Although the European flora belongs to the best explored at the global scale, still there are several largely neglected plant groups, which may surprise by marked variation. One of these groups is Urtica dioica s. l., consisting of vaguely described taxa (microspecies / subspecies) with indefinite distribution. The most important source of variation in U. dioica s. l. is probably polyploidy (2x, 4x; x = 13). The complex comprises an ubiquitous tetraploid cytotype (U. dioica s. str.) and several obscurely defined relict 2x taxa. The cytogeographical analysis through Europe (770 populations / over 3 200 individuals) revealed marked distribution pattern of U. dioica s. l. cytotypes. We identified 106 diploid populations (13%) and 633 (82%) tetraploid populations. For the first time we detected triploid and pentaploid level (from mixed populations). Prevailing tetraploid U. dioica s. str. is predominantly synanthropic, whereas diploid taxa strictly occur in primary and relict habitats (primarily alluvial forests, tundra, Mediterranean mountains). The analysis of the absolute genome size of individuals from U. dioica clade and other closely related taxa showed different values of 2x U. kioviensis (19 % higher than 2x U. d. subsp. subinermis) and 2x U. bianorii (33% higher than 2x U. d. subsp....

Darbo tikslas: Kokybinė - kiekybinė baltymų frakcijų, praturtintų lektinais, iš Urtica dioica L. žolės, sausojo ekstrakto analizė ir antimikrobinio poveikio įvertinimas. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Išskirti baltymų frakcijas, praturtintas lektinais, iš Urtica dioica L. šviežios ir džiovintos žolės bei sausojo ekstrakto; 2. Sausos Urtica dioica L. žolės frakcijose nustatyti baltymų dalelių dydį; 3. Įvertinti baltymų frakcijų, išskirtų iš Urtica dioica L. šviežios ir džiovintos žolės bei sausojo ekstrakto, hemagliutinacinį aktyvumą; 4. Kiekybiškai įvertinti baltymų kiekį gautose frakcijose; 5. Atlikti kiekybinę lektinų analizę pagal hemagliutinacijos titrą; 6. Įvertinti lektinais praturtintų frakcijų, išskirtų iš Urtica dioica L. džiovintos žolės bei sausojo ekstrakto, antimikrobinį aktyvumą. Darbo metodai: 1. Lektinais praturtintas baltymų frakcijas išskyrėme, taikydami tirpalų prisotinimą amonio sulfatu iki skirtingos procentinės koncentracijos; 2. Lektinai identifikuoti, pritaikius triušio eritrocitų hemagliutinacijos reakciją; 3. SDS – PAGE elektroforezės metodu nustatytas frakcijų dalelių dydis; 4. Bradfordo metodu kiekybiškai įvertinta baltymų sudėtis išskirtose frakcijose; 5. Lektinai kiekybiškai įvertinti pagal hemagliutinacinį aktyvumą; 6. Antibakterinis aktyvumas įvertintas standžiosiose Miulerio – Chintono agaro mitybos terpėse cilindriukų metodu. Tyrimo rezultatai: 1. Hemagliutinacinis aktyvumas nustatytas visose išskirtose baltymų frakcijose. 2. Didžiausiu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of experiment: The qualitative – quantitaive analysis and antibacterial activity evaluation of lectin enriched protein fractions from Urtica dioica L. fresh and dry herb and dry extract; Experiment tasks: 1. To extract the lectin enriched protein fractions from Urtica dioica L. fresh and dry herb and dry extract; 2. To assess the size of protein particles from Urtica dioica L. dry herb by SDS-PAGE assay; 3. To determine the hemagglutinating activity of lectin enriched fractions from Urtica dioica L. fresh and dry herb and dry extract; 4. To evaluate the protein amount in prepared fractions by Bradford assay; 5. To analyse the lectin amount by hemagglutination titre; 6. To evaluate the antibacterial activity of lectin enriched fractions from Urtica dioica L. fresh and dry herb and dry extract; Methods: 1. We used the precipitation with ammonium sulphate for the extraction of lectin enriched protein fractions; 2. Lectins were identified by hemagglutination assay; 3. We determined the size of protein particles using SDS-PAGE method. 4. We evaluated protein amount in fractions by Bradford assay; 5. Lectin quantity was evaluated by hemagglutination titer; 6. We evaluated the antibacterial activity on solid medium with Peni cylinders. Results: 1. The hemagglutinating activity was found in all protein fractions. 2. Maximum of hemagglutinating activity (2,95) was noticed in the first lectin enriched protein fraction from fresh Urtica dioica L. herb. 3. The particle size was... [to full text]

