<p style="text-align: justify;">U okviru ove doktorske disertacije ispitana je mogućnost ekstrakcije bioaktivnih jedinjenja iz biljne pra&scaron;ine A. uva-ursi, koja nastaje kao sporedni proizvod u fabrici filter čaja. Za ekstrakciju bioaktivnih jedinjenja primenjene su različite tehnike ekstrakcije (klasična ekstrakcija, ultrazvučna ekstrakcija i ekstrakcija subkritičnom vodom), kao i različiti ekstragensi: voda na sobnoj temperaturi, 30-70% etanol i subkritična voda. Sadržaj bioaktivnih jedinjenja u ekstraktima ispitan je primenom odgovarajućih spektrofotometrijskih metoda i HPLC metode. U ekstrakciji biljne pra&scaron;ine A. uva-ursi detaljno je matematički analiziran uticaj procesnih parametara na ekstrakciju subkritičnom vodom bioaktivnih jedinjenja iz materijala ovog tipa i u tom smislu je posmatran uticaj temperature, vremena i dodatka kiseline, a takođe su određeni uslovi pri kojima je, primenom ove tehnike, moguće ostvariti maksimalnu ekstrakciju bioaktivnih jedinjenja od značaja. Pored toga prikazana je i mogućnost primene spray drying tehnike za su&scaron;enje tečnih i proizvodnju suvih ekstrakta A. uva-ursi u formi praha. Na kraju, na osnovu koncentracije bioaktivnih jedinjenja i njihovog delovanja, dat je predlog nekoliko novih preparata na bazi ekstrakata A. uva-ursi, u tečnoj i čvrstoj formi.</p> / <p>This dissertation investigated the possibility to extract bioactive compounds from A. uva-ursi herbal dust, which occurs as a by-product at the filter-tea<br />factory. Various extraction techniques (classical extraction, ultrasound assisted extraction and subcritical water extraction), were applied for the extraction of bioactive compounds, as well as different solvents: water at room temperature, 30-70% ethanol and subcritical water. The content of bioactive compounds in the extracts was investigated using appropriate spectrophotometric methods and the HPLC method. In the extraction of A. uva-ursi herbal dust a detailed mathematical analysis of the influence of process parameters on subcritical water extraction of bioactive compounds from this type of material was conducted. In this regard the influence of temperature, time and acid addition was observed and the conditions under which it is possible to achieve maximum extraction of significant bioactive compounds, by applying this technique, were determined. In addition, the possibility of applying the spray drying technique for drying the liquid and producing dry A. uva-ursi extracts in the form of powder is also presented. Eventually, based on the concentration of the bioactive compounds and their activity, a proposal for a several new preparations in liquid and solid form, based on A. uva-ursi extracts is given.</p>

The work presented in this thesis concerns the development and evaluation of new methods of sampling and analysis of organic pollutants in the indoor and outdoor environment. In Paper I, the development of a new method was reported for the determination of the brominated flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) in air using sampling with glass fiber filter and polyurethane foam (PUF), ultrasonic solvent extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS). The MS fragmentation mechanism of TBBPA was thoroughly investigated and different acquisition modes were evaluated to achieve the most sensitive and selective detection. In Papers II and III, the potential use of Empore SPE membranes was evaluated for air sampling of volatile, semi-volatile and particle-associated organic compounds. Breakthrough studies conducted for 24h at air flows of 10- 20 L/min showed that the SPE membranes efficiently retains volatile and semi-volatile organophosphate esters and particles &gt;10 nm. Effort was invested in the development of fast and environmental friendly methods, with low cost, for sample clean up and analysis. In Paper II, the sample preparation technique was dynamic solvent extraction with methanol coupled to LC-ESI/MS. The total run time per sample, including both extraction and separation, was less than 34 min, consuming only 1.6mL methanol. In Paper III, efficiency of selective extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from particulate matter sampled with Empore SPE membranes, using dynamic subcritical water extraction (DSWE) was investigated. Acceptable recoveries of the investigated compounds from reference material (SRM 1649a) were achieved. In Paper IV, the application of dynamic solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) air sampling was evaluated using, gas chromatography/positive ion chemical ionisation (GC/PICI) and tandem-MS detection for the determination of organophosphate esters in work environment.

