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Apple pomace, a by-product of apple juice production, is typically discarded as waste. Recent approaches have focused on utilizing apple pomace by extracting beneficial bioactive compounds, such as antioxidant phenolic compounds (PCs). Before these PC-rich extracts can be used in food products, they must undergo food preservation and processing methods. However, the effects of these processes on the composition, stability, and properties of the PC remain insufficiently understood. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of a thermal treatment (TT), a high-pressure thermal treatment (HPTT), and a pulsed electric field treatment (PEF) on the composition and antioxidant activity of PC-rich apple pomace extracts (APEs). Major PCs, including phloridzin, chlorogenic acid, and epicatechin, as well as minor compounds, were identified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). As a stability indicative property, the antioxidant activity was analyzed by a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay (TEAC), electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent assay. The results showed that TT at 80 °C increased phloridzin content, likely due to the hydrolysis of bound forms, while higher temperatures and HPTT resulted in a substantial PC conversion. The PEF treatment also caused notable PC conversion, but generally, it had a milder effect compared to TT and HPTT. Hence, low temperatures with and without high pressure and PEF seem to be the most promising treatments for preserving the highest content of major PC in APE. Antioxidant activity varied among the analytical methods, with HPTT showing minor changes despite PC loss compared to the untreated APE. This suggests that other antioxidant compounds in the extracts may contribute to the overall antioxidant activity. This study demonstrates that apple pomace contains valuable PC, highlighting its potential as a health-promoting food additive and the impact of conventional preservation and processing methods on PC stability.

Nowadays, it is generally accepted that medicinal plants play a crucial role in traditional healthcare operations, providing hints to new research fields and in biodiversity protection. However, there is a lack of information on the medicinal uses of plants in many of the interior Himalayan regions. In light of this, the current investigation was initiated in the tribally dominant western Himalayan hinterland. The current study examined five underutilized wild edible plants, namely, Allium rubellum, Berberis chitria, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Stellaria aquatica, and Rheum emodi, for their nutritional qualities, phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial activity, which are consumed as food by the Gaddi community of the Bharmour region of the Chamba District, Himachal Pradesh. In this study, the nutritional makeup of these plants was examined in terms of their carbohydrate, protein, sodium, potassium, crude fiber, and fat content. As compared to other investigated species, A. rubellum has the highest nutritional content: carbohydrate (6.93 mg/g), protein (10.18 mg/g), sodium (3.21 mg/g), potassium (16.32 mg/g), and fiber (6.46%). In addition, phenols, amino acids, tannins, terpenoids, carotenoids, and phytate were found to be the least significant phytochemicals in R. emodi, i.e., 4.81 mg/g, 0.594 mg/g, 2.204 mg/g, 1.482 mg/g, 156 µg/g, and 0.680%, respectively. The methanolic extract of these wild edible plants showed significant free radical scavenging activity by using ABTS and DPPH assays. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of the methanolic extract of studied plants based on the present study suggested that R. emodi exhibits a maximum zone of inhibition of 20.8 mm against Escherichia coli, whereas S. aquatica showed a maximum inhibition zone of 19.2 mm against S. aureus. The findings of this study validated that these wild edible plants are an alternate source of medicine and are an abundant source of various phytochemicals like protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. These compositions offer dietary benefits, food security, health benefits, and therapeutic advantages. Hence, in the current study, it was analyzed that there is an urgent need for documentation, conservation, characterization, and evaluation of these underutilized plants for their therapeutic purpose and nutritional supplements.