R. Staršelskytės magistro baigiamasis darbas/ mokslinė vadovė prof. N. Savickienė; Konsultantės: dr. Annabella Vitalone, prof. Gabriela Mazzanti, dr. Antonella Di Sotto; Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universiteto, Farmacijos fakulteto, Farmakognozijos katedra. – Kaunas. Romos universiteto La Sapienza, Fiziologijos ir farmakologijos katedra. – Roma. Darbo tikslas: baltymų frakcijų, praturtintų lektinais, išskirtų iš Urtica doica L. žolės, antimutageninio, citotoksinio ir antioksidacinio aktyvumo įvertinimas. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Įvertinti Urtica dioica L. baltymų frakcijų įtaką Salmonella typhimurium ir Escherichia coli kamienų mutageniškumui, naudojant AMES testo metodą. 2. Ištirti Urtica dioica L. baltymų frakcijų citotoksiškumą HepG2 ląstelių proliferacijai, naudojant MTT dažo redukcijos reakcijos metodą. 3. Ištirti Urtica dioica L. baltymų frakcijų antioksidacinį aktyvumą, naudojant modelinius ABTS (2,2-azino-bis-(3-etilbenztiazolin-6-sulfono rūgšties)) ir superoksido radikalus. Metodai: 1. Lektinais praturtintų baltymų frakcijų antimutageniškumas tiriamas AMES testo metodu (grįžtamosios mutacijos modeliu in vitro) su S9 metabolinės aktyvacijos sistema (supernatantu iš žiurkių (paveiktų fenobarbitalio/β-naftoflavono mišiniu) kepenų lątelių mitochondrijų) ir be S9 metabolinės aktyvacijos sistemos. Eksperimentui naudojami trys bakterijų kamienai: S. typhimurium TA98, S. typhimurium TA100 ir E. coli WP2uvrA. 2. Citotoksiškumas nustatomas MTT dažo redukcijos reakcijos metodu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Rasa Staršelskytė master thesis/ Supervisor of the research paper: prof. Nijolė Savickienė1 Consultants: PhD Annabella Vitalone, prof. Gabriela Mazzanti, PhD Antonella Di Sotto2 1Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of pharmacy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuania 2Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Objective of work: evaluation of antimutagenicity, cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity of lectin-enriched protein fractions from herb of Urtica dioica L. Main tasks: 1. To evaluate antimutagenic activity of lectin-enriched protein fractions by bacterial reverse mutation assay. 2. To determine cytotoxicity of lectin-enriched protein fraction by the tetrazolium dye (MTT) colorimetric assay. 3. To evaluate antioxidant activity of lectin-enriched protein fraction against ABTS-free radical and superoxide-radical. Methods: 1. The antimutagenicity was studied in a bacterial reverse mutation assay (Ames test), both in the absence and presence of an exogenous metabolic activator S9 (the liver postmitochondrial supernatant of rats treated with the mixture phenobarbital/β-naphthoflavone to induce the hepatic microsomal enzymes). A set of three strains, S. typhimurium TA98, S. typhimurium TA100 and E. coli WP2uvrA, was used. 2. Cytotoxicity was determined by the tetrazolium dye (MTT) colorimetric assay in HepG2 human hepatoblastoma cell line. 3. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by ABTS-free radical scavenging activity test... [to full text]