The influence of soil water repellency (WR) on vegetation recovery after a fire is poorly understood. This dissertation presents strategies to broaden opportunities for enhanced post-fire rangeland restoration and monitoring of burned piñon and juniper (P-J) woodlands by: 1) mapping the extent and severity of critical and subcritical WR, 2) determining the influence of WR on soil ecohydrologic properties and revegetation success, and 3) evaluating the suitability of a wetting agent composed of alkylpolyglycoside-ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymers as a post-fire restoration tool for ameliorating the effects of soil WR and increasing seedling establishment. Results indicate that: • Post-fire patterns of soil WR were highly correlated to pre-fire P-J woodland canopy structure. Critical soil WR levels occurred under burned tree canopies while sub-critical WR extended out to approximately two times the canopy radius. At sites where critical soil WR was present, infiltration rate, soil moisture, and vegetation cover were significantly less than at non-hydrophobic sites. These parameters were also reduced in soils with subcritical WR relative to non-hydrophobic soils (albeit to a lesser extent). Aerial photography coupled with feature extraction software and geographic information systems (GIS) proved to be an effective tool for mapping P-J cover and density, and for scaling-up field surveys of soil WR to the fire boundary scale. • Soil WR impairs seed germination and seedling establishment by decreasing soil moisture availability by reducing infiltration, decreasing soil moisture storage capacity, and disconnecting soil surface layers from underlying moisture reserves. Consequently, soil WR appears to be acting as a temporal ecological threshold by impairing establishment of desired species within the first few years after a fire. • Wetting agents can significantly improve ecohydrologic properties required for plant growth by overcoming soil WR; thus, increasing the amount and duration of available water for seed germination and seedling establishment. Success of this technology appears to be the result of the wetting agent increasing soil moisture amount and availability by 1) improving soil infiltration and water holding capacity; and 2) allowing seedling roots to connect to underling soil moisture reserves.

<p>U okviru ove doktorske disertacije ispitane su i<br />poređene različite ekstrakcione tehnike korena<br />gaveza, lista crnog duda i peteljki tre&scaron;nje. Poređene<br />su konvencionalne i savremene ekstrakcione<br />tehnike i izvedena je optimizacija ekstrakcionih<br />postupaka s ciljem dobijanja ekstrakata ispitivanih<br />biljnih vrsta sa najvećom bioaktivno&scaron;ću. Za svaku<br />ekstrakcionu tehniku ispitan je uticaj najznačajnijih<br />parametara: maceracija (rastvarač i vreme<br />ekstrakcije), ubrzana ekstrakcija (temperatura i<br />rastvarač), supekritična ekstrakcija (pritisak i<br />koncentracija ko-rastvarača) i ekstrakcija<br />subkritičnom vodom (temperatura, pritisak, vreme<br />ekstrakcije i brzina me&scaron;anja). Ekstrakcija polifenola<br />korena gaveza, lista crnog duda i peteljki tre&scaron;nje je<br />bila najefikasnija ekstrakcijom subkritičnom<br />vodom. Primenjene su tehnika visokopritisne tečne<br />hromatografije spregnute sa masenom<br />spektrometrijom uz primenu različitih masenih<br />analizatora, masenog analizatora na bazi vremena<br />preleta jona i tandema kvadrupolnog i analizatora<br />na bazi vremena preleta jona. Za karakterizaciju<br />dobijenih ekstrakata instrumentalnom analizom su<br />određene kvalitativne i kvantitativne karakteristike dobijenih ekstrakata korena gaveza, lista crnog duda i peteljki tre&scaron;nje. HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS analizom ekstrakata identifikovano je vi&scaron;e od 27 novih jedinjenja različitih hemijskih klasa u svakom od ispitivanih biljnih matriksa.