The present study was conducted to examine the potential role of Plantago ovata Forsk leaf extract (POLE) which was applied at various concentration levels (control, hydropriming, 10, 20, 30, and 40% POLE) to the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings. Drought stressed was applied at 60% osmotic potential (OM) to the T. aestivum seedlings to study various parameters such as growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments and gas exchange characteristics, oxidative stress and response of various antioxidants and nutritional status of the plants. Various growth parameters such as gaseous exchange attributes, antioxidants and nutritional status of T. aestivum were investigated in this study. It was evident that drought-stressed condition had induced a negative impact on plant growth, photosynthetic pigment, gaseous exchange attributes, stomatal properties, and ion uptake by different organs (roots and shoots) of T. aestivum. The decrease in plant growth resulted from oxidative stress and overcome by the antioxidant (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) compounds, since their concentration increased in response to dehydration. Seed priming with POLE positively increased plant growth and photosynthesis, by decreasing oxidative stress indicators and increasing activities of antioxidant (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) compounds, compared to the plants which were grown without the application of POLE. Our results also depicted that optimum concentration of POLE for T. aestivum seedlings under drought condition was 20%, while further increase in POLE (30 and 40%) induced a non-significant (P < 0.05) effect on growth (shoot and root length) and biomass (fresh and dry weight) of T. aestivum seedling. Here we concluded that the understanding of the role of seed priming with POLE in the increment of growth profile, photosynthetic measurements and nutritional status introduces new possibilities for their effective use in drought-stressed condition and provides a promising strategy for T. aestivum tolerance against drought-stressed condition.

While of lesser prevalence than boron (B) deficient soils, B-rich soils are important to study as they can cause B toxicity in the field and subsequently decrease crop yields in different regions of the world. We have conducted the present study to examine the role of the individual or combined application of silicon (Si) and NPK fertilizer in B-stressed spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea L.). S. oleracea seedlings were subjected to different NPK fertilizers, namely, low NPK (30 kg ha–2) and normal NPK (60 kg ha–2)], which were also supplemented by Si (3 mmol L–1), for varying levels of B in the soil i.e., 0, 250, and 500 mg kg–1. Our results illustrated that the increasing levels of B in the soil caused a substantial decrease in the plant height, number of leaves, number of stems, leaf area, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid content, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, magnesium content in the roots, magnesium contents in the shoots, phosphorus content in the roots, phosphorus content in the leaves in the shoots, iron content in the roots, iron content in the shoots, calcium content in the roots, and calcium content in the shoots. However, B toxicity in the soil increased the concentration of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and electrolyte leakage which were also manifested by the increasing activities of enzymatic [superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)], and non-enzymatic antioxidants (phenolic, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanin content). B toxicity in the soil further increased the concentration of organic acids in the roots such as oxalic acid, malic acid, formic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, and fumaric acid. The addition of Si and fertilizer levels in the soil significantly alleviated B toxicity effects on S. oleracea by improving photosynthetic capacity and ultimately plant growth. The increased activity of antioxidant enzymes in Si and NPK-treated plants seems to play a role in capturing stress-induced reactive oxygen species, as was evident from the lower levels of oxidative stress indicators, organic acid exudation, and B concentration in the roots and shoots of Si and NPK-treated plants. Research findings, therefore, suggested that the Si and NPK application can ameliorate B toxicity in S. oleracea seedlings and result in improved plant growth and composition under metal stress as depicted by the balanced exudation of organic acids.

Development of an efficient and eco-friendly technique to break tuber dormancy in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is highly demanded due to the production of two or more crops annually. Several physiological and hormonal changes have been found to be related to the breaking of tuber dormancy; however, their consistency with genotypes and different protocols have not been well clarified. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of four dormancy-breaking methods, that is, plant growth regulator (PGR) dipping in 30, 60, or 90 mgL−1 benzyl amino purine (BAP) and 10, 20, or 30 mgL−1 gibberellic acids (GA3) alone and in the combination of optimized concentrations; electric current application at 20, 40, 60, or 80 Vs; cold pre-treatment at 2, 4, or 6 °C; irradiation at 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or 3.5 kGy. In addition, changes in endogenous levels of abscisic acid (ABA), zeatin (ZT), and gibberellin A1 (GA1) in six potato genotypes after subjecting to these methods were investigated. Overall, the highest effective method for dormancy duration was the PGR application which shortened the duration by 18 days, followed by electric current (13 days), cold pre-treatment (9 days), and then irradiation (7 days). The solution of 60 mgL−1 BAP significantly reduced the dormancy duration in all genotypes but did not have a significant effect on the sprout length. While 20 mgL−1 GA3 produced maximum sprout length with a non-significant effect on dormancy duration. The genotype × PGR interaction for dormancy duration was more pronounced in short- and medium-term dormancy genotypes than in long-term dormancy genotypes. The genotypes displayed a significant positive correlation between dormancy duration and ABA levels but exhibited a negative correlation between dormancy duration and ZT as well as GA1 levels. From the first to the third week of storage, ABA was decreased in tubers while, however, ZT and GA1 were increased. The obtained results could be useful for the postharvest storage of potato tuber and the related field of physiological investigation in future.

