A significant increase in interest in food-derived peptides obtained mostly through enzymatic reactions has been observed in the past few years. One of the best sources of bioactive peptides are defatted egg yolk proteins, which can potentially find application as high-quality nutritional supplements for infants with cow’s milk protein intolerance and as natural preservatives. The aim of this study was to obtain peptides from defatted egg yolk protein, to study their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and to identify peptides with bioactive properties To control the course of the process, MALDI-TOF/MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of flight/mass spectrometry) spectra were also examined. The peptide mixture obtained through enzyme digestion was tested for its antioxidant properties by measuring the scavenging activity in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH•), 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation decolorization (ABTS•+), and ferric reducing activity (FRAP) assays. Antimicrobial activity was also studied. The peptide mixture exhibited significant antioxidant activity: DPPH—1776.66 ± 32.99, ABTS—390.43 ± 8.92, and FRAP—16.45 ± 0.19. The inhibition of bacterial growth by two concentrations of the peptide mixture was examined. The best result was obtained in Bacillus cereus, with an inhibition zone of 20.0 ± 1.0 and 10.7 ± 0.6 mm at the concentrations of 50 and 25 mg/mL, respectively. The results of the study suggest that the mixture of egg yolk peptides may exhibit a number of health-promoting properties.

This review presents an overview of the current knowledge regarding the techniques for the extraction of selected Rhodiola species, their bioactive compounds and their underlying mechanisms of action with particular emphasis on free radical scavenging properties. Rhodiola genus (Crassulaceae) is a perennial, which grows naturally in eastern Siberia, Scandinavia, Alaska and northern Europe that has been traditionally used in folk Asian medicine. In this review, we have done a critical evaluation of available literature on Rhodiola species roots and rhizomes, especially R. rosea (L.), R. imbricata (Edgew.), R. crenulata (Hook.f. & Thomson), R. kirilowii (Regel) and R. heterodonta (Hook.f. & Thomson), that have been most thoroughly investigated and described so far. Databases, including Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar were applied to obtain relevant literature, based on reports mainly in the last 20 years. Here, we improved the list of the most important chemical compounds of Rhodiola spp. – mainly phenolic compounds and essential oils, taking into account their detection methods. In addition, we compared qualitatively and quantitatively different kind of extraction methods and analyzed the results regarding the antioxidant effects of Rhodiola species in vitro and in vivo on mouse and rat.

Pregnancy is a physiological state that can be described, from a biochemical point of view, using protein patterns. The present study focused on the comparison of protein patterns between the saliva and plasma of pregnant cows to search for possible markers which are present both in plasma and saliva. Saliva and plasma were collected from healthy, pregnant (3–4 months) and non-pregnant (C; n = 4) cows aged between 4 and 8 years (P; n = 8) from the same farm. Biological material was analyzed using 2D electrophoresis and MS identification. Among identified spots, there were those which could be related to pregnancy (e.g., apolipoproteins I and II in all examined matrices or transforming growth factor-beta-induced protein ig-h3 in albumin-free plasma) as well as those which are responsible for regulating of cellular processes (e.g., pyruvate kinase and aspartate aminotransferase in all examined matrices, or lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, and NADH dehydrogenase in plasma). Further identification of common spots and those only specific to saliva as well as the comparison between other periods of pregnancy are necessary; it is already clear that saliva can be considered a valuable diagnostic matrix containing potential markers of physiological and pathological status.