The synthesis of new analogs of natural biologically active substances is a promising direction for the development of effective antifungal agents. Thiosulfonic acid esters (thiosulfonates) are the structural analogs of biocidal compounds from garlic, onion, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. More than 1000 thiosulfonates of various structures of the general formula RSO 2 SR' were synthesized at the Lviv Polytechnic National University, where their physicochemical properties were characterized. A high antifungal activity of the obtained substances was established in relation to the representatives of fungi of different genera. The thiosulfonates are perspective as basis for the development of effective antifungal means for the modern pharmaceutical, food industry, for the protection of various materials and agricultural products. To increase their effectiveness, antimicrobial compositions based on thiosulfonates and surfactants of microbial origin (biosurfactants) in the form of stable suspensions were developed and studied. It has been established that the use of biosurfactants in the compositions allows the enhancement of the antifungal activity of thiosulfonates and reduction of their active concentration. The possible mechanisms of the joint action of thiosulfonates and biosurfactants on fungal pathogens are proposed.

Esters of thiosulfoacids demonstrate a wide range of biological activity. One of their effects is the influence on the metabolism of proteins and lipids in the body. Therefore, the purpose of our experiment was to study the impact of synthesized thiosulfonates on the total content of proteins and phospholipids, as well as their spectrum in the blood, liver, and kidney of rats. For the experiment, allyl, ethyl, and methyl esters of thiosulfoacid were used. The protein profile of rat tissues was investigated by electrophoresis, and the ratio of different fractions of phospholipids by thin-layer chromatography. Our results have shown that short-term administration of thiosulfonates in a dose of 300 mg/kg of body weight did not cause significant changes in the content of total protein and its fractions in liver tissue, whereas the effect of allyl and ethyl esters of thiosulfoacid was accompanied by an increase in the total protein and albumin in the blood plasma. The decrease in total protein was found in the kidney tissue of rats injected with allyl- and methyl thiosulfonates. The newly synthesized compounds did not lead to significant changes in the total content of phospholipids in blood plasma and tissues of rats, except for methyl thiosulfonate, the effect of which was accompanied by an increase in the total phospholipids in the liver of rats. These data may indicate an adaptive reaction of the rat’s organism. Tissue-specific features of the phospholipid spectrum were detected in rats after short-term exposure to thiosulfonates. The most significant effect on the phospholipid profile in the blood was shown for allyl- and ethyl esters of thiosulfoacid. Their action was accompanied by a decrease in the phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol fractions, while phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine increased, respectively. Esters of thiosulfoacid significantly influenced the ratio of different fractions of phospholipids in the liver and kidney tissues. The phospholipid composition of the liver was more influenced by the allyl and methyl esters of thiosulfoacid, whereas for the kidney tissue a greater effect was observed for ethyl and methyl esters. Thus, the action of allyl ester of thiosulfoacid caused a decrease in the asymmetry coefficient of hepatocyte membranes, indicating an elevation of the lipid bilayer saturation and the increase of membrane microviscosity. Similar changes were found in the kidney of rats treated with allyl- and ethyl thiosulfonates.

Nowadays, biopolymers such as keratins are widely used in biomedicine due to their low toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. At the molecular level, keratins differ from other structural proteins by a high content of disulfide bonds, which provide the formation of a compact three-dimensional structure resistant to biological and chemical degradation. Native keratins are highly ordered, whereas, recovered keratins are characterized by a flexible structure with more accessible functional groups. A characteristic feature of solubilized keratins is their ability to polymerize; therefore, they are widely used to create biomaterials. The extraction of keratins from natural fibers is an important step to the development of functional biomaterials. However, this process is complicated by the presence of a large number of intramolecular and intermolecular disulfide bonds in keratins. That is why keratin extraction by breaking the intermolecular disulfide bonds while preserving the covalent bonds of the polypeptide chain is necessary. The goal of our study was to estimate the different methods of solubilized keratin obtaining. In the experiments, samples of different types of wool and human hair were used. Various methods of keratin extraction were applied. The yield of solubilized keratin (%) was calculated from the ratio of the weight of the lyophilized keratin extract and the initial weight of fibers. The molecular mass of recovered keratins was evaluated by SDS-PAAG electrophoresis in the Laemmli buffer system. An analysis of the efficiency of keratin extraction has shown that solubilized keratin yield ranged from 32% to 51% and depended on the composition of the extraction mixture. Electrophoretic analysis of all keratin extracts obtained by various methods confirmed the presence of two bands, which according to the molecular weight corresponding to I and II types of proteins of intermediate filaments. The presence of these proteins provides self-assembly into complex structures.