Chromium (Cr) is a toxic heavy metal that contaminates soil and water resources after its discharge from different industries. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of single and/or combined application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (250 μM) and sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS) (1 mM) on growth, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange characteristics, oxidative stress biomarkers, antioxidant machinery (enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants), ion uptake, organic acid exudation, and Cr uptake of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) exposed to severe Cr stress [Cr: 0 (no Cr), 150, and 300 μM]. Our results depicted that Cr addition to the soil significantly (P < 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, gas exchange attributes, and mineral uptake by S. oleracea when compared to the plants grown without the addition of Cr. However, Cr toxicity boosted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), which is the indication of oxidative stress in S. oleracea, and was also manifested by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content and electrolyte leakage to the membrane-bound organelles. The results showed that the activities of various antioxidative enzymes, such as superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants, such as phenolic, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanin, initially increased with an increase in the Cr concentration in the soil. The results also revealed that the levels of soluble sugar, reducing sugar, and non-reducing sugar were decreased in plants grown under elevating Cr levels, but the accumulation of the metal in the roots and shoots of S. oleracea, was found to be increased, and the values of bioaccumulation factor were

Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as lead (Pb)] is becoming a serious global problem due to the rapid development of the social economy. However, accumulation of Pb in plant parts is very toxic for plant growth and decreases crop yield and productivity. In the present study, we have investigated the different concentrations of Pb in the soil i.e., [0 (no Pb), 50, and 100 mg kg–1] to study plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments and gas exchange characteristics, oxidative stress indicators and the response of various antioxidants (enzymatic and non-enzymatic), nutritional status of the plant, organic acid exudation pattern and also Pb accumulation in the roots and shoots of the plants of two varieties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) i.e., Roma and Cchuas, grown under different levels of synergic acid [no spray (NS), water spray (WS), 0.3-0.5°μM]. Results from the present study showed that the increasing levels of Pb in the soil decreased non-significantly (P < 0.05) shoot length, root length, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid content, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, soluble sugar, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar contents, calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), iron (Fe2+), and phosphorus (P) contents in the roots and shoots of the plants. However, Pb toxicity also induced oxidative stress in the roots and shoots of the plants by increasing malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and electrolyte leakage (EL) which also induced increased the compounds of various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and also organic acids exudation pattern in the roots such as fumaric acid, acetic acid, citric acid, formic acid, malic acid, oxalic acid contents and increased the concentration of Pb in different parts of the plants. Results also show that the Cchuas showed better growth and development compared to Roma, under the same levels of Pb in the soil. The alleviation of Pb toxicity was induced by the application of synergic acid, and results showed that the application of synergic acid increased plant growth and biomass and also increased the gas exchange characteristics and antioxidant capacity in the roots and shoots of the plants. Research findings, therefore, suggested that synergic acid application can ameliorate Pb toxicity in S. lycopersicum varieties and result in improved plant growth and composition under metal stress as depicted by balanced exudation of organic acids.

Fourteen lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were isolated from the intestinal tract and feces of piglets. Among these isolates, only twelve were biochemically (API 50 CHL and ABIS online for bacterial identification) and genetically (16S rRNA sequencing) confirmed as Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Experiments to evaluate the probiotic potential of the isolates including pH tolerance (pH 2.0 and 3.0), bile salts (0.3% ox gall) resistance, hemolysis activity, antibiotic susceptibility, and high-temperature resistance were tested. Only two isolates from identified strains exhibited high survival rates when exposed to low pH and bile salts, these were L. acidophilus IBNA 76 and L. plantarum IBNA 84. The antibiotic test presented 100% resistance of both strains to gentamicin, kanamycin, lincomycin, colistin sulfate, erythromycin, amikacin, oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, streptomycin, and tilmicosin, lower than the 0.6 mm inhibition zone diameter. Promising isolates (L. acidophilus IBNA 76 and L. plantarum IBNA 84) were exposed to the spray-drying technique based on visible probiotic potential and survival rates. Carrier matrix material was used as a maltodextrin-glucose solution. The encapsulation probiotic isolated survived both over 67% and 77%, corresponding to a decrease in strain viability from 109 to 107 CFU/g. After further in vitro evaluations, the findings of this study showed that, from all LAB strains, L. acidophilus IBNA 76 and L. plantarum IBNA 84 may be considered probiotic candidates for animal nutrition and may have promising performance in piglet feed due to their origin of isolation.

