Alina Butu

Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Stiinte Biologice | INCDSB · Department of Biotechnology

Organic agriculture, as a holistic system, aims to maximize the productivity of agricultural sector by integrating tradition, innovation and science, helping to improve the quality of agrifood products reaching the market. One of the most rapidly evolving sectors in the EU is the organic manufacturing industry. Due to the increased interest of cons...

The availability of primary resources correlated with waste production from exploration and mining activities will remain a need to satisfy the growing global demand for raw materials. The present research started with the idea that tailings and wastes from mining can be considered mineral reserves. The project aimed to increase the efficiency of r...

Organic farming, characterised by environmentally friendly and sustainable agricultural practices, has gained significant attention throughout the years due to its potential to address critical issues such as food security, environmental sustainability, and public health. Voluntary certification systems play a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity...

The EU’s goals by 2050 are to ensure food security, prevent bio-diversity loss, and strengthen the EU food system’s resilience. Recent scientific research and the situation in the global market show that the cultivation and processing of raspberries is currently completely unsustainable. This sector is experiencing a huge decline in Lithuania. Ther...

In the perspective of observing the latest worldwide and European strategies toward green transition and delivering a secured access to local resources, the objective of this study was to analyze the research progress on critical materials and, more specific, critical metals and review the future research hot-topics for critical metals. Consequentl...

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plants and is required by them in relatively large quantities. This paper presents an overview of scientific literature related to nitrogen management, with a specific highlight on permanent grasslands and has involved a bibliometric analysis of scientific literature regarding nitrogen management....

Agriculture plays a crucial role in Romania's economy, a fact that accelerates the search for ways to maximize production yield and profit. The aim of the paper is to study the characteristics of the transformation of agriculture in the context of digitization. Research methods include scientific and theoretical approaches to assess the state of ag...

The bioeconomy concept is generally defined as the use of renewable biological resources to produce food, materials and energy. This concept is now seen as an innovation trigger that will be the cornerstone of a knowledge leap in most economy sectors, on the way towards increasing sustainability of human activity. Agriculture occupies the most i an...

Maize is one of the most important crops cultivated around the world and can be easily grown in various climate conditions, under conventional and organic system. Maize cultivation has many advantages, such as: high yield, strong stability, great potential for increasing yield, strong disaster resistance, wide application range, and high economic b...

Modern agricultural production technologies, based on the widespread use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers, have made it possible to significantly solve the problem of providing the population with food, and at the same time, they have created numerous environmental and medical problems. At present, the development and application of new plant...

In Romania, there is an emerging market of dairy products delivered through short food supply chains. Although this distribution system has existed since the communist period, and even though more than three decades have passed since then, the market fails to be mature, subject to taxation, or achieve a high diversity in terms of dairy categories,...

Biochemical cycles and microorganisms (primarily heterotrophic microorganisms) are responsible for the maintenance of the biosphere. They exploit the chemical reactions favorably to obtain carbon and energy from biomass. As a result of the microbial degradation processes, the essential nutrients present in the biomass of a generation of organisms a...

Biotechnologies are involved in the transformation of raw products into foods, providing enzymes for the manufacture of bread, dairy products, and bakeries. Other enzymes are involved in the manufacture of juices, flavors, etc. Biotechnologies make the agrifood industry less polluting. For example, when converting starch into sugar, enzymes allow t...

The exceptional organic recycling ability of fungi is attracting attention in the bioeconomy, being exploited in industrial processes. Mushroom mycelium has been classified as the largest living organism on earth, being capable of growth through its symbiotic relationship with the substrate components. The ability of fungal mycelium to decompose li...

The soil is represented by the layer from the surface of the earth’s crust consisting of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air, and living organisms. The process of soil formation (pedogenesis) takes place under the influence of pedogenic factors: climate, microorganisms (MOs), vegetation, and relief. By its position, nature, and role, soil...

