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Examination of valuable ingredients of some wild fruits
71-74.Views:369A possible way of the development of Hungarian agriculture is the selection and growing of new fruit species and varieties featuring special qualities, with high biological nutritive and health protecting properties due to their natural composition. A reserve for such new fruits is the native dendroflora, e.g. those wild-growing trees and shrubs of Hungary, which bear edible fruits. The publication is giving a summary of chemical analyses done on the fruits of the plants listed below. The research team on the project started the work in 2001 with
woody species (genera) as follows:
- common elder (Sambucus nigra) clone named Szcs-1, Szcs-2, Szcs-3, Szcs-4, Szcs-5, SzcsK-1, SzcsK-2
- dog rose (Rosa canina) types: clones named Sz-1, Sz-2, Sz-3, Sz-4 and Sz-5 .
- native rowans: Sorbus dacica, S.rotundifolia, S. degenu, S.bakonyensis cv. Fánivölgy
- hawthorns: Crataegus monogyna, C. orientalis,C..v lavallei.
- cornel cherry: Cornus mas cv. Császló.
The present paper is reporting on the content of the following compounds in the fruits: dry matter (refractometric values), total acid content, ascorbic acid, 13-carotene, pectin, minerals and carbohydrates. The results have shown that these wild fruits have excellent composition. Besides their curative effects, their content of minerals, ascorbic acid and 13-carotene has surpassed that of the traditional fruits. These fruits are rich in ascorbic acid, 13-carotene and pectin. The high content of the above-listed, biologically active compounds makes the new wild fruits studied suitable for the preparation (and later: mass-production) of special curative and exclusive products.
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Colour and water content detection of sweet cherry by portable spectrometer
23-26.Views:35467Based on the most recent data, the average amount of sweet cherry produced in Hungary is around 10-12 thousand tons. Therefore fast and effective method is important for sweet cherry fruit quality analyses. The aim of the study was to examine the applicability of reflectance measurements for sweet cherry fruit quality analyses. In our experiment five cherry species (Vera, Cristalina, Germersdorfi, Noir de Mechet, Canada Giant) were examined in order to measure the spectral differences between species. Further more, spectral alteration was examined between different health and maturity status of the fruits in the case of a specified, the Germesdorfi species. The four new indices are appropriate tools for cherry quality analysis. Thus reflectance measurements can also support more precise and automated fruit selections. The methods for the differentiation of species could also be viable at a concerned habitat; however, the climate, habitat and soil conditions strongly affect the yield quality. Concerning the fast determination of water content, WBI could be a reliable method for the assessment
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Effects of methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid and phenylalanine on aloe emodin and aloin in diploid and tetraploid Aloe barbadensis
Views:438Aloe vera is one of the most famous medicinal plants. Aloin and aloe emodin are the most important active compounds in this plant. The purpose of this research was the comparison of aloin and aloe emodin production after the elicitation by methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, and phenylalanine in diploid and tetraploid Aloe vera plants in greenhouse conditions. The plants were treated with the concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 µM. The amounts of aloin and aloe emodin were determined 24 and 48 hours after application of the treatment. HPLC analysis showed that the leaves of the control diploid plants (without applying elicitors) had more aloin (1.20 fold) and aloe emodin (1.14 fold) than the control tetraploid plants. The maximum concentration of aloin (1.15 ± 0.07 µg mg-1 dry weight) was obtained after the elicitation by 25 µM methyl jasmonate, 24 hours after treatment, in diploid plants) 6.36 fold compared to the control (0.18 µg mg-1 dry weight (. In addition, the maximum concentration of aloe emodin (0.28 µg mg-1 dry weight) was obtained after the elicitation by 25 µM salicylic acid, 24 hours after treatment, in diploid plants) 6.18 fold compared to the control (0.04 µg mg-1 dry weight)). The long-term effect of three studied elicitors (after 240 days) on plant health and survival was also studied. This investigation showed that only methyl jasmonate at a concentration of 100 µM was resulted in the death of Aloe vera plants.
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Identification of plant taxons by isoelectric focusing
65-67.Views:458Differences were demonstrated in esterasei coenzyme pattern of some essential oil producing plants belonging to the Apiaceae family — fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), angelica (Angelica archangelica L.), lovage (Levisticum officinale Koch.), dill (Anethum graveolens L.), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), caraway (Carum carvi L.) — as well as differences between two varieties of fennel seed by using isoelectric focusing. That method provides quality control in essential oil plants and is suitable to describe isoenzyme pattern characteristic for taxons.
