Otilia Bobis

Otilia Bobis
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca | USAMV Cluj · Life Science Institute CDS 10 Laboratory for Quality Control of Bee Products and Bee Diseases

Senior researcher I PhD

About

132
Publications
82,356
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2,959
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Additional affiliations
October 2003 - present
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca
Position
  • Senior Researcher
Education
October 2005 - October 2007

Publications

Publications (132)
Article
Full-text available
Propolis is a complex resinous substance produced by Apis mellifera L. through a process of mixing tree resins with saliva and beeswax. This substance plays a crucial role in the hive’s defence against a range of pathogenic agents, maintaining a consistent internal temperature and aseptic environment for the bee colony. The objective of the present...
Article
Full-text available
Fallopia japonica (FJ), an invasive plant species known for its rich bioactive compounds, has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. Despite its significant beekeeping potential, this aspect of FJ remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate the antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of FJ plants and honey. Notably,...
Article
Full-text available
Fallopia japonica (FJ), commonly known as Japanese knotweed, is now recognized as one of the most invasive plants in Europe and globally. Despite its widespread presence in Europe and its significant nectar production, there is currently limited scientific data on the unique unifloral honey derived from it. This study examines the physicochemical c...
Article
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This study evaluates the suitability of three lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains—Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Apilactobacillus kunkeei—for use as probiotics in apiculture. Given the decline in bee populations due to pathogens and environmental stressors, sustainable alternatives to conventional treatments are necess...
Article
Bee products and natural oils are appreciated due to their beneficial effects on health, which are strongly related to several pharmacological and biological activities. The present study aimed to assess the bioactive potential of two bee products with the addition of natural oils, the first product consisting of honeydew honey, soft propolis extra...
Chapter
The general composition of honey, processing technologies, general properties, and health-promoting properties are described in this chapter. According to its sources, floral nectar or extrafloral sweet substances, honey comprises monofloral, multifloral, and honeydew types. Depending on these sources, chemical composition may differ as well as hon...
Chapter
Propolis is a naturally found product obtained by bees from the diversity of plant resins, and it is one of the richest sources of polyphenols. For many years, propolis has gained substantial attention in providing a broad range of therapeutic, food, and cosmetic applications. The biological properties of propolis are associated with the bioactive...
Chapter
The general composition of honey, processing technologies, general properties, and health-promoting properties are described in this chapter. According to its sources, floral nectar or extrafloral sweet substances, honey comprises monofloral, multifloral, and honeydew types. Depending on these sources, chemical composition may differ as well as hon...
Article
Full-text available
The present study investigates the impact of solid-state fermentation on bee-collected pollen using a consortium of Lactobacillus plantarum, Apilactobacillus kunkeei, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Another aim is to compare the nutritional and bioactive properties of natural versus fermented pollen, focusing on macronutrient composition, pH, acidit...
Chapter
The general composition of honey, processing technologies, general properties, and health-promoting properties are described in this chapter. According to its sources, floral nectar or extrafloral sweet substances, honey comprises monofloral, multifloral, and honeydew types. Depending on these sources, chemical composition may differ as well as hon...
Article
Full-text available
Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed, Reynoutria japonica or Polygonum cuspidatum) is considered an extremely invasive plant worldwide and a bioindicator of heavy metals. Yet, its potential as a crop for honeybees is still underevaluated. This study employs atomic absorption spectrometry to quantitatively analyze the concentration of macro-elements...
Article
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Royal jelly (RJ), a highly nutritious natural product, has gained recognition for its remarkable health-promoting properties, leading to its widespread use in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. Extensive investigations have revealed that RJ possesses a broad spectrum of therapeutic effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant,...
Article
Full-text available
Propolis or “bee glue” is a resinous waxy substance that is produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera) by mixing the exudates collected from plants, namely tree buds, sap flows, leaves, branches and barks with their saliva and beeswax. Propolis composition is very complex. Its main constituents are resins and volatiles originating from plants and wax a...
Article
Full-text available
Bee products have been extensively employed in traditional therapeutic practices to treat several diseases and microbial infections. Numerous bioactive components of bee products have exhibited several antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, antiprotozoal, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory properties. Apitherapy is a form of alternat...
Presentation
Standardization, although voluntary in many countries around the world, is extremely important for regulating the marketing of goods and services. The standardization of a product guarantees quality parameters not only in the production processes but also in the finished product, thus giving greater confidence to consumers. Among the various hive p...
