Flavonoids are plant polyphenols that exhibit biological activity with antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic effects. The medicinal plants of Kuzbass have high contents of flavonoids and other polyphenolic compounds. Therefore, they can be used in medicinal preparations to prevent or treat serious diseases. We studied the following plants collected in Kuzbass: common thyme (Thymus vulgaris Linn., leaves and stems), woolly burdock (Arctium tomentosum Mill., roots), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L., leaves and stems), common lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis L., leaves and stems), common yarrow (Achillea millefolium L., leaves and stems), red clover (Trifolium pratense L., leaves and stems), common ginseng (Panax ginseng, roots), sweetvetch (Hedysarum neglectum Ledeb., roots), and cow parsnip (Heracleum sibiricum L., inflorescences, leaves, and stems). To extract flavonoids, we used ethanol at concentrations of 40, 55, 60, 70, and 75%. Spectrophotometry was used to determine total flavonoids, while high-performance liquid chromatography was employed to study the qualitative and quantitative composition of the extracts. The highest yield of flavonoids was found in H. sibiricum leaves (at all concentrations except 70%), followed by the 55% and 70% ethanol extracts of T. vulgaris leaves and stems, as well as the 75% ethanol extract of A. millefolium leaves and stems. Thus, these plants have the greatest potential in being used in medicines. High-performance liquid chromatography showed the highest contents of polyphenolic compounds in the samples of P. officinalis, A. millefolium, T. vulgaris, and T. pratense. Our results can be used in further research to produce new medicinal preparations based on the medicinal plants of Kuzbass.

Due to its natural chemical composition, whey can have both a positive effect on the human body and cause significant harm to the environment. It is rich in organic substances, which creates an additional organic burden on nature. However, whey has good prospects for the food industry as an extractant for the production of plant extracts and biologically active substances. The present research objective was to select optimal parameters for obtaining flavonoids from plant extracts using an unconventional type of extractant, i.e., whey. The study featured whey as an extractant and mixes of medicinal herbs. The resulting extracts were tested for the content of flavonoid compounds by thin-layer chromatography. The antioxidant activity was assessed using the spectrophotometric method. The extraction variables included temperature, extraction time, material-to-extractant ratio, and composition of herbal mixes. The extraction time ranged from 1 to 5 h at 90 ± 1℃. The maximal antioxidant activity belonged to the samples containing 7.5–12.5 g herbal mix and 450 ml whey. The optimal extraction time was 3 h. The content of flavonoids in the plant extracts was comparable and did not depend on the extraction time. Extraction time proved to be the key parameter to intensify the process of flavonoid extraction from plant raw materials. Therefore, the choice was made according to the shortest time with comparable values of flavonoids and the maximal level of antioxidant activity.

Healthy nutrition with a balanced diet and sufficient caloric content facilitates longevity and control of non-communicable diseases. It also increases resistance to stress, pressures and unfavorable effects of the environment. The aim of the research was to analyze the dynamics of the global consumption of protein and calories and their interrelation with the diets of the population from various regions, as well as to assess food products that are able to make up for a deficiency in protein, dietary fiber and other nutrients. Analysis of data from the Rosstat and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations showed that the lowest level of consumption of protein and calories was observed in Africa compared to world indices. This is conditioned by mainly plant-based diets. In Asia, indices of protein and calorie consumption are close to the world values. Diets include a significant amount of fish and seafood, plant-based foods and whole grain products. The highest indices were found in America, Oceania, Europe and Russia. Diets of their populations are more balanced; however, they include significant amounts of saturated fats and simple carbohydrates. Analysis of the data array containing information about 100 healthiest foods taken from Kaggle and processed in the program Power BI was able to reveal products that are most rich in protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C, as well as to detect the antioxidant index of products, their caloric content and geographical origin. It is nutrition that ensures the physical and mental activities of humans, their mood and quality of life. Therefore, by energy value and sets of products used in daily diets, nutrition should correspond to the age, gender, occupation, general health state of humans and the climate and geographical zones where they live.

Extraction is the initial stage in the study of the chemical composition of plant material. Crude extracts contain bioactive components that can be used in pharmaceuticals, food products, and food additives. Advanced extraction methods produce more yield and consume less time. The choice of a perfect extraction method depends on the target substance, the type of plant material, and its cell structure. Optimal extraction conditions are determined experimentally for each plant species. In this research, we revealed the main extraction factors for cell cultures of medicinal plants, depending on the technological limitations caused by the internal structure of the raw material. The bioactive extraction procedure was optimized using the experimental planning method. The study featured cell cultures of Ginkgo biloba L., Pulmonaria officinalis L., Filipendula ulmaria L., and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. The variables to be studied during the extraction experiments included ethyl concentration, temperature, and time. All the extracts were tested for optical density using spectrophotometry, with a full factorial experiment with three variable parameters. The data obtained underwent the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to check the mathematical model that defined the correlation between the flavonoid yield and the main extraction parameters. Using the experimental planning method, we optimized the main factors that facilitated the extraction of bioactive compounds from medicinal plant cell cultures. The volume fraction of the solvent proved to be associated with the largest yield of bioactive compounds from the plant cell cultures. Its optimal amount was the same across the samples (70% ethyl alcohol). The optimal extraction time and temperature for callus cultures of Filipendula ulmaria L. and Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi were 5 h and 35°C, respectively. The callus cultures of Pulmonaria officinalis L. demonstrated the most economically advantageous extraction parameters, i.e., 2 h and 30°C. The optimal extraction parameters for Ginkgo biloba L. were 6 h and 55°C. The study revealed the optimal parameters for the extraction of bioactive compounds from medicinal plant cell cultures with the maximal flavonoid yield. The results be used in further research.

Industrial whey wastes contain organic substances that cause serious harm to the environment, which makes whey recycling a relevant research objective. Whey can serve as an extractant of biologically active substances from plant raw materials. This research compared a 70% aqueous-ethanol solution and whey as extractants of bioactive components from a plant blend of Heracleum sibiricum L., Syringa vulgaris L., Arctium tomentosum Mill., Achillea millefolium L., Thymus vulgaris L., and Pulmonaria officinalis L. The method of high-performance liquid chromatography revealed catechin, chlorogenic acid, astragalin, ferulic acid, coumaric acid, and some trace amounts of other compounds. The samples subjected to water-ethanol extraction demonstrated a better quantitative and qualitative profile than those processed with whey: 637.92 vs. 380.45 mg/kg for chlorogenic acid, 93.05 vs. 2.34 mg/kg for coumaric acid, and 53.12 vs. 3.09 mg/kg for astragalin. Whey proved unable to extract catechin and ferulic acid. However, whey made it possible to obtain compounds that water-ethanol solution failed to extract, namely rutin and caffeic acid. By fractionating the extracts and isolating individual biologically active substances, we obtained chlorogenic acid (90.0%), ferulic acid (92.0%), and coumaric acid (88.0%) with water and ethanol, as well as caffeic acid (84.5%) and rutin (78.0%) with whey. Both ethanol and whey proved industrially relevant and demonstrated good prospects for commercial extraction of biologically active substances from various plant raw materials.