[Polyphenols as promising bioactive compounds].

Polyphenols are diverse and widespread bioactive plant-based compounds. These compounds are found in various foods such as berries, fruits, vegetables, cereals, nuts, coffee, cacao, spices, seeds. They are divided into phenolic acids, stilbenes, flavonoids, lignans depending on their molecular structure. They attract the attention of researchers due to wide range of biological effects on human body. The purpose of this work was to analyze modern scientific publications on the biological effects of polyphenols. Material and methods. The review is based on publications presented in the PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Elsevier, eLIBRARY, Cyberleninka databases using "polyphenols", "flavonoids", "resveratrol", "quercetin", "catechins" as key words. Preference was given to original researches over the past 10 years published in refereed journals. Results. Oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, microbiome disorders, insulin resistance, excessive protein glycation, and genotoxic effects are at the heart of the pathogenesis of many diseases, including those associated with age. A large amount of material has been accumulated on the antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, epigenetic, metabolic, geroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects of polyphenols. This gives reasons to consider polyphenols as very promising micronutrients, which inclusion in the diet can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular, oncological, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes mellitus, obesity, metabolic syndrome, premature aging, that is, the main causes of death, a decrease in the duration and quality of life of a modern person. Conclusion. Expanding the range of products enriched with polyphenols with their high bioavailability is a promising area of scientific research and development of production in order to prevent socially significant age-associated diseases.

[Eating behavior, sleep self-assessment and personality traits of students with extreme chronotypes]. / Pishchevoe povedenie, samootsenka sna i osobennosti emotsional'noi sfery lichnosti u studentov krainikh khronotipov.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the differences in eating behavior, sleep self-assessment and personality traits in students with extreme chronotypes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Students (n=350), aged 17 to 23 years, with extreme chronotypes (owls/larks) were studied. Eating behavior was assessed with the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18). Evaluation of the condition of the cycle sleep-wakefulness (sleep quality, sleep hygiene, daytime sleepiness) and psychophysiological differences (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Spielberger-Khanin anxiety inventory and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS); the Stress test) was performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Higher neuroticism, psychoticism and anxiety, low resistance to stress, reduced quality and hygiene of sleep with increased daytime sleepiness are found in people with evening preferences in comparison with the morning chronotype. Eating behavior according to TFEQ-R18 is characterized by a lack of cognitive restraint. The results may indicate preclinical health disorders, which are affected by lifestyle factors. The number of alcohol consumers and smokers is two and more than three times higher, respectively, among students with evening chronotype. The changes identified in people with evening chronotype require additional attention to student's health.

Usage of atomic force microscopy for detection of the damaging effect of CdCl2 on red blood cells membrane.

The possibility of detecting the damaging effect of cadmium salts on red blood cells (RBC) membrane by atomic force microscopy and light microscopy was studied. White wistar rats RBC were incubated with cadmium chloride in concentrations of 1 µg/l, 10 µg/l, 100 µg/l, and 1000 µg/l for the research. A comparison of sample preparation methods proposed by other authors in previous studies is made. The optimal method that does not significantly affect the change in the morphological features of the cell is selected. The quantitative assessment of damaged and destroyed RBC depending on the concentration of cadmium was performed by optical microscopy. The study showed that CdCl2 has a damaging effect on the RBC membrane, which leads to the formation of non-specific cell forms. A comparative assessment was made between the methods of optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy for the suitability of studying the morphological characteristics of abnormal forms of the RBC. It is shown that the method of atomic force microscopy allows registering morphological changes in the RBC that cannot be registered by optical microscopy. It is pointed that CdCl2 has effect on destruction of the RBC and the formation of specific bulges on the RBC membrane. Influence of CdCl2 on the RBC mechanical properties was studied using atomic force microscopy. The possibility of using atomic force microscopy in studies of morphology and mechanical properties of the RBC under toxicity effect of cadmium is shown.

[Physiological effects, mechanisms of action and application of lactulose].