Article
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The growing consumer awareness of climate change and the resulting food sustainability issues have led to an increasing adoption of several emerging food trends. Some of these trends have been strengthened by the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution (or Industry 4.0), and its innovations and technologies that have fundamentally reshaped an...
Article
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Calluna vulgaris, belonging to the Ericaceae family, is an invasive plant that has widely spread from Europe all across Asia, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Being able to survive in rigid soil and environmental conditions, it is nowadays considered to be of high nature-conservation value. Known for its nutritional and medicinal propertie...
Article
Full-text available
Propolis composition depends on several factors. The classification of propolis is based on its geographical location, color and agricultural characteristics. It is also classified according to the flora where the bees collect the resins, which represent the raw material for propolis production. Propolis possesses high antioxidant activity determin...
Article
Full-text available
The biologically active potential of honey is mainly provided by phenolic compounds, which include a broad spectrum of active molecules with a wide structural diversity, from phenolic acids to flavonoids. The major purpose of this research was to determine the total polyphenol content and the flavones content of some polyfloral honey samples correl...
Article
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CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) represents a powerful genome editing technology that revolutionized in a short period of time numerous natural sciences branches. Therefore, extraordinary progress was made in various fields, such as entomology or biotechnology. Bombyx mori is one of the most...
Article
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Goat milk is considered to be a potential source of various macro- and micro-nutrients. It contains a good proportion of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and other nutritional components which help in promoting nutritional and desirable health benefits. Goat milk is considered to be superior in terms of numerous health benefits, and lower risk of aller...
Article
Full-text available
Known especially for its negative ecological impact, Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed) is now considered one of the most invasive species. Nevertheless, its chemical composition has shown, beyond doubt, some high biological active compounds that can be a source of valuable pharmacological potential for the enhancement of human health. In this d...
Article
Full-text available
In this study, the combined effect of temperature (60 to 80°C) time (10 to 15 min.) and pH (3 to 6) was employed on the anti-oxidant potential (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-radical scavenging activity-DPPH-RSA, total phenolic content-TPC, and total flavonoid content-TFC) of wild bush Indian honey from high altitudes of Kashmir Valley by using resp...
Article
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Bioactive molecules from the class of polyphenols are secondary metabolites from plants. They are present in honey from nectar and pollen of flowers from where honeybees collect the “raw material” to produce honey. Robinia pseudoacacia and Helianthus annuus are important sources of nectar for production of two monofloral honeys with specific charac...
Article
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This study aimed to characterize raw honeys from different geographical origins in Romania, in respect of chemical composition, microbiological examination and evaluate their probiotic potential. The physico-chemical determinations were performed in APHIS-DIA Laboratory, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, using standard validated methods. Bacterial identificati...
Article
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Bee pollen is commonly reputed as a rich source of nutrients, both for bees and humans. Its composition is well balanced and can be taken as a stand-alone food or as supplement, including for the elderly owing its low caloric value. However, storage conditions frequently lead to product degradation, namely due to the high moisture content that enab...
Article
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The paper aimed to present the microscopic techniques used in botanical origin determination of honey samples, shortly melissopalynology. This technique is used for microscopic examination of pollen grains to determine the botanical origin of honey. It is known that a certain number of pollen grains must be recovered from sediment of honey solution...
Article
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Currently, the antibacterial properties of honeydew honey are increasingly valued, being regarded as superior to blossom honeys. Over the years, the antibacterial activity of propolis has been highly appreciated, due to the flavonoids and phenolic acids present in its composition. Moreover, essential thyme oil and sea buckthorn oil have been recogn...
Article
Full-text available
Honey, the sweet natural substance produced by honeybees is currently considered one of the nature’s most powerful products. Natural honey can be regarded as a nutraceutical product due to its nutritional benefits and therapeutic promises. In addition to this, the use of honey as food and medicine has been embraced by different civilizations, from...
Article
Full-text available
Knowledge of biologically active potential of honey has made significant progress in the last decade, due to the diversification and improvement of the analysis methods regarding the content in various functional compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the total polyphenolic content and the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of some h...
Article
Oxidative stress is the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and accumulation and the ability of a biological system to clear these reactive products. This imbalance leads to cell and tissue damage causing several disorders in human body, such as neurodegeneration, metabolic problems, cardiovascular diseases , and cancer. Cuc...
Article
Beebread (BB) is a fermented bee product made from plant pollen, honey and bee saliva. The nutritive and biological compounds of BB vary greatly depending on the diversity of flora and the season of pollen collection by bees. In order to evaluate this valuable bee product potential, thirteen BB samples were analyzed on the nutritive proprieties and...