To improve food production via fermentation with co-cultures of microorganisms (e.g., multiple lactic acid bacteria-LAB strains), one must fully understand their metabolism and interaction patterns in various conditions. For example, LAB can bring added quality to bread by releasing several bioactive compounds when adding soy flour to wheat flour, thus revealing the great potential for functional food development. In the present work, the fermentation of three soy and wheat flour mixtures is studied using single cultures and co-cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus casei. Bio-chemical processes often require a significant amount of time to obtain the optimal amount of final product; creating a mathematical model can gain important information and aids in the optimization of the process. Consequently, mathematical modeling is used to optimize the fermentation process by following these LAB’s growth kinetics and viability. The present work uses both multiple regression and artificial neural networks (ANN) to obtain the necessary mathematical model, useful in both prediction and process optimization. The main objective is to find a model with optimal performances, evaluated using an ANOVA test. To validate each obtained model, the simulation results are compared with the experimental data.

Two techniques, namely, optimized ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), were used to promote the extraction of phenolic compounds from the pseudo-fruits of Rosa canina L. (RC). For UAE, an optimization process based on the design of experiment (DoE) principles was used for determining the dependence between three variables (i.e., time of extraction, ultrasound amplitude, and the material-to-water ratio) and the total phenolic content of the samples. For EAE, a 2:1:1 pectinase, cellulase, and hemicellulase enzymatic blend was used as pre-treatment for optimized UAE, inducing a higher total phenolic content. The untargeted phenolic profiling approach revealed a great abundance of lower molecular weight phenolics (1.64 mg Eq./g) in UAE-RC extracts, whilst gallic acid (belonging to hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives) was the most abundant individual compound of both extracts. The unsupervised multivariate statistics clearly discriminated the impact of enzymatic pre-treatment on the phenolic profile of RC pseudo-fruits. Finally, Pearson’s correlation coefficients showed that anthocyanins, phenolic acids, and tyrosol derivatives were those compounds mostly correlated to the in vitro antioxidant potential of the extracts, whilst negative and significant (p < 0.05) correlation coefficients were recorded when considering the enzymatic inhibition activities. The highest enzyme-inhibitory activity has been identified against α-glucosidase, which indicates an antidiabetic effect.

Increased interest in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production requires breeding to create new cultivars with highly marketable values (e.g., regarding quality, nutrition, and health) and valuable sensorial parameters. The purpose of this research was to compare four tomato commercial hybrids—two newly created and two used as controls in the breeding process, cultivated in a high plastic tunnel, regarding a wide range of physico-chemical properties as well as nutritional and organoleptic components of the fruits, which are relevant for the quality of the tomatoes. The new AS 400 commercial hybrid registered the best results for carotenoids (16.64 mg 100 g−1 FW) and dry matter (6.88%). The highest total ascorbic acid value (28.03 mg 100 g−1 FW) was recorded in the other new hybrid, AS 300, while the highest values of total acidity were recorded on the Precos, used as the control (184.87 mg NaOH 100 g−1 FW). The correlations between the analyzed characteristics and the multivariate analysis provided insight into breeding tomatoes to meet the current fruit quality requirements. Based on the results, hypotheses have been formulated for the creation of new cultivars with anticipatory, prospective character, in order to ensure the future needs of the market and consumers.

The rapid emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics currently available for treating infectious diseases requires effective antimicrobial agents with new structural profiles and mechanisms of action. Twenty-three thiazolin-4-one derivatives were evaluated for their antibacterial activity by determining the growth inhibition zone diameter, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Compounds 3a–c, 3e–h, 6b–c and 9a–c expressed better MIC values than moxifloxacin, against Staphylococcus aureus. Compounds 3h and 9b displayed similar effect to indolmycin, a tryptophanyl-tRNA ligase inhibitor. Due to their structural analogy to indolmycin, all compounds were subjected to molecular docking on tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase. Compounds 3a–e, 6a–e, 8 and 9a–e exhibited better binding affinities towards the target enzymes than indolmycin. The antioxidant potential of the compounds was evaluated by four spectrophotometric methods. Thiazolin-4-ones 3e, 6e and 9e presented better antiradical activity than ascorbic acid, trolox and BHT, used as references.