<p>Glavni cilj istraživanja ove doktorske disertacije je bio ispitivanje hemijskog sastava lista koprive (Urtica dioica L.), primena različitih ekstrakcionih tehnika radi izolovanja aktivnih jedinjenja iz lista, ispitivanje njihovog hemijskog sastava, kao i formulacija prehrambenog proizvoda dodavanjem ekstrakta lista.<br />U cilju ispitivanja sastava lista primenjene su različite analitičke tehnike kao &scaron;to su GC/MS, GC/FID, UHPLC-DAD/MS/MS, ICP-OES, živin analizator, AAS i spektrofotometrija. Pri tome je dokazano prisustvo različitih klasa hemijskih jedinjenja među kojima su pigmenti (hlorofil i karotenoidi), terpenoidi, fenolni i polifenolna jedinjenja, vitamini (vitamin C i vitamini B grupe) i masne kiseline.<br />Za izdvajanje biolo&scaron;ki aktivnih jedinjenja primenjene su različite tehnike ekstrakcije, kao &scaron;to<br />su: maceracija, Soxhlet ekstrakcija, ultrazvučna (UAE), mikrotalasna (MAE) i superkritična<br />ekstrakcija (SFE). Preliminarne UAE ekstrakcije su pokazale da je voda bila najpogodnija kao rastvarač, odnosno da su vodeni ekstrakti pokazali najveću antioksidativnu aktivnost, kao i najveći sadržaj ukupnih fenola (TPC) i flavonoida (TFC). Pripremljeni vodeni ekstrakti su dalje ispitivani u pogledu sastava, antioksidativne, citotoksične i antimikrobne aktivnosti, gde su rezultati međusobno poređeni kako bi se odabrala najpogodnija ekstrakciona tehnika. Kod SFE je ispitan uticaj uslova ekstrakcije, odnosno pritiska i temperature na<br />sastav dobijenih ekstrakata i njihovu biolo&scaron;ku aktivnost (antioksidativna i citotoksična). Iscrpljeni list korpive je nakon SFE bio ekstrahovan primenom UAE i MAE tehnika, gde su dobijenim ekstraktima utvrđeni sastav i biolo&scaron;ka aktivnost. Nakon svih ispitivanja, MAE ekstrakt i suvi list koprive su dalje primenjeni u formulaciji prehrambenog proizvoda (hleba), gde je variran njihov sadržaj, dok su analizirani sastav, tehnolo&scaron;ki kvalitet hleba, kao i biolo&scaron;ka aktivnost (antioksidativna i citotoksična).</p> / <p>The main goals of this PhD thesis were investigation<br />of chemical composition of stinging nettle leaves<br />(Urtica dioica L.), application of different extraction<br />techniques for isolation of biologically active<br />compounds from leaves, investigation of their<br />chemical composition and formulation of food<br />product with addition of dried leaves and/or its extract.<br />For those purposes, different analytical techniques<br />were applied, i.e. GC/MS, GC/FID, UHPLCDAD/<br />MS/MS, ICP-OES, direct mercury analyzer,<br />AAS and spectrophotometry. Different classes of<br />chemical compounds were detected and identified,<br />such as: pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids),<br />terpenoids, phenolic and polyphenolic compounds,<br />vitamins (vitamin C and B group) and fatty acids.<br />For the purpose of isolation of biologically active<br />compounds, different extraction techniques were<br />applied: maceration, Soxhlet extraction, ultrasound<br />(UAE), microwave (MAE) and supercritical (SFE)<br />extraction. Preliminary conducted extraction, as well<br />as total phenolics (TPC) and flavonoids (TFC)<br />contents, showed that water was the most suitable<br />solvent for further course of investigation. Water<br />extracts were further analyzed regarding their<br />chemical composition, antioxidant, cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities. Obtained result were<br />compared in order to select the most efficient<br />extraction technique. In the case of SFE, influence of<br />pressure and temperature on extraction yield,<br />composition and biological activity of prepared<br />extracts were monitored. Exhausted plant material<br />after SFE was used for further MAE extraction, while<br />obtained extracts were analyzed to investigate<br />chemical composition and biological activity.<br />After conducted experiments and analysis, MAE<br />extract was used for formulation of food product<br />(bread) where it was added in different amounts in<br />combination of without dried leaves. Obtained<br />products were analyzed regarding their chemical<br />composition, technological requirements and<br />biological activity.</p>

