Volume 14, Issue 2, 2026
83
Abstract
Food security goes far beyond the traditional concept of food availability: it is a global challenge of intertwined geopolitics, economics, technology, and ecology. The current international and climate changes cause unpredictable fluctuations on food markets. As a result, sustainable food supply and a powerful agro-industrial complex have become a national priority. The North-South and East-West directions in traffic and logistics open up new, more cost-effective transit routes into a new geopolitical environment, which requires an active development of all related industries. Russia and China have excellent cooperation prospects in a wide range of areas, from agriculture and logistics to R&D and quality standardization. The Belt and Road Initiative creates additional infrastructural opportunities in mutual trade and Eurasian integration. In this respect, food security is a key factor of national and global stability, and it needs a robust agro-industrial complex, advanced infrastructure, active R&D investments, and international cooperation.
815
Abstract
Nowadays, the worldwide market includes a wide variety of sweets with processed sugar. The food industry has been developing alternatives based on health products. This study aimed to formulate alternative, highly-nutritional date-based sweets filled with cooked pulses and sweetened with date products without using processed sugar. Different cooked pulses (red cowpea, soybean, and chickpea seeds) sweetened with date powder or date syrup (dips) were used to prepare alternative date sweets. They were exposed to physicochemical and microbiological analyses and sensory evaluation. Adding pulses to the pulse-date sweet samples significantly raised their contents of protein, fats, crude fibers, total sugars, calcium, iron, and zinc, as well as caloric values, lightness, and water activity. Compared to the control (date paste mixed with dark chocolate), the sweets with cooked pulses had lower contents of ash, carbohydrates, phenolics, and caffeine, as well as lower antioxidant activity and hardness values. Following storage for three months, the water activity and microbiological counts slightly declined. The date sweets filled with cooked pulses had high sensory acceptability. The samples containing cooked red cowpeas and chickpeas were the most acceptable, while those sweetened with date powder had maximum antioxidant activity. Our study revealed that enriching date sweets with cooked pulses increases their nutritional value without involving processed sugar in the final product.
907
Abstract
An effective and timely prevention of diseases in animal companions is a major task faced by the modern veterinary science. This research featured the correlation between malignant neoplasms and ophthalmological diseases in cats. The authors studied the multifactorial effect on the neoplastic proliferation and cancer-related ophthalmopathy to develop a general scheme of neoplastic proliferation in cats.
The effect of exogenous and endogenous factors on neoplastic proliferation was described based on experimental studies of numerous samples taken from 192 cats, including 67 cancer patients. The comprehensive methodological approach included anamnestic data sampling, clinical examination, examination of the pathological area, hematology, cytomorphology, and chemical-toxicological tests.
The cats with various ophthalmopathies were simultaneously diagnosed with one or more of the following cancer types: carcinoma (37.13%), squamous cell carcinoma (32.83%), lymphoma (29.85%), sarcoma (20.89%), melanoma (2.98%), and mastocytoma (1.49%).
The main factors of neoplastic proliferation included diet, care, living conditions, physical activity, stress, chronic inflammation, repeated cases, the rate of increase/decrease in clinical signs, previous therapies, etc. In most cases, the cancer-related ophthalmopathy developed as a result of tumor metabolites or as a side-effect of chemotherapy. The incidence of cancer-related ophthalmopathy increased with age.
Cancer was found to correlate with the amounts of zinc, iron, and lead in the fur. Another correlation occurred between carcinomas, especially mammary tumors, and the high copper content in the fur.
77
Abstract
Microalgae are a source of biologically active substances, e.g., polysaccharides. Their commercial potential attracts a lot of scientific attention. This research featured the effect of various nutrient media on the biomass of the psychrophilic microalga Skeletonema pseudocostatum and its ability to synthesize polysaccharides.
The Tamiya nutrient medium was used as the standard one. Its composition was improved to accelerate biomass cultivation. Optimization principles were based on the unconventional mathematical method for multidimensional modeling and involved the ANETR 21 software. The qualitative and quantitative assessment of microalgal polysaccharides relied on the anthrone sulfate method. The concentration of uronic acids was determined by the carbazole method while neutral sugars were studied by the resorcinol sulfate method in a microalgal suspension. The growth index of the S. pseudocostatum biomass was represented as a ratio of the maximal mass to the initial mass.
