ISSN 2285-1364, ISSN CD-ROM 2285-5521, ISSN ONLINE 2285-1372, ISSN-L 2285-1364
 

Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIII
Written by Camelia RĂDUCU, Vioara MIREȘAN, Igori BALTA, Adina Lia LONGODOR, Ștefania MARIS, Aurelia COROIAN

Knowing the physico-chemical composition of the wine allows it to be authenticated and to detect the frauds that can be encountered in marketed wines. The physico-chemical analysis of wine is the basis for controlling and observing the technological flow of wine production. It is also necessary to evaluate the organoleptic characteristics of wine as there is a close link between the sensory characteristics and the chemical composition of the final product. The raw material and the harvest year significantly influence the final composition of the wine. The temperature and precipitations of the raw material harvest year significantly influence the chemical composition of the wine. Tartaric acid varies between 2.51 ± 0.05 and 2.82 ± 0.04 for red Merlot dry wines. The mean values for malic acid are between 1.01 ± 0.04 and 1.57 ± 0.03. The average citric acid values range from 0.19 ± 0.01 to 0.24 ± 0.01 for red Merlot dry wines. These values correspond to the average values reported by other authors in the literature. The purpose of this study was to characterize the content of tartaric, malic, citric and lactic acid in dry red Merlot wine, as well as sensory and physicochemical properties according to the year of production.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIII
Written by Alice GRIGORE, Svetlana COLCERU-MIHUL, Corina BUBUEANU, Lucia PÎRVU, Cristina BAZDOACĂ, Sultana NIŢĂ

The aim of this study was to obtain selective fractions of Hyssopus officinalis L. by different methods and to investigate a possible correlation between their chemical content and antioxidant activity in order to establish a potential effect of this species on counteracting diseases associated with aging processes. HPLC analysis and quantitative determination of active principles from nine selective fractions show that the values were well correlated with the ones resulted by spectrophotometrically methods. The selective fractions have a total flavonoid content expressed as rutin from 1.236 to 19.060 % and respectively 0.126 to 16.783% polyphenolcarboxylic acids expressed as rosmarinic acid. It has been observed that the fractions with high content in polyphenolcarboxylic acids and flavonosides exhibit maximum antioxidant activity. There are selective fractions containing only one of the classes of compounds (flavonosides or polyphenolcarboxylic acids) in a higher amount that show great antioxidant activity. A strictly correlation between the flavones content of the selective fractions and antioxidant activity can not be made by this method.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIII
Written by Monica ENACHE, Larisa ANGHEL

Food supplements are marketed in large numbers in Romania at present, they are the products of a dynamic and profitable industry. Bee pollen is a food supplement with variable composition and properties, reflecting the floral biodiversity used as a source. This product is collected for human use and at the same time it is indispensable for the survival of bee colonies. In the present work fresh bee pollen samples were obtained from two commercial sources in Bucharest (CS1 and CS2) and pellets were sorted by colour and analysed microscopically on unacetolised fresh mounts, one pellet at a time using an optical microscope (magnification 400×; 1000×). The colour of pollen pellets was variable, in the first sample (CS1) there were for example: white (Pinaceae – Pinus sp.), light yellow (Rosaceae – Malus sp.), lemon (Brassicaceae – Brassica sp.), orange (Asteraceae – Taraxacum officinale), firebrick (Geraniaceae – Geranium sp.) and black (Fabaceae – Trifolium pratense) pellets compared to the second sample (CS2) which contained only yellow and orange shades, for example: lemon (Brassicaceae – Brassica sp.), pale yellow (Cucurbitaceae – Cucumis sativus), orange (Asteraceae – Taraxacum officinale).

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIII
Written by Oscar VICENTE, Monica BOSCAIU

The progressive salinisation of irrigated cropland is causing substantial losses in agricultural production, a problem that will worsen due to climate change effects. Enhancing crop salt tolerance is a sensible strategy to achieve significant increases in crop yields, but requires a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms. When challenged by salinity, all plants, regardless of their degree of tolerance, activate a series of basic responses, including the control of ion transport, the synthesis of compatible solutes for osmotic adjustment, or the activation of antioxidant systems. Yet, for a given species, the biological relevance and the relative contribution of different responses to the mechanisms of salt tolerance remain largely unknown. Over the last years, we have performed comparative analyses on the responses to salinity in different taxa, genetically related but with varying levels of tolerance. Correlating salt-induced changes in the concentrations of suitable biochemical stress markers with the relative tolerance of the investigated species, we are obtaining novel and interesting information on those mechanisms. Some examples with taxa of several genera are discussed, to show the usefulness of our approach.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIV
Written by Corina BUBUEANU, Iulian TECU; Denis NEGREA; Ioana TABREA; Adela STARAS; Ionica BAJENARU

The aim of our study was to assess the artemisinin and phenolic compounds content of extracts obtained from Artemisia annua by classic solvent extraction comparatively with the extract obtained by microwave. For the classic technique, the solvents used were water, methanol, ethanol, and acetone. For microwave extraction, the solvent was ethanol 90% (v/v). The phenolic compounds were identified by HPTLC and artemisinin was also quantified by HPLC. In all samples rutin, hyperoside, chlorogenic and cafeic acids were identified. The highest quantity of artemisinin was found in extracts obtained by microwave extraction. The highest DPPH radical scavenging was obtained for aqueous extract, whereas methanolic extract exhibited almost a constant activity in different concentrations. The results obtained for total antioxidant capacity by the phosphomolibdenum method were similar to the DPPH method.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXV, Issue 1
Written by Catalin BILBIE, Andra GHIZDAREANU