<p>U okviru ove doktorske disertacije ispitan je hemijski sastav i biolo&scaron;ke aktivnosti metanolnih i vodenih ekstrakata odabranih samoniklih vrsta tribusa Urticeae, rod&nbsp; Urtica:&nbsp; U. <em>dioica</em>&nbsp; subsp.&nbsp; <em>dioica</em>&nbsp; var.&nbsp;<em> pubescens</em>, U.<em>&nbsp; dioica&nbsp;</em> subsp.&nbsp; <em>dioica&nbsp; </em>var.&nbsp; <em>dioica</em>&nbsp; i&nbsp; U. <em>kioviensis</em>&nbsp; i tribusa Parietarieae, rod&nbsp; Parietaria:<em>&nbsp; P. officinalis</em>,&nbsp; <em>P.</em><br /><em>lusitanica</em> L. subsp<em>. lusitanica</em>,<em> P. judaica</em> L. subsp. <em>judaica</em> i<em> P. serbica</em>. Cilj rada bio je da se odredi sadrţaj biolo&scaron;ki aktivnih jedinjenja u ovim, do sada veoma malo ispitanim vrstama famijije Urticaceae, i utvrdi njihov potencijal primene kao pomoćnih lekovitih sredstava i dodataka ishrani.<br />Hemijski sastav ekstrakata ispitivanih vrsta određen je primenom: tečnohromatografskih tehnika (LC-DAD-MS i LC-MS-MS) za kvalitativnu analizu metanolnih ekstrakata, dok je za kvantitativnu analizu odabranih fenolnih jedinjenja primenjena LC-MS-MS tehnika. Spektrofotometrijskim metodama je određen sadržaj<br />ukupnih fenolnih komponenti i flavonoida. Ispitivanja biolo&scaron;kih aktivnosti ekstrakata obuhvatila su: određivanje antioksidantne i antiinflamatorne aktivnosti kao i sposobnost ekstrakata da inhibiraju acetilholinesterazu.&nbsp; Određen je uticaj odabranih metanolnih ekstrakata na imuni odgovor i proliferaciju intestinalnih ćelijskih linija pacova (IEC18) i ĉoveka (Caco2).<br />Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju da odabrane vrste tribusa Urticeae i Parietarieae, odnosno rodova&nbsp; Urtica&nbsp; i Parietaria&nbsp; predstavljaju bogate izvore biolo&scaron;ki aktivnih jedinjenja koja ispoljavaju raznovrsne biolo&scaron;ke aktivnosti. Sa hemotaksonomskog aspekta izdvajaju se sledeća jedinjenja kao potencijalni taksonomski markeri: vi&scaron;i sadržaj 5-O-kafeoilhinske kiseline u ekstraktima herbi vrsta roda&nbsp; Urtica, i visok sadrţaj<br />epikatehina u ekstraktima korena vrsta roda&nbsp; Parietaria. Ekstrakt herbe vrste&nbsp; U. kioviensis&nbsp; se od ostalih izdvaja po tome &scaron;to ne sadrži rutin a sadrži&nbsp; C-glikozide, u najvećoj meri viteksin. Od svih ispitivanih ekstrakata, ekstrakti korena&nbsp; Parietaria&nbsp; vrsta su ispoljili najbolji antioksidantni potencijal u većini izvr&scaron;enih testova. Najsnažniji antiinflamatorni potencijal je ispoljio ekstrakt korena vrste&nbsp; P. officinalis&nbsp; a prate ga ekstrakti korena vrsta roda&nbsp; Urtica.&nbsp; Veoma dobar antiinflamatorni potencijal su ispoljili infuzi herbi vrste U.<em> dioica</em>&nbsp; (čajevi od koprive). Svi ispitani metanolni ekstrakti su ispoljili odličnu inhibiciju enzima acetilholinesteraze a kao najbolji se izdvajaju ekstrakti korena&nbsp; Parietaria&nbsp; vrsta i vrste&nbsp; U.<em> kioviensis</em>. Povećanu sekreciju citokina rat MCP1 i GRO&alpha;&nbsp; izazivaju ekstrakti korena vrsta&nbsp; P. officinalis&nbsp; i&nbsp; P. judaica&nbsp; u<br />bazalnim uslovima i uslovima LPS-stimulisane inlamacije, dok ekstrakti vrste&nbsp; U. dioica&nbsp; povećavaju bazalnu a smanjuju LPS-stimulisanu sekreciju. Stimulaciju sekrecije ova dva citokina, ispitivani ekstrakti vr&scaron;e interakcijom sa adapternim proteinom MyD88 (ali ne intereaguju sa TLR4 receptorom) i NF -&kappa;B signalnim<br />putem. Ekstrakt korena vrste&nbsp; P. <em>officinalis</em>&nbsp; povećava LPS-om indukovanu ekspresiju enzima COX-2 u IEC18 ćelijama, dok je ekstrakt korena vrste&nbsp; U.