stress of 3 and 5 atm led to a suppression of low-molecular-weight components of protection (carotenoids) and activation of their synthesis only when critical values of osmotic stress were reached. Conclusion. As a result of the experiment, catalase was identified as the main component of antioxidant protection in sunflower seedlings. Due to the activation of its synthesis, the concentrations of Chl a and Chl b decreased, attesting to the activation of the mechanisms protecting the photosynthetic activity in seedlings, and their antioxidant status.

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) ranks fifth in importance among vegetable crops of the Solanaceae family, in part due to the high antioxidant properties and polyphenol content of the fruit. Along with the popular purplefruited varieties of S. melongena, there are cultivars, the fruits of which are rich in phenolic compounds, but are whitecolored due to the lack of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Determination of the amount of anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds, as well as carotenoids and sugars, is included in the assessment of the quality of eggplant fruits of commercial (technical) ripeness. In addition to antioxidant and taste properties, these metabolites are associated with fruit resistance to various stress factors. In this study, a comparative analysis of the content of anthocyanins, carotenoids and soluble sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose) in the peel and pulp of the fruit of both technical and biological ripeness was carried out in purple-fruited (cv. Vlas) and white-fruited (cv. Snezhny) eggplant accessions of domestic selection. The peel and pulp of biologically ripe fruits of the cvs Vlas and Snezhny were used for comparative transcriptomic analysis. The key genes of the flavonoid and carotenoid metabolism, sucrose hydrolysis, and soluble sugar transport were shown to be differentially expressed between fruit tissues, both within each cultivar and between them. It has been confirmed that the purple color of the peel of the cv. Vlas fruit is due to substantial amounts of anthocyanins. Flavonoid biosynthesis genes showed a significantly lower expression level in the ripe fruit of the cv. Vlas in comparison with the cv. Snezhny. However, in both cultivars, transcripts of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes (DFR, ANS, UFGT) were not detected. Additionally, the purple fruit of the cv. Vlas accumulated more carotenoids and sucrose and less glucose and fructose than the white fruit of the cv. Snezhny. Biochemical data corresponded to the differential expression pattern of the key genes encoding the structural proteins of metabolism and transport of the compounds analyzed.

Background. There is reason suppose that the concentration of photosynthetic pigments in sphagnum mosses, as in vascular plants, changes throughout the year and varies from species to species. Moreover, hollow sphagnum species have a higher growth and photosynthesis rate than ridge sphagnum species, which suggests the presence of differences in the pigment complex of species from different habitats. Purpose. Evaluation of quantitative changes in the pigment complex of the sphagnum mosses growing in different microclimatic conditions within oligotrophic bogs during the growing season at high latitudes. Materials and methods. The content of photosynthetic pigments in the three Sphagnum species growing in oligotrophic conditions was determined using the photometric method in an acetone extract once a month from May to October. The study was carried out for S. fuscum and S. lindbergii in 2021-2022, and for S. angustifolium only in 2022. Statistical data processing was carried out in Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS Statistics 11. Results. Seasonal and interannual variability in the content of chlorophylls, carotenoids, and their ratios was revealed for the studied sphagnum species. The pigment complex of S. lindbergii and S. angustifolium during the growing season is influenced by the bog water level and air temperature. Changes in the pigment complex of S. fuscum are associated with the amount of precipitation. Conclusion. Apparently, the seasonal and interannual dynamics of the pigment complex of sphagnum mosses is species-specific, but to further verify this statement it is necessary to study other species of sphagnum mosses from the same habitats, since the dynamics may be associated not so much with a peculiar species, but with the ecological conditions of the habitat.

Background. It is important to study how the remediation method influences the formation of the pigment complex in Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L., growing on technogenic land. Thorough understanding of the influence produced by a heterogeneous environment on the content and distribution of pigments in conifers enables us to study the adaptive mechanisms of the species more comprehensively. In turn, information about these mechanisms can be used to create new methods for improving the quality and stability of tree stands. Purpose. The study was designed to explore the effect of the remediation method on the pigment complex forming in Scots pine during a post-technogenic succession in southern Karelia. Material and methods. Surveys were carried out in adjacent sample plots located in a decommissioned sand-and-gravel quarry and in a natural lingonberry-type pine forest site in July 2021 and 2022. The study objects were Scots pine trees growing in a natural forest site and in quarry sites remediated by forest planting. The optical density of the solutions was determined using SF-2000 spectrophotometer. Statistical data processing was done using Statistica 10 software (StatSoft Inc., USA). Results. During the two years of the study, the pigment content was the highest in needles of the trees growing on more fertile soils compared to those on poor man-made soils. The of Cl a /Cl b ratio in the needles of trees growing on poor soil was higher than in the fertilized area of the quarry or in the natural forest site in both years of the study, indicating that the plants’ pigment complex adapted to the unfavorable environmental conditions by increasing the proportion of Cl a among green pigments. Conclusions. The findings prove that the remediation method has a significant shaping effect on the pigment profile of Scots pine during post-technogenic successions.

There have been given the study results of grain color characteristics of winter durum wheat varieties and lines (Triticum durum Desf.). There has been studied the effect of factors (‘variety’, ‘year’ and their correlation) on the expression of the main breeding-valuable traits that affect the quality of the final product. The purpose of the current study was to determine the variability of phenotypic characteristics of grain associated with the number of yellow pigments in grain, the color of semolina and finished pasta, to study the correlation between indicators and to identify the most promising ones for further work. Field trials were carried out in the scientific crop rotation laboratory of breeding and seed production of winter durum wheat of the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy”. Laboratory and analytical study was carried out in the laboratory of biochemical, technological and agrochemical estimation in accordance with generally accepted methods and GOST. As a result of the study, there has been established that the main effect on such characteristics of grain quality of winter durum wheat as ‘general hardiness’, ‘mass fraction of protein in grain’ and ‘grain color index b’ was produced by the factor ‘year of study’ by 67.0 %, 48 .2 % and 65.4 % respectively. The ‘cereal color index b’, ‘dry pasta color index b’ and visual estimation of dry pasta were mainly influenced by the factor ‘genotype’ by 62.3 %, 82.5 % and 48.3 %, respectively. The severity of the trait ‘content of carotenoid pigments’ depended on all factors. Over the years of the study, the winter durum wheat varieties and lines developed by the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” according to color characteristics met the international requirements for durum wheat grain. As a result, the varieties ‘Grafit’ and ‘Karotinka’ stood out according to several studied characteristics in connection with which we recommend expanding the production crops of these varieties. There can be recommended to use promising lines 1147/19 and 971/19 and the variety ‘Solntsedar’ in the breeding process as sources with high color characteristics of grain and pasta.

Relevance. Tomato pink-fruit cultivars and hybrids are of interest for fresh consumption. The biochemical parameters are influenced by the varietal factor and by the growing conditions. It is known that mature tomatoes record low storability. The softening of the fruit is caused by ethylene produced in the ripening fruit. Then pectinase enzymes are synthesized in the fruit tissues, under the action of which the cell walls of the fruit soften. Breeders are creating tomato cultivars whose fruits could be stored for a long time without losing their tasty. The aim of the investigation was to study the biochemical parameters of pink-colored tomato fruits under different ripening conditions. Materials and methods. The plants were grown on the experimental fields of the Laboratory for Breeding and Seed Production of Solanaceae crops. In the Analytical Department, the biochemical composition of pink tomato fruits was studied during harvesting from the field and after laying for storage in the milky ripeness phase according to the following indicators: dry matter, ascorbic acid, total content of water-soluble antioxidants, titratable acidity, monosaccharides, polyphenols and carotenoids. Results. The breeding accession F4 (Lotos x Z6) showed maximum dry matter and monosaccharide content both after storage and in mature fruits. The same sample as F5 (Lotos x Z6) showed the highest ascorbic acid content after storage. Other parameters before and after storage in these samples were comparable. Whereas, breeding accession F6 (Z6 x Lotos) stood out in terms of maximum content of sum of antioxidants in alcoholic extract and content of water-soluble antioxidants after storage.

The article describes the effect of soil salinization on the level of correlations between quantitative indicators of photosynthetic pigments in vetch varieties. The objects of the study were the varieties of wiki Mirzachul-1 (Vicia villosa Roth) and Mirzachul-3 (Vicia angustifolia. L.). It was found that in highly saline soils, compared with weak ones, the amount of chlorophyll Chl «a» in the Mirzachul-1 variety decreased by 308 mg/g, the amount of chlorophyll Chl «b» and carotenoids (Car) increased by 0.11214 and 0.1300 mg/g.There was a strong positive correlation between Chl «a» and Chl «b» in all variants of the study. The similarity of correlation matrices is studied. At the same time, the similarity of correlation matrices between weakly and strongly saline soils was noted in the Mirzachul-1 variety by more than 90%, in the Mirzachul-3 variety by 69.1%. This indicates that the Mirzachul-1 varieties are stable in terms of the level of correlations according to the studied characteristics, which indicates a tendency to soil salinization.

