The chemical characterisation of nettle (Urtica dioica L.) seed oil.

The past decade has seen increasing interest in plant oils in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries due to their diverse functional and nutritional properties, as well as the high levels of consumer acceptance. As a result, there has been a spike in research interest in finding new sources of oils with good potential for industrial use. In this paper, the chemical characterisation (saponification, iodine, acid and ester numbers, as well as fatty acid composition) of nettle seed oil was given. Oil was analysed for its thermooxidative stability by differential scanning calorimetry. The kinetic parameters of oxidation (Ea, A, and k) were also determined. The results showed that nettle seed oil belongs to the group of edible oils of the linoleic type and it is nutritionally highly valuable, it has pronounced thermooxidative stability and could be an alternative source of raw material for the food, cosmetics, and other non-food industries.

Analysis of antioxidant potential of fruit and vegetable juices available in Serbian markets.

Antioxidants in fruit and vegetable juices have become increasingly popular because of their potential health benefits. Nowadays, juice mixes made from berries present frequent consumer choices, due to their nutritive value and high content of bioactive compounds. Commercial fruit and vegetable juices available in Serbian markets (n = 32) were analyzed for the physicochemical properties, chemical composition, and antioxidant activity. Relative antioxidant capacity index was used for the ranking of the juices according to antioxidant capacity, while antioxidant effectiveness of phenolic compounds contained in juice samples was investigated depending on phenolic antioxidant coefficients. Principal component analysis was applied to study the data structure. In addition, a multi-layer perceptron model was used for modeling an artificial neural network model (ANN) for prediction antioxidant activity (DPPH, reducing power, and ABTS) based on total phenolic, total pigments, and vitamin C content. The obtained ANN showed good prediction capabilities (the r2 values during training cycle for output variables were 0.942). Phenolic, pigments, and vitamin C contents showed a positive correlation with the investigated antioxidant activity. The consumption of commercial berry fruit juices available in Serbian markets may deliver great health benefits through the supply of natural antioxidants.

Can pumpkin save us of doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity? / ¿Puede la calabaza salvarnos de la cardiotoxicidad inducida por doxorrubicina?

SUMMARY: Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the drugs necessary for the treatment of the 10 most common types of cancer. The leading adverse effect limiting clinical use of DOX is cardiotoxicity. Given that literature data indicate a protective role of carotenoids in doxorubicin-induced toxicity, in our study we compared the cardioprotective effect of a mixture of pumpkin carotenoids and a commercially available antioxidant preparation. Animals were distributed in 8 groups (Control - S; NADES - N; Doxorubicin - Dox; Carotenoids - Car; CardiofortIN - CF; NADES-Doxorubicin - N-Dox; Carotenoids-Doxorubicin - Car-Dox; CardiofortIN-Doxorubicin - CF-Dox). Histological sections were stained with the hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and analyzed for the presence of myocardial damage by doxorubicin damage score (DDS). From the heart tissue homogenate were determined the intensity of lipid peroxidation and specific antioxidative enzyme activity (superoxide dismutase; catalase; glutathione S-transferase; glutathione peroxidase). In Car-DOX and CF-DOX groups, lipid peroxidation is significantly reduced compared to DOX group. Pretreatment of animals with carotenoids and in lesser extent with CardiofortIN led to higher antioxidative enzymes activity, compared to DOX group. Pretreated with carotenoids, only 50 % of animals had some degree of myocardial damage, and no animals had extensive damage. CardiofortIN pretreatment showed less protective effect. Pretreatment with carotenoid extract, reduced DDS significantly, so Car-DOX group has changes equivalent to mild myocardial damage. Although CardiofortIN pretreatment lowered DDS score values, animals still had moderate level of myocardium damage. This in vivo study and its findings indicate that carotenoids extracted from pumpkin may be a promising cardioprotective agent against doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity, at least in part mediated through inhibition of DOX-induced oxidative stress.