</p> / <p>Within the scope of this doctoral dissertation,<br />different extraction techniques of comfrey root,<br />black mulberry leaves and sweet cherry stems were<br />applied and compared. Conventional and novel<br />extraction techniques were optimized and<br />compared in order to obtain plant extracts with the<br />highest content of bioactive compounds. The<br />influence of the most important parameters was<br />investigated for each extraction technique:<br />maceration (solvent and extraction time),<br />accelerated solvent extraction (temperature and<br />solvent), supercritical fluid extraction (co-solvent<br />percentage and pressure) and subcritical water<br />extraction (temperature, pressure, extraction time<br />and agitation rate). Extraction of polyphenolic<br />compounds from comfrey root, black mulberry<br />leaves and sweet cherry stems was the most<br />effective using subcritical water. High-pressure<br />liquid chromatography coupled to mass<br />spectrometry techniques using time-of-flight and<br />quadrupole-time-of-flight mass analyzers have<br />been used to characterize bioactive compounds.<br />Qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the<br />obtained comfrey root, black mulberry leaves and sweet cherry stem extracts were determined. HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS revealed the presence of more than 27 compounds of different chemical classes that have been identified for the first time in&nbsp; the plant matrix.</p>

Les régions de Midi-Pyrénées (France) et de Chongqing (Chine) sont riches en plantes aromatiques et médicinales dites oubliées (ou médiévales). Afin de valoriser pleinement les différentes bio-molécules extractibles de ces plantes, le concept de MAP-raffinerie a été créé et appliqué à une sélection de plantes issues de ces deux régions. Plusieurs technologies d’extraction utilisant l’eau comme solvant vert (hydrodistillation, distillation à la vapeur et extraction par eau sub-critique) ont ainsi été employées et leur impact tant sur la composition des huiles essentielles que sur la récupération des molécules anti-oxydantes a été évalué. Dans un premier temps, une liste de plantes aromatiques et médicinales oubliées, voire sous-utilisées dans les deux régions a été établie selon des règles de sélection prédéfinies. Six plantes modèles de la région de Midi-Pyrénées (Tussilago farfara L., Calendula arvensis L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Geranium robertianum L., Cytisus scoparius L. et Spartium junceum L.) et trois plantes de la région de Chongqing (Tussilago farfara L., Citrus aurantium L. et Saussurea costus) ont finalement été retenues. Puis, le concept de MAP-raffinerie a été appliqué à ces plantes afin d’étudier leur possible valorisation globale. L’étude des compositions chimiques des extraits volatils des racines de Tussilago farfara L. et de Calendula arvensis L., ainsi que des boutons de fleurs de Spartium junceum L. a été réalisée par GC et GC-MS pour la première fois. Les principaux composés chimiques dans l’extrait volatil de racines de Tussilago farfara L. étaient des hydrocarbures sesquiterpéniques et des composés aliphatiques tandis que les principaux composés chimiques dans l’extrait volatil de racines de Calendula arvensis L. étaient des sesquiterpènes oxygénés, des monoterpènes oxygénés et des diterpènes oxygénés. L’extrait volatil de boutons de fleurs de Spartium junceum L. était principalement composé de composés aliphatiques. Par ailleurs, les résultats de l’évaluation des capacités anti-oxydantes des extraits (par les tests DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, ORAC et Folin-Ciocalteu) ont montrés que plusieurs plantes comme Cytisus scoparius L., Tussilago farfara L., Citrus aurantium L. ou Robinia pseudoacacia L. pourraient être des sources potentielles d’anti-oxydants naturels. D’un point de vue technologique, les comparaisons de l’utilisation de l’hydrodistillation (HD), de la distillation à la vapeur (SD) et de l’extraction par eau sub-critique (SWE) ont montrées que si la HD et la SD ont des effets limités sur la composition des huiles essentielles, la HD semble être une méthode plus efficace pour la récupération des composés anti-oxydants à partir des résidus de distillation que la SD tandis que la SWE s’avère être une technologie prometteuse pour l’extraction directe de ces molécules à partir des plantes. Si la composition minérale de l’eau lors de l’hydrodistillation n’a que des effets très limités sur les rendements d’extraction, les teneurs en ions calcium et bicarbonate des eaux ont par contre des effets décroissants significatifs sur la capacité anti-oxydante et sur la teneur phénolique totale des extraits aqueux