The topicality of studying synthetic colorants and a possibility of their strictly regulated application is linked with an increasing producers’ interest in natural food colorants due to the attempt to grant the status of natural products to foods. New data on the content of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of leather bergenia (Вergenia crassifolia (L.) Fitsch) of different periods of vegetation growing in the Republic of Buryatia were obtained in this work. It is shown that it is one of the few plants, which leaves contain a significant amount of carotenoids. Their maximum total content (1257.9 ± 33.1 mmol/mol chlorophyll) was noticed in red leaves of bergenia. Seasonal changes in the complex of photosynthetic pigments in leaves were revealed. For example, the content of chlorophylls in black leaves reduced by four times compared to the amount of pigments in green leaves. Insignificant losses of the pool of green pigments were also observed in red leaves. About 18% of chlorophylls remained in black leaves. During the period after plants’ appearance from under the snow, the content of chlorophyll α increased by 3 times and chlorophyll β by 1.8 times. In leaves of bergenia, β- carotene was found in the composition of carotenoids (30% of the sum of carotenoids). Among xanthophyllic pigments, lutein was found in the prevailing quantity; its proportion accounted for 51% of the sum of carotenoids.

Introduction: Vitamin A, one of the most popular vitamins that people usually associate with eye health or beautiful skin, also has many other functions and uses. Recently many scientists conducted studies to determine if vitamin A could be a new weapon against cancers. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to discuss recent findings regarding the impact of Vitamin A and other retinoids on potential applications in anticancer therapy. Materials and methods: This review of studies is based on scientific articles available in PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The names of the cancers were juxtaposed with term "Vitamin A" and with term "Retinoids" to gather data regarding the effect of retinoids on cancer treatment and prevention. Results: After analyzing the gathered publications, it is possible to conclude that retinoids can have a positive impact on cancer treatment. Some of them can induce apoptosis of cancer cells and others can reduce their proliferation. Moreover, retinoids can also play an important role in preventing cancers, such as ovarian, breast, cervical, or skin cancer. The role of retinoids in the prevention of prostate cancer remains unclear due to conflicting research results. Conclusion: The studies have shown promising results which indicate a need for further research into anticancer mechanisms of retinoids. Specifically, more research is needed to explore the positive impact of retinoid use in treating cancer diseases. The significant potential of retinoids may make it possible to include them in clinical practice and develop an effective therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment based on them.

Background. Pigment concentration is a species trait, and is an integral indicator of adaptive response to changes in environmental factors and the growing conditions. The intensive development of modern cities imposes certain requirements on the selection of plants for landscaping, one of which is a high level of adaptive responses. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the content of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of the genus Acer species in urban conditions of the city of Maуkop, the Adygea Republic. Materials and methods. We used the spectrophotometric method to determine the content of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of the genus Acer L. species: A. platanoides, A. pseudoplatanus, A. saccharinum, A. negundo, A. campestre in an urban environment of the city of Maуkop and the zone of conditional control (Botanical garden). We carried out statistical processing of experimental data by using the MS Excel 2010 package. Results. We have revealed that in the conditions of an urbanized environment the total content of chlorophylls is 1.1-2.2 times higher in comparison with that of the zone of control. Taking into account the level of variability of the total content of green pigments in the city, we arranged the studied species in the following order: A. saccharinum A. campestre ˂ A. pseudoplatanus ˂ A. platanoides ˂ A. negundo. The ratio of the amount of chlorophylls to carotenoids reacted very sensitively to the impact of urban environmental factors. A. campestre and A. saccharinum differed from A. negundo, A. pseudoplatanus, and A. platanoides for this indicator. Conclusion. The study made allow us to state that in the conditions of an urbanized environment, the studied species of the genus Acer undergo restructuring in the structure of pigment complexes. An increase in the synthesis of chlorophylls and carotenoids raises their adaptive capabilities to the negative impact of urban environmental factors.

The content of photosynthetic pigments in silver birch leaves (Betula pendula Roth.) is studied in areas with technogenic load and in baseline conditions. The research is performed in a forb type of birch forest in the suburbs of Krasnoyarsk. The wood stands exposed to a high level of technogenic pressure are located to the east of the city in the prevailing direction of air mass movement. The reference stands are under the least technogenic pollution and grow in western and northern areas of the city. The photosynthetic pigments are determined in ethanol extracts, calculated per 1 g of absolute dry mass (a.d.m.) of the leaves. A level of dust deposition on leaf surfaces is evaluated according to the method of J. Detrie (1973). The amounts of zinc, lead, aluminum, and fluorine ions are estimated in the washed leaves. It is found that the content of chlorophyll a inside the birch leaves from a relatively clean environment is slightly lower compared to the concentration in the leaves with the technogenic load. The chlorophyll b concentration is 2.5–3 times less than chlorophyll a and is close to the amount of carotenoids. The total chlorophyll content in birch leaves from different locations ranges from 5.4 to 7.3 mg/g a.d.m., the ratio of chlorophyll forms varies from 2.5 to 3, the proportion of net chlorophyll to carotenoids is between 3.4 and 3.8. As the level of dust increases, the content of the total photosynthetic pigments also rises. The accumulation of zinc ions in the birch leaf cells has a negative effect on pigment content, especially chlorophyll a, but doesn’t correlate with the ratio of the pigments. There has not been any correlation found between the lead and the photosynthetic pigments. It is noted that the rise in the concentration of aluminum significantly affects the contents of the chlorophylls and the carotenoids, while no relationship has been discovered between the concentration of aluminum and the proportion of the pigments. The relationship between fluorine and different forms of chlorophyll is absent as well. The results indicate the adaptive response of the photosynthetic system to the presence of pollutants in concentrations below the threshold values that are indicated in the literature. For citation: Stasova V.V., Skripal’shchikova L.N., Astrakhantseva N.V., Barchenkov A.P. Photosynthetic Pigments in Silver Birch Leaves (Betula pendula Roth.) with Technogenic Load. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 3, pp. 35–47. (In Russ.). https:// doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-3-35-47

Carotenoids are widely used and demanded as natural dyes in food technologies due to their biologically active properties. Due to antioxidant properties, carotenoids are widely used for the prevention and treatment of various human diseases, including oncological, cardiovascular, diabetes, etc. In addition, carotenoids are the main sources of vitamin A, which is not produced by the human body, but has a great influence on eye-sight, growth, development and reproductive function of the body. The purpose of the research is to analyze scientific and technical literature to determine the physiological function of carotenoids and the possibilities of their use in food technologies. Carotenoids enter the human body with food and their presence in sufficient quantities in the human diet ensures the normal functioning of the body. The issues of using lycopine and beta-carotene as food dyes and food additives in food technologies have been considered, as well as biologically active components when creating food products, including specialized, functional and personalized ones.The analysis of scientific information has shown that, due to their biological properties, carotenoids perform an important physiological function in a person’s life. The expansion of the area of their use determines the increase in the production of carotenoids and food using them. In accordance with this, studies in the field of improving existing technologies for obtaining carotenoids and expanding the raw material base are relevant, including the use of secondary resources of processing carotene -containing raw materials.

Cucurbits are among the most valuable vegetable crops widely used for food all over the world, being an important source of carotenoids and carotenes, biologically active substances with antioxidant and other types of activity. Their content largely depends on the Cucurbita species and varietal features. The Cucurbita collection of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) contains more than 3,000 accessions of five cultivated Cucurbita spp. and serves as the most important source of source material for developing new cultivars in order to expand the range of functional food products. The present research was aimed at studying the content of carotenoids and carotenes in the fruits of Cucurbita maxima Duch., C. pepo L. and C. moschata Duch. ex Poir. grown in Northwestern Russia, which is characterized by a short growing season and a low sum of active temperatures. The performed study revealed significant differences between the Cucurbita species and cultivars in terms of the content of carotenoids, total carotenes and β-carotene. In contrast to C. pepo, the accessions of C. maxima and C. moscato were characterized by a wide range of variation of these characters. A statistically significant effect of the flesh and fruit skin color on the content of carotenoids, carotenes and β-carotene in them was observed (p < 0.001). The minimum amount of carotenoids, carotenes and β-carotene was found in the fruits with light yellow flesh, and the maximum in those with dark orange flesh. Cucurbit fruits with red skin accumulated more target compounds in contrast to the fruits with white skin. The identified Cucurbita accessions with high content of carotenes and carotenoids can be used as valuable source material for breeding cultivars with improved biochemical composition, which can broaden the range of functional food products when grown in the regions with unfavorable conditions for the production of this crop.

Relevance. When creating tomato varieties and hybrids, much attention is paid not only to the commercial component (yield, appearance and uniform ripening), but also to the taste qualities of the products. Salad tomato varieties with yellow, tangerine, and pink fruits are increasingly in demand. As a rule, these fruits do not store for a long time, so it is necessary to increase their storability and transportability. Fruits of this group of tomatoes have high antioxidant activity, which is due not only to the significant content of water-soluble antioxidants (such as ascorbic acid), but also carotenoids. The preservation of fruit largely depends on the dry matter content.The aim of investigation is to study biochemical parameters of tangerine tomatoes fruits under different ripening conditions.Materials and methods. Plants were grown in the greenhouse of Federal Scientific Vegetable Center. Biochemical characteristics of tomato fruits were studied during harvesting and after laying for storage in the milky ripeness phase according to the following indicators: dry matter, ascorbic acid, total content of water-soluble antioxidants, titratable acidity, monosaccharides, polyphenols and carotenoids.Results. The percentage of dry matter in tangerine tomato fruits does not change during storage, even increases slightly. The dry matter content of fruits from the open field is slightly higher than that of fruits from the greenhouse. The content of sugars and ascorbic acid in fruits with tangerine fruits after laying for ripening decreases slightly. However, the content of these compounds is higher in mature fruits immediately after picking than in fruits after ripening. The total content of antioxidants during ripening decreases, though not significantly (in 1.1-1.7 times).