The maximal growth index was achieved by adding to the standard Tamiya medium: 10.00 g/cm3 potassium nitrate (MgSO4×7H2O), 2.50 g/cm3 potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 1 cm3 Fe+ ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and a mix of 4.29 g/cm3 boric acid and 0.9 g/cm3 manganese (II) chloride tetrahydrate (MnCl2×4H2O) in an amount of 1.00 cm3. The maximal polysaccharide biosynthesis was observed when the nutrient medium was modified as follows: 5.00 g/m3 potassium nitrate, 3.75 g/cm3 magnesium sulfate, 2.50 g/cm3 potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 1 mm3 solution of Fe+ ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and solution of 1.0 g/cm3 boric acid and 1.81 g/cm3 MnCl2×4H2O (1.00 mm3 each). The maximal accumulation of microalgal biomass was 2.88 ± 0.08 μg/100 mg dry solids; the maximal yield of polysaccharides was 3.16 ± 0.09 μg/100 mg dry solids. These results were obtained at 5°C.
The yield of polysaccharides by S. pseudocostatum depended on such cultivation parameters as temperature and pH. At cultivation temperatures of 0, 5, and 10°C, the yield of polysaccharides reached 2.13 ± 0.06, 3.16 ± 0.09, and 2.04 ± 0.06 μg/100 mg dry solids, respectively. The yield of exopolysaccharides represented by uronic acids and neutral sugars was 106.3 ± 3.1 mg/g and 806.6 ± 24.0 mg/g, respectively. In this research, polysaccharides synthesized by S. pseudocostatum demonstrated good prospects for the food industry and sustainable organic agriculture.
The Tamiya nutrient medium was used as the standard one. Its composition was improved to accelerate biomass cultivation. Optimization principles were based on the unconventional mathematical method for multidimensional modeling and involved the ANETR 21 software. The qualitative and quantitative assessment of microalgal polysaccharides relied on the anthrone sulfate method. The concentration of uronic acids was determined by the carbazole method while neutral sugars were studied by the resorcinol sulfate method in a microalgal suspension. The growth index of the S. pseudocostatum biomass was represented as a ratio of the maximal mass to the initial mass.
The maximal growth index was achieved by adding to the standard Tamiya medium: 10.00 g/cm3 potassium nitrate (MgSO4×7H2O), 2.50 g/cm3 potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 1 cm3 Fe+ ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and a mix of 4.29 g/cm3 boric acid and 0.9 g/cm3 manganese (II) chloride tetrahydrate (MnCl2×4H2O) in an amount of 1.00 cm3. The maximal polysaccharide biosynthesis was observed when the nutrient medium was modified as follows: 5.00 g/m3 potassium nitrate, 3.75 g/cm3 magnesium sulfate, 2.50 g/cm3 potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 1 mm3 solution of Fe+ ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and solution of 1.0 g/cm3 boric acid and 1.81 g/cm3 MnCl2×4H2O (1.00 mm3 each). The maximal accumulation of microalgal biomass was 2.88 ± 0.08 μg/100 mg dry solids; the maximal yield of polysaccharides was 3.16 ± 0.09 μg/100 mg dry solids. These results were obtained at 5°C.
The yield of polysaccharides by S. pseudocostatum depended on such cultivation parameters as temperature and pH. At cultivation temperatures of 0, 5, and 10°C, the yield of polysaccharides reached 2.13 ± 0.06, 3.16 ± 0.09, and 2.04 ± 0.06 μg/100 mg dry solids, respectively. The yield of exopolysaccharides represented by uronic acids and neutral sugars was 106.3 ± 3.1 mg/g and 806.6 ± 24.0 mg/g, respectively. In this research, polysaccharides synthesized by S. pseudocostatum demonstrated good prospects for the food industry and sustainable organic agriculture.
108
Abstract
Physiological blood parameters help assess the health, feeding, immune, and reproductive status of wild animals. However, complicated sampling procedures make it difficult to establish the reference intervals for hematological parameters. Wild boar (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus 1758) is a popular game species. As a result, its population in Russia has been declining for the last decade. The wild boar is fertile and ecologically flexible; it responds well to biotechnical measures and have high population density. The research renders new data on the biology and physiology of wild boars.
The blood samples were obtained from 68 juvenile and adult wild boars in the Kirov Region in 2017–2023. The body weight varied from 30 to 211 kg. Blood from the jugular vein was collected into anticoagulant test tubes. The laboratory tests involved a veterinary version of a MicroCC-20 Plus automatic analyzer (High Technology, USA). The stained smears were examined using a MEIJI TECHNO light microscope (Japan) under an immersion system with a ×100 lens. The red blood cell parameters were measured using the Vision Bio software (Epi, Austria).