The present paper intends to address the impact of COVID-19 crisis upon the consumer buying behavior of fresh vegetables directly from local producers as observed 30 days later, after enforcing the state of emergency in Romania within a well-defined area, namely, the quarantined area of Suceava. The study relies on the interpretation of answers rec...

Situated at the crossroads between several sectors, from biology, biochemistry, agronomy, management and economy to technology, the bioeconomy represents all uses of bio-resources, whether they come from agricultural land, sea, forest or waste materials. The current bioeconomy strategy of European Union identifies agriculture as one of the sectors...

The introduction of chemical substances in agriculture through fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, phytohormones is closely linked to both the increase of agricultural production and the problems of the environment. These attacks against the intensification of agriculture by means mainly refer to the following: chemical pesticides lead to the depl...

In the case of the Romanian urban consumer, ecological agroalimentary products do not merely operate on the discursive line mapped by the rules of certification. The ecology of the agroalimentary products is reinterpreted and, thus, an interesting phenomenon occurs. The products perceived as natural, local, or peasant are seen as ecological enough...

Nanobiosensors (NBSs) are a class of chemical sensors which are sensitive to a physical or chemical stimulus (heat, acidity, metabolism transformations) that conveys information about vital processes. NBSs detect physiological signals and convert them into standardized signals, often electrical, to be quantified from analog to digital. NBSs are cla...

Should you attend to the relevant published literature on perceptions belonging consumers of ecological products, it can be easily noticed that, as a rule, the interpretation insists heavily on the analysis of an error: the consumer’s confusion about the ecological product. The official concept of an ecological product does not overlap with the ide...

Plant Nanobionics, Volume 2 continues the important discussion of nanotechnology in plants, but focuses with a focus on biosynthesis and toxicity. This book discusses novel approaches to biosynthesis of nanoparticles for the increase of plant production systems, controlled release of agrochemicals and management of plant biotic stress. Green biosy...

Plant Nanobionics, Volume 2 continues the important discussion of nanotechnology in plants, but focuses with a focus on biosynthesis and toxicity. This book discusses novel approaches to biosynthesis of nanoparticles for the increase of plant production systems, controlled release of agrochemicals and management of plant biotic stress. Green biosy...

Front Matter Copyright Contributors Series Preface Preface

Microbial Nanobionics: Volume 1, State of the Art, discusses a wide range of microbial systems and their utilization in biogenic synthesis of metallic nanoparticles. The rich biodiversity of microbes makes them excellent candidates for potential nanoparticle synthesis biofactories. Through a better understanding of the biochemical and molecular mec...

In this chapter, the organoleptic characteristics and chemical composition of the raw wine distillates that have received multiple uses over the time are described. The bioprocesses occurring throughout the evolution and the development phases of distillates of wine make it to be the least harmful for human health compared with the distillates of d...

In this chapter, the organoleptic characteristics and chemical composition of the raw wine distillates that have received multiple uses over the time are described. The bioprocesses occurring throughout the evolution and the development phases of distillates of wine make it to be the least harmful for human health compared with the distillates of d...

The wine, known for a long time as an alcoholic beverage, is one of the food products with a large range of movement. It results from the complete or partial fermentation of fresh grapes or of grape must. Besides the fact that the wine is a pleasant drink, which impresses with its appearance, color, aroma, and taste, it also has an indisputable psy...

The Sorghum species are a source of bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins, phenolic acids, phytosterols, policosanols (sterols and stanols) and tannins. These bioactive compounds have a significant impact on quality of life. Some extracts of Sorghum have high antioxidant activity compared with other grains or fruits. The epidemiological research...

The European Strategy regarding plant protection products encourages the research for solutions which strongly contribute to the agro-ecological transition. They should be able to provide effective and efficient products for both farmers and consumers, reducing the pesticides use. Previous studies reported that extracts prepared from different plan...