Based on our findings, isoelectric focusing seems to be suitable for identification and differentiation of different plant samples, providing an easy tool for further processing as well as for breeding.
Our further aim is to apply that method to differentiate among samples belonging to the same species according to their value of inner content.
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Variety specific integrated fruit production development in order to optimize inner content values
27-31.Views:418In this paper we introduce our results of three years (2007-2009) investigatio ns carried out in the framework of "Research and development in foodstaff chain" - project of Regional University Knowledge Center by the members of Corvi nus U niversity of Budapest - Department of Pomology and. Research Institute for Fru it growing and Ornamentals. Budapest-Erd. The main objectives of the project were the followings: submi ssion of sour cherry candidate suitable for industrial process for state approval; determination of physica l parameter and inner content value changes of sour cherry varieties duri ng ripening; evaluation of health care attributes of sour cherry fruit; ripen ing process description by the colour and the force required to pick fruits of sour cherry. We stated that the optimal begi nning and period of the harvest can be determined wi th the fruit removal force. In this period the fruit growth stops. ju iciness rat io does not change. refractions are approximately equal.acidic content turns to decreasing trend.However the proportion of anthocyan in and polypheno l can still increase. Fruits harvested in this period fulfil a wide range of industrial process opportunities. 'Erdi jubileum ·and candidate IV-3/48 according to their inner content values arc suitable for high quality products (containing real fruit material in high proportion).
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Recent developments in biochemical characterization of Vitis vinifera L. varieties in Hungary
57-61.Views:505Isoelectric focusing is an effective and well reproducible method to provide information for identification of various plant species and clones if breeding or other genetic modification(s) for a given species are reflected in changes of an isozyme pattern. The method has been used for characterization of plant proteins and enzymes and for identification of various species and varieties. Our aim was to continue our several-year-work carried out on a wide variety of grapevine varieties and to reveal whether analyses of esterase and peroxidase isozyme patterns are suitable to distinguish various grapevine varieties. Therefore we compared esterase and peroxidase isozyme patterns of various species. Plant samples were obtained from Szigetcsep, Kecskemet, Tokaj and Eger. The following samples were analyzed: Pinot gris, noir, blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling Theses, Chasselas from Szigetcs6p, Bianca and his parents Eger2 and Bouvier from Kecskemet, Furmint and Hárslevelű from Tokaj, Kékfrankos and Zweigelt from Eger. To identify various species according to their esterase isozyme patterns the after blooming phenological phase while according to their peroxidase isozyme pattern the dormant phenological phase was found as optimal sampling time.
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Variation in selenium tolerance among two onion cultivars in closed fortification system
75-77.Views:466Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and animals. To consumption of selenium could be good sources the vegetables. Many of them are able to convert the inorganic selenium forms to organic forms, which are more effective for health. To enrich onion with selenium is known however some unclear points are remained. A closed fortification system was conducted to compare the difference of selenium tolerance in two onion cultivars in greenhouse environment. This system was well controlled, eliminating a lot of disturbing factors. The comparative analysis of Makói bronz and Makói lila spring onoins showed that there is difference in selenium tolerance and accumulation not only between plant species but inside it between the different cultivars, too. The Makói bronz seemed to more sensitive to the selenate treatment than Makói lila.
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Antioxidant characterization of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivars and hybrids
47-51.Views:504This report forms a part in our long-term study dedicated to reveal the antioxidant properties of apricot fruits through several years. Nineteen apricot cultivars and 8 hybrids were comparatively analysed. Total phenol content and antioxidant activity showed a good correlation. The tested cultivars and hybrids could be arranged in three groups representing different antioxidant activities, 12 entries were involved in the group with relatively low antioxidant capacity (FRAP value < 1500 mmol/L); 10 accessions were classified in the group with medium antioxidant capacity (1500 mmol/L < FRAP value < 3000 mmol/L); and 5 genotypes were grouped to the category of high antioxidant value (FRAP > 3000 mmol/L). `Morden 604' produced a surpassingly outstanding antioxidant character. H-donating ability has further supported our results. Phenolic substances were accumulated and ferric reducing ability was increased in the ripe fruits compared to the unripe ones. High levels of variations in the total phenol content and antioxidant capacity in of apricot fruits were revealed in this study. Environment, year or rootstocks may also influence the antioxidant properties of fruits. however it seems to be convincing that crossing parents with outstanding antioxidant character can produce hybrids with higher antioxidant capacity. Hungarian apricots are widely appreciated for their premium flavour and — as it was evidenced in this study — for their relatively good antioxidant properties. However, delicious fruits should be made functional foods having beneficial health effects through accumulating large amounts of antioxidant molecules in the fruit flesh.
