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•Pesticide residues were detected in 71 % of small packs and family packs fruit juice.•The major issue was occurrence of banned and multiple pesticide residues in juices.•Acute, ...chronic non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic, and cumulative risk were assessed.•The risk from pesticide residues has not been found for any population group.
The occurrence of pesticide residues in food and the consequent health risks attract considerable attention. The current study comprised 139 samples of fruit juice present on the Serbian market. Out of 69 pesticide active substances analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionisation, 19 were detected, ranging from 0.001 to 0.629 mg/kg, most frequently these were carbendazim, acetamiprid and pyrimethanil. Almost 60 % of 71.2 % of positive samples contained multiple residues, up to 6. Residues of unapproved pesticides were detected in 2.9 % of samples, while the percentage of samples not in compliance with the permitted maximum levels was 2.2 %. The probability of exceeding the toxicological reference value was insignificant for any of the pesticides assessed in any of the consumer groups considered, with the exception of adolescents acutely exposed to carbofuran (113 % of ARfD). Chronic cumulative exposure to triazole pesticides showed very low risk, regardless of the applied approach - Hazard Index or Relative Potency Factors, used to scale the exposure relative to cyproconazole as the index compound for hepatotoxic effects. An estimate of the lifetime cancer risk attributable to the presence of carcinogenic pesticides in fruit juice was sufficiently protective, corresponding to a total of 0.013 additional cancer cases annually.
The
mycotoxins such as alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), and tentoxin (TEN) are mycotoxins, which can contaminate cereal-based raw materials. Today, wheat is one of the most ...important crops in temperate zones, and it is in increasing demand in the Western Balkans countries that are urbanizing and industrializing. This research aimed to investigate the occurrence and determine the concentration of
mycotoxins AOH, AME, and TEN in wheat samples from the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Albania, harvested in the year 2020 in the period between 15 June and 15 July. A total of 80 wheat grain samples, 40 from each country, were analyzed by an QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method. From the obtained results, it can be seen that the mean concentration of AOH was 3.3 µg/kg and AME was 2.2 µg/kg in wheat samples from Serbia, while TEN from both Serbia and Albania was under the limit of quantification (<LOQ). The maximum of AOH and AME mycotoxins was recorded only in wheat grain samples collected in the Republic of Serbia (5.3 and 2.3 µg/kg). In conclusion,
mycotoxins have concentrations above the LOQ, which could be potentially considered a health hazard to both humans and animals.
Following the implementation of the European regulation limiting the presence of tropane alkaloids in certain foods, a survey was conducted in Serbia on 103 maize products (grits, polenta and ...semolina) to determine atropine and scopolamine content using liquid chromatography with tandem-mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS). The probability of exceeding the Acute Reference Dose (ARfD; 0.016 μg/kg bw/day) of the sum of atropine and scopolamine by consuming these products was tested. Overall, across age categories - children, younger and older adolescents, and adults, the group ARfD was exceeded by 21.4%, 17.5%, 11.7% and 11.7% of the samples, with maximum exposure reaching as much as 19-, 13-, 9- and 9-fold the group ARfD, respectively. Nevertheless, polenta could be the most favorable dietary option (17.9% of positive samples, 7.7% resulting in excessive exposure in children, reaching a maximum of 1.4-fold the group ARfD). According to the reported findings, adverse health effects of tropane alkaloids cannot be ruled out. The Margin of Exposure, founded on a clinically significant acute effects dose established by FAO/WHO, ranged from 1194 to 2381 (mean) and from 28 to 56 (95th percentile) across age categories. These estimates should certainly draw the attention of food authorities and nutritionist, particularly in the case of highly sensitive populations with contraindications and high consumers of corn products, such as coeliac patients.
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•Tropane alkaloids (atropine and scopolamine) contaminate maize milling products.•Acute reference dose exceeded by 21.4% (children) and 11.7% (adults) of the samples.•Exposure of children could reach as much as 19-fold the group acute reference dose.•The most favorable dietary option – polenta, the worst one – maize semolina.
The phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of wine and fermented pomace (FP) from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes harvested at three ripening stages were evaluated using LC-MS/MS and ...spectrophotometric analyses. An investigation of grey mold’s (Botrytis cinerea) influence on wine phenolic content modulation was conducted as well. Finally, the influence of the plant’s ripening stage on the dynamics of the phenolic compounds extracted from wine and FP obtained from fully ripe grapes was evaluated. In this study, the content of catechin, epicatechin, quercetin, and p-coumaric, gallic, and syringic acids was analyzed. Wine and FP were obtained after extended maceration during the spontaneous and inoculated fermentation of fully ripe grapes. When comparing the wine and FP obtained from véraison, fully ripe, and overripe grapes, catechin was the most abundant in wine (40.13 ± 3.25 mg/L) and quercetin in FP (10.96 ± 0.14 mg/kg). A decrease in analyzed phenolic compounds was noticed in wine produced from grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea, and the highest depletion was found for quercetin. The use of a winemaking technique that involved differing maceration periods and inoculation using yeasts as well as spontaneous fermentation significantly modulated the phenolic content of derived wines and FP. The dynamics of the phenolic compounds extracted into wine, evaluated using a principal component analysis (PCA), highlighted contents of catechin and epicatechin. After a decrease in maceration, the PCA revealed a notable content of gallic and syringic acids, as well as quercetin, in samples of FP. This study offers a perspective for future research and the development of functional food with a high content of phenolic compounds originating from red grape products, such as wine and fermented pomace.
Risks posed by pesticide residues in infant food urge for protection of the most vulnerable part of our population. In the current study a total of 54 samples of infant food (juice and purée) were ...collected on the Serbian market. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization method detected 18 out of 69 analyzed pesticide active substances in 55.6% of the samples, most frequently carbendazim and acetamiprid. Domestic products as opposed to the imported ones showed a substantially higher proportion of positive (85% vs 38%) and noncompliant (10% vs 0%) samples, a number of pesticides detected (15 vs 8), the proportion of the samples with multiple residues (85% vs 15%), the maximum number of residues in an individual sample (7 vs 2). Risk assessment was performed for the present pesticide active substances, which was estimated to remain below the level of concern for both acute and chronic adverse health effects.
Six ethanolic extracts, obtained from anise, fennel, lavender, sage, mint, white horehound and their mixture were directly applied onto cellulose (viscose) fabric to impart antimicrobial and ...antioxidant functionality for its potential use as a wound dressing. Antimicrobial activity of treated fabrics against gram-positive bacteria
S. aureus
and yeast
C. albicans
, as common skin pathogens, was determined by agar diffusion test. The most effective against both microorganisms was viscose with anise, fennel, and mint, whereby clear inhibition and suppression zones were detected. The oxidation of viscose, intended to improve sorption properties and consequently adsorption of extracts, increased the antimicrobial activity of viscose with a mixture of extracts. The antioxidant activity of fabric samples with extracts, determined by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, was significantly higher when compared to the untreated viscose sample (2.38 %) and ranged from 11.82 % for viscose with fennel up to 87.71 % for viscose with sage. Oxidation of fabric before sorption of extracts mixture contributes to higher antioxidant activity (68.81 %). Direct impregnation of bioactive plants extracts onto the fabric represents low cost and simple method, which makes it suitable for obtaining eco-friendly, low-cost disposable medical textiles with the therapeutic and prophylactic role.
The massive use of glyphosate as a herbicide compound has led to the ubiquity of AMPA in the environment, especially in water. So, the present work aimed to establish the validation parameters of the ...LC-MS/MS method for glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA, determination in water. During the extraction process the derivatization of glyphosate as an extreme polar pesticide, was done using FMOC. The validation results show that the method met the criteria given in SANTE/11312/2021 for all the investigated validation parameters as well as estimated measurement uncertainty.