The discovery of lactulose as a bifidogenic factor became the background for the appearance of the prebiotics concept. Currently, lactulose is the most studied in terms of medical use oligosaccharide with a high prebiotic index. The exact mechanisms of action of lactulose remain largely unknown despite a number of new researches based on modern methods of molecular biology, genetics, and bioinformatics. The aim of this review to summarize and analyze the actual information about biological activity, probable mechanisms of action, and possible uses of lactulose in human nutrition. Results. The structure of lactulose, methods for its determination and preparation are briefly described. Promising methods for producing lactulose include enzymatic synthesis from lactose using ß-galactosidase or epimerase. Information on the physiological effects of lactulose and the mechanisms of its action on the human organism is presented. The works confirming the ability of lactulose to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria and to influence the metabolism of the intestinal microbiota are summarized. The results of studies of the ability of lactulose to have antitoxic and anticarcinogenic effects are presented. The mechanisms of the positive effect of the prebiotic on the absorption of minerals, increased absorption of Ca and Mg in the human organism are described. The effect of lactulose on immunity and the possibility of its use to reduce the glucose blood level in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are shown. The main directions of the use of lactulose in food production are systematized. The data confirming the possibility of using lactulose as a growth factor for probiotics, as well as a protective agent to increase the survival of some starter cultures, are presented. Brief information on the doses and forms of lactulose apply in medicine is presented. The dependence of the effects of lactulose on the dose, health condition and age of patients has been established. Conclusion. Perspective directions of lactulose using in combination with probiotics, other prebiotics, and as an encapsulating ingredient for vitamins and other functional nutrition ingredients are determined. In this regard, the study of lactulose interaction with the components of complex products is relevant.

[Prebiotics as functional food ingredients: terminology, choice and comparative evaluation criteria, classification].

The purpose of this review is to analyze current concepts of prebiotics as one of the most promising groups of functional food ingredients, identify problems and trends in the investigations in this area. The background for the emergence and development stages of the concept of «prebiotics¼ as non-digestible food substances that selectively stimulate the growth and (or) the biological activity of one or a limited number of representatives of the protective microflora of the human intestine, contributing to the maintenance of its normal structure and biological activity is shown. The criteria for selecting prebiotics and the formula for prebiotic index determining are presented. Methods for determining the bifidogenic properties of functional foods enriched with probiotic microorganisms or prebiotic substances are described. Prebiotics are classified according to several factors: nature and structure, origin and sources of raw materials, the method of production, the field of application. It is shown that most researchers consider prebiotics only as substances of carbohydrate nature, primarily indigestible oligosaccharides. A brief description of the most studied prebiotics (fructans, galactans and lactulose) is given. The information on technological properties of oligosaccharide-prebiotics is generalized. It is shown that prebiotics belong to the fast growing segments in the world market of functional ingredients, however their production and use in Russia is still at the initial stage of development. The main tasks in the field of prebiotics researches are defined: clarifying the definition, improving the methods for analyzing their chemical composition, study of the effectiveness and mechanisms of influence on the intestinal microbiota, especially on the interaction in the «macroorganism-microbiota¼ system using modern molecular genetic methods; scientific substantiation of the possibility of prebiotics using for the prevention and treatment of alimentary-dependent diseases. For the practical implementation of these tasks, it is necessary to develop new cost-effective methods for the production of prebiotics and synbiotics, as well as food technology with their use.

[Anxiety, sleep self-assessment, cortisol and saliva antioxidants in students with occasional experience of shift work]. / Trevozhnost', samootsenka sna, kortizol i antioksidantnaia aktivnost' sliuny u studentov pri épizodicheskoi smennoi rabote.

