One of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is low acetylcholine level due to high acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. For this reason, AChE inhibitors are used in the treatment of AD, the prolonged use of which may cause a cholinergic crisis. There is a need to search for safe natural AChE inhibitors. The study analyzed 16 hydroxybenzoic acids using calorimetry and docking simulation as AChE inhibitors. All tested compounds were shown to inhibit the hydrolysis of ACh. The best properties were shown by methyl syringinate, which acted as competitive inhibitor at a catalytic site. The tested compounds also interacted with the anionic or peripheral binding site known to block β-amyloid plaques formation. The activity of the tested hydroxybenzoic acids IC50 ranged from 5.50 to 34.19 µmol/µmol of AChE, and the binding constant Ka from 20.53 to 253.16 L/mol, which proves their reversible, non-toxic effect, and activity at physiological concentrations.

Tomatoes are one of the most broadly produced and consumed crop plants. They are the source of health-promoting nutrients such as antioxidants, including ascorbic acid, polyphenols, or carotenoids. Despite the beneficial role of tomatoes in the daily diet, they have been confirmed as one of the most prevalent allergenic vegetables. Food allergies can cause many clinical symptoms, e.g., in the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and lungs, as well as anaphylactic shock. A huge amount of clinical research has been carried out to improve the understanding of the immunological mechanisms that lead to the lack of tolerance of food antigens, which can result in either immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated reactions or non-IgE-mediated reactions. Lifestyle and diet play an important role in triggering food allergies. Allergy to tomatoes is also linked to other allergies, such as grass pollen and latex allergy. Numerous attempts have been made to identify and characterize tomato allergens; however, the data available on the subject are not sufficient.

Immunoreactive gluten peptides that are not digested by peptidases produced by humans can trigger celiac disease, allergy and non-celiac gluten hypersensitivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of selected probiotic strains to hydrolyze immunoreactive gliadin peptides and to identify peptidase-encoding genes in the genomes of the most efficient strains. Residual gliadin immunoreactivity was measured after one- or two-step hydrolysis using commercial enzymes and bacterial peptidase preparations by G12 and R5 immunoenzymatic assays. Peptidase preparations from Lacticaseibacillus casei LC130, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei LPC100 and Streptococcus thermophilus ST250 strains significantly reduced the immunoreactivity of gliadin peptides, including 33-mer, and this effect was markedly higher when a mixture of these strains was used. In silico genome analyses of L. casei LC130 and L. paracasei LPC100 revealed the presence of genes encoding peptidases with the potential to hydrolyze bonds in proline-rich peptides. This suggests that L. casei LC130, L. paracasei LPC100 and S. thermophilus ST250, especially when used as a mixture, have the ability to hydrolyze immunoreactive gliadin peptides and could be administered to patients on a restricted gluten-free diet to help treat gluten-related diseases.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most valuable horticulture crops, consumed in both its raw and processed forms. To increase yield and efficiency, conventional and organic fertilizers are utilized in modern agriculture. Traditional fertilizers increase crop yield but are harmful to the environment. These circumstances motivate the pursuit of an alternate solution. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the application of nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) combined with conventional fertilizer influence tomato plants’ development, including the antioxidant potential of cultivated plants. Three factors such as different types of cultivars, dosage of applied nano-ZnO solution and the method of nanoparticles application were implemented. Multiple analysis of selected antioxidants content and their activities such as malondialdehyde (MDA), flavonoids, polyphenols, ascorbic acid, peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) or catalase (CAT) were analyzed. The obtained data exhibited that all examined parameters were strongly dependent on three implemented factors: concentration of nano-ZnO suspension, the type of cultivated tomato and the method of nanoparticles application. For instance, the accumulation of MDA in cultivated plants was different among plants under nanoparticles treatment, but in one specific case (Malinowy Bossman cultivar treated with 50 mg/L nano-ZnO suspension) the content of this marker was decreased by 34% in comparison to the corresponding control. Nevertheless, the results presented in this study showed that the usage of certain doses of nano-ZnO suspension may increase the antioxidant potential of tomato plants.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of Alternaria isolates from workplaces to produce Alt a 1 allergenic protein, and to analyze whether technical materials (cellulose, compost, leather) present within the working environment stimulate or inhibit Alt a 1 production (ELISA test). Studies included identification of the isolated molds by nucleotide sequences analyzing of the ITS1/ITS2 regions, actin, calmodulin and Alt a 1 genes. It has been shown that Alternaria molds are significant part of microbiocenosis in the archive, museum, library, composting plant and tannery (14%–16% frequency in the air). The presence of the gene encoding the Alt a 1 protein has been detected for the strains: Alternaria alternata, A. lini, A. limoniasperae A. nobilis and A. tenuissima. Environmental strains produced Alt a 1 at higher concentrations (1.103–6.528 ng/mL) than a ATCC strain (0.551–0.975 ng/mL). It has been shown that the homogenization of the mycelium and the use of ultrafiltration allow a considerable increase of Alt a 1 concentration. Variations in the production of Alt a 1 protein, depend on the strain and extraction methods. These studies revealed no impact of the technical material from the workplaces on the production of Alt a 1 protein.