The content of vitamins and relative biologically active substances including the products of lipids peroxidation has been studied in the blood of 115 males -patients of Department of Urology of I.M.Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. The patients have been divided to four groups: prostatic carcinoma (PC); high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG PIN) or precancer; mixed group of conditional control – low grade PIN, benign prostatic hyperplasia, chronic prostatitis or their combination; control group of healthy men without prostate pathology. Further statistically reliable differences have been found: patients with PC had lower level of antioxidants – lycopene, vitamin E and enhanced level of diene conjugates (products of lipid peroxidation); patients with HG PIN low level of vitamin C, total carotenoids and increased diene conjugates. The difference in vitamins-antioxidants levels in patients with PC and HG PIN has not been found out.

The eyes, like other human organs, are deficient in nutrients during over-training, which can affect visual acuity and, accordingly, the quality of training.This article defines the importance of the organ of vision for sports results. It also provides an overview of the latest scientific research on the impact of biologically significant micronutrients on the functions of the visual analyzer with examples of products that help improve visual functions.

INTRODUCTION. The pharmaceutical industry aims at developing sustainable resource-saving technologies for manufacturing medicines. Approaches to the effective use of herbal drugs include applying technologies yielding compounds with various pharmacological effects in one production cycle. To date, no standardised herbal drug processing technology has been designed to produce calendula flower-based medicinal products with various pharmacological effects. The Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) process calendula flowers by extraction methods yielding one fraction of biologically active substances per cycle (either only flavonoids or only carotenoids).AIM. This article aimed to investigate the possibility of stepwise processing of calendula flowers to obtain biologically active substances with different polarities (carotenoids, flavonoids, and polysaccharides) per cycle.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The authors extracted carotenoids using hexane. The study included additional thermal pretreatment of the herbal drug. Carotenoids and flavonoids were quantified by spectrophotometry, and polysaccharides were quantified by gravimetric analysis. After hexane removal, the dry oily residue was dissolved in oil with mechanical stirring to obtain the oil extract. The study included a three-step processing method that comprised hexane extraction (extraction of carotenoids with a low-polarity organic solvent), extraction with a water–organic solvent system (extraction of flavonoids), and aqueous extraction (precipitation of polysaccharides).RESULTS. The lipophilic extracts obtained by single hexane extraction or by single hexane extraction and heat treatment had the maximum carotenoid content (~4%), which was 10 times the carotenoid content in the extracts obtained using a water– organic solvent system. Oil extracts were prepared from the dry residue left after removing hexane by distillation at its boiling point. The content of biologically active substances in the oil extracts was comparable to that in the intact herbal drug. Water–organic solvent extraction yielded 68.5% more flavonoids from the herbal drug extracted with hexane than from the intact herbal drug. In contrast, aqueous extraction applied to the intact herbal drug yielded 1.7 times the amount of flavonoids obtained by aqueous extraction preceded by hexane extraction. The water-soluble polysaccharide fraction extracted from the intact herbal drug had 10 times the flavonoid content observed in the fraction extracted from the processed herbal drug. Each subsequent processing step decreased the total polysaccharide content and the content of individual polysaccharide fractions and increased their purity. The ratio of polysaccharide fractions remained unchanged across all processing methods tested.CONCLUSIONS. Stepwise processing of calendula flowers ensured that one processing cycle provided three fractions containing increased amounts of carotenoids, flavonoids, and polysaccharides. Relative to the intact herbal drug, there was a 3.3-fold increase in the yield of carotenoids, and the yields of flavonoids and polysaccharides increased by 44.8 and 41.3%, respectively. The resulting product had a higher degree of purity than the products obtained by pretreatment and double hexane extraction or by using the intact herbal drug. The stepwise processing method is advisable for the production of medicines that are enriched with a specific group of biologically active substances or contain smaller amounts of impurities.

Carotenoids, in particular, beta-carotene and lycopene, have high antioxidant properties and are used to prevent and treat various diseases associated with human aging. The search for new or intensification of the existing methods of their preparation from plant raw materials and the secondary resources of its processing is relevant due to the high demand for carotenoids in the food, cosmetic and pharmacological industries. The purpose of the research is to analyze the patent information for determining the most optimal and promising directions in the technology of obtaining carotenoids from vegetable raw materials. The main method of obtaining carotenoids from vegetable raw materials and secondary resources of its processing is their extraction using organic solvents. Domestic and foreign scientists have been conducting scientific research in the field of intensification of the process of extraction of carotenoids from vegetable raw materials and secondary resources of its processing in order to increase the environmental safety of the technological process and the quality of the product obtained. Various technical solutions have been proposed on pre-processing of the feedstock using ultrasound (US) effects and microwave radiation, as well as enzymes and enzyme preparations for carotenoids. Analysis of foreign and domestic patent information has shown that studies in the field of integrated use of physical (ultrasound and microwave radiation) and biotechnological (enzymes and enzyme preparations) of pretreatment of the initial raw materials are most promising to increase the efficiency of the extraction of carotenoids from vegetable raw materials and secondary resources of its recycling.

The purpose of the current work was to develop and introduce into production a spring durum wheat variety adapted to the climatic conditions of the Lower Volga region, which meets the modern requirements of the raw material market for pasta producers to productivity and grain quality. Grain quality is the most important criterion by which durum wheat is evaluated. For modern pasta production, there is a great need in grain with a grain unit of at least 770 g/l; with kernel hardness of at least 80.0%; with high quality of gluten (gluten index of at least 80 u.); with carotenoid pigments of 7.0–8.0 mg/kg, where the yellowness index (semolina color) is not less than 22.0 c.u. The new spring durum wheat variety ‘Tamara’ meets all the requirements. The variety was developed by the method of complex hybridization between the best varieties and lines of the laboratory for spring durum wheat breeding and seed production of the “FARC of South-East” and selected samples from the collections of the breeding centers of the Russian Federation, VIR, and ICARDA. The variety is middle-maturing, with 50 days from a germination to heading stage, with plant height of 96 cm. On average, through three years (2019–2021), the productivity of the variety exceeded that of the standard variety ‘Krasnokutka 13’ on 0.3 t/ha, and the variety ‘Saratovskaya zolotistaya’ on 0.5 t/ha. In 2020 in the production sowing of the Krasavskoye OPH the maximum productivity was 3.14 t/ha. The variety is characterized by a high percentage of carotenoid pigments, gluten elasticity and strength, an amber-yellow shade of spaghetti, their low digestibility, delicious taste and nutritional value. The new spring durum wheat variety ‘Tamara’ has been included in the State List of Breeding Achievements since 2022. The variety has been recommended for cultivation in the 8th region of the Russian Federation.

Relevance. Currently, there is an increasing interest in nutritional supplements of natural origin. One of the crops that can be used for this is sweet potato. The inclusion of flour from dried sweet potato tubers with colored pulp in the recipe of wheat bread can contribute to its enrichment with vitamins and antioxidants. Therefore, the study of the suitability of sweet potato tubers obtained in the conditions of the Non-Chernozem Zone for use as an additive in the production of bread is an urgent task.Material and methods. The article presents the results of a comparative study of the appearance and taste of bread with the addition of various amounts of powder from root tubers with colored pulp of two varieties of sweet potato (Purple 1 - anthocyanin and Beauregard – carotenoids).Results. It has been established that sweet potato root tubers grown in the conditions of the Central region of the Non-Chernozem zone are suitable for use as a natural food additive to wheat bread. The positive effect of preliminary steaming of tubers before drying on the volumetric yield of bread and the color of its crumb was revealed. The studied varieties of sweet potato differed significantly in the yield of air-dry powder - the Purple 1 variety had an advantage over the Beauregard variety. Bread with additions of 5% and 10% of Purple 1 tuber powder was characterized by the best appearance and taste. The Beauregard variety had a high sugar content, which negatively affected the consumer advantages of bread with its additives.

Introduction. Currently, research is being actively conducted to find new biological objects as sources of biologically active substances. This is necessary in order to obtain producers who will be profitable in cultivating, maintaining their vital activity and obtaining at the output a sufficient number and high quality of the target products. Micro-and macroalgae can be one of these sources.Aim. The aim of this study is to conduct a phytochemical analysis to confirm the presence of a wide range of BAC, as well as studies on the selection of optimal parameters for extracting chlorella C-2019 biomass in order to obtain extracts with a high content of BAC that have an antibacterial effect (pigments, flavonoids).Materials and methods. The object of the study was the biomass of the strain Chlorella vulgaris Beyerinck IPPAS C-2019. The fractional composition, humidity, ash content, and extractive substances were determined according to GF XIV, 2018. The work uses spectrophotometric, GLC methods, as well as the method of drip electrophoresis.Results and discussions. As a result of phytochemical analysis, the main BAC of chlorella biomass of strain C-2019 were determined. The presence of proteins (64 %), fatty acids (7 %), phenolic compounds (1.56 %), pigments (2.46 %), macro – microelements has been proven. The optimal raw material-extractant ratio is 1 : 50. Increasing the temperature and duration of extraction increased the yield of the main BAС.Conclusion. The phytochemical composition of promising plant raw materials is determined. The optimal conditions for the extraction of chlorella biomass in the preparation of the extract are established: the ratio of raw materials:extractant 1 : 50, extractant ethyl alcohol 95 %, extraction temperature 60–80 °C, triple extraction for 60, 60, 60 minutes.