La doxorrubicina (DOX) es uno de los fármacos necesarios para el tratamiento de los 10 tipos más comunes de cáncer. El principal efecto adverso que limita el uso clínico de DOX es la cardiotoxicidad. Debido a que los datos de la literatura indican un papel protector de los carotenoides en la toxicidad inducida por doxorrubicina, en nuestro estudio comparamos el efecto cardioprotector de una mezcla de carotenoides de calabaza y una preparación antioxidante disponible comercialmente. Los animales se distribuyeron en 8 grupos (Control - S; NADES - N; Doxorrubicina - Dox; Carotenoides - Car; CardiofortIN - CF; NADES-Doxorrubicina - N-Dox; Carotenoides-Doxorrubicina - Car-Dox; CardiofortIN- Doxorrubicina - CF-Dox). Las secciones histológicas se tiñeron con hematoxilina-eosina (HE) y se analizaron para detectar la presencia de daño miocárdico mediante la puntuación de daño por doxorrubicina (DDS). A partir del homogeneizado de tejido cardíaco se determinó la intensidad de la peroxidación lipídica y la actividad enzimática antioxidante específica (superóxido dismutasa, catalasa, glutatión S-transferasa, glutatión peroxidasa). En los grupos Car-DOX y CF-DOX, la peroxidación lipídica se redujo significativamente en comparación con el grupo DOX. El pre tratamiento de los animales con carotenoides y, en menor medida, con CardiofortlN condujo a una mayor actividad de las enzimas antioxidantes, en comparación con el grupo DOX. Al ser pre tratados con carotenoides, solo el 50 % de los animales tenían algún grado de daño miocárdico y ningún animal tenía daño extenso. El pre tratamiento con CardiofortIN mostró un efecto protector menor. El pre tratamiento con extracto de carotenoides redujo significativamente el DDS, por lo que el grupo Car-DOX mostró cambios equivalentes a un daño miocárdico leve. Aunque el pre tratamiento con CardiofortIN redujo los valores de la puntuación DDS, los animales aún tenían un nivel moderado de daño al miocardio. Este estudio in vivo y sus hallazgos indican que los carotenoides extraídos de la calabaza pueden ser un agente cardioprotector prometedor contra la cardiotoxicidad inducida por doxorrubicina, al menos en parte mediada por la inhibición del estrés oxidativo inducido por DOX.

Physical Activity, Eating Habits and Mental Health during COVID-19 Lockdown Period in Serbian Adolescents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of life, especially daily physical activity and healthy eating habits but also mental health. Our study aimed to examine the relationship between the physical activity level, eating habits and mental health of Serbian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 3506 students from the territory of the Republic of Serbia participated in this study. IPAQ-short version and HBSC-FFQ were used to assess physical activity level and eating habits, along with self-rated health. Moderate correlations were identified between physical activity, eating habits and mental health, along with average physical activity, very high life satisfaction (ß = 0.177, p < 0.01) and very low emotional distress (ß = −0.150, p < 0.01). A significant predictor of mental health was the frequency of breakfast on weekdays (ß = 0.167, p < 0.01 for life satisfaction and ß = −0.153, p < 0.01 for emotional distress), but not on weekends. Since the pandemic's course is uncertain, the focus should be on maintaining good physical activity, nutrition and well-being.

Bioaccessibility and uptake by Caco-2 cells of carotenoids from cereal-based products enriched with butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata L.).

Enriching cereals-based products with bioactive compounds is a valuable strategy to improve product quality. We studied carotenoid bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake from a pumpkin-enriched porridge, cookies and sponge cakes by using in vitro digestion coupled with Caco-2 cell uptake. Among the carotenoids recovered in different products, α-carotene was the most important abundant one. However, lutein displayed a significantly higher bioaccessibility compared to α-carotene and ß-carotene in baked products (up to 10.28% compared to 1.22% and 0.88%, respectively). α-Carotene was the only carotenoid recovered in Caco-2 cells after micelle incubation. Cookie micelles led to the highest percentage of α-carotene cell uptake (2.33% and 1.38% for cookies with butter and cookies with vegetable oil, respectively) compared to the other baked products, followed by dry pumpkin puree micelles (1.31%). Overall, our data show that both bioaccessiblity and cell uptake of carotenoids from cereal-based products are variable and highly depend on food formulation and structure.

Nutrition and Physical Activity Behavior in 11-14-Year-Old Schoolchildren in Serbia.

