Introduction: There have been large geographical differences in the infection and death rates of COVID-19. Foods and beverages containing high amounts of phytochemicals with bioactive properties were suggested to prevent contracting and to facilitate recovery from COVID-19. The goal of our study was to determine the correlation of the type of foods/beverages people consumed and the risk reduction of contracting COVID-19 and the recovery from COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, one of the most serious global problems is the increasing incidence of infectious diseases. This is closely related to the increase in antibiotic use, which has resulted in the development of multidrug resistance in microorganisms. Another problem is the numerous microbiological contaminations of cosmetic products, which can lead to dangerous bacterial infections in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEssential oils and aromatic extracts (oleoresins, absolutes, concretes, resinoids) are often used as food flavorings and constituents of fragrance compositions. The flavor and fragrance industry observed significant growth in the sales of some natural materials during the COVID-19 outbreak. Some companies worldwide are making false claims regarding the effectiveness of their essential oils or blends (or indirectly point toward this conclusion) against coronaviruses, even though the available data on the activity of plant materials against highly pathogenic human coronaviruses are very scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA small library of 57 low molecular weight oximes was prepared from fragrant aldehydes and ketones, and their olfactory profiles were determined. The most substantive and interesting in terms of the sensory impressions were (+)-isomenthone oxime (fresh, musty, green) and cyclocitral oxime (earthy with patchouli, moss and leather notes). The linear retention indices (LRI) were determined for DB-1, DB-5 and DB-WAX columns, and E/Z isomers of 22 out of 57 compounds were resolved on the DB-5 column.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of new benzene-based derivatives was designed, synthesized and comprehensively characterized. All of the tested compounds were evaluated for their in vitro ability to potentially inhibit the acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes. The selectivity index of individual molecules to cholinesterases was also determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe major drawbacks of native lipase applications in processes occurring in water or in organic solvents include: difficulties in catalyst recycling, low activity and operational instability. The immobilization of Burkholderia cepacia lipase by adsorption or covalent binding onto 5 differently functionalized carriers (silica, acrylic, cellulose-based) was performed to overcome this problem. The optimization of the reaction preparation in water-rich media was based on the hydrolytic reactivity of the preparations, as well as the thermal, operational and storage stabilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anxiety-related disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in the world for which benzodiazepines, buspirone and antidepressant drugs remain the first-line treatment. These drugs have good efficacy but they have numerous disadvantages, such as drug abuse potential, delayed onset of action or tolerance. A literature review reveals that a variety of piperazine derivatives may exhibit interesting pharmacological properties, including anxiolytic-like, antidepressant, nootropic and antinociceptive activities demonstrated in animal models, as well as an antioxidant capacity shown in some in vitro tests.
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