This research aimed to determine the prevalence rate of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from raw cow milk samples in Albania and Serbia. A total of 100 raw milk ...samples, 50 from Albania and 50 from Serbia, have been collected from randomly selected cattle farms. Twelve samples (12%) were positive for S. aureus, five of those originating from Albania (41.66%) and seven from Serbia (58.33%). Resistance of isolated S. aureus strains to ampicillin in milk samples from Albania (36.7%) and Serbia (34.1%) was the most common. Some of S. aureus strains from milk samples from Albania were resistant to tetracycline (16.9%), while isolates from milk samples from Serbia were more resistant towards oxacillin (18%). The recorded resistance towards erythromycin (13.2%; 13.1%), and sulfatrim (7.6%; 6.9%) was similar between both milk samples, respectively. The obtained results have shown higher resistance of S. aureus strains towards cephalothin in milk samples from Serbia (3.9%) compared to milk samples from Albania (1.6%), respectively. All isolates tested for antibiotic sensitivity were susceptible to methicillin, vancomycin, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin. The obtained results regarding the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antibiotics indicated that isolates were resistant to tetracycline, oxacillin, erythromycin, and ampicillin, respectively. Results of our investigation have shown that the found antibiotics residues are related to the usage of erythromycin (72.6% and 73.9%), followed by ampicillin (70.4% and 71.2%) while residues of ciprofloxacin in the analysed milk samples was not registered.
S-metolachlor is one of the most frequently used herbicides worldwide. However, toxicity studies of this herbicide to aquatic organisms are scarce. In the present study, two experiments were ...conducted to test the effects of S-metolachlor on common carp, one of the most economically important fish species, with a distribution throughout the world: (1) 96 h acute semi-static toxicity test, aiming to determine LC50; (2) a subchronic semi-static test that lasted 28 days, in which juvenile carp were exposed to 3%, 8%, and 25% of previously determined LC50—0.5 mg·L−1, 1.4 mg·L−1, and 4.1 mg·L−1, respectively. Several biomarkers were employed to assess fish responses to toxicants. Blood biochemistry analysis and nuclear alterations of erythrocytes did not show any difference among experimental groups. Semi-quantitative histopathological analysis revealed mild alterations in the gills and liver, where oedema of secondary epithelium of gills and leukocyte infiltration in liver were significantly higher in fish exposed to 1.4 mg·L−1 and 4.1 mg·L−1. Histopathological indices in liver, as well as the total histopathological index, also showed significantly higher scores in the same groups. Bioconcentration factors of S-metolachlor ranged from 3.2 to 9.4, depending on the experimental group.
The cereal grains, which represent the cultivated grasses fruits, supply almost half of the total caloric requirements for humans and provide more nourishment compared with any other class of the ...food. Out of many cereals used for food, maize, rice, and wheat are the most important food resources for humans, representing 94% of the total cereals consumption. According to the data of the Republic Institute of Statistics for the year 2018, the harvested areas of corn amount to 906,753 hectares. The production of about 7 million tons was achieved with an average yield of 7.7 t/ha according to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia. Serbia is still among the ten largest exporters of wheat and corn in the world for the period of 2014/15–2017/18. More precisely, it ranks seventh in the export of corn. Utilization of maize products for food animal nutrition (1000 t) is 491,48, and for industrial processing (1000 t) 278,862 expressed as the total consumption (1000 t) is 769,910. Therefore, a total of 103 samples of maize products were analyzed for the presence of toxins, i.e., tropane alkaloids (TAs). The samples were collected from the retail stores in the Republic of Serbia in 2021 and analyzed for the presence of atropine and scopolamine (33 corn grits, 39 polenta, and 31 semolina samples). Therefore, the Recommendation 2015/976/EU on the monitoring of TAs in food was adopted by the EU Commission to obtain more occurrence data on TAs in food. The monitoring extent, however, is restricted because reliable analytical methods and appropriate sensitivity are limited. There was a limit of 1 g/kg for each atropine and scopolamine in cereals containing millet, sorghum, buckwheat, or their derivatives. All the samples were analyzed by the LC-MS/MS. The LOQ was set at 1.0 μg/kg. Out of the total 103 tested samples, 32 samples (31.1%) were contaminated with atropine and scopolamine in concentrations above the LOQ. The highest concentrations of the studied TAs were observed in a semolina sample-atropine: 58.80 μg/kg, scopolamine: 10.20 μg/kg. The obtained results indicate that the TAs concentrations are above the LOQ which can be considered potential human and animal health hazards.
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