<em> dioica</em>&nbsp; smanjuje. Efekat epitelizacije ili zarastanja rane na monosloju IEC18 ćelija ispoljavaju ekstrakti herbe i korena vrste&nbsp; P. <em>officinalis</em>. Ispitivani ekstrakti ne menjaju značajno seksreciju citokina hMCP1 i IL-8 u Caco2 ćelijama niti ispoljavaju značajan uticaj na &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; njihovu proliferaciju.</p> / <p>Within this doctoral thesis the chemical composition and biological activity of methanol and aqueous extracts of the selected plant species belonging to the Urticeae and Parietarieae tribe, more specifically to the&nbsp; Urtica&nbsp; and&nbsp; Parietaria&nbsp; genuses was evaluated (Urtica:&nbsp; U.<em> dioica</em>&nbsp; subsp.<em> dioica</em>&nbsp; var.&nbsp; <em>pubescens</em>,&nbsp; U.&nbsp; <em>dioica</em>&nbsp; subsp.&nbsp;<em> dioica</em>&nbsp; var.&nbsp; <em>dioica</em>&nbsp; and&nbsp; U.<em> kioviensis</em>;&nbsp; Parietaria:&nbsp; P<em>. officinalis</em>,&nbsp; P.<em> lusitanica</em>&nbsp; subsp.&nbsp; <em>lusitanica,</em>&nbsp; P. <em>judaica&nbsp;</em> subsp.<em>&nbsp; judaica&nbsp;</em> and<em>&nbsp; P. serbica</em>). The principal aim was to determine the content of biologically active&nbsp; compounds in this, poorly<br />examined species of the Urticaceae family, and determine their potential as additional remedy and dietary supplements.<br />Qualitative analysis of methanol extracts was performed by LC-DAD-MS i LC-MS/MS analysis, and LC-MS/MS for quantitative analysis of selected phenolic compounds. Total phenolics and flavonoids were determined spectrophotometrically. In order to assess the biological potential, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts were studied as well as&nbsp; their ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase. The immuno-modulatory effects of the selected methanol extract on the immune response and proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC18 and Caco2)<br />was determined.<br />The obtained results suggest that the examined species of the Urticeae and Parietarieae tribe (genuses&nbsp; Urtica&nbsp; and&nbsp; Parietaria) are abundant with the biologically active compounds that express a broad spectrum of biological activities. As a potential chemotaxonomic markers stand out the following&nbsp; compounds: 5-O-caffeoilquinic acid (highly abundant in the herb extracts of the&nbsp; Urtica&nbsp; spp.) and epicatechin (highly abundant in the root extracts of the&nbsp; Parietaria&nbsp; spp.).&nbsp; U.<br />kioviensis&nbsp; herb extracts differs from the rest by high content of vitexin and total lack of rutin. The best antioxidant potential have exhibited the root extracts of the&nbsp; Parietaria&nbsp; species. The strongest anti-inflammatory potential had the root extract of the&nbsp; P. officinalis, followed by root extracts of the&nbsp; Urtica&nbsp; spp. Excellent anti-inflammatory activity have exhibited the aqueous&nbsp; extracts of&nbsp; U.<em> dioica</em>&nbsp; herbs&nbsp; &ndash;&nbsp; stinging nettle teas. All tested methanol extracts have inhibited enzyme acetylcholinesterase, the best inhibitors being root extracts of&nbsp; U.<em> kioviensis&nbsp;</em> and Parietaria&nbsp; species. Root extracts of&nbsp; P<em>. officinalis</em>&nbsp; and&nbsp; P.<em> judaica</em>&nbsp; have increased the basal and LPS-stimulated secretion of rat MCP1 and GRO&alpha;, while&nbsp; U. <em>dioica&nbsp;</em> extracts increased the basal but decreased the LPS-stimulated secretion. The examined extracts interact with the MyD88 (but not the TLR4) and NF-&kappa;B signaling pathway. The root extract of&nbsp; P<em>. officinalis&nbsp; </em>increase LPS-stimulated expression of COX-2 in IEC18 cells, while the root extract of&nbsp; U<em>. dioica</em>&nbsp; decreases it.<br />The herb and root extract of P. <em>officinalis</em>&nbsp; exhibit the wound healing effect. Investigated extracts do not significantly alter the secretion of hMCP1 and IL-8 in Caco2 cells and exhibit no significant effect to their proliferation.</p> / null

