No abstract

The aim of the study was to compare the mineral content between the peel and the pulp of citrus fruits and to determine which citrus fruit, among orange (Citrus sinensis), pomelo (Citrus maxima), mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco), lemon (Citrus limon), key lime (Citrus aurantifolia), and red, yellow, or green grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), is the richest in minerals. The research material consisted of fresh citrus fruits belonging to the genus Citrus L in the family Rutaceae. The fruits were purchased at a supermarket at one time. To prepare laboratory samples, each fruit was cut in half, and one half was homogenized, treating the sample as a whole (peel + flesh), while the other half was peeled and the pulp (F) and peel (P) were homogenized separately. To determine the content of minerals (Na + , K + , Ca +2 , Mg +2 , Fe +2 , Zn +2 , Cu +2 , Mn +2 , and Se +2), the samples were mineralized and analyzed using an Analytik Jena PlasmaQuant PQ 9000 inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. The content of macro-and micronutrients in the peel of most of the fruits far exceeded their quantity in the pulp. Oranges and pomelos are the fruits richest in iron and copper, so they could be recommended in cases such as hemoglobin production disorders resulting from a deficiency of these elements. Oranges can additionally enrich the body with potassium, phosphorus, and manganese, while lime can be a source of calcium, zinc, sodium, and especially potassium. It should also be noted that all citrus fruits are a very valuable source of potassium, which is needed to ensure the water and electrolyte balance.

Shoots of Salvia officinalis, a medicinally important plant, were infected with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains ATCC 15834 and A4 which led to the induction of hairy roots in 57% and 37% of the explants, respectively. Seven lines of hairy roots were established in WP liquid medium under light and dark conditions. The transformed nature of the root lines was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction using rolB and rolC specific primers. Transformed root cultures of Salvia officinalis showed variations in biomass and rosmarinic acid production depending on the bacterial strain used for transformation and the root line analyzed. Both parameters (growth and rosmarinic acid content) of ATCC 15834-induced lines were significantly higher than the A4-induced lines. The maximum accumulation of rosmarinic acid (about 45 mg g Ð1 of dry weight) was achieved by hairy root line 1 (HR-1) at the end of the culture period (45Ð50 days). The level was significantly higher than that found in untransformed root culture (19 mg g Ð1 of dry wt).

The concentrations of carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid in different materials from differentiated (multiple shoot cultures and regenerated plants) and undifferentiated (callus and cell suspension) in vitro cultures of Salvia officinalis were determined by HPLC. The results suggested that diterpenoid (carnosic acid and carnosol) production is closely related to shoot differentiation. The highest diterpenoid yield (11.4 mg g -1 for carnosic acid and 1.1 mg g -1 for carnosol) was achieved in shoots of 10-week-old micropropagated plants. The levels were comparable to those found in shoots of naturally growing plants. Undifferentiated callus and cell suspension cultures produced only very low amounts of carnosol (ca. 0.05 mg g -1 of dry weight). In contrast, content of rosmarinic acid in callus and suspension cultures as well as shoots growing in vitro and in vivo was similar and ranged between 11.2 and 18.6 mg g -1 of dry weight.

Liquid shoot culture of Salvia officinalis L. in MS medium containing IAA (0.1 mg l -1 ) and BAP (0.45 mg l -1 ) was developed and evaluated in relation to shoot multiplication and antioxidant compound (carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid) accumulation. In the liquid medium, on average, 3 new shoots per explant (shoot tip) were obtained within 3 weeks. The shoots produced 8.2±0.02 mg of diterpenoids and 31.2±0.29 mg of rosmarinic acid per gram of dry weight. Shoot proliferation and diterpenoid content increased when triacontanol (5, 10 or 20 µg l -1 ) was added to the liquid medium. In optimum conditions (at 20 µg l -1 TRIA) almost 7 shoots were formed per explant after 3 weeks. An increase in diterpenoid production (expressed as the sum of carnosol and carnosic acid) ranged from 30% to 50% and dependended on triacontanol concentration tested. The level of diterpenoids in triacontanol-treated shoots was similar to the content of compounds in commercial herbal product (dried leaves of S. officinalis) (10-12 mg g -1 dry wt). Triacontanol did not increase rosmarinic acid production, but the content of the phenolic as compound in shoots grown in liquid culture (31 mg g -1 dry wt) was even 24 times higher compared to samples of dried leaves of S. officinalis plants. We also demonstrated that the highest amounts of CA, Car and RA were accumulated in young, top parts of sage shoots. This observation could be useful for improving the selection of material for the extraction of natural antioxidants from S. officinalis.