Indigenous grape varieties represent a significant potential for viticultural diversification. Due to fertilization problems, certain varieties from this group require suitable pollenizers for ...successful fertilization and in order to achieve high-quality grapes. The study was conducted during the years 2016 and 2017 in the vineyard in Herzegovina (southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina). The aim of this research is to define a suitable pollenizer for the 'Blatina' variety, which has a functionally female flower. Manual pollination was performed with five different pollenizers during the flowering period by applying pollen to the 'Blatina' variety inflorescence during the full bloom stage in the early morning hours. Pollinated inflorescences were isolated, marked, and monitored until the end of the vegetation, while open-pollinated clusters were the control group. The most important characteristics of grape clusters and seeds were analyzed. The best results during the research were obtained by open pollination. The significant effect of the pollenizers was registered in parameters: cluster mass, mass of grape berries in the cluster, number of grape berries per cluster, and average seed mass. Varieties 'Žilavka' and 'Vranac' had better characteristics compared to other pollenizer varieties. The results show that the Blatina variety production with a greater number of pollenizers ensures stable yields.
Viticulture is of great economic importance in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thanks to favorable climatic conditions and a long-standing tradition of growing vines. The assortment is ...dominated by international varieties, as well as some autochthonous and domesticated varieties. The subject of the research is the analysis of the quality of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Vranac, and Blatina varieties at two localities in Herzegovina during the period 2020-2021. The paper examined the most important economic and technological characteristics, grape quality, and berry phenolic profile. A particularly pronounced variation of the tested characteristics during the research period was observed in the Merlot and Blatina varieties, while the Cabernet Sauvignon and Vranac varieties showed a slightly higher stability of the tested characteristics. Poorer grape quality during the research period was registered with the Blatina variety, which can be considered a varietal characteristic to some extent. The analyzed grape varieties were rich in polyphenols, and the impact of grape variety on the berry phenolic profiles was confirmed. The most abundant polyphenols in the analyzed grape samples were quercetin 3-
-glucoside and catechin gallate, followed by kaempferol 3-
-glucoside. The highest values of polyphenols were found mainly in the samples originating from Trebinje. Indigenous Balkan grape varieties (Vranac and Blatina) stood out with particularly high contents of some phenolics. Research has shown that climatic conditions have a significant influence on the most important characteristics of grapes, which are conditioned by genotypic specificities. The conditions for growing vines in the conditions of Herzegovina enable high quality in the production of grapes, especially the Cabernet Sauvignon and Vranac varieties. The autochthonous variety Blatina shows significant variations in grape quality during the test period, which was confirmed by the results of a larger number of studies in the previous period.
Heavy metal pollution is a serious environmental and health problem. The negative effects of heavy metals that can enter human body can be reduced by the addition of some supplements. In this study, ...the effects of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) on the hematological parameters in Wistar rats in the absence and presence of lipoic acid and glutathione were analyzed. Pb, Cd and Cu intoxication significantly affected the hematological parameters of treated animals. The main effects in the case of Pb and Cd intoxication were decreased values of erythrocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit (up to 30% and 20% for these two metals, respectively) compared with the control group. Cu intoxication caused decrease in hematocrit, thrombocytes, mean cell volume values (c.a. 15%) and slight decrease in the erythrocyte number, while the value of hemoglobin increased (c.a. 7%). The treatment with lipoic acid and glutathione reduced the toxic effects of these metals in all cases.
Wine is an alcoholic beverage created as a product of alcoholic fermentation. It is a complex compound consisting of a large number of components (water, alcohols, acids, sugars, mineral substances, ...phenols, esters, glycerol, etc.). The chemical composition and quality of wine largely depend on the variety, wine type, production, and storage methods. Maceration is an essential part of the red wine production process. During maceration, numerous compounds are separated from the solid parts of the grape and berry and they are extracted into wine, and thanks to this process, red wine acquires most of its characteristics. It is considered that temperature and duration are the most important maceration factors that affect the quality of red wines. This paper aims to determine the influence of different maceration regimes on the quality of red wines of the Vranac and Merlot varieties. Vinification was carried out in 2021 in the Microbiology Laboratory of the Faculty of Technology in Banja Luka, where maceration regimes for 6 and 12 days were applied, at temperatures of 16 and 25°C. Wine quality analyses were done in the Laboratory for Ampelography and Winemaking at the Faculty of Agriculture in Banja Luka. Differences in wine quality were observed depending on the maceration regime. The highest alcohol content was observed after 6 days of maceration at 25°C, while prolonged maceration led to reduction in the alcohol content. The increased temperature had a positive effect on the total extract, as well as on the wine chromatic characteristics of both varieties. The wines of the Merlot variety had lower total acidity at longer maceration, while the wines of the Vranac variety had lower total acidity at shorter maceration. All analyzed wines had a satisfactorily low volatile acidity, as well as pH. The Merlot wines had the highest ash content after 12 days of maceration at 25°C, and the Vranac wines after 6 days of maceration at 25°C.
The introduction of new varieties in fruit production should consider consumer attitudes regarding the appearance and taste of the fruits. In order to evaluate the consumer attitudes in Serbia and ...Bosnia & Herzegovina (B&H), on the most important characteristics of cherry fruits, an online survey was conducted with 402 respondents. Participation in the survey was taken by 53.23% of respondents from Serbia and 46.77% from B&H, most of which were women (54.23%). Consumers expressed their views on the most important external (fruit colour, fruit shape, fruit size, presence of a stalk on the fruit, length of the stalk and the presence of damage to the fruit) and internal (fruit taste, fruit firmness) characteristics of the fruit. According to the results, the attitude toward the fruit size, the presence of a stalk and the stalk length, as well as fruit firmness was dependent upon respondents' residence. Both male and female respondents had similar attitudes toward the cherry characteristics except for the fruit taste and the most important cherry characteristics. The age of a respondent influenced the attitude toward the fruit size and the presence of a stalk, as well as the fruit firmness.