Introducción: la caída de cabello es un tema que nos tiene muy pendientes de cuántos cabellos se nos caen y cómo evitarlo. Podemos prevenir algún tipo de caída o actuar en estadios iniciales de un proceso de caída para mejorar el estado del cabello, para favorecer el crecimiento del cabello más saludable y fortalecido o contribuir en prolongar los ciclos de vida del cabello. Objetivo: Diseñar y formular el Champú conteniendo el extracto alcohólico de Urtica urens L. Diseño: analítico, experimental y comparativo. Lugar: Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú. Material y método: hojas de la planta. Conejos blancos, raza neozelandesa machos (Ensayo irritación para evaluación biológica de productos sanitarios). Formaron parte del presente estudio personas diagnosticadas con caída del cabello de origen no patológico, en número de 10 personas que fueron evaluados por un profesional médico, por espacio de 21 días. Se sometieron a observación microscópica los cabellos caídos a diario para evaluar si existe aumento del diámetro del cabello comparándolos al inicio y al final del estudio. Se obtuvo el recuento de cabellos caídos por día durante todo el tratamiento. Utilizando el método de recuento de cabellos estandarizado por 60 segundos. Resultados: el porcentaje de reducción de caída del cabello fue de 56,8% para el grupo de personas que utilizaron el champú a una concentración al 2% y 32,1% para el grupo de personas que utilizaron el champú a una concentración al 5%. Se compararon los promedios de diámetro de cabellos caídos y evaluación de recuento de pelos caídos por día, utilizando el método de recuento de cabellos estandarizado por 60 segundos. Conclusiones: se pudo diseñar y formular un champú conteniendo extracto alcohólico de Urtica urens L.; demostrando su efectividad en el tratamiento contra la caída del cabello logrando una mejora mayor al 50% y además se determinó que no produce irritabilidad dérmica. / Introduction: Hair loss is a topic that has us very aware of how many hairs we fall and how to avoid it. We can prevent any type of fall or act on early stages of a process of falling to improve the condition of the hair, to promote the growth of healthier, stronger hair or contribute to prolonging the life cycle of hair. Objective: To design and develop Shampoo containing the alcoholic extract of Urtica urens L. Design: Analytical, experimental and comparative study. Location: College of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru. Methods: plant leaves. White rabbits, New Zealand breed males (irritation test for biological evaluation of medical devices). They formed part of this study diagnosed with hair loss of non-pathological origin, numbering 10 people were evaluated by a medical professional, for 21 days. Microscopic observation underwent the fallen hair daily to assess whether there is increased hair diameter compared to the beginning and end of the study. Fallen hair count per day throughout the treatment was obtained. Using the method of standardized hair count by 60 seconds. Results: the percentage reduction in hair loss was 56.8% for the group of people who used the shampoo at a concentration of 2% and 32.1% for the group of people who used the shampoo at a concentration 5 %. Average diameter of fallen hairs counting and evaluation fallen hairs per day were compared, using the method of standard hair count for 60 seconds. Conclusions: it was possible to design and formulate a shampoo containing alcoholic extract of Urtica urens L. ; proving its effectiveness in treating hair loss improves achieving greater than 50% and also determined not produce skin irritability. Keywords: Hair Shampoo, alcoholic extract of Urtica urens L., standard hair count by 60 seconds. / Tesis