The possibility of increasing metabolism and resistance in an organism of animals under the influence of biologically active substances of natural origin is considered in the paper. In the current study, we investigated the effect of 40% ethanolic extract of common nettle (Urtica dioica L.) on hematologic indexes (hemoglobin concentration, erythrocytes and leukocytes content), protein metabolism (total protein, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase activities (ALT)), glutathione metabolism (peroxidase (GP), glutathione reductase (GR) and reduced glutathione content (GSH)), antioxidant defense systems (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT)), and indicators of free radical processes (lipid hydroperoxidation products (LHP), TBA-active products and carbonyl groups of protein (CP)) in the blood and tissues of normal and adrenalin-stressed rats. White Wistar rats (male) with body weight 180–200 g were used in the experiments. The animals were divided into 4 groups (control and 3 experimental), each containing 7 animals. The animals of experimental groups D2 and D3 received 40% ethanolic extract of common nettle in a dose of 5 mL/kg of body weight during 4 weeks. After 29 days of the experiment, the animals of D1 and D3 groups were intramuscularly administered 0.1% solution of adrenaline hydrochloride at a dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight. One day after the administration of adrenaline, the animals were decapitated under ether anesthesia. The objects of the study were blood and homogenates of liver, heart, and kidneys of the rats. Our results have shown that adrenaline stress causes a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin, LHP, SOD activity and increase in activities of AST, GP, GR, and GSH content in the blood of rats. Stress induced by adrenaline was accompanied by decrease in CP content, activities of SOD, CAT, and increase in the glutathione chain of antioxidant defense system in the liver of the animals while in the heart and kidneys, there was an increase in oxidative stress parameters and decrease in antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, GP, GR). The administration of ethanolic extract of nettle caused an increase within the physiological range in the erythrocytes and leucocytes content, hemoglobin concentration, and normalization of protein metabolism (decrease in the activity of AST and increase in protein concentration) in the blood of the stressed rats. The activation of the antioxidant defense system (increase in activities of SOD, GP, CAT, GR) and inhibition of free radical processes (decrease in concentration of LHP, TBA-active products and CP) was observed in the tissues of animals of D2 and D3 groups. Our results suggested that using a complex of biologically active substances of the common nettle ethanolic extract prevents metabolic disorders and stresses of different etiology through the activation of the antioxidant defense system, the normalization of protein metabolism and stimulation of hematopoiesis both in normal and stressed rats.

Havryliak, V.V., Stapay, P.V., & Tkachuk, V.M. (2018). The content and composition of the longissimus muscle proteins in the lambs of different ages under the intensive fattening. ScientificThe article presents data on the effect of intensive fattening of lambs on its weight gain, the chemical and protein composition of the longissimus muscle tissue, the biological and nutritional value of meat. For the experiments, the lambs of an Ascanian thin wool breed, Tauride type were used. According to the analog method, 12 newborn lambs with an average body weight of 4.58 kg were selected, the suckling period in animals lasted 1.5 months. After 1.5 months of age, the animals were transferred to intensive fattening. It has been shown that during the suckling period the average weight of lambs was 12.3 kg, the average live weight gain -7.8 kg, and the overall daily live weight gain -172.1 g. Intensive fattening contributed to the increase of the average daily gain to 215.0 g in 4-month-old age lambs and up to 228.2 g -in the 5-month-old young sheep, respectively on 24.8 and 32.5% more than in the 1.5-month-old animals. In the 4-month-old age lambs, the tissues of the longissimus muscle contain a lower amount of dry matter (1.08%) and total fat (1.74%), on the same time the higher content of total and soluble proteins, respectively 1.1 and 1.05 times, compared to the 5-month old animals. It was found that the largest part of soluble proteins of the muscle tissue was in the band of albumin mobility, smaller -all fractions of globulins and least -prealbumin both in the 4th and 5th month of age of the animals. The higher content of soluble proteins in the longissimus muscle of the lambs of the 4th month of age is due to the β-and γ-globulin fractions, whereas in the muscle of lambs of 5 months of age there is a higher content of the fraction of prealbumin and albumins. Consequently, the biological and nutritional value of lamb meat of 4 months of age is better than that of 5-month-old animals.