The paper presents data on the content of 32 chemical elements in the needles of the Siberian larch Larix sibirica Ledeb. trees growing at different distances from the Irkutsk aluminum smelter (IrkAS), as well as in the background areas. It is shown that a pronounced imbalance in the content of elements is observed near the plant in the needles of larch, as evidenced by an increase in the concentration of F by 2.1 times, S by 1.9 times, light metals (Al, Li, Ti, Sc) by 2.4–5.3 times compared to background values. In the group of heavy metals and metalloids, the concentrations of Be, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Fe, La, Pb, V, Zn, Y – changed to a greater extent-their increased level in the needles was noted at a distance of up to 40 km from the smelter. The concentrations of Ba, Si, As, Ni increased significantly in the industrial zone, while in the rest of the territory they were within the background values. The amount of biogenic macroelements (N, K, Ca, Mg, P, Na) in the contaminated needles increased by 17–23 %. The imbalance in the elemental composition of needles is evidenced by the indices of biogeochemical transformation, the high values of which were found in the industrial zone, the average values – at a distance of up to 5 km from the smelter, in the rest of the territory changes in the elemental composition of needles are less pronounced, and the transformation index corresponds to the minimum level. Disturbances in the work of the photosynthetic apparatus of the needles of contaminated trees are manifested in a decrease in the content of chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids, Fv/Fm, while the background fluorescence of chlorophyll F0, increases compared to background values. Revealed inverse correlations between the content of S, F, as well as a number of heavy metals in needles and the level of pigments in it (R = –0.59–0.87) indicate a significant effect of emissions on the pigment complex of trees, especially in the industrial zone of the smelter and at a distance of up to 5 km from it.

Aim. The aim of the work was to study the possibility of using an environmentally friendly strain of yeast of the genus Rhodotorula for the bioconversion into fodder carotenoid‐containing biomass of the secondary product of processing pea flour into a protein concentrate (whey).Material and Methods. We used a new strain of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa 111 and by‐products of processing pea and chickpea flour into protein concentrates and potatoes into starch (whey). We used standard and special methods for the analysis of serum and microbial‐vegetable concentrate (FMVC) namely: chemical; biochemical; microbiological; and the determination of toxicity with ciliates.Results. Optimal conditions for growing R. mucilaginosa 111 on pea whey were determined (temperature 16.9°C, pH 7.8, amount of inoculum 1.85%). More biomass was synthesized on pea whey than on chickpea and potato whey – 81 g/dm3. The mass fraction of protein in the biomass is 58.90±3.03% on dry matter and the rate of essential amino acids is 119– 243%. Lipids included 20% saturated and 78% unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid – 45.26±0.70%, oleic – 24.04±0.76%, palmitoleic – 6.46±0.31%, palmitic – 13.70±0.81%. The yeast produced phytoin derivatives, torulene, β‐carotene, torularodin and phytoin. FMVC from pea whey stimulated the growth of ciliates Tetrahymena pyriformis by 29.1%, from chickpea whey (by 18.6% more intensively than distilled water), while potato whey reduced its growth rate.Conclusion. The dry biomass of the ecologically safe new yeast strain R. mucilaginosa 111 contained complete proteins, lipids, minerals, and carotenoids necessary for feeding animals. Thus liquid pea whey can be used for its biokonversions, while avoiding environmental pollution.

Background. In 1991, under the cooperation agreement, the Federal Center of Agriculture Research (FCAR) of the South-East Region received the first improved accessions from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The objective of this work was to study the source material developed under comparable conditions of dryland agriculture and include the best accessions in scientific breeding programs.Material and methods. The presented data resulted from the study of spring durum wheat cultivars and lines from ICARDA (Aleppo, Syria), conducted in 1991–1998. Accessions with the best indicators of grain quality, adapted to the conditions of the Lower Volga, were selected and included into the crossing program. Grain analysis was carried out using the conventional methods for durum wheat as well as those modified by the Spring Durum Wheat Breeding Laboratory of the FCAR of the South-East.Result and conclusion. Many years of work led to identifying 22 lines of spring durum wheat, selected in the breeding nursery of the Main Competitive Trails (MCT) and in different years involved in complex multistep hybridization. The spring durum wheat cultivar ‘Lilek’ was included into the State Register for Selection Achievements in 2009, while cv. ‘Tamara’ was submitted to the State Variety Trials in 2020.

Introduction. Natural dye beta-carotene E160a (pro-vitamin A) is part of many functional foods. Therefore, the total intake of beta-carotene must not exceed the tolerable upper intake level, i.e. 10 mg/day. E160a is also used in formulations of complex food additives. These products contain antioxidants, emulsifiers, preservatives, carriers, stabilizers, and thickeners, which makes it make difficult to isolate and determine the amount of beta-carotene. Complex food additives vary in composition, which, together with incomplete extraction and degradation of beta-carotene, results in inaccuracy of its determination. The present research reviewed various techniques of beta-carotene extraction from liquid and dry complex food additives. Study objects and methods. The study featured commercial samples of complex food additives containing beta-carotene. It was isolated from the samples by liquid extraction methods using organic solvents and their binary mixtures. The extraction was performed in a stirring device at 120 rpm and in a Bandelin Sonorex ultrasonic bath at 128 W and 35 kHz. The extraction continued until the samples were completely discolored. The list of solvents included chloroform, petroleum ether, hexane, acetone, ethanol, and their mixes. The experiment was based on high performance thin layer chromatography with Sorbfil sheet plates. The optical density was determined by spectrophotometry using a SHIMADZU UV-1800 device. Results and discussion. The extraction of beta-carotene from liquid samples with mechanical stirring at 120 rpm led to the formation of stable opaque emulsions, which made it difficult to determine the amount of beta-carotene. The emulsions were destroyed by ultrasound exposure for 30 min. The degree of extraction of beta-carotene from liquid emulsion systems (≥ 95%) was achieved by ultrasonic extraction with chloroform or a binary extractant based on mixes of acetone with chloroform, hexane, or petroleum ether in volumetric ratios of 1:1. When extracted from dry samples using chloroform or binary extractants, beta-carotene was not isolated or was not completely isolated. As a result, pre-dispersion of dry samples in water with stirring at 120 rpm was proposed. Ultrasonic treatment did not contribute to the dispersion of dry samples due to insufficient cavitation action. Ethanol, which is a solubilizer, increased the extractability of beta-carotene up to 98 %. The optimal results were achieved by adding a binary extractant (ethanol:chloroform in a 1:2 ratio) to an aqueous solution of the dry sample (1:3). The optimal elution systems were hexane:benzene (9.7:0.3), butanol:methyl ethyl ketone:ammonia 10 % (9:6:6), and petroleum ether:benzene:acetone:acetic acid (23.3:5.8:0.6:0.3). Conclusion. The article offers new methods of beta-carotene isolation from liquid and dry complex food additives of various composition and elution systems for carotene identification. The methods caused no degradation of beta-carotene during extraction and can be used to prepare samples of complex food additives for beta-carotene identification and quantitative analysis.

Green leafy kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) has huge scientific attention because of its health-promoting functionality. In the present study the impact of NPK, energen, biostim and humate on flavonoid, phenolic compounds, vitamin C, carotenoids, malondialdehyde (MDA), protein, proline and soluble sugar in kale was investigated. The mineral nutrients mostly increased but in some cases maintained the studied metabolites. The stimulatory effect of applied mineral nutrients on the phytochemicals analyzed varied with the different combinations of macro and microelements. Lipid peroxidation was minimized in leaves treated with mineral nutrients hence a reduction in MDA levels. Contrary to the correlation between nitrogen deficiency and increase in polyphenol and vitamin C content in plants, NPK and biostim did not reduce phenolic compound levels. The results of this study showed that NPK maximized the synthesis of vitamin C and proline; energen - phenolic compounds, carotenoids and sugar; biostim – phenolic compounds, proteins and sugar; humate – flavonoids and sugar in curly kale. Therefore, the type of macronutrient and micronutrients combination increases phytochemicals in differently. To enhance the synthesis of phenolic compounds and vitamins, the most promising additives are those containing humic acids (humate and energen), and biostim proved to be more effective for the synthesis of proteins. Background. The understanding of how diet affects the incidence or treatment of disease has led to a rise in consumer’s demand for functional foods as well as created the market for natural sources of health benefitting compounds rather than the synthetic sources. Curly kale has gained scientific attention as a functional food because it contains higher levels of phytochemicals than most vegetables. These phytochemicals have shown antioxidant, antimutagenic, cytotoxic, antifungal, and antiviral activities. However, the content levels of these metabolites are influenced by not only genetic but environmental factors. It was of interest to evaluate how various mineral nutrients can elicit the accumulation of these compounds that minimize the risk of chronic diseases or aid in their treatment. Purpose. Evaluate how the mineral nutrients, NPK, energen, biostim and humate affect the content of metabolites (proteins, sugars, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, vitamin C, carotenoids, MDA and proline) in curly kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica). Materials and methods. Sprouts from kale seed kept wet in a Petri dish for 7 days were transferred to the field. At 6 weeks old four mineral nutrients (NPK, energen, humate and biostim) were added to the soil. Control variants were treated with water. A week later, the leaves were harvested after which, the phenolic compound, flavonoid, protein, sugar, vitamin C, carotenoid, MDA and proline contents were determined using spectrophotometric methods. Results. It was shown that humate fertilizer elicited the highest accumulation of flavonoids. Kale plants fertilized with energen were observed to have the highest phenolic compound content. NPK, energen and humate caused a similarly positive effect on vitamin C content in leaves, unlike biostim whose effect did not significantly differ from control plants. Energen treated kale had the highest increment of carotenoids. A varied reduction of MDA levels in plants treated with all four mineral nutrients was observed in kale leaves. Plants fertilized with biostim accrued the highest protein content in leaves. Proline content increased under the influence of all fertilizers studied. Sugar levels for all kale plants treated with the studied mineral nutrients were enhanced equally Conclusion. Macro and microelements supplied by mineral nutrients differentially boost the biosynthesis of health-promoting metabolites in curly kale, thereby enhancing its quality.