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COVID-19 outbreak lockdown and its impacts on marketing of horticultural produces in Zimbabwe
38-45.Views:835Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-2019) outbreak resulted to a global health problem. Lockdown was one of the common options suggested to curb the pandemic. Horticultural produces are perishable so delayed post-harvest marketing cause losses. This study aimed at evaluating the marketing of horticultural produces and farmers’ level of preparedness during the COVID-19 lockdown. A self-administered questionnaire was posted online from April 7 to May 7, 2020 the first month of COVID-19 lockdown in Zimbabwe (began on March 30, 2020). The study targeted horticultural farmers around Harare peri-urban and had 300 respondents. Data on sociodemographic, farmers’ behavior, awareness and attitude toward marketing and desire to minimize post-harvest losses was obtained. Frequency counts and percentages were determined. Chi-square tests on independent variables were done to test associations with demographics using SPSS version 8. There were significant (P<0.05) relations between awareness and attitude toward marketing, age and level of education. Demographic variable influenced the famers’ marketing behavior and attitude during COVID-19 lockdown. Most farmers reported highest (>35%) produce sale leftovers at the markets and spoilage during than prior the COVID-19 lockdown. The lockdown resulted to low sales and most farmers were unprepared for any crisis during the marketing stage of their production. The research contributed to an understanding of how a crisis situation influence marketing of horticultural produce and raises awareness regarding post-harvest losses. A qualitative study is recommended as a follow-up of this work.
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The microscopic fungi of orchid species in the Őrség National Park
31-36.Views:362The wild orchids growing in Hungary are some of the most decorative and interesting members of the country's flora. The majority of species are rarely spotted, and some are only found in very few habitats, though others are quite common .All the species known in Hungary are protected, and 1 1 species are strictly protected. Itis thus important to monitor the health status of these plants, to determine what diseases affect them, what pathogens are found on them and how severely they are infected, and to take the necessary precautionary measures. Eleven of the 14 orchid species occurring in the 6rseg National Park were included in the study and the presence of microscopic fungi was detected on eight of these. Pathogenic species were found on lesser butterfly orchid (Platanthera bifolia), green-winged orchid (Orchis morio), burnt orchid (Orchis ustulara), sword-leaved helleborine (Cephalanthera longifolia), common twayblade (Listera ovata), autumn lady's-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis), western marsh orchid (Dacrylorhiza majalis) and broad-leaved helleborine (Epipactis helleborine). A detailed account is given of the symptoms of major diseases and of the microscopic traits of the pathogens. An attempt was made to determine to what extent the pathogenic fungal species found on protected orchid species influence the lives of these plants. Current knowledge on this subject is extremely deficient, as practically no data are available from Hungary.
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Antioxidant activity of medicinal plants used in phytotherapy
28-35.Views:383Oxygen free radicals play an important role in the development of different disorders like inflammatory-immune injury, carcinogenesis, hepatic toxicity and artherosclerosis. The antioxydant role of a wide spectrum of natural products has been established. Flavonoids and other phenolic compounds (proanthocyanidins, rosmarinic acid, hydroxicinnamic derivatives, catechines, etc.) of plant origin have been reported as scavengers and inhibitors of lipid peroxidation.
We have studied the antioxidant activity as well as content and composition of natural phenolics in a series of medicinal plants with phytotherapeutical significance. Thus we determined the total phenol contents and studied the composition of flavonoids, polyphenols, phenolic acids of different vegetative and reproductive organs of medicinal plants: Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm., Petroselinum crispum L., Cichorium intybus L., Helichrysum arenarium D.C.„cempervivum tectorum L., Taravacum officinale Web.
Characteristic constituents in the various crude drugs were determined by chromatographic (TLC, HPLC) and spectroscopic (UV, UV-VIS) methods. The non specific scavenger activities of the medicinal plant extracts were studied by the chemiluminometric technique. The changes of chemiluminescence intensity of the H,G,•0H-luminol system at increasing concentrations of the H702/ -OH were measured. Inhibitory effects of selected standardized fractions from plants were tested on ascorbic acid induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver and homogenates.
The best correlation were established with total phenolics in some medicinal plants (S. tectorum, T. officinale) while activities in other cases seem to be influenced by flavonoids (P. crispum, H. arenarium, A. cerefolium) and by hydroxicinnamic derivatives (C. intybus).