A series of 10 new N-phenyl-4-(4-(thiazol-2-yl)-phenyl)-thiazol-2-amine derivatives (3a–j) and 4 new 5-(2-(phenylamino)-thiazol-4-yl)-benzamide ethers (3′a–d) were synthesized from 4-(2-phenylamino)-thiazol-4-yl)-benzothioamide and 2-hydroxy-5-(2-(phenylamino)-thiazol-4-yl)-benzamide with several α-halo-ketones, by the Hantzsch reaction. All compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and spectral data (MS, FT-IR and NMR). The final 14 substances were screened for antimicrobial activity, against two Gram-positive, one Gram-negative bacterial strains, and two fungal strains. Some of the synthesized molecules were more potent than the reference drugs, against the pathogenic strains used. The antibacterial activity of compounds was more pronounced against the Gram-positive strains. Compound 3e manifested the highest growth inhibitory effect against all pathogens tested (MIC of 31.25 μg/mL against the Gram-positive bacterial strains and 7.81 μg/mL against the Candida strains).

Syringa vulgaris L. (common lilac) is one of the most popular ornamental species, but also a promising not comprehensively studied source of bioactive compounds with important therapeutic potential. Our study was designed to characterize the chemical composition and to assess the antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of ethanolic extracts obtained from S. vulgaris L. flowers, leaves, bark, and fruit. The chemical profile of the ethanolic extracts was investigated using chromatographic (HPLC-DAD-ESI+, GC-MS) and spectral (UV-Vis, FT-IR) methods, while the protective effect against free radicals was evaluated in vitro by different chemical assays (DPPH, FRAP, CUPRAC). The cytotoxic activity was tested on two tumoral cell lines, HeLa, B16F10, using the MTT assay. Significant amounts of free or glycosylated chemical components belonging to various therapeutically important structural classes, such as phenyl-propanoids (syringin, acteoside, echinacoside), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol derivatives) and secoiridoids (secologanoside, oleuropein, 10-hydroxy oleuropein, demethyloleuropein, syringalactone A, nuzhenide, lingstroside) were obtained for the flowers, leaves and bark extracts, respectively. Furthermore, MTT tests pointed out a significant cytotoxic potential expressed in a non-dose-dependent manner toward the tumoral lines. The performed methods underlined that S. vulgaris extracts, in particular belonging to flowers and leaves, represent valuable sources of compounds with antioxidant and antitumoral potential.

Goji (Lycium barbarum L.) leaves are emphasized as a functional tea or as dietary supplements. The phenolic compound profile, antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, antimicrobial, and antimutagenic activities of leaf extracts from two selected cultivars in comparison with wild-growing plants have been evaluated. HPLC-DAD/ESI-ToF-MS analysis revealed the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids with chlorogenic acid and rutin being the dominant compounds in the cultivated plants, whereas rutin and kaempeferol-3-O-rutinoside for wild growing ones. In particular, cv. Erma contained the highest amount of chlorogenic acid and showed a strong tyrosinase-inhibitory effect. Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Penicillium funiculosum were the most sensitive strains when exposed to extracts from cultivated plants. Antimutagenic activity was evaluated by Ames' test. The tested extracts provided high protection against mutagenicity induced by 2-anthramine (2-AA) to Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98 and TA 100 (max. inhibition (%) 88% and 74.2%, respectively). Overall, Goji leaves are a rich source of bioactive compounds with functional properties that need further risk/benefit evaluation when used in foods or health-promoting formulations.