Regular physical activity and healthy diet have a significant positive impact on children's health. Lack of physical activity increases the risk of various diseases, while obesity has become an alarming health problem worldwide. The aim of this study is to investigate the patterns of physical activity and diet among 11-14-year-old school children in Serbia. The sample included 623 primary school children, of whom 333 were boys (53.45%) and 290 were girls (46.55%). The children were also divided according to their age/grade: fifth grade/11 years (24.40% (n = 152; M = 84, F = 68)), sixth grade/12 years (25.68% (n = 160; M = 91, F = 69)), seventh grade/13 years (26.81% (n = 167; M = 83, F = 84)) and eighth grade/14 years (23.11% (n = 144; M = 75, F = 69)). Children's lifestyle was assessed using two subscales of questionnaires based on the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile model II. The Mann-Whitney U test showed no statistically significant difference between boys and girls in the variables Nutrition (p = 0.81) and Physical Activity (p = 0.91). The Kruskal-Wallis test was applied and showed no statistically significant differences between children of different ages, regardless of gender, in the variable Nutrition (p = 0.63). However, differences were evident in the variable Physical Activity (p < 0.001), with the highest mean scores recorded in 12- and 13-year-old children and the lowest in 14-year-old children. Additionally, no statistically significant differences were found among boys as a function of age in the variables Nutrition (p = 0.55) and Physical Activity (p = 0.15), nor among girls in the variable Nutrition (p = 0.43), but in the variable Physical Activity (p = 0.01). In general, it can be concluded that the older primary school children have relatively satisfactory dietary and physical activity habits, but that these behaviors decrease with age, especially the level of physical activity. There is a need for better and more effective education of children about the benefits and importance of proper nutrition and regular physical activity.

The optimisation of traditional fermentation process of white cabbage (in relation to biogenic amines and polyamines content and microbiological profile).

White cabbage heads cultivar "Futoski" and hybrid "Bravo" were investigated during fermentation process, for 50days, at different temperature regimes (16-18; 18-20; 20-22°C) and salt concentrations 1, 1.5 and 2%. The quantity of biogenic amines (tryptamine, phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, serotonine, tyramine, spermidine and spermine), as well as microbiological profile (lactic acid bacteria, total number of microorganisms, yeasts and moulds and Enterobacteriaceae) have been determined during fermentation. The optimum processing conditions were determined by Response Surface Method, coupled with Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation algorithm. The optimal process parameters, regarding low biogenic amines and polyamines content, for "Futoski" cabbage was: salt concentration of 2%, at 18°C, and for hybrid "Bravo": salt concentration of 1%, at 20°C.

[Diagnostic value of the F-reaction in localization of the level of peripheral motor neuron lesions]. / Dijagnosticka vrednost F-odgovora u lokalizaciji visine lezije perifernog motornog neurona.

F-wave is a secondary muscle response, which occurs by antidromic activation of the limited number of alphamotoneurons. Based on M- and F-response and the nerve length, the conduction time, conduction velocity, and the ratio of F-response can be determined. These parameters help in assessing the data about functional condition of peripheral motor neurons along the most proximal segment in relatively simple and non-invasive way. In routine practical work, minimal latency of F-wave is measured, while F-wave conduction time, F-wave conduction velocity and F-ratio are not measured. The aim of this research was to examine the importance of F-wave latency, F-wave conduction time, F-wave conduction velocity, and F-ratio in the localization of level of lesion of peripheral motor neurons. Electromyoneurography examination included 50 patients with radiculopathies of lumbosacral part of spinal cord, 50 patients with neuropathy, and 25 healthy persons. Minimal latency of F-wave for tibial nerve and peroneal nerve was determined after 10 stimulations. F-wave latency, F-wave conduction time, F-wave conduction velocity, and F-ratio were determined in accordance with the formulas defined by Kimura. The results of our test have shown that F-wave latency, F wave conduction time, F-wave conduction velocity, were important electrophysiological parameters, while F-ratio was found to be highly sensitive, which made it the most valid electro-physiological parameter in the differentiation of proximal and distal lesion of peripheral motor neuron.