The aim of the research was to compare the shelf life of fruit smoothies, obtained by two different accelerated aging methods. An accelerated shelf life test (ASLT) was conducted, and various quality indicators were measured during this time, such as: pH, titratable acidity, colour, total aerobic count (TAC) and sensory analysis. The test was performed on smoothie beverages purchased from Romanian market for 24 days, the samples being stored at three different temperatures: 5°C, 10°C and 15°C. The analysis of the quality parameters showed that the pH, titratable acidity and the measurement of colour suffered a minor value modification, while the TAC number increased as the storage temperature increased. The results of the research were analysed using Arrhenius equation and Q10 Rule. The TAC changes followed an apparent first-order kinetics, their rates and activation energies were estimated from the experimental data (as a plot of temperature vs time). The fruit smoothies had an estimated shelf life of about 57 days (at 5°C) and 50 days (at 7°C) using the Arrhenius equation and an estimated shelf life about 49 days using the Q10-Rule, after extrapolating the data to real temperature conditions.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIV
Written by Luminiţa Raluca SIMIONESCU, Narcisa BĂBEANU, Călina Petruţa CORNEA

This paper presents a comparative study reguarding similarities and differences between the genetically modified products (food raw materials of vegetable origin) obtained by conventional methods of transgenesis and the product obtained by new techniques of targeted mutagenesis, like CRISPR-Cas9 method. In this article we will present briefly through explanatory drawings the genome of plants obtained by conventional random mutagenesis and targeted mutagenesis CRISPR-Cas9, mutagenesis in EU GMO legislation, the objectives of innovation and multiplication of specific plants which can contribute to a sustainable agriculture and increased food production. The products resulted from small editions, which could also have appeared spontaneously in cultures. In conclusion, CRISPR-Cas9 is the principal used technology for genome editing for simplicity and efficiency. We try to highlight the application and benefits of CRISPR-Cas9 method like a tool genome editing for agriculture and food industry.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXV, Issue 1
Written by Monica ENACHE, Silvana Mihaela DĂNĂILĂ-GUIDEA, Marius HANGAN

Due to their morphological characteristics such as: tetramerous, actinomorphic or zygomorphic flowers that are arranged in racemes, spikes, or panicles, simple, opposite or alternate leaves, lanceolate in shape, a capsule or, rarely, a berry fruit, very small seeds that have in some genera, tufts of hairs, the Onagraceae species are considered easy to recognize in the field. Some of the species found in Romania are well known melliferous plants, popular ornamental plants, ruderal plants or plants that have been used in traditional medicine. Different genera have pollen grains that have different morphological characteristics such as the shape, size, the apertures and the surface patterns, but in many genera they are held together by viscin threads that make the pollen sticky. Although modern techniques of pollen analysis include electron microscopy, most pollen studies also use conventional light microscopy. In the present study, images of hydrated pollen from Fuchsia magellanica 'Alice Hoffman', Oenothera biennis (common evening-primrose) and Epilobium parviflorum (small-flowered willowherb) were provided by light microscopy and were compared to the descriptions found in the literature.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIV
Written by Diana GROPOŞILĂ-CONSTANTINESCU, Gabriela POPA, Valerica-Luminiţa VIŞAN, Gabriela Lucica MĂRGĂRIT, Radu-Cristian TOMA, Dana BARBA

Along with the special nutritional properties, honey also has therapeutical properties, finding its place in many applications of modern medicine. The main objective of the research consisted in the qualitative testing of eight honey types, four of traditional type and four of industrial type, both organoleptic and physico-chemical and microbiological: lime honey, acacia honey, sunflower honey and polyfloral honey. The organoleptic determinations allowed us to classify all types of honey in the high quality category. In the case of microbial contamination, it was found that no honey sample developed microbial colonies. The pH determinations revealed that all commercial honey showed slightly high value than the traditional ones. In the case of viscosity, the largest differences were observed. It has been found that the traditional sunflower honey has the highest viscosity, respectively 8860cP, and the commercial sunflower honey the lowest viscosity, 200cP. The determination of reducing sugars by the Schoorl method showed that industrial sunflower honey has the highest content, 92.5%, and traditional lime honey, the lowest, 74.3%.

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Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXIII
Written by Agnes TOMA, Oana CRĂCIUNESCU, Rodica TATIA

Carrot juice is a product of interest in food industry. Pomace, a by-product of the carrot juice industry, contains a significant amount of pectin. This natural polymer is rich in galacturonic acid and is used as food additive due to its gelling, thickening and stabilizing properties. The objective of this study was to compare different extraction methods of carrot pectin. Sodium citrate buffer, pH 5.0 and carrot pulp were used for pectin extraction. Methods used to obtain pectin required temperature, microwaves, ultrasounds and Celluclast 1.5L enzyme treatment. The extraction yield of each method was determined. The obtained pectin was characterized by the content of galacturonic acid, the degree of esterification, the degree of emulsification and cytotoxicity in a fibroblast cell line. The enzymatically extracted carrot pectin contained at least 65% galacturonic acid and had a high degree of esterification and emulsification. In vitro cytotoxicity tests have demonstrated the biocompatibility of pectin extracts. The results of this study have showed that valuable carrot pectin with high content of galacturonic acid and good biocompatibility can be obtained from carrot pomace. The enzymatic extraction method could be further studied for various industrial applications, and the obtained carrot pectin could be useful especially in food supplements.

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