In this study, the antibacterial activity of cerium oxide nanoparticles on two Gram-negative and three Gram-positive foodborne pathogens was investigated. CeO2 nanoparticles (CeO2 nps) were synthesized by a Wet Chemical Synthesis route, using the precipitation method and the Simultaneous Addition of reactants (WCS–SimAdd). The as-obtained precursor powders were investigated by thermal analysis (TG–DTA), to study their decomposition process and to understand the CeO2 nps formation. The composition, structure, and morphology of the thermally treated sample were investigated by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, TEM, and DLS. The cubic structure and average particle size ranging between 5 and 15 nm were evidenced. Optical absorption measurements (UV–Vis) reveal that the band gap of CeO2 is 2.61 eV, which is smaller than the band gap of bulk ceria. The antioxidant effect of CeO2 nps was determined, and the antibacterial test was carried out both in liquid and on solid growth media against five pathogenic microorganisms, namely Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus. Cerium oxide nanoparticles showed growth inhibition toward all five pathogens tested with notable results. This paper highlights the perspectives for the synthesis of CeO2 nps with controlled structural and morphological characteristics and enhanced antibacterial properties, using a versatile and low-cost chemical solution method.

Even though Salvia genus is one of the most known and studied taxa of Lamiaceae family, the knowledge regarding the chemical composition and health-related benefits of some locally used Salvia species (mostly endemic) is still scarce. In this regard, the present work aims to evaluate the chemical profile and potential bioactivities of 70% (v/v) ethanolic extracts obtained from the less-studied S. transsylvanica and S. glutinosa in comparison with S. officinalis. HPLC-PDA analysis revealed the presence of rutin and catechin as the main compounds in the extracts of the three studied species (using the employed HPLC method), whereas the presence of naringenin was highlighted only in S. glutinosa extract. Chlorogenic acid, rutin and quercetin were identified and quantified for the first time in S. transsylvanica extracts. The in vitro antioxidant capacity of each extract was tested through complementary methods (phosphomolybdenum assay, DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC and FRAP assays), and correlated with the presence of phenolics (especially flavonoids) in high amounts. The neuroprotective and antidiabetic abilities of S. officinalis (the most active as AChE, BChE and α-glucosidase inhibitor), S. glutinosa (the most active as α-amylase inhibitor) and S. transsylvanica were also studied. For each extract it was determined the antimicrobial, antifungal and cytotoxic effects using in vitro assays. The obtained results confirm the potential of S. transsylvanica and S. glutinosa as promising sources of bioactive compounds and as a starting point for further analyses.

Sourdough fermentation presents several advantageous effects in bread making, like improved nutritional quality and increased shelf life. Three types of experiments aimed to evaluate comparatively the efficiency of two Lactobacillus (Lb.) strains, Lb. plantarum ATCC 8014 and Lb. casei ATCC 393, to metabolize different white wheat flour and soybeans flour combinations to compare their efficiency, together with/without Saccharomyces cerevisiae on sourdough fermentation. For this purpose, the viability, pH, organic acids, and secondary metabolites production were investigated, together with the dynamic rheological properties of the sourdough. During sourdough fermentation, LAB presented higher growth, and the pH decreased significantly from above pH 6 at 0 h to values under 4 at 24 h for each experiment. Co-cultures of LAB and yeast produced a higher quantity of lactic acid than single cultures, especially in sourdough enriched with soy-flour. In general, sourdoughs displayed a stable, elastic-like behavior, and the incorporation of soy-flour conferred higher elasticity in comparison with sourdoughs without soy-flour. The higher elasticity of sourdoughs enriched with soy-flour can be attributed to the fact that through frozen storage, soy proteins have better water holding capacity. In conclusion, sourdough supplemented with 10% soy-flour had better rheological properties, increased lactic, acetic, and citric acid production.

Biochemical processes present complex mechanisms and can be described by various computational models. Complex systems present a variety of problems, especially the loss of intuitive understanding. The present work uses fractional-order calculus to obtain mathematical models for erythritol and mannitol synthesis. The obtained models are useful for both prediction and process optimization. The models present the complex behavior of the process due to the fractional order, without losing the physical meaning of gain and time constants. To validate each obtained model, the simulation results were compared with experimental data. In order to highlight the advantages of fractional-order models, comparisons with the corresponding integer-order models are presented.

