Violeta Mitić

Wild fire impact on copper, zinc, lead and cadmium distribution in soil and relation with abundance in selected plants of Lamiaceae family from Vidlic Mountain (Serbia)

Fire has been considered as an improving factor in soil quality, but only if it is controlled. Severe wild fire occurred in the summer 2007 on the Vidlic Mountain (Serbia) overspreading a huge area of meadows and forests. Main soil characteristics and content of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn) in different fractions obtained after sequential extraction of soil from post-fire areas and from fire non disturbed areas were studied. In four plant species of Lamiaceae family (Ajuga genevensis L., Lamium galeobdolon (L.) L., Teucrium chamaedrys L., Acinos alpinus (L.) Moench.), that grow in typical habitats of the mountain, distribution of heavy metals in aerial parts and roots was investigated too. For all samples from post-fire area cation exchange capacity and soil organic matter content are increased while rH is decreased. Fire caused slightly increased bioavailability of the observed metals but more significant rise happened in metal amounts bound to oxides and organics. The plants showed variable behavior. T. chamaedrys collected on the post-fire area contained elevated concentrations of all analyzed metals. A. alpinus showed higher phytoaccumulation for Zn and Cd, while the other two plant species for Pb and Cd in the post-fire areas.

Reducing power and radical scavenging activity of four Parmeliaceae species

The methanol extracts of four Parmeliaceae lichens (Hypogymnia physodes, Evernia prunastri, Flavoparmelia caperata and Parmelia sulcata) were screened for antioxidant properties and total phenol content. The H. physodes extract was the most effective at reducing iron(III) and scavenging 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals, while the P. sulcata extract was the most effective in reducing molybdenum(VI) in an acidic medium. The E. prunastri and H. physodes extracts contained more Folin-Ciocalteu reagent reactive substances than the F. caperata and P. sulcata extracts. Significant activity of the H. physodes extract in DPPH and reducing Fe(III) assays suggest that this lichen can be considered as a potential source of antioxidants.

Update on element content profiles in eleven wild edible mushrooms from family Boletaceae

The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate the amounts of major elements (Ca, Fe, K, Na and P), essential trace elements (Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn) and some other trace metals (Ag, Al, Co, Ni, Cr, Sr, Se, Bi, Rb) in eleven species of wild-grown common edible mushrooms from family Boletaceae (Boletus appendiculatus, Boletus edulis, Boletus regius, Boletus fechtneri, Boletus impolitus, Boletus purpureus, Boletus rhodoxanthus, Leccinum crocipodium, Leccinum pseudoscaber, Xerocomellus chrysenteron, Xerocomus badius) from Serbia. The measurements of major elements (Ca, Fe, K, Na and P) were carried out by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), while analytical measurements of the rest of studied elements were performed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), after microwave digestion. The results showed that the element concentrations were species-dependent. Potassium and phosphorous concentrations were found to be greater than those of the other mineral constituents in all tested species. Multivariate analysis included principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analyses (HCA). HCA grouped mushrooms in three statistically significant clusters, while PCA indicated connection between analyzed metals. Also, this paper highlights the importance of essential and nonessential elements of human health and their daily intake.

Optimization of the QuEChERS extraction procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are listed as pollutants of great concern and the development of fast and reliable analytical procedures is a modern day challenge. The aim of this study was to optimize the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) technique, in order to establish an efficient method for the extraction of 16 priority PAHs from soil, using various sorbent and solvent system combinations, followed by GC-MS analysis. The best results were obtained using acetonitrile/water as the extraction solvent and diatomaceous earth as the dispersive solid phase extraction sorbent. The proposed method is rapid, accurate, precise, as well as much cheaper and simpler than other methods used for the extraction of PAHs from soil. The optimized method was successfully applied on real soil samples from an urban area of Nis, Serbia. Analysis of real soil samples showed contamination of soil with mostly light PAHs, where acenaphthene was predominant. The content of total PAHs varied from 345.65 to 27 314.30 μg kg−1, with a mean of 3646.39 μg kg−1. Only three samples contained elevated amounts of PAHs according the Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils of Equisetum palustre L. and Equisetum telmateia Ehrh.

Abstract The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of dry sterile stems of Equisetum palustre L. and Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. from Serbia were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. In total, one hundred ninety-five compounds were identified in the both oils, 103 in E. palustre and 171 in E. telmateia oil, accounting for more than 95.3% and 98.0% of the total oils, respectively. The major constituents of both E. palustre and E. telmateia oils were hexadecanoic acid (15.7%, 33.8%), (E)-phytol (16.7%, 4.6%) and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (10.6%, 13.1%), respectively. The oils were additionally marked by the presence of (E)-β-ionone (4.1%, 3.2%), (E)-α-ionone (3.1%, 2.5%), heneicosane (3.5%, 2.1%) and tricosane (6.6%, 3.4%).

Chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidative and anticholinesterase activity of Satureja Montana L. ssp montana essential oil

The present study investigates the chemical compositions of three Satureja montana L. ssp montana essential oils and correlates chemical variability with biological activities. GC/MS analysis showed that with an increase in altitude (100–500–800 m), a higher content of linalool, terpinen-4-ol and cis-sabinene hydrate was found, while the percentage of phenolic compounds, thymol and carvacrol decreased. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was tested against 7 fungal and 23 bacterial strains. The essential oil characterized by the highest content of phenols and alcohols exhibited the highest antimicrobial potential. The correlation analysis showed that the major carriers of the obtained antioxidant activity are oxygenated monoterpenes. All essential oils inhibited human serum cholinesterase activity. High antimicrobial potential, together with moderate antioxidant capacity and strong inhibition of human serum cholinesterase, classifies S. montana essential oil as a natural source of compounds that can be used in the treatment of foodborne and neurological diseases, wound and other infections, as well as for general health improvement.

Kinetic spectrophotometric determination of hydrazine

AbstractA kinetic spectrophotometric method for hydrazine determination in the range of 9.36×10−7 to 4.37×10−5 mol dm−3, based on the inhibitory effect of hydrazine on the oxidation of Victoria Blue 4- R by KBrO3, was developed and validated. Kinetic parameters are reported for both the indicating and the inhibiting reaction. The detection limit was established as 9.98×10−8 mol dm−3. The selectivity of the proposed method was tested considering the influence of different ions that may be present in real samples. The method was successfully applied for hydrazine determination in various samples (very pure water from the water-steam system of a power plant and Isoniazid tablets, a pharmaceutical product). The novel kinetic spectrophotometric method proposed was found to have satisfactory analytical characteristics as well as being widely applicable due to its simplicity and speed.

Screening of antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiradical activities of twelve selected Serbian wild mushrooms

This study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiradical activities of twelve wild edible mushrooms from Serbia. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by five different methods: DPPH, ABTS, total reducing power (TRP), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC). Folin–Ciocalteu total phenolic compounds (TPC) were also determined. The present study shows that the ethanol extract of Boletus regius has the highest antioxidant values (10.997 ± 0.891 mg mL−1 in DPPH; 0.771 ± 0.004 mg AAE per mg dw in TRP; 56.924 ± 0.022 mmol Fe per mg dw in FRAP; 21.738 ± 0.108 mg TE per mg dw in CUPRAC; 173.125 ± 0.475 mg GAE per mg dw in TPC). This is the first report on the evaluation of the antioxidant activity of ethanol extracts of mushrooms by the CUPRAC method. The in vitro antimicrobial activity was investigated by the microdilution method. This is the first report on the antimicrobial activity for many analyzed mushroom species. The highest antiradical activity unit (EAU515) was from Polyporus squamosus (6.349 EAU515). We determined the antioxidant capacity and the antioxidant potency composite index (ACI) was calculated. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) was applied to investigate the similarities between the used methods for antioxidant activities. PCA was used for determining the number of variables to explain the observed variances in the antioxidant activity data of the examined wild mushroom species.

Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Hydrodistilled Essential Oil of Serbian Ajuga chamaepitys (L.) Schreber ssp. chia (Schreber) Arcangeli

Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of the Ajuga chamaepitys (L.) Schreber ssp. chia (Schreber) Arcangeli collected on Vidlic Mountain (Serbia) from two neighboring localities: normal environmental conditions (NEC) and post fire environmental conditions (PFEC) has been studied by GC and GC/MS. Thirty eight compounds were identified in NEC oil and thirty four in PFEC oil accounted 98.3 % and 98.2 % of the total oil, respectively. The major constituents of NEC and PFEC oil were: α-pinene (10.9%, 5.4%), β-pinene (22.0%, 14.8%), germacrene D (16.2%, 26.8%), germacrene B (5.9%, 13.6%) and viridiflorol (6.0%, 5.7%), respectively. The antioxidant properties of both oils were evaluated emploing electron transfer antioxidant assays: Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH and reducing power asaay Fe (III) to Fe(II). Both oil samples had approximately equal and moderate activity in reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II) and Mo(VI) to Mo(V), and weak radical scavenging activity. This is the first report on the content and composition of the essential oil of A. chamaepitys ssp. chia grows in Serbia and also the first report about its antioxidant activity.

Elemental Composition of Wild Edible Mushrooms from Serbia

The elemental composition of four wild edible mushroom species was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES): scotch bonnet (Marasmius oreades), chanterelle (Cantarellus cibarius), porcini (Boletus edulis), and peppery milk-cap (Lactarius piperatus). Mushrooms are a potassium-rich food, which was confirmed in this study. M. oreades contained the highest concentration of almost all elements, except for cadmium, potassium, phosphorus, and lead. Lead and cadmium were present but at concentrations that are not hazardous to human health. A principal component analysis loading plot for elemental composition demonstrated that 95.51 percent of the total variance was present in the first two principal components. Cluster analysis separated the elements into three statistical significant clusters.