It is known that enterprises processing vegetables and fruits generate secondary resources (waste), in particular, pomace, in significant volumes. The most valuable, in terms of the composition and content of biologically active macro- and micronutrients, is tomato pomace. Tomato pomace is a valuable source of natural carotenoids, including lycopene, which exhibits high antioxidant activity. The article provides an overview of scientific research aimed at developing methods for extracting carotenoids, including lycopene, from recycled tomato processing resources. It has been shown that, in general, when extracting carotenoids, including lycopene, from secondary resources of tomato processing, various methods of drying and grinding the raw material are used, and then biologically active substances are extracted. It should be noted that the method of pretreatment of the feedstock, the nature of the solvent, the temperature and duration of the extraction process have a significant effect on the antioxidant activity and bioavailability of carotenoids obtained as a result of extraction. It is shown that the use of a pulsed electric field, treatment with enzymes and ultrasonic treatment of tomato pomace allow to intensify the process of extraction of carotenoids and maximally preserve their antioxidant properties. Thus, it can be concluded that tomato pomace is a valuable raw material for obtaining extracts of carotenoids and, first of all, lycopene, and the development of effec- tive modes of the extraction process that ensure the maximum manifestation of antioxidant properties and the bioavailability of the extracted substance is an urgent task.

Background. Coriandrum sativum L. is a valuable vegetable crop with early maturity and high nutritional benefits. Green biomass of coriander is rich in vitamins, especially ascorbic acid and carotene. The feasibility of using coriander as a natural food additive is due to its high antioxidant activity. The aim of this research was to study the biochemical composition of the green biomass in the accessions of C. sativum from the VIR global collection and identify promising accessions for use in breeding for quality.Materials and methods. The green biomass of 67 coriander accessions from different countries maintained in the VIR collection served as the research material. The study was carried out according to the guidelines developed by VIR.Results. As a result of the study, the feasibility of using C. sativum as a source of bioactive compounds was theoretically justified and experimentally confirmed, thus attesting to the prospects of coriander accessions from the VIR collection for quality-targeted breeding programs. New data were obtained on the biochemical composition of coriander green biomass. A factor determining such biochemical composition is the genotypic features of coriander associated with its origin. Biochemical parameters in coriander varied significantly depending on the origin of an accession. The highest variability was observed in the content of carotenes (CV 41%). The effect of an accession’s precocity was not confirmed. Sources for individual quality indicators were highlighted.Conclusion. Accessions with an optimal component composition for a balanced human diet were identified and recommended for quality-oriented breeding, including the development of cultivars for health-friendly, curative and preventive nutrition. The selected accessions are of interest as source material for breeding programs and practical utilization.

Introduction. With the development of the food and processing industry, the matter of environmental pollution is becoming more and more acute. Environmental protection is based on the principle of rational use of natural resources and sustainable technology. Vegetable pomace is a secondary raw material; its amount depends on the production technology and equipment. The observed positive trend in the gross harvest of vegetables in open ground can increase the number of vegetable processing enterprises and the capacity of existing enterprises. Eventually, waste will start accumulating at processing sites, and it will have to be used as raw materials. The present paper features the content of biologically active substances in pomace of carrots and beets grown on the territory of the Siberian region and introduces options for their further use in functional foods. Study objects and methods. The research featured carrot pomace of the varieties Losinoostrovskaya, Nantskaya, and Queen of Autumn, as well as beet pomace of varieties Cylinder and Bordeaux. All the samples were harvested in the Kemerovo region in 2019. Determination of physical and chemical parameters was carried out using standard methods. Carotenoids, flavonoids, β-cyanine were studied using spectrometry and photocolorimetric method. Results and discussion. The experiment featured the content of bioactive substances in pomace of carrots and beets obtained during industrial processing. The content of carotenoids in carrots (mg of β-carotene per 100 g of dry weight): for Losinoostrovskaya variety – 23.56 ± 0.23; Nantskaya – 25.32 ± 0.18; Queen of Autumn – 20.78 ± 0.25. Flavonoid content (mg of catechol equivalent per 100 g of dry weight): Losinoostrovskaya – 12.02 ± 0.37; Nantskaya – 13.45 ± 0.56; Queen of Autumn – 11.50 ± 0.48. The content of β-cyanine in beets (mg per 100 g of dry weight): Cylinder – 100.0 ± 8.5; Bordeaux – 35.0 ± 1.8. The nutritional value of carrot and beet pomace with a mass fraction of moisture was 10%. The nutritional value of vegetable pomace is due to the high content of dietary fiber; therefore, the raw materials can be considered for functional food production. The content of biologically active substances in vegetable pomace (flavonoids, carotenoids, β-cyanines) can enhance the functional orientation of this secondary raw material when used in food technologies for the production of food of high nutritional value. Conclusion. The results obtained will make it possible to use the biochemical potential of plant raw materials in many aspects, as well as to obtain new functional food products, thereby expanding the range of healthy foods.

Relevance. Pumpkin is one of the most important source of carotenoids for humans: β- and α-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin playing a fundamental role in providing twilight and color vision accordingly.Results. Investigation of pumpkin carotenoid composition, Konfetka variety, revealed for the first time that this cultivar is the only one containing exclusively lutein in pulp with lutein and zeaxanthin in peel and lutein, zeaxanthin and β-carotene in placenta. Lutein concentration in pulp reached 11 mg/100 g, peel – 41.3/100 g, placenta – 51.2 mg/100 g. Zeaxanthin was absent in pulp and reached 28.3 mg/100 g in peel, and 10 mg/100 g in placenta. β-Carotene was detected only in placenta where its concentration was as much as 94.7 mg/100 g. The results indicate great prospects of ‘Konfetka’ components utilization (pulp, peel, placenta) in food industry, production of baby food and biologically active food additives, containing lutein and zeaxanthin.

Relevance and methods. We studied the influence of LED lighting of different spectral composition on the content of photosynthetic pigments in tomato leaves to identify the most optimal lighting option suitable for obtaining high-quality seedlings under controlled conditions. We used LED lamps in which the ratio of the photon flux density (PFD) of the orange-red band (607–694 nm) to the PFD of the blue band (400–495 nm) varied from 1 to 20. In this case, the proportion of the PFD in the range 580-607 nm ( yellow) ranged from 13 to 22%, and the fraction of photons in the range 495–580 nm (green) ranged from 18 to 38%. The research was carried out with two varieties of Belarusian tomato varieties, which differed in a number of morphobiological characteristics.Results. It was found that the use of LED lighting of different spectral composition had mainly an inhibitory effect on the biosynthesis of chlorophylls and carotenoids in the leaf tissue of plants. The decrease in the amount of pigments, in comparison with the control variant, reached 47-57%. It was revealed that under all studied lighting options, with the exception of conditions where the spectral ratio R / B ("red/blue") was 0.8, the value of the total inhibitory effect in the Cherry Coral variety was 1.2-1.7 times lower than that of the Zorka variety, which indicated a significantly lower susceptibility of the pigment fund of the former to LED lighting. The smallest inhibitory effect of the latter on the biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments in both tomato varieties was established at a photon flux of 69.1 μmol/s, while the greatest, exceeding it by 3.0-3.1 times in the Zorka variety and 4.5-5.3 times for the Cherry Coral variety with a photon flux of 73.9 μmol/s.

Various varieties of peach as a culture with an economically profitable and high early maturity have been described; some features of the weather conditions of the Black Sea coast during cultivation is given. The results of many years of physiological research, which have been carried out in the Laboratory of plant physiology and biochemistry of the Federal Research Center «Subtropical Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences» (earlier – VNIITSISK) have been presented. The objects of the research are peach leaves of the varieties of Redhaven (control), Nicholas I (Collins clone), Larisa, Krasnaya Zarya (Redhaven clone), Comanche, Sunbeam, Spring Call (Springold clone), Summerset. It has been found that the amount of water deficit does not exceed 12,1–14,2%, and the water content of the leaf blades ranges on average from 55,2% to 70% in the varieties of Redhaven, Comanche, Summerset, Larisa. As stressful situations intensify (drought, lack of moisture in plants, high air temperature and humidity) in the subtropical zone, the Comanche, Vesennyy Prizyk and Summerset varieties show a decrease in the synthesis of a, b, chlorophyll and in the most resistant varieties of Redhaven, Larisa, Krasnaya Zarya, Sunbeam and Nicholas I show its decrease. A high content of carotenoids is up to 0,52–0,65 units.