Herein we report the synthesis of two novel series of 1,3-thiazole derivatives having a lipophilic C4-substituent on account of the increasing need for novel and versatile antifungal drugs for the treatment of resistant Candida sp.-based infections. Following their structural characterization, the anti-Candida activity was evaluated in vitro while using the broth microdilution method. Three compounds exhibited lower Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values when compared to fluconazole, being used as the reference antifungal drug. An in silico molecular docking study was subsequently carried out in order to gain more insight into the antifungal mechanism of action, while using lanosterol-C14α-demethylase as the target enzyme. Fluorescence microscopy was employed to further investigate the cellular target of the most promising molecule, with the obtained results confirming its damaging effect towards the fungal cell membrane integrity. Finally, the distribution and the pharmacological potential in vivo of the novel thiazole derivatives was investigated through the study of their binding interaction with bovine serum albumin, while using fluorescence spectroscopy.

In the Romanian folk medicine, aerial parts of Ajuga laxmannii (“nobleman’s beard,” Romanian – “barba boierului” or “avrămească” or “creştinească”) are traditionally used as galactagogue and anti-inflammatory agents. The present study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition (polyphenols, iridoids, and phytosterols), antioxidant, antimicrobial and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of different extracts of A. laxmannii aerial parts. The major identified bioactive compounds were rutin, 8-O-acetylharpagide and β-sitosterol. The antioxidant activity of A. laxmannii extracts was evaluated using several methods, and the results showed good antiradical effects. Moreover, the antimicrobial evaluation showed a potent antifungal activity against C. albicans and P. funiculosum. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory effect was determined by monitoring some parameters involved in the inflammatory process. The results obtained showed differences between the analyzed extracts; and therefore the importance of choosing the best solvent in order to extract the appropriate amount of bioactive compounds. A. laxmannii ethanol extract showed an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing total leukocytes, PMN, phagocytosis, and oxidative stress. Compared to diclofenac, only the 50 mg/mL A. laxmannii extract had better anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects, and this could justify the importance of a correlation between the activity and the used concentration. These findings strongly suggest that A. laxmannii could be considered as a valuable source of bioactive compounds, which could be further valued as anti-inflammatory agents in the composition of several herbal drugs.

Bee products were historically used as a therapheutic approach and in food consumption, while more recent data include important details that could validate them as food supplements due to their bioproperties, which support their future use as medicines. In this review data, data collected from bee pollen (BP) and bee bread (BB) essays will be discussed and detailed for their nutritional and health protective properties as functional foods. Dietary antioxidants intake derived from BP and BB have been associated with the prevention and clinical treatment of multiple diseases. The beneficial effects of BP and BB on health result from the presence of multiple polyphenols which possess anti-inflammatory properties, phytosterols and fatty acids, which play anticancerogenic roles, as well as polysaccharides, which stimulate immunological activity. From the main bioactivity studies with BP and BB, in vitro studies and animal experiments, the stimulation of apoptosis and the inhibition of cell proliferation in multiple cell lines could be one of the major therapeutic adjuvant effects to be explored in reducing tumor growth. Tables summarizing the main data available in this field and information about other bio-effects of BP and BB, which support the conclusions, are provided. Additionally, a discussion about the research gaps will be presented to help further experiments that complete the tree main World Health Organization (WHO) Directives of Efficiency, Safety and Quality Control for these products.

Goji berries are undoubtedly a source of potentially bioactive compounds but their phytochemical profile can vary depending on their geographical origin, cultivar, and/or industrial processing. A rapid and cheap extraction of the polyphenolic fraction from Lycium barbarum cultivars, applied after homogenization treatments, was combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses based on two different methods. The obtained hydroalcoholic extracts, containing interesting secondary metabolites (gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, catechin, sinapinic acid, rutin, and carvacrol), were also submitted to a wide biological screening. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents, the antioxidant capacity using three antioxidant assays, tyrosinase inhibition, and anti-Candida activity were evaluated in order to correlate the impact of the homogenization treatment, geographical origin, and cultivar type on the polyphenolic and flavonoid amount, and consequently the bioactivity. The rutin amount, considered as a quality marker for goji berries according to European Pharmacopeia, varied from ≈200 to ≈400 µg/g among the tested samples, showing important differences observed in relation to the influence of the evaluated parameters.

