Publications by authors named "Zsuzsanna Pluhar"

Thyme remains an indispensable herb today, finding its place in gastronomy, medicine, cosmetics, and gardens worldwide. It is highly valued in herbal remedies and pharmaceutical formulations for its antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties derived from the richness of its essential oil, which comprises various volatile components. However, climate change poses a significant challenge today, potentially affecting the quality of thyme, particularly the extracted essential oil, along with other factors such as biotic influences and the plant's geographical distribution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Basil ( species) represents an extraordinary group of aromatic plants that have gained considerable economic importance, primarily due to their essential oils, which have applications in medicine, culinary, and perfumery. The genus encompasses more than 60 species of herbs and shrubs originally native to tropical regions. This genus stands out for its remarkable diversity, displaying a wide spectrum of variations in phenotype, chemical composition, and genetic makeup.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chemical and genetic differences of twenty taxa belonging to four Thymus species were studied in order to determine whether molecular characters and essential oil components could be used as taxonomic markers and to examine the correlation between them. Plant samples, representing different taxa and geographic regions, were collected from experimentally grown populations. Essential oil samples were analysed by GC/MS and cluster analysis of volatile composition resulted in segregation of thymol chemotypes from sesquiterpenic ones.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The volatile oil compositions of Thymus pannonicus All. from nineteen different localities of Hungary were analyzed by GC/MS. The essential oil content of the Hungarian thyme samples varied between very low (0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polyphenolic compounds represent a wide group of phytochemicals, including well-known subgroups of phenolic acids, flavonoids, natural dyes, lignans etc., which are produced by plants. These natural bioactive compounds possess a variety of beneficial effects including antioxidant and anticarcinogenic activities, protection against coronary diseases as well as antimicrobial properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study describes beliefs and knowledge of harmful environmental factors and environment-borne disease in 9- to 11-year-olds' (N=448) using the "draw-and-write" technique as a method of data collection. Most respondents described the man-made environmental risks (such as car transportation or noise pollution) as direct effects; however, in their interpretations, lifestyle (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Habits of leisure time sports activity, similar to other health behaviours, are established during late childhood and early adolescence. While regular leisure time sports activity is a natural part of children's lifestyle, it starts to decrease during adolescence, particularly among girls. Among the factors influencing children's sports activity, the role of parents, peers, and other members of children's social networks seem to be crucial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF