This is the first report of the high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry profile of a herbal mixture (HM) made of Juniperus oxycedrus L. (redberry juniper) berries, inner bark of Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), and grains of Avena sativa L. (oat), and its effect on the No. of micronuclei (MN) in human lymphocytes and toxicity toward Artemia salina. Constituents represented by over 1000 µg per g of methanol dry extract were gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, and amentoflavone. The methanol extract of the HM at a concentration of 2.0 μg/mL decreased MN frequency by 38.3%, which was more than 3 times greater than that of the radioprotectant amifostine. The essential oil isolated from the HM was composed mainly of β-myrcene (32%) and showed weaker toxicity toward Artemia salina than the positive control after both incubation periods (24 h and 48 h). These findings suggest that the examined HM, beside its ethnopharmacological relevance on the elimination of renal calculi, also significantly reduces the No. of MN in human lymphocytes.

In this paper, we review several steps of the process leading to the creation of the on-site museum at the Neolithic site of Drenovac: archaeological research (geophysical survey, excavations, processing of findings and samples), conservation and presentation of archaeological heritage. The concept of the site's presentation revolves around in situ remains of the Late Neolithic houses. The process of their conservation was a pioneering project in Serbia and included cooperating and consulting with various experts. The presentation of the site is still an ongoing project with the focus of the final stages on the exhibition space in the area surrounding the preserved houses. The exhibition will be designed to tell a story about the site, excavations and findings. In addition to the presentation of life in the Neolithic settlement, the goal is to show the work of archaeologists in discovering the past -from excavation to interpretation. This approach provides a unique experience for the visitors -an introduction to the life of the Neolithic community in the original location on one side, and on the other side -it offers an opportunity to get acquainted with the methods and processes of discovering the past.

This is the first study on cuticular wax variability of Abies alba, A. × borisii-regis and A. cephalonica, using 18 native populations from the assumed hybrid zone in the Balkan Peninsula. Presence of 13 n-alkanes with chain-lengths ranging from C 21 to C 33 , one primary alcohol, two diterpenes, one triterpene and one sterol was determined in hexane extracts of 269 needle samples. The multivariate statistical analyses at the population level entirely failed in supporting circumscription of Balkan Abies taxa and therefore, in identifying hybrid populations.However, performed at the species level, these analyses revealed a certain tendency of differentiation between A. alba and A. cephalonica, while individuals of A. × borisii-regis were largely overlapped by the clouds of both parent species. Finally, the correlation analysis suggested that the observed variation of wax compounds was probably genetically conditioned and that it does not represent an adaptive response to various environmental factors.

No abstract

The amount of nineteen elements in eleven different lichen species, six fruticose (Bryoria capillaris, Bryoria fuscescens, Cladonia rangiformis, Rama-lina capitata, Usnea chaetophora and Evernia prunastri) and five foliose (Hypogymnia tubulosa, Lobaria pulmonaria, Peltigera horizontalis, Umbilicaria cylindrica and Umbilicaria crustulosa) from five natural areas of the Balkan Peninsula (Serbia and Bulgaria) were determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The most common major elements were Ca and K and the least common ones were Mg and Na. Fe, Mn, Zn and Ba were the most common trace elements while Cd and Co were the least common. The obtained results were statistically processed.