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Two experiments (in Petri dishes and in soil) were conducted to investigate the effects of osmopriming on seed germination and the early seedling characteristics of caraway (Carum carvi L. var. annua). The priming treatments in the Petri dish experiment were: polyethylene glycol (5%, 10% and 20%), KNO3 (0.5%, 1% and 2%) and KCL (1%, 2% and 4%) with three different soaking times (12, 24 and 36 h) along with control (non-primed seeds). Only polyethylene glycol and H2O were applied in the cell tray experiment, which were then compared with the non-primed seeds. In the Petri dish experiment, all three priming reagents significantly enhanced seedling length, with the most effective treatments being 5% PEG, 2% KNO3 and 1% KCL for 12 h. The plumule dry weights were also increased significantly after PEG (20% for 36 h), KNO3 (2% for 24 and 36 h) and KCL (1% for 12 h) treatments in comparison with the control. In the soil experiment, osmopriming with PEG significantly improved the germination rate (GR) and percentage, the plumule dry and fresh weights and the plumule length of caraway seedlings when compared with the control. A 23% higher germination percentage was recorded for the seeds treated with 5% PEG for 24 h as compared with the non-primed seeds. The PEG-primed seeds produced significantly longer seedlings when treated with 5% PEG for 24 h. All of the applied PEG treatments significantly enhanced the plumule fresh and dry weights, with the best outcomes being after 5% PEG (24 h) and 10% PEG (36 h) treatments, respectively. The 12-h hydro-priming also significantly enhanced all of the studied germination parameters when compared to the control. The results of the presented experiments show the significant positive effects of seed priming on caraway germination and how early seedling performance can easily be adopted by producers.

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Inulin and fish oil rich in omega-3 fatty acid were applied to yoghurt, kefir, and smearcase made from goat and sheep milk, and their impact on fatty acid composition was investigated at 8°C throughout 40 days. The number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was significantly diminished within 16 days, and by the end of the storage period the population size was decreased by 3 orders of magnitude in fish oil fortified samples. In inulin-fortified samples, a significant decrease in LAB number (by 2.5-3 orders of magnitude) was observed just by the end of the storage time, while the amount of unsaturated free fatty acids was increased. The extent of lipolysis and the resulted amount of free fatty acids exhibited varying feature depending on the composition of the product. Goat and sheep milk products exhibit analogous trends in terms of change in fatty acid composition with one exception: the ratio of free C16:0 was increased by 10% for goat milk products, while for the sheep milk products only by 3%. Ratio of C16:0 did not change during storage of sheep yoghurt as a result of inulin fortification. In contrast, 13% increase of this parameter was observed in case of the product variant prepared with fish oil addition. It might be stated that fortification with prebiotics can be regarded as a better way to improve the biological value of dairy products than that with fish oil.

Cinnamyl alcohol glycosides (CAGs) are the signature compounds of all roseroot preparations. The rapid growth in the market of roseroot-based products and the increasing demand for its raw material is causing serious threat for wild growing roseroot populations worldwide, which promotes the extensive studies to come up with alternative production resources. In this study the biotransformation of several precursors for the production of CAGs (rosin, rosavin, rosarin) in in vitro roseroot callus culture has been surveyed. Phenylalanine, trans-cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde and cinnamyl alcohol; the proposed precursors of CAGs, were added one by one to roseroot liquid callus cultures in 2 mM concentration. Samples were harvested and analysed by HPLC after 24, 48 and 96 h along with controls. All of the studied compounds, except phenylalanine, promoted the formation of CAGs. It was found that the closer the position of precursors to the final product in the biosynthesis pathway the more effective was the biotransformation into the final CAGs, both in terms of time and final product quantities. Addition of 2 mM trans-cinnamic acid and Cinnamyl alcohol resulted in 80-fold increase after 24 h and 130-fold increase after 96 h in callus samples, respectively. Rosin was the only compound which was released into the medium from the callus cells during the experiment and only in the cinnamyl alcohol-fed callus cells. These results revealed the potential of the precursors of the cinnamyl alcohol glycosides to be subject of biotransformation by roseroot callus cultures in order to produce the pharmaceutically important compounds. Key message Biotransformation of precursors in Rhodiola rosea callus culture has proved to be a feasible approach to sustainably enhance the content of active constituents in vitro. Keywords Cinnamyl alcohol glycosides • Precursor feeding • Cinnamyl alcohol • Rosavin • Rosarian • Rosin Abbreviations 2iP N 6-(2-Isopentenyl) adenosine BAP 6-BenzylAminoPurine CAGs Cinnamyl alcohol glycosides IAA Indole-3-Acetic Acid NAA α-NaphthaleneAcetic Acid PAL Phenylalanine ammonia lyase Phe Phenylalanine TCA trans-cinnamic acid Communicated by Konstantin V. Kiselev.

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