The production of novel materials and value-added chemicals from lignin has received considerable attention in recent years. Due to its abundant occurrence in nature, there is a growing interest in utilizing lignin as a feedstock for functional materials production, for example aerogels. Much like in the synthesis of phenol-based resins, the vacant ortho positions of the aromatic rings in lignin can crosslink with formaldehyde and form polymeric gels. After drying the hydrogels with supercritical CO₂, highly porous aerogels are obtained. Current study focuses on the preparation and thorough parametrization of organosolv lignins from different types of lignocellulosic biomass (aspen, pine, and barley straw) as well as their utilization for the preparation of lignin-5-methylresorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels. The thorough structural characterization of the obtained aerogels was carried out by gas adsorption, IR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained lignin-based monolithic mesoporous aerogels had specific surface areas and total pore volumes in the upward ranges of 450 m²/g and 1.4 cm³/g, respectively.

Lindane, an organochlorine pesticide, causes detrimental impacts on the environment and human health owing to its high toxicity, low degradation, and bioaccumulation. Its toxic nature can be overcome by biological and eco-friendly approaches involving its degradation and detoxification. The biodegradation of lindane was assessed using actinobacterial species Thermobifida cellulosilytica TB100 (T. cellulosilytica), Thermobifida halotolerans DSM 44931 (T. halotolerans) and Streptomyces coelicolor A3 (S. coelicolor). The degradation conditions of Lindane such as pH, temperature, inoculum volume, glucose concentration and number of days were optimized under broth conditions. Lindane degradation at different concentrations was studied in soil using reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography over a 30 day period. A bioassay test was performed on seeds of Lactuca sativa (Lettuce) to assess the success of bioremediated soil. Maximum lindane degradation in soil was observed using T. cellulosilytica sp. The degradation trend for different concentrations of lindane using T. halotolerans in sterilized soil was 55 mg kg-1 (82%) ˃ 155 mg kg-1 (75%) ˃ 255 mg kg-1 (70%) after an incubation period of 30 days. Lindane degradation in soil followed the first order reaction kinetics. Phytotoxicity test on seeds of Lactuca sativa showed considerably good vigor index values for the bioremediated sterilized and non-sterilized soil by T. cellulosilytica, T. halotolerans and S. coelicolor in comparison to the contaminated soil without bacteria. This confirms that these actinobacterial species can be implemented in bioaugmentation of contaminated sites to efficiently remediate high lindane concentrations.

The use of colored tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. is growing worldwide due to their health benefits and attractive color. The positive health effects of purple-fleshed tubers are a result of anthocyanins and various phenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare variety Blue Congo and its cross-breeds of Desiree and Granola to yellow-fleshed tubers. The concentration of total phenols, anthocyanins, sugars, and mineral elements were evaluated in all tubers. The results showed differences between all tested materials, with largest differences in sugar content. Moreover, the results confirmed the preservation of health improving compounds of Blue Congo when cross-bred with yellow-fleshed tubers. The total phenolic content and anthocyanin concentrations of all analyzed tubers were above the comparison yellow ones.

Lyme disease (LD) is a tick-borne bacterial disease that is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. Although acute LD is treated with antibiotics, it can develop into relapsing chronic form caused by latent forms of B. burgdorferi. This leads to the search for phytochemicals against resistant LD. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the activity of Dipsacus fullonum L. leaves extract (DE) and its fractions against stationary phase B. burgdorferi in vitro. DE showed high activity against stationary phase B. burgdorferi (residual viability 19.8 ± 4.7%); however, it exhibited a noticeable cytotoxicity on NIH cells (viability 20.2 ± 5.2%). The iridoid-glycoside fraction showed a remarkable anti-Borrelia effect and reduced cytotoxicity. The iridoid-glycoside fraction was, therefore, further purified and showed to contain two main bioactives—sylvestrosides III and IV, that showed a considerable anti-Borrelia activity being the least toxic to murine fibroblast NIH/3T3 cells. Moreover, the concentration of sylvestrosides was about 15% of DE, endorsing the feasibility of purification of the compounds from D. fullonum L. leaves.