Carbon dioxide gas exchange and the pigment content of the photosynthetic apparatus of the Siberian stone pine Pinus sibirica Du Tour ecotypes vegetative scion from the West Siberian latitudinal transect grown on the geographical grafting plantation in the south of the Tomsk Region were studied. The latitudinal transect was represented by three ecotypes: Tomsk, the southern border of the range; Strezhevoy, middle taiga; Urengoy, northern border of the range. The age of the grafted trees was 20 years. It was shown that the photosynthesis intensity did not differ between ecotypes significantly, respiratory activity increased significantly from south to north, and the differences were 79 % between marginal ecotypes. The results of the experiment revealed that the respiration / photosynthesis ratio was twice as high in northern than in southern ecotype, which indicates a lower plant productivity of the northern ecotype. The results of measuring stomatal conductance and the intercellular CO2 concentration showed that these values did not differ between ecotypes significantly. Research has revealed the tendency towards the decrease of green pigment contents in the middle taiga ecotype and the significant decrease those in the northern ecotype. The Chl a/b ratio increased from south to north from 2.7 to 3.2. On the contrary, the Chl/Car ratio decreased between marginal ecotypes from 6.2 to 5.7 due to the reduce of green pigment contents in the northern ecotype. The obtained data indicate the photosynthetic acclimation when ecotypes were moved to the warmer climate. The photosynthetic pigment synthesis and respiratory activity are largely regulated by hereditary factors (the ecotype origin).

Introduction. Longitudinal studies of human activity and metabolism revealed various anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antistress, antioxidant, and adaptogenic properties of such secondary plant metabolites as phenolic compounds and pigments. Human cells cannot synthesize these compounds. Therefore, food biotechnology requires new data on the photosynthetic potential of plants with good functional prospects. The research objective was to study the qualitative and quantitative profile of biologically active compounds of Rhodiola rosea L. harvested from various plant communities in order to define the potential of their extracts and minor compounds for food technologies. Study objects and methods. The research featured three communities of Rhodiola rosea L. originally located in ecologically and geographically different habitats. They were introduced into Kuzbass from the Kuznetsk Alatau, Gorny Altai, and the Tunka alpine tundra belt in Buryatia. The experiment began in 2018, when the rhizomes were dissected into equal shares of 40–42 g and placed in a medicinal plant nursery. The methods of high-performance liquid (HPLC) and thin-layer (TLC) chromatography were used to study the biologically active substances in the plant biomass. The photosynthetic pigments were detected using the spectrophotometric method. The obtained data underwent a statistical analysis based on Statistica 6.0 software. Results and discussion. The sample from the Gorny Altai community revealed twelve biologically active substances. Its rhizomes appeared rich in gallic acid with the maximum content (mg/g) of 10.26 ± 2.31, rosein (20.45 ± 3.46), daphneticin (13.80 ± 2.30), and salidroside (28.16 ± 2.27). The tops demonstrated the maximum content (mg/g) of astragaline (38.94 ± 2.21), tricine (13.07 ± 0.72), tricine-5-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (35.25 ± 1.66), tricine-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (30.23 ± 1.45), and tyrosol (21.80 ± 1.21). The Kuznetsk Alatau sample proved to possess five biologically active substances. Its rhizomes had the maximum content (mg/g) of rosavin (16.89 ± 2.11) and salidroside (14.35 ± 2.52). The sample obtained from the Tunka ridge in Buryatia had six biologically active substances with the maximum content (mg/g) of rosavin (20.72 ± 2.11), methylgalate (39.00 ± 1.05), and cinnamaldehyde (10.15 ± 1.93) in the rhizomes. The top biomass of Rhodiola rosea L. accumulated about 0.333 mg/g of chlorophylls and synthesized 0.109 mg/g of carotenoids on average. The research established the correlation coefficients between the content of photosynthetic components with morphometric characteristics, including two positive dependences between the content of carotenoids and the number of leaves (r = 0.89 ± 0.09) and the content of carotenoids and shoot length (r = 0.96 ± 0.22). Conclusion. The samples of Rhodiola rosea L. demonstrated a good biotechnological potential for medicine and food industry. The Kuznetsk Alatau plant community proved rich in rosavin, salidroside, and methyl gallate. The Gorny Altai samples revealed high content of salidroside, gallic acid, daphnetitsin, and rosein. The Tunka samples appeared to synthesize a lot of methyl gallate, rosavin, and cinnamaldehyde. In addition, the top biomass of the Altai sample proved rich in tricine and its derivatives, astragaline and tyrosol. The research also established the possibility of commercial extraction of photosynthetic pigments from the top biomass of Rhodiola rosea L. for functional food production.

Relevance. High lycopene fruit content has been regarded as a very important genetic trait in tomato breeding. Use lycopene molecular markers in combination with conventional breeding techniques allowed us to create hybrids with high lycopene accumulation, excellent organoleptic qualities, high yield production and resistance to pathogens, and to effectively optimize our breeding programmes for commercial greehouses production.Material and Methods. In this study tomato samples including selected lines and hybrids with various allelic combinations of genes determining carotene accumulation, and other genetic traits, such as disease resistance and yield production were tested. Introgression of spontaneous and induced mutations was used to increase carotenoid levels (og and hp) and improve fruit technological qualities (nor, alc, rin). The research material was tomato collection, mutants, breeding lines and hybrids listed in the State Register Russian Federation tomato hybrids of breeding SS Agrofirm "Ilyinichna" VNIIO branch of the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Growing – Branch of the FSBSI Federal Scientific Vegetable Center. DNA typing of fruit quality genes was performed at the Institute of Genetics and Cytology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.Results. New domestic hybrids for industrial greenhouses, which characterised by improved organoleptic qualities and technological traits were developed with the help of phasedcross-breeding that allowed to combine the genes nor, rin, alc, leading to an extension of the shelf life with the genes B, og, hp1, etc., contributing to an increase in carotenoid content in fruits. It was established that for targeted selection and hybridization, despite the negative influence of the nor, rin, alc genes it is possible to raise the level of carotenoids to average values. Correlation between lycopene concentration in fruits and high temperature and level of insolation was confirmed. It was shown that pink-fruited forms contain significantly more lycopenethanred-fruitedones. Different all eliccombinations of structural genes involved in carotenoids biosynthesis and regulatory genes that provided maximal accumulation of lycopene in hybrid swithred and pink fruits were revealed. Hybrids with the combination of high concentrations of sugar (° Brix), dry matter and maximal lycopene values, combined defining excellent taste were selected: Prekrasnaiya lady, Olya, Quadrille, Victoria. New F1 hybrids one for industrial greenhouses: G950, G956, G960, Magistral and pink fruited G12897, surpassed the Dutch standard in productivity up to 21%, and in tastes/organoleptic qualities for 1-1.8 points.

Grain with high contents of yellow pigments will add the natural bright-yellow colour to the paste, which unlike a paste with a high level of whiteness, are preferred by consumers. The provitamin activity (vitamin A) and antioxidant activity of the carotenoid pigment increase the biological and nutritional value of the grain with high contents of these pigments. The purpose of this review is to summarize modern knowledge about the biosynthesis and genetic control of pigment accumulation in durum wheat and to assess the main results of research and selection over the past 20 years abroad and in Russia. The trait “concentration carotenoid pigment in grain” (Ypc) is quantitative. However, the prevalence of strong additive gene effects and high heritability have contributed to significant progress in breeding for this trait. Molecular labeling of quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control the synthesis of the carotenoid pigment and the yellowness index (YI) found that they are distributed across all chromosomes of the durum wheat genome. The main QTLs, which determine 60 % of the variation of the trait, were mapped to 7AL and 7BL chromosome. The contribution of these QTLs is associated with allelic variations that control the activity of phytoene synthase (PSY). QTLs with minor effects found on the remaining chromosomes are also reliably mapped using molecular markers. As confirmed in a number of experiments, most of them are QTLs located on 3AS (linked to the LCYE (lycopene ε-cyclase) allele and on 4BS (the LpxB1.1c gene). It has been shown that the LpxB1.1c allele contributes to a decrease in the activity of lipoxygenase, which oxidases carotenoids during the production of end products. This review considered and discusses the problems of molecular markers in breeding programs to increase the concentration of pigments in the grain and improve the color characteristics of the paste.

In the field studies of 2018…2019, the influence of macronutrients and weather conditions on pigment complex of leaves of meadow clover (Trifolium pratense L.) Dymkovsky variety was assessed. The study was carried out in grainfallow-grass crop rotation in the conditions of Kirov region. Leaf samples (fully developed second or third leaf from above) were taken in the flowering phase, and the chlorophyll and carotenoids content were measured spectrophotometrically under laboratory conditions. It has been found that the content of pigments in the leaves of meadow clover depended mostly on weather conditions of the year of cultivation. The concentration of green pigments (Chl a+b) in clover leaves was in the range of 15.34...19.05 in the conditions of warmer and dry 2018 and 11.47...14.10 mg/g dry matter in colder and humid year of 2019. Chl a accounted for 9.64...11.36 and 6.67...7.98 mg/g (2018 and 2019, respectively). Colder conditions promoted an increase in the ratio of Chl a associated with light-harvesting complexes (from 69…78 up to 89…96 %). Weight content of carotenoids was 2.69...3.12 and 1.52…1.88 mg/g in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and correlated with the content of a total chlorophyll (r = 0.53…0.82). The weight ratio of chlorophylls a/b (1.54... 1.75 in 2018 and 1.18... 1.47 in 2019) indicates a lack of insolation in the conditions of mutually shading of leaves of the created phytocenosis. However, the weight ratio of the sum of chlorophylls to carotenoids (5.7... 6.7 in 2018 and 6.86... 9.65 in 2019) suggests that this abiotic factor has not led to disorders in the structure of the photosynthetic leaf apparatus. Weather conditions considerably modified influence of fertilizers on pigment synthesis: in 2018, nitrogen fertilizers reduced the content of chlorophylls by 11…22 %, full mineral fertilizer on acid soil background led to decrease in the content of pigments by 6.7…11.7 %. In colder conditions of 2019 nitrogen fertilizers did not influence the content of pigments, full mineral fertilizer increased the content of Chl a by 14.1…17.8 %, carotinoids – by 18.2…25.4 %. In the conditions of 2019 the content of Chl a significantly depended on nitrogen content in leaves (r = 0.52…0.92) and correlated with phosphorus level in the soil: for Chl a – r = 0.74 and 0.54, for Chl b r = 0.73 and 0.75 (acid soil background and soil background with lime application, respectively).