Introduction/Objective. Intensive oxidative stress is proven in patients with diabetes mellitus and important in the development of a microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim ...of the study was to investigate the relationship between morphometric parameters of retinal blood vessels in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the levels of parameters of oxidative stress: advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and total sulfhydryl (SH) groups in blood samples. Methods. The patients (the group with DR and controls) were sex- and age-matched. Glycaemia, hemoglobin A1C HbA1C, total cholesterol and its fractions, and triglycerides were measured in blood samples. AOPP and total SH groups were determined in the plasma by specific methods. Modification of the thiobarbituric acid method was used for the determination of TBARS. The number and diameter of retinal blood vessels, as morphometric parameters on digital retinal photography, was determined by using the ImageJ software. Student?s t-test was used as the statistical method for the evaluation of differences between the morphometric and blood test parameters. The significance of differences in morphometric parameters of retinal blood was establish by one-way ANOVA. Results. Significantly higher levels of parameters of oxidative stress (AOPP and TBARS) were in the group of patients with DR than in the controls. This difference was also present among the patients with mild and severe forms of DR (AOPP F 77.03, p < 0.001) (TBARS F 63.28, p < 0.001). The diameter of retinal blood vessels correlated with levels of AOPP, but only in patients with mild DR. Conclusion. Parameters of oxidative stress, AOPP and TBARS, may be important for the follow-up of DR. In early stages in diabetic retinopathy, AOPP can be a valuable biomarker.
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In July 2015, 179 grapevine plants belonging to 16 grapevine autochthonous cultivars were assessed for sanitary status using DAS ELISA test for the presence of: Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV), ...Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1 (GLRaV-1), Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 2 (GLRaV-2)and Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3). Furthermore, surveyfor the phytoplasma presence and laboratory analyses using nested-PCR/RFLP assay was conducted at the beginning of September 2015 on grapevine cultivars which were not positive in DAS ELISA test for the presence of the four viruses. Out of 179 tested plants with DAS ELISA test, 146 (81%) were positive for the presence of at least one virus. The most widespread viruses were GFLaV- 1 and GFLaV- 3 with approximately 80 % of grapevines infected. Nested–PCR/RFLP assay showed that out of 33 tested samples 2 were positive for the presence of phytoplasmas from 16SrXII group. Sanitation of infected grapevine cultivars is needed in near future.
Research in this paper was performed at two different locations: Radmilovac and Vršac in Serbia. Four new interspecific hybrids (9846, 9896, 19574 and 20506) which are intended for table consumption ...were used as a material. Grape yield per unit area, the properties of the bunch (bunch weight, bunch length, bunch width and number of berries in bunch), the properties of berry (berry weight, berry length and berry width), as well as the characteristic of grape quality (sugar content and total acids in the must) were studied in selected hybrids. The highest yield per unit area in the localities Radmilovac and Vršac had a hybrid 9896 (14 998 kg/ha; 11 365 kg/ha). Analysis of variance results showed for the bunch weight, bunch width and number of berries in bunch, berry weight and berry length significant differences among the genotypes. Significant differences between investigated localities were determined for the bunch length and all the berry characters. The interaction between genotype and localities showed significant differences for bunch length, berry length and berry width. Since the genotypes in the initial yielding (third year after planting), they are showed satisfactory results in relation to the objectives of selection.
Cyanobacteria and microalgae are abundant biota groups in eutrophic freshwater ecosystems, serving as a food source for many aquatic organisms, including the larvae of non-biting midges ...(Chironomidae). Many species of cyanobacteria are toxin producers, which can act as stressors to other organisms. The present study aimed to analyze and compare the effects of dietary exposure to the common toxic cyanobacteria Anabaena sp. and non-toxic microalgae Chlorella sp. in Chironomus riparius larvae. Microcystin was detected and quantified in the methanolic extract of Anabaena sp. using the HPLC-DAD technique, and it was identified as microcystin-LR. Both Anabaena sp. and Chlorella sp. were suitable food sources to enable the survival of C. riparius larvae in laboratory conditions, causing negligible mortality and significant differences in the larval mass (ANOVA and Post hoc LSD test; p < 0.05) and hemoglobin concentration (Student's t-test; p < 0.05). Oxidative stress parameters such as advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and DNA damage, were also investigated. One-way ANOVA, followed by the Post hoc LSD test, showed a significant increase in AOPP and CAT for the group of larvae fed with Chlorella sp. The same test showed moderate DNA damage in both groups of larvae, with greater damage in the group fed with Anabaena sp. Thus, Chlorella sp. and microcystin-LR producing Anabaena sp. are food sources that did not result in any drastic acute effect on the population level of C. riparius larvae. However, sub-individual-level endpoints revealed significant effects of the treatments, since they caused oxidative stress and DNA damage that may pose a danger to successive generations of test organisms.
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•Phytoplankton is available food for benthic macroinvertebrate in aquatic ecosystems•We assessed the influence of phytoplankton on Chironomus larvae using toxicity tests•Anabaena sp. caused oxidative stress and moderate DNA damage on Chironomus larvae•Enzyme biomarkers revealed that Chlorella sp. caused oxidative stress to Chironomus larvae
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