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The extract of the plant species Satureja hortensis L. (often used as traditional ethno-therapy and in food processing) was prepared using the ultrasonic extraction technique, and contains a large quantity of secondary metabolites, with scientific evidence for antioxidant, antimicrobial, sedative, antispastic and antidiarrheal activities. Process optimization was carried out using a mathematical–statistical method (response surface methodology—RSM), which models and examines the effects of three levels and three variables on the observed response. The investigated responses were the content of total phenolic components (TPC) and total flavonoids (TFC), as well as tests of antioxidant activity at the level of radicals. The independent variables were ethanol concentration (40–80%), temperature (40–80 °C) and the liquid–solid ratio (10–30 mL/g). Results from this study were entered into a second-degree polynomial with multiple non-linear regression. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to find the most favorable environment for assessing the model's performance and effectiveness with an ethanol concentration of 20%, temperature of 80 °C and LSR of 21.4 mL/g. ANOVA assessed the model's significance, and a second-order polynomial model described the relationships between variables and responses. Diagnostic plots confirmed the model's adequacy and reliability. The estimated values were 4.11 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents per gram of dry weight (CEA/g), 2.18 mg of rutin equivalents per gram of dry weight (RE/g), and 0.030 mg/mL and 0.030 mg/mL for TPC, TFC, IC50 and EC50, respectively. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) examination revealed that the prominent substance in the tested extract is rosmarinic acid (46,172 µg/mL), followed by chlorogenic acid (1519 µg/mL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the main water quality characteristics of the Bjelica River before and after the discharge of Lučani wastewaters. The objectives of the research included analytical and environmental testing and assessment of the water quality of the Bjelica River before and after the discharge of wastewaters from the Lučani town collector. The results of the physicochemical analysis of major water quality indicators were used. Testing was conducted in July and October 2015, and January, May and July 2016. Assays were performed at the Public Health Institute, Čačak and at the Laboratory of the Faculty of Agronomy, Čačak. The water quality of the river was assessed as moderate ecological status or Class III category of surface waters. The results of the river water quality analysis indicated that the quality of the river water was better before the inflow of effluents from the town collector.

The effect of replacement of nitrite by the ethanol extract of Kitaibelia vitifolia on the microbiological safety and oxidative stability of dry fermented Sremska sausages (SS) was investigated. Spices and nitrite salt were added to the control group - batch (B I). Modified nitrite-free formulations of SS were produced with the addition of two different amounts of plant extracts (360 mL per 20 kg of fillings in B II and 600 mL per 20 kg of fillings in B III). The larger addition of the herb extract revealed strong antimicrobial activity, when Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations were determined for 8 microbial strains by microdilution method. The results revealed the highest susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity showed the strongest antioxidant activity in non-vacuumed and vacuumed SS samples obtained from B III, enriched with the larger amount of the herb extract.

A new thiazole-containing multidentate ligand 2-((2-phenylthiazol-4-yl)methylthio)ethanamine, L, was synthesized and used to prepare new complexes of the formula Pd II LCl 2 (Pd-L), Cu II L 2 Cl 2 (Cu-L) and fac -[Re/ 99m Tc I (CO) 3 (L)] + (Re/ 99m Tc-L). The ligand L and the metal complexes were characterized spectroscopically. Furthermore, the structures of Re-L and Cu-L were elucidated by X-ray crystallography. Ligand L acts as a bidentate (N th , S) chelator in Pd-L, as a bidentate (N, S) chelator in Cu-L and as a tridentate (N th , S, N) chelator in Re-L. The radiotracer 99m Tc-L was synthesized in high yield and characterised by HPLC comparison with the Re-L analog. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties. The compounds exhibited low anti-inflammatory activity with Pd-L showing the highest activity among them. The cytotoxic activity of the ligand and the complexes against several human cancer cell lines (cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa, colorectal adenocarcinoma LS-174T, lung adenocarcinoma A549, breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 and normal human lung fibroblast cell line MRC-5) was examined using the MTT assay. The complex Cu-L exhibited the highest cytotoxicity and the complex Pd-L showed the best tumor selectivity. The changes in the cell cycle phase distribution were determined by flow cytometry and it was found that ligand L shows the highest apoptotic activity. The biodistribution studies of 99m Tc-L in mice showed fast tissue clearance. Of all the thiazole-containing compounds, the palladium complex appears to be more promising for future efforts.