Article
Full-text available
Propolis is a resinous mixture, made by the honeybees from substances collected from tree or other plant buds, plant exudates, or resins found in the stem, branches, or leaves of different plants. The geographical origin of propolis is given by plant sources from respective areas. Different studies have classified this bee product according to the...
Chapter
The present chapter describes the botanical origin of different species of Vaccinium, along with the chemical composition and properties of these plants. Cranberries are cultivated on large areas, and the fruits are indispensable in nutrition. They are always present in traditional celebrations in different countries. Due to the fact that the fruit...
Chapter
Since the past two decades, kiwi is one of the popular antioxidant fruits which has become widely sought due to its large production and various medicinal properties. Actinidia deliciosa ‘Hayward.’ Hayward is the most widely planted kiwifruit cultivar that possesses about half of kiwifruit cultivars globally. Kiwi being the sixth most valuable frui...
Article
Full-text available
Nowadays, propolis is used as a highly valuable product in alternative medicine for improving health or treating a large spectrum of pathologies, an ingredient in pharmaceutical products, and also as a food additive. Different vegetal materials are collected by honeybees and mixed with wax and other own substances in order to obtain the final produ...
Article
Full-text available
Pollen analysis is the basic method for the determination of the botanical and geographical origin of honey. However, the presence of over-represented pollen in honeys may lead to false results of the analysis. This can be more severe if this pollen is present in unifloral under-represented honeys of commercial importance (e.g. thyme or acacia hone...
Article
Full-text available
Honey is used for centuries both as nutrient and in medicine, being an exhaustless source of benefic factors for health and also for different biotechnological processes. This is a complex matrix which possesses antioxidant and antimicrobial properties due to its peroxidic activity and bioactive compounds. A fully validated approach for the determi...
Article
Milk is a biological fluid where fats are distributed in microglobules (2-10 million/cm3), in an aqueous solution of proteins, carbohydrates and other substances. The main physico-chemical properties of milk are: density, viscosity, specific heat, boiling point, freezing point, pH and total acidity. Microbiological quality is represented by the pre...
Article
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According to the scientific literature, sericulture is the science with its focus on the silkworm rearing process, as well as the processing of silk and silk derived products. As a rural economic activity, sericulture is being usually, at small scale, being given a cottage industry character. The main goal of the current paper is to assess the pote...
Article
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An efficient micropropagation protocol for Rheum rhabarbarum L. was developed in this study. The in vitro rhubarb plants obtained in the multiplication stage (proliferation rate: 5.0 ± 0.5) were rooted in vitro (96% rooting percentage) and acclimatized ex vitro in floating perlite, with 90% acclimatization percentage. To assess the genetic fidelity...
Article
Eucalyptus honey is an important unifloral honey commercialized worldwide and much desired by consumers due to the medicinal properties attributed to it because of the plant from which it is produced. In general, eucalyptus honey has been classified as being rich in pollen grains from the eucalyptus tree as well as having physicochemical characteri...
Article
Full-text available
Staphylococcus aureus is an extraordinarily adaptable pathogen with a proven ability to develop resistance. It is notorious for its ability to become resistant to antibiotics. Infections that are caused by antibiotic-resistant strains often occur in epidemic waves that are initiated by one or a few successful clones. Also, it is a virulent pathogen...
Article
Four samples of commercial royal jelly (RJ), delivered by different distributors, were characterized by photopyroelectric (PPE) calorimetry. The thermal diffusivity was obtained in the back PPE configuration by performing a sample thickness scan of the phase of the PPE signal. In order to determine the thermal effusivity, a frequency scan of the ph...
Article
Horse-chestnut ethanolic extract was tested as potential corrosion inhibitor of bronze in simulated acid rain. The extract was analysed by FTIR, GC–MS and HPLC-PDA, and its anti-corrosion behaviour studied using a multiscale electrochemical approach by polarization curves, EIS and scanning electrochemical microscopy, along with SEM-EDS. 94 % inhibi...
Article
Full-text available
Two microsporidia have been described infecting honey bees worldwide: Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. The infecting forms of the parasite are the spores, ingested by the adult host insects. Studies demonstrated that the infection with Nosema spp. range from less than 1 to 100 percent, this disease reduces worker longevity by 22-44% which in turn re...
Article
Full-text available
Two microsporidia have been described infecting honey bees worldwide: Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. The infecting forms of the parasite are the spores, ingested by the adult host insects. Studies demonstrated that the infection with Nosema spp. range from less than 1 to 100 percent, this disease reduces worker longevity by 22-44% which in turn re...
