Tilia

Infant botulism is an intestinal toxemia caused principally by Clostridium botulinum. Since the infection occurs in the intestinal tract, numerous food products have been investigated for the presence of C. botulinum and its neurotoxins. In many countries, people use linden flower (Tilia spp) tea as a household remedy and give it to infants as a sedative. Therefore, to help provide a clear picture of this disease transmission, we investigated the presence of botulinum spores in linden flowers. In this study, we analyzed 100 samples of unwrapped linden flowers and 100 samples of linden flowers in tea bags to determine the prevalence and spore-load of C. botulinum. Results were analyzed by the Fisher test. We detected a prevalence of 3% of botulinum spores in the unwrapped linden flowers analyzed and a spore load of 30 spores per 100 grams. None of the industrialized linden flowers analyzed were contaminated with botulinum spores. C. botulinum type A was identified in two samples and ...

The purpose of this study was the physicochemical characterization and classification of Italian honey from Marche Region with a chemometric approach. A total of 135 honeys of different botanical origins [acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), chestnut (Castanea sativa), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), lime (Tilia spp.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), Metcalfa honeydew and multifloral honey] were considered. The average results of electrical conductivity (0.14-1.45 mS cm(-1)), pH (3.89-5.42), free acidity (10.9-39.0 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), lactones (2.4-4.5 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), total acidity (14.5-40.9 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), proline (229-665 mg kg(-1)) and 5-(hydroxy-methyl)-2-furaldehyde (0.6-3.9 mg kg(-1)) content show wide variability among the analysed honey types, with statistically significant differences between the different honey types. Pattern recognition methods such as principal component analysis and discriminant analysis were performed in order to find a relationship between var...

Efforts are being made to apply physicochemical parameters analysis in the identification of varietal honeys. With many variables describing a given population, it is feasible to differentiate between basing on principal component analysis (PCA). The aim of this study was to investigate selected physicochemical quality characteristics of nectar honey, with particular emphasis paid to carbohydrate composition, and to determine its applicability in identifying the variety of floral honey. The experimental materials were samples of commercial honey available at retail in Krakow in 2005-2007 period. The following analyses were performed: water content by the refractometric method, sugars content according to Luff-Schoorl, content of sugars using HPLC, electrical conductivity, specific rotation, and acidity of honey. Application of HPLC allowed the precise qualitative identification of sugars, which was impossible to be determined by Luff-Schoorl method. The obtained results were analyse...

Naturally-occurring phytochemicals have received pivotal attention in the last few years, due to the increasing evidence of biological activities. Thus, in the present study, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor potentials of hydroethanolic extracts rich in phenolic compounds obtained from Equisetum giganteum L. and Tilia platyphyllos Scop. were assessed and directly correlated with their content of phenolic compounds, by using HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis. T. platyphyllos showed the higher bioactive potential, evaluated in terms of antioxidant (radical scavenging effects - 105 μg mL(-1), reducing power - 123 μg mL(-1), β-carotene bleaching inhibition - 167 μg mL(-1), and lipid peroxidation inhibition - 56 μg mL(-1)), anti-inflammatory (225 μg mL(-1) inhibited 50% of nitric oxide production) and antitumor (breast - 224 μg mL(-1); lung - 247 μg mL(-1); cervical - 195 μg mL(-1) and hepatocellular - 173 μg mL(-1) carcinoma cells) activity, without having cytotoxic effects (>...

Infant botulism is an intestinal toxemia caused principally by Clostridium botulinum. Since the infection occurs in the intestinal tract, numerous food products have been investigated for the presence of C. botulinum and its neurotoxins. In many countries, people use linden flower (Tilia spp) tea as a household remedy and give it to infants as a sedative. Therefore, to help provide a clear picture of this disease transmission, we investigated the presence of botulinum spores in linden flowers. In this study, we analyzed 100 samples of unwrapped linden flowers and 100 samples of linden flowers in tea bags to determine the prevalence and spore-load of C. botulinum. Results were analyzed by the Fisher test. We detected a prevalence of 3% of botulinum spores in the unwrapped linden flowers analyzed and a spore load of 30 spores per 100 grams. None of the industrialized linden flowers analyzed were contaminated with botulinum spores. C. botulinum type A was identified in two samples and ...