In the context of there being a limited number of clinically approved drugs for the treatment of Candida sp.-based infections, along with the rapid development of resistance to the existing antifungals, two novel series of 4-phenyl-1,3-thiazole and 2-hydrazinyl-4-phenyl-1,3-thiazole derivatives were synthesized and tested in vitro for their anti-Candida potential. Two compounds (7a and 7e) showed promising inhibitory activity against the pathogenic C. albicans strain, exhibiting substantially lower MIC values (7.81 μg/mL and 3.9 μg/mL, respectively) as compared with the reference drug fluconazole (15.62 μg/mL). Their anti-Candida activity is also supported by molecular docking studies, using the fungal lanosterol C14α-demethylase as the target enzyme. The interaction of the most biologically active synthesized compound 7e with bovine serum albumin was investigated through fluorescence spectroscopy, and the obtained data suggested that this molecule might efficiently bind carrier proteins in vivo in order to reach the target site.

The present study aimed, on the one hand, to improve the yield of microwave assisted extraction (MAE) of polyphenols from beech bark by using a design of experiments (DoE) approach. On the other hand, beech bark extracts (BBE) were characterized in terms of their phytochemical profile and evaluated for biological potential (antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antimutagen, anti-α-glucosidase, and anti-tyrosinase). The extraction time varies with the amount of extracted total phenolic content (TPC). The microwave power favors TPC extraction but in different proportions. The optimum conditions which gave the highest TPC (76.57 mg GAE/g dry plant material) were reached when the microwave power was 300 W, extraction time was 4 min, and the solvent was an ethanol−water (50:50) mixture. The practical value of TPC after a controlled experiment was 76.49 mg GAE/g plant material. The identified compounds were vanillic acid, gallic acid, epicatechin, catechin, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, and isoquercitrin. The antioxidant potential of BBEs was demonstrated by in vitro experiments. The BBEs were active against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Candida species. All extracts were antimutagenic and expressed an inhibition on α-glucosidase and tyrosinase activity. Regarding antimutagen activity, the assayed extracts may be considered to have low or no antimutagen effects.

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is considered to be a comprehensive and sensitive method for detection of molecular changes in cells and media. In the present study, FTIR spectroscopy was employed as an easy, rapid and reliable technique to evaluate the lactic fermentation of Lactobacillus casei on a model de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) medium with or without the addition of dandelion extract (DE). Dandelion, due to its high content in fructans, can be used as an additional carbon source in lactic fermentation. Lactic fermentation in a dandelion extract, using the FTIR fingerprint as a qualitative and semi-quantitative assay for lactic acid production was monitored. Specific bands of carbohydrates in the fingerprint region (1200-900 cm-1) and their shifts indicated the hydrolysis and metabolism during fermentation. The band at 1336 cm-1 may be considered a sensitive marker for the identification of L. casei during fermentation, while the dandelion extract showed a unique characteristic peak at 1436 cm-1. The results proved that the species were detectable and that significant spectral differences existed between fermented samples in media with or without dandelion addition. Representative peaks of bacteria and dandelion appeared in the spectra of a mixture of bacteria and dandelion. The peaks were evident in the samples taken using the model MRS media from the beginning of fermentation as opposed to at the end of fermentation.

In the context of an increased incidence of invasive fungal diseases, there is an imperative need of new antifungal drugs with improved activity and safety profiles. A novel series of acylhydrazones bearing a 1,4-phenylene-bisthiazole scaffold was designed based on an analysis of structures known to possess anti-Candida activity obtained from a literature review. Nine final compounds were synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their inhibitory activity against various strains of Candida spp. The anti-Candida activity assay revealed that some of the new compounds are as active as fluconazole against most of the tested strains. A molecular docking study was conducted in order to evaluate the binding poses towards lanosterol 14α-demethylase. An in silico ADMET analysis showed that the compounds possess drug-like properties and represent a biologically active framework that should be further optimized as potential hits.

The fir buds as well as the fir buds extracts (such as fir buds syrup) are used in traditional medicine and phytotheraphy for the alleviation of light to medium forms of respiratory diseases and for the prophylaxis or treatment of some childhood disorders. The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the two types fir buds syrups (cold pressed and boiled) taken into study were demonstrated by its content in vitamin C, flavonoids and by the inhibitory effect on E.coli, B. cereus, S.aureus, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella thypi.