Projects / Programmes
Biokemijska in biofizikalno-kemijska karakterizacija naravnih snovi (Slovene)
January 1, 2004
- December 31, 2008
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 4.03.00 |
Biotechnical sciences |
Plant production |
|
| 1.05.00 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Biochemistry and molecular biology |
|
| 1.04.00 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Chemistry |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T430 |
Technological sciences |
Food and drink technology |
natural substances, phenolic compounds, transport and volumetric phenomena, colligative properties, arhea, halocins, enzymes, additives, antimicrobials, antioxidants
Researchers (21)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
One part of the research will deal with phenolic compounds. This group of secondary metabolites comprises many compounds and it looks that a plant has a characteristic profile of them. A content of phenolic compounds can increase after a plant has been exposed to changes in the environment. The induced biosynthesis of phenolic compounds can be followed by increased activity of certain enzymes involved either in the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds and/or their degradation. Considering the phenolic compounds two oxidoreductases, polyphenol oxidases and peroxidases, are important. In an intact plant cell phenolic compounds are locally separated from the two enzymes and only after a cell has been damaged they come into contact and some reactions get started. Both enzymes catalyze oxidation of phenolic compounds to very reactive quinones and their further polymerisation to products of characteristically brown colour. Different elicitors can induce biosynthesis of certain phenolic compounds and some of them can have an antimicrobial effect. Due to this, plants can become more resistant to different microorganisms. Some phenolic compounds will be isolated, identified and possibly studied for their role in chosen plants. The selected plants could be considered as an interesting agricultural residue of antimicrobial compounds and antioxidants. As for other plants there is a possibility that phenolic compounds and/or their oxidative enzymes could be used as biochemical markers of their quality. This would be a base to develop biosensors which are becoming more and more interesting because of their great selectivity and speed of reaction. The biosensors developed so far, work on a base of immobilized polyphenol oxidase that catalyses oxidation of polyphenols. Our intention is to develop an optical biosensor for the detection of phenolic compounds in different sources and to compare this new method with the already established routine methods in our lab. Phenolic compounds can be used as additives in food industry. The use of additives gives numerous technological and economical advantages to food producers e.g. development of new products, better quality of the existing ones, extended shelf-life, favourable change in the structure, texture and taste as well as in visual perception of foods. Physico-chemical characteristics of these technologically and biologically important compounds are important in designing industrial processes regarding quality, control and storage parameters. Among the additives, which are categorized regarding their use, we will focus mainly on those responsible for the stabilization of products (like antioxidants, synergists and complexants, emulgators and thickeners) and on those influencing taste, especially on non-caloric sweeteners. The obtained thermodynamic parameters will be correlated to basic tastes (sweetness, astringency). The results will be useful also for testing systems in electronic recognition of basic tastes (electronical language)
The other part of the research will deal with archea, mainly with thermophilic and halophilic representatives of these organisms. Archea are interesting because they have adapted to life in the extreme conditions like extreme temperature and salinity. They are known to possess, among others, different structure of the membranes, cell walls, as well as specific rRNA motif. Adaptivity to extreme temperatures will be studied on Aeropyrum pernix (a strictly aerobic hyperthermophilic archea). We intend to characterize the organism as a whole as well as some of its cell components by the diffential scanning calorimetry. Some enzymes, which could be interesting due to their extreme thermal stability for biotechnological processes, will be isolated from this archea. We propose to use extracellular proteinases from A. pernix to degradate aggregates of the prion type. Additionally, we intend to search for possible substances with antimicrobial activity in A. pernix.
Significance for science
The results of the study on alpha-synuclein (involved in Parkinson’s disease) have shown that the long-range intramolecular interactions are likely to be crucial to the fibrillation process. The article was published in the journal with IF 4.0. Second important result is a fluorescent method developed with optical fibres for quantification of lipids covering the oral surface after ingestion of fatty foods. The article was published in the top journal of the research field (J. Agric. Food Chem.). Knowing structural changes in membranes of hyperthermophylic areheon , which grow in extreme conditions is necessary for better understanding of such organisms and it has a potential of future use in food industry. Correlating structure of selected artificial sweeteners with the taste of the compounds have not only scientific but also industrial value for the development of new products.
Significance for the country
Herbs are widely used in medicine, food consumption and cosmetics. They can be act as colorants and aromas. Many of them are appreciated for their positive effect on human health due to their antioxidant activity, digestion or their anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antimutagenic and anticancerogenic effect. Teas and herbal infusions are used in Slovenia for long time and their analysis is important for our area. We investigated how drying, storage and drink preparation effect antioxidant activity, content of vitamin C and content of polyphenols. Results of our work are important for the development in Slovenia in the same way as they are important for the world. In our research some researchers from other institutions are involved and the results of our research are interesting for transfer to industry.
Most important scientific results
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Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report,
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