The research revealed the hematological profile of wild boars; the data were statistically processed, including, for the first time, the effect of sex and age on various hematological parameters. The significant differences (p < 0.05) between juvenile and adult females included the relative red cell distribution width by volume (standard deviation) and red blood cell thickness. The significant differences (p < 0.05) between juvenile and adult males were in hemoglobin, hematocrit, lymphocytes, and segmented neutrophils, as well as in such red blood cell parameters as total count, relative width by volume, area, perimeter, diameter, and sphericity index. The significant differences (p < 0.05) between juvenile females and males referred to hemoglobin and such parameters of red blood cells as total count, area, perimeter, and diameter. In adult males and females, it was the red blood cell thickness and platelet count. The research also yielded the lymphocytic profile of wild boar blood. The age affected such parameters as hematocrit (p = 0.02), segmented neutrophils (p = 0.00), and lymphocytes (p = 0.00). The body weight affected the hematocrit (p = 0.02) and mean red blood cell volume (p = 0.04).
The differences in Sus scrofa hematological profile depended on the physiological status, diet, minerals, age, sex, and stress. The reference intervals may help interpret the hematological profiles of other wild boar populations and optimize the game resource management.
The blood samples were obtained from 68 juvenile and adult wild boars in the Kirov Region in 2017–2023. The body weight varied from 30 to 211 kg. Blood from the jugular vein was collected into anticoagulant test tubes. The laboratory tests involved a veterinary version of a MicroCC-20 Plus automatic analyzer (High Technology, USA). The stained smears were examined using a MEIJI TECHNO light microscope (Japan) under an immersion system with a ×100 lens. The red blood cell parameters were measured using the Vision Bio software (Epi, Austria).
The research revealed the hematological profile of wild boars; the data were statistically processed, including, for the first time, the effect of sex and age on various hematological parameters. The significant differences (p < 0.05) between juvenile and adult females included the relative red cell distribution width by volume (standard deviation) and red blood cell thickness. The significant differences (p < 0.05) between juvenile and adult males were in hemoglobin, hematocrit, lymphocytes, and segmented neutrophils, as well as in such red blood cell parameters as total count, relative width by volume, area, perimeter, diameter, and sphericity index. The significant differences (p < 0.05) between juvenile females and males referred to hemoglobin and such parameters of red blood cells as total count, area, perimeter, and diameter. In adult males and females, it was the red blood cell thickness and platelet count. The research also yielded the lymphocytic profile of wild boar blood. The age affected such parameters as hematocrit (p = 0.02), segmented neutrophils (p = 0.00), and lymphocytes (p = 0.00). The body weight affected the hematocrit (p = 0.02) and mean red blood cell volume (p = 0.04).
The differences in Sus scrofa hematological profile depended on the physiological status, diet, minerals, age, sex, and stress. The reference intervals may help interpret the hematological profiles of other wild boar populations and optimize the game resource management.
Synergistic anti-glycation and antioxidant interaction among different mushroom extract combinations
103
Abstract
Although the nutrient compositions of edible mushrooms are well-studied, the effect of combining different mushrooms on their anti-glycation and antioxidant activities remains unknown. This study therefore aimed to identify mushroom combinations that exhibit synergistic anti-glycation and antioxidant activities.
Five edible mushroom species, namely Agaricus bisporus, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, and Flammulina velutipes, were evaluated both individually and in pairwise combinations. Their bioactive profile (phenolics, tannins, flavonoids, and polysaccharides), as well as antioxidant and anti-glycation activities were analyzed to determine the types of activity interaction: synergism, addition, or antagonism.
A. bisporus (7.5 mg/mL) showed the highest reducing capacity and tannin content. L. edodes demonstrated the strongest radical scavenging potential, while F. velutipes displayed the highest anti-glycation activity and phenolic content. Despite its high polysaccharide level, P. eryngii showed low antioxidant activity. Pairwise combinations revealed synergistic anti-glycation and antioxidant effects at low sample concentrations, while antagonistic anti-glycation and antioxidant effects were observed at high sample concentrations. The mushrooms’ polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids were positively correlated with their antioxidant activity (r = 0.325 to 0.825, p < 0.05). However, they showed an inverse relationship (r = –0.349 to –0.644, p < 0.05) with polysaccharides and anti-glycation activity. The principal component analysis revealed that the types of bioactive content and mushroom combinations contributed to respective 53 and 23% of total activity variances.