Carotenoids are compounds of natural origin and are a product of secondary metabolism of plants and bacteria. These are chemically unsaturated hydrocarbons that act as dyes with a wide range of colors. These compounds are stored in chloroplasts and chromatophores. In living organisms, they are used in the photosynthesis process, have a protective function in the photooxidation process and are designed to neutralize free radicals. Due to the difference in structure, the molecules were divided into 2 groups, i.e. orange - carotenes and yellow - xanthophylls. Due to their unique antioxidant properties, they are widely used in the cosmetics industry. Carotenoids as antioxidants have a beneficial effect on human health and well-being. Currently, the most popular compounds that are used in cosmetology are carotene and lycopene. The development of cosmetology followed the development of biochemistry, chemistry, pharmacy and medicine. Compounds used in care products can be obtained as extracts from plants or obtained by chemical synthesis or biotechnological processes. It can be seen that in recent years the awareness of the use of cosmetic products has increased. This contributed to the increased interest in cosmetics of natural origin. Thanks to the interest in natural / ecological products, we have the opportunity to get to know biologically active substances better and to fully use them in cosmetology, pharmacology and medicine.

Using the rapid method of digital image analysis by the developed scanning flour analyzer the optical properties of flour (semolina) obtained in laboratory and production conditions from durum wheat of three years of harvest (2017–2019), namely the «yellowness» indicator and the color characteristic in the blue part of the spectrum, were determined. The semolina color was also evaluated by the Konica Minolta CR-410 colorimeter. It is established that the «yellowness» indicator and the color characteristic in the blue part of the spectrum did not change within the first 5 to 6 days after grinding. The change of these indicators for all the samples is observed in the period from 6 to 20 days after grinding, there with the «yellowness» indicator decreased by 25 to 40 relative units, the color characteristic in the blue part of the spectrum increased on average by 133,75 relative units. Over the next three months, there was no change of color (by both indicators). In the course of experimental work the optical properties change depending upon carotenoids content of flour (semolina) during its ripening was shown. The correlation dependence between the «yellowness» indicator of flour (semolina) and its carotenoids content is characterized by a high approximation coefficient. The dependence of the color characteristic of flour in the blue part of the spectrum on the content of carotenoids is characterized by an approximation coefficient equal to 0.9358, and is described as a polynomial equation. It shows, that with a low carotenoid content, the considered indicator is higher by an average of 1100 relative units compared to the color of samples with a carotenoid content from 0.70 to 1.21 mcg/g. At that during storage the optical properties of flour variety with the lowest carotenoids content remained practically the same. During 78 days of storage, there was no significant change of color characteristics of the industrial flour samples, studied from the eleventh day after grinding — 5–8 times higher than the average repeatability of the measurement results.

The concentration of carotenoid pigments in durum wheat kernels determines up to 30.0% of the quality of the final product. The purpose of the current study is to analyze the results of breeding improvement of spring durum wheat according to this trait in Russia, at all breeding stages. There was conducted the study based on the varieties of 4–7 stages of breeding in 11 environmental complexes (year, point) in 2014–2018. There were studied 29 genotypes. The plot area was 5.0–10.0 m2 with a 3-fold repetition. The concentration of yellow pigments in kernels was identified by extracting them with saturated n-butanol and with a subsequent photo-colorimetry at a wavelength of 440 ... 450 nm. As a result, there was established a significant increase in the concentration of carotenoids in kernels of the best genotypes in the main breeding Russian centers (+25–70.0% to the variety of 4-th stage of breeding “Kharkovsky 46”). The best varieties were “Bezenchukskaya zolotistaya”, “Bezenchukskaya krepost”, “Bezenchukskaya 210” (Samara RIA), “Saratovskaya zolotistaya” (RIA of the South-East) and the breeding lines “Gordeiforme 677” (FGBNU FANTSA), “D2098” (RIA of the South-East) and “1368D-18” (Samara RIA). These genotypes are recommended to be used as initial material in breeding and for the development of recombinant inbred lines for marking QTL that control the synthesis of carotenoids in durum wheat kernels and organize a marker-associated breeding technology on this basis.

Introduction. Violation of the ecological balance and modern processing methods may result in a lower content of important nutrients in food. Therefore, there is a need to restore the balance of biologically active substances in food products. In this regard, it seems appropriate to use plant materials that contain biologically active substances, as well as pigments. The use of aromatic plants for these purposes remains understudied. The research objective was to extract chlorophyll-based green pigments based from green plants. Study objects and methods. The object of the study was dried parsley (Petroselinum vulgare). The extractants included acetone, ethyl alcohol (95%), hexane, petroleum ether, and chloroform. Results and discussion. The extractants were chosen according to the total content of chlorophylls, which determine the color of the extract. Since carotenoids are extracted along with chlorophylls, the content of this component was also determined. Acetone demonstrated the maximum degree of chlorophyll recovery. However, this solvent cannot be used in food industry. Therefore, 95% ethanol, which also showed a high degree of chlorophyll extraction, was chosen as the extractant. A set of experiments made it possible to establish the ratio of feedstock and extractant as 1:60 (three times extraction with a mass ratio of parsley and extract); the optimal time of each extraction was 0.5 ± 0.1 h. Magnesium carbonate (MgCO2) helped to preserve the dyes. In order to increase the concentration of coloring substances, the obtained extract was subjected to thickening at a residual pressure of 400 Pa at 40°C. Conclusion. The obtained concentrate from dried parsley can be used in production of combined foods.

Amaranth leaves are of high nutritional value, containing various metabolites, monoand disaccharides, photosynthetic pigments, unsaturated acids, phenolcarboxylic acids with high antioxidant activity. Vegetable amaranth is grown in different soil and climatic conditions all over the world. The article describes the results of physicochemical analysis of composition of amaranth plant introduced in southern Dagestan. The results of determining biochemical composition of vitamins, organic acids, antioxidants, betacyanin - amaranthin, chlorophyll, carotenoids and chlorogenic acid in the leaves of the introduced amaranth are presented. It has been shown that amaranth culture can be an important source of vitamins and valuable biologically active substances for both humans and animals. Based on the results obtained on amaranth introduction, it can be noted that cultivation of amaranth has great prospects in Southern Dagestan, as a mass crop.

The paper examines the formation and morphophysiological features of functioning of 27-145-year-old pine forest stands of natural seed origin which grow in dry, fresh, moist, wet, and very wet pine forests of Small Polissia. It was found that Scots pine in the pine forests of Small Polissia grows on the V-I site classes. Mostly pure pine stands are formed here. However, in the composition of about half of the stands, weeping birch also occurs, the share of which ranges from single trees to 10%. It is characterized by a significant lagging behind pine in growth, which is 22.1 to 78.9% in height and 17.4 to 70.1% in diameter. The density of stands of natural origin, regardless of age, ranges from 0.50 to 0.93. The best conditions for the growth and functioning of pine trees are in fresh and moist infertile pine site types. Under these conditions, pine is characterized by high productivity. It forms needles that are most closely related to the genetically determined level in terms of morphological and anatomical parameters and the content of plastid pigments. In wet, and especially in very wet pine forests, a significant deterioration in the condition of Scots pine was revealed, which apears itself in stunted growth of trees, a decrease in the morphological and anatomical parameters of needles and the biosynthesis of green and yellow pigments. Among the morphological and anatomical indicators, the length, cross sectional area and surface area of the needles turned out to be the most sensitive to changes in moisture conditions in the pine forests, while the number of resin channels in the cross-section of the needles is the least dependent on changes in soil moisture. In general, there is a tendency to a decrease in the bioelectric activity of pine with an increase in its age. However, the patterns of change in bioelectric potentials (BEP) in pines of different age groups due to the change of the hygrotope manifest themselves in different ways. It is established that the average daily indexes of bioelectric potentials of root collar in young pine forests of different hygrotopes fluctuate between -36.9 and -77.5, in middle-aged stands - - 21.5 and -58.1, in maturing stands - -18.3 and - 51.8, and in mature stands - -41.0 to - 60.7 mV. Among young stands, it is pine in dry and fresh pine forests that is characterized by high absolute BEP. At the same time, in middle-aged and maturing stands, a significant decrease in the bioelectrical activity of pine trees is observed in dry and fresh pine forests, and an increase in moist, wet and very wet stands. In mature stands, the highest absolute average daily BEP values were found in pine of dry pine forest, and the lowest - in fresh pine forest. It is revealed that the impedance indices in the middle of the growing season in young stands of Scots pines are 15.9-28.1 kOhm, and the polarization capacity is 0.73-1.45 nF. In the middle-aged stands, these figures fluctuate respectively in the range from 13.2 to 30.5 and from 0.70 to 1.41, in the maturing - from 9.5 to 22.1 and from 1.14 to 1.72, and in the mature – from 17.9 to 22.1 kOhm and from 0.94-to 1.05 nF. In young, middle-aged, and maturing stands, a regular increase in impedance and a decrease in polarization capacity with increasing soil moisture was established. Pine in dry and fresh pine forests is characterized by the highest vital potential. The most unfavorable conditions for its growth and vital activity are found in wet pine forests.