AIM: To study the anxiety level, sleep self-assessment and indicators of morning and evening levels of cortisol and saliva antioxidants in students with experience of occasional shift work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: University students (n=159) with experience of shift work were examined. Psychoemotional status was assessed using the Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ), Spielberger-Khanin anxiety inventory, The Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (Nemchin's modification). The express-questionnaire The Quality of Sleep Hygiene, the Sleep Quality scale and the scale of drowsiness were used to assess sleep. Saliva morning and evening cortisol levels (ELISA) and the total antioxidant activity (amperometric method) were determined. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There was an increase in the number of respondents with higher anxiety, higher scores of psychoticism and neuroticism. According to the self-assessment of sleep, a statistically significant decrease in the quality of sleep hygiene was shown. Biochemical parameters of the saliva differed significantly only in the morning hours: the increase in cortisol and decrease in the antioxidant activity were observed. The results suggest the possibility of asymptomatic development of emotional disorders and metabolic disorders in people with occasional night shift work.

[Sleep quality and hormone levels in the morning and evening hours under chemical pollution]. / Kachestvo sna i uroven' gormonov v utrennie i vechernie chasy v usloviiakh zagriazneniia okruzhaiushchei sredy.

AIM: To evaluate self-assessment of sleep and the level of hormones in the morning and evening in chemical pollution conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three hundred adolescent and adult men living in the regions with low and high levels of chemical pollution were examined using questionnaires for self-assessment of quality of sleep, sleep hygiene, daytime sleepiness. Levels of cortisol and testosterone in the saliva were determined in the morning and evening hours by ELISA. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In areas with low pollution level, there were normal changes in hormone levels with an increase in the morning and decrease in the evening. In high pollution conditions, the average levels of hormones increased, the morning-evening gradient disappeared. These conditions were also associated with an increase in daytime sleepiness and disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle and the endocrine regulation system that indicate the possibility of the development of internal desynchronosis.

[Effects of nighttime snacking in students on their physiological parameters].

The purpose of the research was a comparative assessment of the level of diet nutrients, characteristics of higher nervous activity, specificity of chronobiological changes of the sleep-wake cycle, the daily dynamics of cortisol level and total antioxidant activity in saliva in students with the presence of night eating compared with students who do not eat at night. The participants were 72 university students aged 17-22 years (59 females and 13 males), a self-administered diet diary for a week was used to acquire dietary pattern and nutrient content. All participants were divided into two groups: group 1--students with food consumption from 06.00 am to 10.00 pm without night meals (n = 34), and group 2--students, whose food consumption include all day period and night snaking from 10.00 pm to 06.00 am (n = 38). High nervous activity parameters were detected according to the Eysenck questionnaire, Spielberg and Taylor anxiety tests, the test "Stress", the three-factor eating questionnaire; chronobiological state was evaluated according to sleep quality, sleep hygiene, daily sleepiness, chronotype. Levels of cortisol and total antioxidant activity were estimated in saliva twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. In both groups, the majority of students (97%) have reduced consumption of vitamins and minerals such as biotin, vitamin D, choline, iodine, cobalt, manganese, sulfur, fluorine and zinc. Deficit of carbohydrates was found in 93% of respondents. The number of students with calcium deficiency was increased in the group 2 compared to the group 1 and reached 27.8% vs 3% (p < 0.05), niacin insufficiency was revealed in 41.7% vs 18.2% (p < 0.05) and proteins insufficiency frequency reached 30.6% vs 0% (p < 0.05). The students from the group 2 had a significantly lower (p < 0.05) intake of vitamins A, B6 and C. In the group 2 it was detected the time shift of food consumption acrophase (15.1 h vs. 13.8 h; p < 0.05), decrease of persons with morning chronotype (5.55% vs 24.24%; p < 0.05), increase of anxiety and daily sleepiness (26 vs 20; p < 0.01, and 10 vs 6; p < 0.03 respectively); decrease of sleep quality (13 vs 15; p < 0.01), increase of evening saliva cortisol level [9.41 (6.96; 13.11) vs 6.51 (5.61; 9.88) ng/ml; p < 0.005) and decrease of saliva total antioxidant activity in the morning [13.00 (9.82; 14.98) vs 16.41 (15.21; 17.51) mg/l; p < 0.001] and in the evening [11.11 (7.85; 12.89)vs 14.32 (13.27; 15.29) mg/l; p < 0.001].