et méthanoliques. Au vue de ces résultats, un concept amélioré de MAP-raffinerie a été développé en intégrant une extraction à l’eau sub-critique pour l’extraction des composés anti-oxydants des résidus d’extraction primaire. Selon ce nouveau concept, cinq extraits peuvent être obtenus à partir des matières végétales: un extrait volatil, un extrait aqueux, un extrait méthanolique, un extrait à l’eau sub-critique et in fine un résidu solide. Les premiers résultats ont montrés que la "MAP-raffinerie améliorée" augmente de manière significative la récupération des antioxydants par rapport à la MAP-raffinerie originale et permet d’envisager une valorisation plus facile du résidu solide en agro-matériaux du fait de sa faible teneur en eau résiduelle. / In both Midi-Pyrénées region (France) and Chongqing region (China), there are rich and underutilized medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP). Aiming at fully exploiting different molecules in these plants, the concept of MAP-refinery was developed and applied to several underutilized medicinal and aromatic plants in these two regions. Several water-based green extraction technologies of natural products (e.g. hydrodistillation, steam distillation and subcritical water extraction) were also investigated to look at their effects on essential oil composition and antioxidants recovery from selected plants. Firstly, lists of forgotten or underutilized medicinal and aromatic plants in both regions were established according to the rules of selection. From the lists, six plants in the Midi-Pyrénées region (Tussilago farfara L., Calendula arvensis L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Geranium robertianum L., Cytisus scoparius L. and Spartium junceum L.) and three plants in the Chongqing region (Tussilago farfara L., Citrum aurantium L. and Saussurea costus) were finally selected for investigations. Then the MAP-refinery was applied to the selected plants in two regions in order to realise their global valorisation. Volatile extracts composition in the roots of Tussilago farfara L. and Calendula arvensis L., as well as flower buds of Spartium junceum L. were firstly investigated. The main chemical compounds in volatile extract from Tussilago farfara L. roots were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and aliphatic compounds while main chemical compounds in volatile extract from Calendula arvensis L. roots were oxygenated sesquiterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated diterpenes. The volatile extract from flower buds of Spartium junceum L. was mainly composed of aliphatic compounds. Antioxidant capacity evaluation results (by DPPH, ABTS, FRAC, ORAC and Folin-Ciocalteu tests) showed that several plant samples like Cytisus scoparius L., Tussilago farfara L., Citrum aurantium L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L. could be potential sources of natural antioxidants. Comparisons of hydrodistillation (HD), steam distillation (SD) and subcritical water extraction (SWE) showed that HD and SD had limited effects on essential oil composition but HD, SD and SWE had significant impacts on the recovery of antioxidants. Hydrodistillation seemed to be a better method for recovery of antioxidant compounds from residues of distillation than steam distillation. However, SWE appeared to be a more efficient method for direct extraction of antioxidant molecules (or phenolic compounds) from plants. In the hydrodistillation process, mineral contents in water were found to have very limited effects on yields of extracts but calcium and bicarbonate ions, had significant decreasing effects on antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of both aqueous and methanolic extracts. Finally, an improved MAP-refinery was developed. Subcritical water was used for further extraction of antioxidant compounds from residues in original MAP-refinery. In this way, five parts could be obtained from plant materials: volatile extract, aqueous extract, methanolic extract, subcritical water extract and the final residue. The results showed that the improved MAP-refinery significantly increased the recovery of antioxidants compared with original MAP-refinery. This promising process will also allow a better valorisation of the final solid residue due to the lower content of residual water.