The object of the study is software methods of the Earth surface images processing obtained from the VRSS-2 satellite to determine the spectral composition of the vegetation cover to detect the presence of carotenoids during prolonged exposure to hydrocarbons.The photosynthetic pigments of higher plants (chlorophylls, carotenoids and phytobiliproteins) were analyzed. In the chloroplasts of higher plants, chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in a ratio of about 3:1. The presence of hydrocarbons increases the amount of carotenoids. Carotenoids have absorption bands in the blue-violet region from 400 to 500 nm and a high reflection coefficient in the red-orange and yellow spectral regions, which corresponds to the multispectral MSS operating mode (B2) of the VRSS-2 satellite camera. An analysis of the vegetation growing in the study area of the Puerto Kumarebo settlement showed that the best indicator of the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil is Prosopis juliflora – CUJI with a deep root system of up to 50 m, growing in the study area.Using ENVI software, a comparative evaluation of the efficiency of photographs image processing was carried out using the normalized relative vegetation index (NDVI) and the structure-insensitive pigment index (SIPI) to detect changes in the color of green vegetation. It has been established that the SIPI index is more applicable for hydrocarbon search tasks. Moreover, the recorded index fluctuations in the area of uniform vegetation at the level of 2.5 % are characteristic of normal growing conditions and cannot serve as evidence of the presence of factors indicating the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil. For a more detailed assessment of the presence of carotenoids in the foliage and the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil, photographs with high optical resolution of objects on the surface are required.

Copyright of Plant & Soil Science is the property of National University of Life & Environmental Sciences of Ukraine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Plants of Cannaceae family is a popular decorative and leafy plant with bright flowers and large leaves. According to the literature they contain amino acids, free carboxylic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, terpene and steroid compounds, cardioglycosides and alkaloids. They exhibit a wide range of biological activity, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, hemostatic, antihypertensive and anti-ischemic activity. The aim of the research was to study the qualitative composition and to determine the quantitative content of chlorophylls and carotenoids in herb of the Canna hybrida Suevia, Liberty, Livadia, Artek and Dark Night varieties. Materials and methods. The qualitative composition of photosynthetic pigments of herb of the Canna hybrida varieties Suevia, Liberty, Livadia, Artek and Dark Night differed not significantly by thin-layer chromatography method. In the analyzed objects the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids and lycopene was determined by absorption spectrophotometry method. Results. At least 10 compounds appeared on the chromatograms of the studied samples, at least 4 of which were attributed to carotenoids and not less than 6 – to chlorophylls. It was established that the content of the total of chlorophylls in herb of the Canna hybrida Liberty, Artek, and Dark Night varieties exceeded the content of the carotenoids by approximately 5 times, in herb of the Canna hybrida Suevia and Livadia variety – almost 8 times. Approximately 65 % of the total content of chlorophyll was chlorophyll a, 35 % was chlorophyll b, which was characteristic of herb of the Canna hybrida Suevia, Liberty, Artek and Dark Night varieties. In herb of the Canna hybrida Livadia variety a fundamentally opposite situation was observed. The total content of chlorophyll b was in 2.3 times higher than the content of chlorophyll a. The highest content of chlorophyll a (1661.76 ± 41.54 mg/kg), chlorophyll b (943.79 ± 23.60 mg/kg) and lycopene (62.37 ± 1.56 mg/kg) was observe in herb of the Canna hybrida Suevia variety. The equally high content of carotenoids – 373.75 ± 9.34 mg/kg, 381.84 ± 9.55 mg/kg and 386.05 ± 9.65 mg/kg, was watched in herb of Canna hybrida Suyeviya, Liberty and Artek varieties respectively. Conclusions. The obtained results will be used in the development of quality control methods for herb of Canna hybrida and medicinal plant products on their basis.

The article presents the results of the field experiment on the influence of microbial preparation (Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viceae strain K-29, w. s., 100 ml/ha seeds norm) and plant growth regulator (Regoplant, w. s: 250 ml/t – pre-sowing seed treatment; 50 ml/ha – post-germination application) on the content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a and b, their sum and carotenoids) in the leaves of lentil of Linza variety. The analysis of a and b chlorophylls content, their sum and carotenoids in the leaves of lentil was carried out at bud-formation stage and the beginning of blossoming in selected samples of leaves in the field conditions according to the methods, described by V.F. Havrylenko and T.V. Zhyhalova using spectrophotometer LEKI SS1104. According to the results of the experiments was found dependence of the investigated pigments content in lentil leaves on weather conditions, application of the biological preparation and on phase of growth and development of the culture. Thus, under combined application of biological preparations in the leaves of lentil of Linsa variety there was the increase in the content of chlorophylls a and b, their sum and carotenoids, which created favorable conditions for the main physiological and biochemical processes that account for the formation of high productivity of crops. In the phase of bloom beginning of the lentil, when the activity of growth processes was the highest, content of the investigated pigments was much higher than in the phase of budding. The highest content of pigments in the leaves of lentil was recorded in the variants of the experiment under pre-sowing treatment of seeds with the mixture of microbial preparation (Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viceae strain К-29, w. s., 100 ml/hа seed rate) and plant growth regulator Regoplant, w. s., 250ml/t with its further post-germination application at the rates 50ml/ha, where the exceed compared to control for the chlorophylls a and b on average made up 35 %, and for carotenoids 43 %.

The article presents the results of productivity and grain quality of 47 winter durum wheat varieties of various ecological origin studied in 2016–2018. All studied samples belong to semi-dwarf and dwarf forms (height of 61–105 cm). Semi-dwarf forms possessed high lodging resistance (3.9 points). The grain harvest of the main part (89.3%) of the samples ranged from 8.41 to 9.65 t/ha in the environmental test. Only three varieties (“Lazurit”, “Agat Donskoy”, “Andromeda”) in the winter durum wheat trial are characterized with high yields ranging from 9.65–10.0 t/ha. The yield of the standard variety of “Khristella” was 9.03 t / ha on average in 2016- 2018. The varieties “Kondor” (116.8%), “Zolotko” (123.0%), “Afina” (126.9%) showed high frost tolerance of the plants through the years of research, in comparison with the standard variety “Donchanka” (100%). In the ecological test the main part (68%) of winter durum wheat varieties possessed large grain. “1000-grain weight” was more than 40 g: “Amazon” (42.9 g), “Lazurit” (47.7 g), “Diona” (42.1 g), “Alyi Parus” (43.7 g), “Dnepryana” (45.4 g), “Krupinka” (46.9 g), etc. The studied samples had high percentage of protein (13.6–15.1%), gluten (22.8–27.0%), SDS-sedimentation (30–45 ml), carotenoids (468–779 μg/%), nature weight (777.0–819.0 g/l), kernel hardness (85–98%). The technical and culinary qualities of the pasta made from the main part of the samples were evaluated as excellent (the varieties “Donchanka”, “Oniks”, “Kiprida”, “Atoll”, “Kermen”, “Winter Gold”, etc.) and as good (the varieties “Teya”, “Eirena”, “Lazurit”, “Diona”, “Alyi Parus”, “Krupinka”, “Afina”, etc.).

This article presents the results of modeling and optimization of the process of producing carotenoids by the example of β-carotene. The complex quantitative estimation of five technological parameters influence on the exit of individual carotenoid is conducted by the method of the mathematical planning of experiment. The complex quantitative estimation of influence of five technological parameters is conducted on the exit of individual carotenoids the method of the mathematical planning of experiment. The goal is achieved by constructing a mathematical model based on regression equations of the first order. We prove the adequacy of the work produced mathematical models and optimization carried out the process of obtaining β-carotene by a steep ascent.

Background. Many of perennial and annual Lathyrus species have economic significance and are used of the world's agriculture. They are often cultivated as forage crops. An important role in developing new forage crops is given to selection for an increased quality of green biomass. Studying biologically active substances (BAS) in green matter of different Lathyrus varieties is needed to search for accessions with as high nutritional value as possible that can serve as sources of BAS.Materials and methods. Thirty-five accessions representing 6 species (L. sativus L., L. vernus (L.) Bernh., L. latifolius L., L. tuberosus L., L. linifolius (Reichard) Bassler, L. sylvestris L.) of the genus Lathyrus L. from the VIR collection were studied. BAS were detected in the green biomass of the accessions in an early phase of bean ripening. The accessions were analyzed by VIR-approved methods (Ermakov et al., 1987). The qualitative and quantitative analyses of phenolic compounds was performed by means of gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS Agilent 6850, USA).Results. The content of ascorbic acid, carotenoids, carotenes, в-carotene, chlorophylls a and b, phenolic compounds in the Lathyrus species was studied for the first time. Significant interspecific and intervarietal differences were identified in the BAS content of green matter. The range of variability was as follows: ascorbic acid: 39.0-133.0; chlorophylls a and b: 55.5-365.5; carotenoids: 10.6-44.5; carotenes: 3.630.0; в-carotene: 2.6-24.8; phenols: 4.4-199.4 mg/100g of raw material. The highest rates were observed in L. linifolius and L. latifolius accessions.Conclusion. Green biomass of the studied Lathyrus accessions was balanced in the BAS content and showed high nutritive value. All studied species are of interest for forage crop breeding. The accessions of flat pea (L. sylvestris) and grass pea (L. sativus) are promising for practical use in feed production. L. linifolius and L. latifolius have good prospects as sources of biologically active substances.