A comparison of selenium concentrations in selected organs of wild boar (Sus scrofa) from industrialized and non-industrialized regions of Poland.

The aim of this study was to compare selenium concentration in the liver and kidneys of wild boar inhabiting industrialized and non-industrialized regions of Poland. Selenium concentrations in organs were determined using spectrofluorometric method. In all the animals studied, Se concentrations were a few times lower than in kidneys which may indicate too low content of this element either in the boar's diet or the presence of a poorly absorbable form of Se. No statistically significant differences were noted in the mean Se concentrations in the liver and kidney of wild boar from industrialized and non-industrialized areas. In the case of wild boar, it seems that the level of selenium in their organs is more dependent on geochemical conditions in the specific feeding ground than on the scale of regional industrialization, and that this situation is most likely related to the specificity of wild boar feeding.

Antifungal activity of the carrot seed oil and its major sesquiterpene compounds.

Carrot seed oil is the source of the carotane sesquiterpenes carotol, daucol and beta-caryophyllene. These sesquiterpenic allelochemicals were evaluated against Alternaria alternata isolated from the surface of carrot seeds cultivar Perfekcja, a variety widely distributed in horticultural practise in Poland. Alternaria alternata is one of the most popular phytotoxic fungi infesting the carrot plant. The strongest antifungal activity was observed for the main constituent of carrot seed oil, carotol, which inhibited the radial growth of fungi by 65% at the following concentration.