The combined root digger operation principle structure, that consists of two spherical disks and situated above them horizontal shaft with cleaning blades, are submitted. Based on the analysis of the technological process of excavation of roots mechanical and technological justification of structural and kinematic parameters and operating modes of...

Allelopathy is generally defined as any direct or indirect harmful or beneficial effect of one plant on another mediated by the production allelochemicals. The scope of this study was the evaluation of the potential allelopathic effect of Jasminum officinale against some weed species. The effects of extracts obtained from root, stem and leaves of...

Development of disease resistance to conventional pesticides and environmental contamination problems created pressure on farmers to adopt new strategies for disease control in the production of vegetables. In addition, consumers demand to minimize pesticide residues in food products is forcing the growers and the pesticide producing companies to f...

According to European Commission reports published between 2010 - 2013, the development of European economy depends crucially on access to critical raw materials. Following the analysis performed by experts at European level, in 2011 was compiled and published a list of 14 critical raw materials, the so-called EU-14. In 2014 the list was updated wi...

Developing innovative biotechnology for obtaining new resources of high tech critical metals is strongly influenced by the need to reduce the potential risk of shortages, to support the development of industry at European level. To set up these new technologies is essential to isolate strains with high potential in bioleaching of ore, tailings and...

The vegetal material is an inexhaustible source of biologically active compounds. It was already demonstrated that secondary metabolites of plant origin have practical application in the industry of food and beverage, drugs, and flavours. Furthermore, considering the acquired resistance of bacterial pathogens to existing antibiotics, research on ne...

This study investigated the inhibitory activity of Sambucus ebulus (danewort) fruit extract on the growth of several gram positive and gram negative bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli and on the mycelial growth of some fungal pathogens, namely, Botryt...

The concern in developing research on antimicrobial natural active ingredients from plant material is constantly growing nowadays, due to acquired resistance of pathogens to antibiotic products existing on the market. The aim of this study was the screening of the antibacterial activity of several medicinal plant extracts, namely licorice (Glycyrrh...

The aim of the present papaer was to realize a screening for phytase producing bacteria isolated from soil where pig manure was stored. It was used PSM, PKA media and the molybdate-blue method in order to determine the presence of phytase- phosphate solubilizing- and proteaze- producing bacteria. About half of the bacterial isolates were phytase pr...

A lot of insecticides obtained from petroleum by-products, used to reduce level of infestation with weeds and pathogens are derived from aromatic hydrocarbons (petroleum is a mixture of a very large number of different hydrocarbons) or aromatic hydrocarbons reactions with various other substances. These toxic compounds have potential to cause signi...

A lot of insecticides obtained from petroleum by-products, used to reduce level of infestation with weeds and pathogens are derived from aromatic hydrocarbons (petroleum is a mixture of a very large number of different hydrocarbons) or aromatic hydrocarbons reactions with various other substances. These toxic compounds have potential to cause signi...

Bortezomib is the first therapeutic agent designed to inhibit mainly the activity of the 26S proteasome. It is used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The objective of this study was to develop and optimize liposomal formulation of bortezomib in order to improve the encapsulation efficiency. For evaluating the encapsulation efficiency it was in...

The present paper aimed to study the growth and development of two macromycetes, Flammulina velutipes and Ganoderma applanatum on enriched culture medium as follows: Hwang medium, sorghum deposit and wine yeast. It was found that the influence of culture medium varies depending on the species. The medium containing sorghum lead to increased weight...

Ganoderma applanatum and Flammulina velutipes are known for their nutritional value. In the present study was tested their antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities. Due to the resistance of pathogens to synthetic agents, there is a real need for new natural products with practical utility. Alcoholic extracts of macromycetes' mycelial biomass, obt...

The investigations regarding the use of plant extracts for their antimicrobial activity is becoming more intense nowadays. The goal of this paper was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of several plant extracts in order to provide a better understanding of the essential role of the use of plant natural compounds as a primary source of antimicro...

