The effect of antifungal extracts on the contamination of grain with microfungi

Patterns of Phenolic Compounds in Betula and Pinus Pollen

In this study, phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activity in the pollen of anemophilous Betula and Pinus were determined. Spectrophotometric, high-performance thin-layer and liquid chromatography methods were applied. Free phenolic compounds (free PC) and phenolic compounds bound to the cell wall (bound PC) were analysed in the pollen extracts. Regardless of the pollen species, their content was 20% higher than that in bound PC extracts. Pinus pollen extracts contained 2.5 times less phenolic compounds compared to Betula. Free PC extraction from the deeper layers of Pinus pollen was minimal; the same content of phenolic compounds was obtained in both types of extracts. The bioactivity of pollen (p < 0.05) is related to the content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in Betula free PC and in bound PC, and only in free PC extracts of Pinus. Rutin, chlorogenic and trans-ferulic acids were characterised by antioxidant activity. Phenolic acids accounted for 70−94%, while rutin constituted 2−3% of the total amount in the extracts. One of the dominant phenolic acids was trans-ferulic acid in all the Betula and Pinus samples. The specific compounds were vanillic and chlorogenic acids of Betula pollen extracts, while Pinus extracts contained gallic acid. The data obtained for the phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity of Betula and Pinus pollen can be useful for modelling food chains in ecosystems.

The effect of antifungal extracts on the contamination of grain with microfungi

The study aimed to analyze the effects of extracts made from buckwheat grain, hulls, and bee products (propolis, bread, and pollen) and extraction solvents on the growth of microfungi on a medium and on buckwheat, wheat, oat, and maize grain. Research findings suggest that bioactive compounds contained in buckwheat grain reduced the amount of Fusarium spp. in the grain kept in the antifungal extract for 90 min at 25°C temperature. Buckwheat hull extract was more effective in inhibiting mycelial growth of mycotoxin‐producing Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium graminearum compared with buckwheat grain extract (13%–50% and 14%–36%, respectively). The antifungal activity of extracts of bee products did not depend on the content of phenolic compounds in them; however, it depended on the grain species treated. After treatment of oat, wheat, and maize grain with bee product extracts, the lowest concentration of microfungi was identified on oat grain. More significant analysis results were obtained for the samples where ethanol solvent had been used for the preparation of extracts.