Tiliagenus is commonly used around the world for its central nervous system properties; it is prepared as tea and used as tranquilizing, anticonvulsant, and analgesic. In this study, anticonvulsant activity of theTilia americanavar.mexicanainflorescences and leaves was investigated by evaluating organic and aqueous extracts (100, 300, and 600 mg/kg, i.p.) and some flavonoids in the pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mice. Moreover, antioxidant effect of these extracts and flavonoids was examined in anin vitrostudy by using spectrophotometric technique. Significant activity was observed in the methanol extract from inflorescences. An HPLC analysis of the methanol extract from inflorescences and leaves ofTiliaallowed demonstrating the respective presence of some partial responsible flavonoid constituents: quercetin (20.09 ± 1.20 μg/mg and 3.39 ± 0.10 μg/mg), rutin (3.52 ± 0.21 μg/mg and 8.94 ± 0.45 μg/mg), and isoquercitrin (1.74 ± 0.01 μg/mg and 1.24 ± 0.13 μg/mg). In addition, s...

The purpose of this study was the physicochemical characterization and classification of Italian honey from Marche Region with a chemometric approach. A total of 135 honeys of different botanical origins [acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), chestnut (Castanea sativa), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), lime (Tilia spp.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), Metcalfa honeydew and multifloral honey] were considered. The average results of electrical conductivity (0.14-1.45 mS cm(-1)), pH (3.89-5.42), free acidity (10.9-39.0 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), lactones (2.4-4.5 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), total acidity (14.5-40.9 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), proline (229-665 mg kg(-1)) and 5-(hydroxy-methyl)-2-furaldehyde (0.6-3.9 mg kg(-1)) content show wide variability among the analysed honey types, with statistically significant differences between the different honey types. Pattern recognition methods such as principal component analysis and discriminant analysis were performed in order to find a relationship between var...

The weathering of acrylic films and acrylic-coated lime wood (Tillia cordata Mill.) were examined using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy. The obtained results showed chemical changes induced by exposure to weathering conditions, in both films and coated wood. The observed spectral changes of the acrylic films refer to the absorption band assigned to the C-O stretching, which progressively decreases with increasing exposure time. In the spectra of treated wood samples the main signal indicating the advance of oxidation during the photodegradation exposure is the gradual increase and broadening of the band in the carbonyl region. This is due to the formation of the non-hydrogen bonded aliphatic carboxylic acids and γ-lactone structures in the acrylic resin and of the nonconjugated ketones, carboxyl groups, and lactones in wood. As a consequence, the increase of the 1734 cm(-1) band is due to the degradation of lignin from wood surface. These observations are also supported by the decreased intensities of the bands at 1598 and 1505 cm(-1), assigned to C=C of aromatic skeletal (lignin). The relative intensity of the characteristic aromatic lignin band at 1505 cm(-1) decreases up to 25% of its original value after weathering, being less than half of the value obtained for uncoated wood. Two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) correlation spectroscopy was used to identify the sequence of the modifications of the different stretching vibrations bands under the weathering conditions, the method allowing the prediction of the order of degradation reactions. The acrylic resin degradation starts with the formation of radicals by abstraction of the tertiary hydrogen atoms of the methyl acrylate units and the α-CH3 groups from the ethyl methacrylate units. The subsequent decomposition and oxidation led to the formation of alcohol groups, hydroperoxides, ketones, and/or carboxylic acid groups. The 2D IR correlation spectra of weathered impregnated wood also revealed the elimination of low molecular weight compounds following the degradation of lignin and carbohydrates components from wood.