Endozoochory is an important part of plant-animal relationship. In model area of the Doupov Mountains large herbivore mammals, such as red deer, sika deer and wild boar, act as effective seed dispersers. Out of 282 dung samples 29 719 seedlings of 91 species emerged. The most common species was Urtica dioica (80 % of all seedlings). The amount of seeds in dung as well as species composition were highly dependent on dispersing animal, both showed strong seasonality and differences between two studied localities. Frequency of species in dung did not correspond to their frequency in vegetation suggesting strong preferences of herbivores as predators. However more research is needed to test this hypothesis. Given very high time demands for samples processing beforehand the emergence experiment, the influence of concentration by washing through on seedling emergence and species composition was tested. According to preliminary results more seedlings and species emerge from concentrated samples. However, concentration has no effect on emergence of U. dioica as the most common species. Concentration of samples by running water is recommended for faster emergence in greenhouse conditions. Preliminary results also suggest that the approximation of number of seedlings/species on weight of dry mass is not...

<p>U ovoj disertaciji proučavana je osmotska<br />dehidratacija lista koprive u dva različita<br />osmotska rastvora: 1. vodenom rastvoru<br />saharoze i natrijum hlorida i 2. melasi &scaron;ećerne<br />repe. Ispitivan je uticaj temperature procesa<br />(20&deg;C, 35&deg;C i 50&deg;C) i vremena imerzije (30, 60<br />i 90 min) na gubitak vode, prira&scaron;taj suve<br />materije, sadržaj suve materije, vrednosti<br />aktivnosti vode, mikrobioo&scaron;ke promene,<br />promenu mineralnog sastava (Ca, Mg, Na, K,<br />Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co) i promenu antioksidativne<br />aktivnosti, tokom osmotske dehidratacije lista koprive.<br />Dokazano je da se povećanjem temperature i<br />produženjem vremena trajanja procesa<br />pospe&scaron;uje prenos mase tj. migracija molekula<br />vode iz tretiranog biljnog materijala u okolni<br />rastvor, i prodiranje molekula rastvorene<br />supstance iz osmotskog rastvora u tretirano<br />biljno tkivo.<br />Snižene aw vrednosti u svim ispitivanim<br />uzorcima ukazuju na pozitivan uticaj osmotske<br />dehidratacije na mikrobiolo&scaron;ku stabilnost<br />tretiranog lista koprive. Dobijeni rezultati su<br />pokazali značajno pobolj&scaron;anje mineralnog<br />sastava lista koprive, dehidriranih u melasi<br />&scaron;ećerne repe, dok je kod uzoraka tretiranih u<br />rastvoru saharoze i natrijumhlorida uočeno<br />smanjenje sadržaja ispitivanih mineralnih<br />materija. Nasuprot rastvoru saharoze i natrijum<br />hlorida koji je uticao na opadanje ukupne<br />antioksidativnosti osmotski dehidriranih<br />uzoraka, melasa &scaron;ećerne repe, kao bogat izvor<br />prirodnih antioksidanasa, doprinosi povećanju<br />antioksidativnosti i pobolj&scaron;anju funkcionalnog<br />kvaliteta dehidriranog produkta.<br />Statističkom obradom rezultata, uočeno je da<br />su optimalni procesni parametri u pogledu<br />efikasnosti procesa, kao i mikrobiolo&scaron;kog,<br />nutritivnog i funkcionalnog kvaliteta osmotski<br />dehidriranog lista koprive, vreme trajanja<br />procesa od 60 min, na temperaturi od 50&deg;C, u<br />melasi &scaron;ećerne repe kao osmotskom rastvoru.</p> / <p>The osmotic dehydration of the nettle leaf into<br />two different osmotic media was studied in this<br />dissertation: 1. Aqueous solution of sucrose and<br />sodium chloride and 2. Sugar beet molasses.<br />The effects of the process temperature (20 &deg;C,<br />35 &deg;C and 50 &deg;C) and the immersion time (30,<br />60 and 90 min) on water loss, solid gain, dry<br />matter content, water activity, microbial<br />changes, mineral composition (Ca, Mg, Na, K,<br />Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co) and the change in the antioxidant activity during osmotic dehydration<br />of the nettle leaf were studied in this<br />investigation.