Currently, there are only few studies regarding the phenolics and free radical scavenging activity of berries during the phenological phases of maturation. This study investigated the ripening - dependent changes in phytonutrients and their correlations, in five varieties of Ribes rubrum L. species. The fruits were harvested at advanced first fruit...

Vegetables and their products (salads, fermented and nonfermented pickles, prepared sauces, and pickled, conserved, frozen, marinated, and dried vegetables) are a good source of compounds that are involved in pharmacodynamic activity. Humans are inseparably linked to the existence of vegetables, as they are the source of several bioproducts essenti...

Modern agriculture depends on a wide variety of synthetic fungicides, which are continually wide spreading, resulting in human and environmental pollution. These chemicals used in excessive doses can give rise to abnormal chromosomes and degeneration within the mitotic cycle. In this sense, the development of alternative strategies, based on non-ch...

Plants are constantly exposed to different and varied stress factors. In these conditions plants synthesize antimicrobial peptides as innate host defense response. The investigation of the properties of the antimicrobial peptides is a field of remarkable interest to discover its mechanism of action and develop strategies for new biotechnological ap...

The aim of the study was the recording and interpretation of the MS fragmentation spectrum for alpha-zingiberene [S–(R*,S*)]–5–(1,5–dimethylhexen–4–yl)–2–methyl–1,3– cyclohexa–1,3–diene. The mass spectra are line spectra (peaks) which contain signals, such as the line of the molecular ion, isotopic lines, base line, and lines generated by the fragm...

Late blight is one of the most severe diseases in horticultural crops worldwide, causing important economic losses. Phytophthora infestans, causal agent of late blight in potato and tomato, is a very difficult phytopathogen to manage in organic production systems.

In the phyto-chemical research of extracts, there is a rising demand for simple, quick, selective and precise quantitative analysis methods of polyphenolics. The goal of this research was to realise a quantitative meta-analysis of the experimental methods that investigate flavonoids from three types of seeds of Lens culinaris Medikus extracts using...

Composite gels based on collagen and eucalyptus oil were prepared in order to be used in dentistry. The main components such as β-Cymene (32.1%), Eucalyptol (36.59%), Cryptone (4.35%) and Spathulenol (3.82%) of Eucalyptus camadulensis Dehnh. essential oil were determined by GC-MS. The eucalyptus oil dissolved in different concentration of ethanol (...

The medicinal herbs, a valuable source of biologically active compounds, have been used in folk medicine for various diseases, but phytochemical exploration is still incomplete. This study presents the extractive technological processes and spectrophotometric characterization of threeindigenous plants in order to obtain anantifungal formula with ap...

The allelopathy research can contribute to protecting the biodiversity and may develop new strategies for sustainable ecosystems controlled by allelochemicals. The present investigations have estimated the allelopahtic features at Festuca rubra and the ability of the allelopathic compounds to affect the germination and the quality of perennial gras...

The aim of the present work was evaluation of the allelophatic potential of sorgoleones on Lupinus perennis. The compounds were isolated by column chromatography C8 from Sorghum halepense. Were prepared different concentrations extracts from Sorghum Halepense, and then was assessed the tolerance of Lupinus perennis L. (Fabaceae) after treatment wit...

The present work describes the study of obtaining new catalysts from affordable raw materials, respectively two different types of antacid drugs and egg shells. It was also studied their efficiency in heterogeneous catalysis process. In order to determine the optimal reaction conditions, the catalysts were activated in a thermal annealing oven foll...

The allelopathy research can contribute to protecting the biodiversity and may develop new strategies for sustainable ecosystems controlled by allelochemicals. The present investigations have estimated the allelopahtic features at Festuca rubra and the ability of the allelopathic compounds to affect the germination and the quality of perennial gras...

The present work studied the antifungal activity of the alcoholic extracts obtained from three native plant species: burdock (Arctium lappa), thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and rough cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium). The demonstration of the antifungal activity was realized using Aspergillus ochraceus and Acremonium chrysogenum isolates. The antifungal act...