Chemical Composition of Volatiles of Eight Geranium L. Species from Vlasina Plateau (South Eastern Serbia).

Geranium species are widely used in traditional medicine of Balkan. The aim of this work was to investigate and compare chemical composition of volatile fractions obtained by hydrodistillation from aerial parts of G. macrorrhizum, G. phaeum, G. sanguineum, G. robertianum, G. palustre, G. pyrenaicum, G. columbinum and G. lucidum as well as from underground parts of G. macrorrhizum and G. phaeum, originated from Vlasina plateau in South Eastern Serbia. The volatiles were analyzed using GC/MS and GC-FID. G. palustre volatiles have been studied for the first time with ß-selinene (18.6 %) as a characteristic compound. The cluster analysis revealed separation of volatiles into two main groups. Volatile fractions of G. macrorrhizum were separated from all other samples due to high sesquiterpene content (92.3 % in aerial and 94.6 % in underground parts). The volatile fractions of other samples were mainly composed of sesquiterpenes (10.8-61.8 %), diterpenes (12.9-43.0 %) and fatty acids and their derivatives (6.6-21.6 %) with the exception of volatile fraction of G. phaeum underground parts which was dominated only by fatty acids and their derivatives (76.6 %). The results presented in this article contribute to the knowledge on the chemistry of this genus and advances the knowledge on flora of southeast Serbia.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil and Methanol Extract of Hypericum aegypticum subsp. webbii (Spach) N. Robson.

Hypericum aegypticum subsp. webbii is an evergreen shrub spread in Mediterranean part of central and southeastern Europe. The chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and MeOH extract of H. aegypticum subsp. webbii were investigated. The monoterpenes α-pinene (63.4 - 68.5%) and ß-pinene (16.9 - 17.0%) were main compounds in the volatile oil from aerial parts. In the cluster analysis, the essential oil of H. aegypticum subsp. webbii was separated and chemically different from the oil of other subspecies of H. aegypticum as well as other Hypericum species from Greece. SIMPER analysis revealed that α-pinene (24.79%) was the component that contributed the most to differences between all oils. Also, there was extremely high overall dissimilarity between three subspecies of H. aegypticum. MeOH extract of aerial parts of H. aegypticum subsp. webbii contained flavonoids rutin (56.4 ± 0.9 mg/g), hyperoside and quercetin, and phenolic acids chlorogenic and caffeic acid, while naphthodianthrones were not detected. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil was moderate (MIC from 100 to >200 µg/ml), while MeOH extract inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Micrococcus luteus (MIC 50 - 100 µg/ml), more pronounced than the extract of H. perforatum (MIC 200 - >200 µg/ml).

Variability of the root essential oils of Seseli rigidum Waldst. & Kit. (Apiaceae) from different populations in Serbia.

The chemical compositions of the essential oils of seven natural populations of Seseli rigidum were analyzed. The essential-oil yield ranged from 0.16 to 2.09%. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the mean essential-oil yields between the populations, and no significant influence of the climate or soil type on the oil yield was observed. In all 67 analyzed samples, the polyacetylene falcarinol was the main compound, followed by octanal, methyl linoleate, α-muurolene, 3-butylphthalide, falcarinone, muurola-4,10(14)-dien-1ß-ol, ß-sesquiphellandrene, salvial-4(14)-en-1-one, δ-amorphene, spathulenol, and isospathulenol. The principal component analysis (PCA), the canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), and the cluster analysis (CA) revealed differentiation between the populations based on the climate. Three groups of populations were formed; the first group was composed of samples growing in regions with a humid climate, with oils having high falcarinol and low sesquiterpene contents, and the second and third groups comprised samples exposed to semi-arid climate, with oils characterized by a lower falcarinol and higher α-muurolene, δ-amorphene, ß-sesquiphellandrene, and salvial-4(14)-en-1-one contents. The semi-arid populations were divided into two groups, which were distinguished based on the oil contents of sesquiterpenes, falcarinone, and 3-butylphthalide. On the other hand, no clear separation between populations based on the different soil types could be observed.

Health Benefits and Applications of Goji Berries in Functional Food Products Development: A Review.

Goji berries have long been used for their nutritional value and medicinal purposes in Asian countries. In the last two decades, goji berries have become popular around the world and are consumed as a functional food due to wide-range bioactive compounds with health-promoting properties. In addition, they are gaining increased research attention as a source of functional ingredients with potential industrial applications. This review focuses on the antioxidant properties of goji berries, scientific evidence on their health effects based on human interventional studies, safety concerns, goji berry processing technologies, and applications of goji berry-based ingredients in developing functional food products.