<br />It has been proved that the increase in<br />temperature and the prolonging of process time,<br />accelerate the mass transfer, i. e., the migration<br />of the water molecules from the treated plant<br />material to the surrounding osmotic solution,<br />and also the penetration of the molecules from<br />the osmotic solution into the treated plant tissue.<br />The reduced aw values in all tested samples<br />indicate the positive effect of osmotic<br />dehydration on the microbiological stability of<br />the treated nettle leaf. The obtained results<br />showed a significant improvement in the<br />mineral composition of the nettle leaf<br />dehydrated in sugar beet molasses, while the<br />decrease in the mineral content was observed in<br />the samples treated with sucrose and sodium<br />chloride solution. Contrary to the sucrose and<br />sodium chloride solution, which negatively<br />affected the overall antioxidative effect of<br />osmotically dehydrated samples, sugar beet<br />molasses contributed to an increase in<br />antioxidantity, being a rich source of natural<br />antioxidants, and it also improves the functional<br />quality of the dehydrated product.<br />Statistical analysis of the obtained experimental<br />results showed that optimal process parameters<br />in terms of process efficiency, as well as<br />microbiological, nutritive and functional quality<br />of the osmotically dehydrated leaf net, could be<br />reached after 60 min of osmotic treatment, at a<br />temperature of 50 &deg;C, using sugar beet molasses<br />as an osmotic solution.</p>

There is much evidence that herbivory is a key innovation for the tremendous success of insect. In this thesis I have investigated different aspects of host plant utilization and phenotypic plasticity using the polyphagous comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album. Even though external conditions affect a phenotypic plastic response, the outcome is often influenced by a genetic background which may differ among populations. In Paper I we suspected the genetic background to seasonal polymorphism to be X-linked. However, results from interspecific hybridization between two populations suggested that diapause response is instead inherited in a mainly autosomally additive fashion, with a possible influence of sexual antagonism on males. In Paper II we showed that female oviposition preference is not a plastic response influenced by larval experience, but has a genetic background coupled to host plant suitability. Further, there is a strong individual correlation between larval host plant acceptance and female host plant specificity (Paper III). We believe this to be a larval feed-back genetically linked to female host specificity: offspring to ‘choosy’ specialist mothers benefit by remaining on the original host while offspring to less discriminating generalist mothers should risk inspecting the surroundings, thus compensating for potential poor female choice. In the larval mid-gut, genes are differentially expressed depending on host plant diet (Paper IV). Therefore, we expected to find fitness consequences of host plant switch. However, although growth rate was affected in a few treatments, larvae were generally surprisingly good at adjusting to new diets (Paper V). To conclude, host plant choice in both female and larval life stage is connected to performance. Combined with increased understanding about the plastic response to diet intake and seasonal polymorphism we have gained further insights into the processes of local adaptations and speciation in the Lepidoptera. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted Manuscript; Paper 5: Manuscript

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.