The best-performing mushroom combinations with synergistic anti-glycation and antioxidant activities were the mixtures of 7.5 mg/mL A. bisporus + 15 mg/mL F. velutipes, 7.5 mg/mL L. edodes + 7.5 mg/mL F. velutipes, and 7.5 mg/mL L. edodes + 15 mg/mL F. velutipes.
Five edible mushroom species, namely Agaricus bisporus, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus eryngii, and Flammulina velutipes, were evaluated both individually and in pairwise combinations. Their bioactive profile (phenolics, tannins, flavonoids, and polysaccharides), as well as antioxidant and anti-glycation activities were analyzed to determine the types of activity interaction: synergism, addition, or antagonism.
A. bisporus (7.5 mg/mL) showed the highest reducing capacity and tannin content. L. edodes demonstrated the strongest radical scavenging potential, while F. velutipes displayed the highest anti-glycation activity and phenolic content. Despite its high polysaccharide level, P. eryngii showed low antioxidant activity. Pairwise combinations revealed synergistic anti-glycation and antioxidant effects at low sample concentrations, while antagonistic anti-glycation and antioxidant effects were observed at high sample concentrations. The mushrooms’ polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids were positively correlated with their antioxidant activity (r = 0.325 to 0.825, p < 0.05). However, they showed an inverse relationship (r = –0.349 to –0.644, p < 0.05) with polysaccharides and anti-glycation activity. The principal component analysis revealed that the types of bioactive content and mushroom combinations contributed to respective 53 and 23% of total activity variances.
The best-performing mushroom combinations with synergistic anti-glycation and antioxidant activities were the mixtures of 7.5 mg/mL A. bisporus + 15 mg/mL F. velutipes, 7.5 mg/mL L. edodes + 7.5 mg/mL F. velutipes, and 7.5 mg/mL L. edodes + 15 mg/mL F. velutipes.
104
Abstract
Fermentation improves the nutritional and sensory properties of food. Despite the challenges of fermenting algae individually, incorporating it into vegetable matrices offers a great opportunity for the development of new products.
This study aimed to investigate changes in the antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of Chinese, white, and red cabbages supplemented with Undaria pinnatifida throughout controlled fermentation. These values were then compared to those for the respective spontaneous process (mixed models), as well as to previously published data on cabbage fermentation without algae (simple models). Controlled fermentation was carried out in a two-step process using previously selected autochthonous starter cultures. Antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH scavenging assay and the CUPRAC assay. The total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method.
The total phenolic content varied across the different fermentation processes depending on the vegetable matrix. The antioxidant capacity was significantly higher in the controlled process than in the spontaneous one in all mixed models. Red cabbage with algae exhibited higher total phenolics and antioxidant capacity than white and Chinese cabbages with algae. Furthermore, all the mixed models showed higher or comparable total phenolics and antioxidant capacity compared to the respective simple models under similar controlled fermentation and extraction conditions, except for Chinese cabbage with Undaria under the CUPRAC method.
Controlled fermentation of the studied cabbages improved their antioxidant capacity to a greater extent than spontaneous in all mixed models. In general, the mixed models showed higher nutritional properties than the simple models.
This study aimed to investigate changes in the antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content of Chinese, white, and red cabbages supplemented with Undaria pinnatifida throughout controlled fermentation. These values were then compared to those for the respective spontaneous process (mixed models), as well as to previously published data on cabbage fermentation without algae (simple models). Controlled fermentation was carried out in a two-step process using previously selected autochthonous starter cultures. Antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH scavenging assay and the CUPRAC assay. The total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method.
The total phenolic content varied across the different fermentation processes depending on the vegetable matrix. The antioxidant capacity was significantly higher in the controlled process than in the spontaneous one in all mixed models. Red cabbage with algae exhibited higher total phenolics and antioxidant capacity than white and Chinese cabbages with algae. Furthermore, all the mixed models showed higher or comparable total phenolics and antioxidant capacity compared to the respective simple models under similar controlled fermentation and extraction conditions, except for Chinese cabbage with Undaria under the CUPRAC method.
Controlled fermentation of the studied cabbages improved their antioxidant capacity to a greater extent than spontaneous in all mixed models. In general, the mixed models showed higher nutritional properties than the simple models.