Article
Full-text available
Bees, through their activity, provide us with bee products containing a variety of biologically active compounds, which, in different proportions, have a positive impact on general human health, on the physical performance or mental status but also from a nutritional point of view. Through this research paper, it was sought the obtaining of two fun...
Article
Full-text available
Honey composition and color depend greatly on the botanical and geographical origin. Water content, water activity and color of 50 declared acacia samples, collected from three different geographical zones of Romania, together with chromatographic determination of sugar spectrum were analyzed. A number of 79 volatile compounds from the classes of:...
Article
Honey, a complex product made by bees, represents a rich natural source of simple carbohydrates. The characteristic flavor, health benefits, and high economic value of honey depend on its origin and production methods. Therefore, labels have been developed to recognize honey quality linked to origin or production method, in order to inform consumer...
Article
Full-text available
Milk production in cows is influenced by a series of factors with direct or indirect action upon its body. Farms from three counties in Apuseni Mountains (Alba, Bihor and Hunedoara) were monitorized for milk production and other reproductive attributes. Age of first calving, service period, calving interval and natality were the parameters monitori...
Article
Full-text available
Plums are low-calorie fruits with a low glycaemic index score. Prunus domestica L. is one of the tree fruits threatened by Plum pox potyvirus (PPV), a quarantine disease that causes fruit loss to plums and other stone fruits. HoneySweet is a plum tree created to be resistant to this virus. Beside genetical determinations, chemical composition and n...
Article
Full-text available
Morus spp. is a perennial and woody plant, belonging to Moraceae family, genus Morus and is essential for sericulture. One of the main aims of Global Centre of Excellence for Advance Research in Sericulture and Promotion of Silk Production (GCEARS-PSP) is to create a reserve of Morus spp., to multiply the vegetal material and to provide it to farme...
Article
Full-text available
Bee bread is a product of the hive obtained from pollen collected by bees, to which they add honey, digestive enzymes and subsequently is stored in the combs. Increasing evidence suggests bee bread’s potential therapeutic benefits, including antimicrobial properties. Bee bread is characterized by a bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity. The curr...
Article
Full-text available
Throughout time, honey proved to meet all the criteria for its usage as a topical treatment in wounds, due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.A major importance was attributed to the compounds found in honey, such as glucose oxidase, methylglyoxal, low pH and hydrogen peroxide. The aim of this review is to provide an...
Article
Full-text available
The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of three biotechnological products of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (organic selenium, concentrated mannan of S. cerevisiae, and living cells of the same yeast) used in broiler diet on growth performance, health status, and meat quality and composition. One hundred day-old broiler chickens were...
Article
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The Global Centre of Excellence for Advance Research in Sericulture and Promotion of Silk Production (GCEARS-PSP), recognised by ISC since 2014, was created with the main purposes: development of advanced research in sericulture and diagnostic services using modern techniques, achievement of a gene pool of different silkworms races and promotion of...
Article
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Diabetes is a metabolic disorder with multifactorial and heterogeneous etiologies. Two types of diabetes are common among humans: type 1 diabetes that occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin and type 2 diabetes, the most common form, that may be caused by several factors, the most important being lifestyle, but also may be determ...
Article
The present study investigated the effect of gamma irradiation on biomass formation and yield of pharmacologically relevant secondary metabolites in callus cultures induced from different seedling parts (leaf, stem and root). Calli induction and maintenance were performed on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg L⁻¹ IAA and 0.4 mg L⁻¹ TDZ and all para...
Article
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Neonicotinoids are systemic insecticides used in agriculture for seed treatment as well as in the pest control by spraying during plant growing. Also, they are found as an active substance in different phytosanitary products used in horticulture for winter spraying in fruit plantations when fruit trees are in vegetative rest. Taking into account th...
Article
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The European plum (Prunus domestica L.) is one of the most important cultivated species among fruit trees in the world, and the dominant in Romania. Regarding the development of new plum cultivars derived from Prunus domestica, the following characteristics are taken into consideration most of the time: high yield performance, good quality fruits a...
Article
Natural honey bee products, especially propolis are well known for their biological properties. However, less well known are the impact of propolis’ single phenolic substances and variation across different landscapes, geographic locations and botanical origins. Here, we determined the chemical composition of propolis samples collected in different...
Article
Full-text available
Bovine mastitis a major disease that is commonly associated with bacterial infection. The common treatment is with antibiotics administered intramammary into infected quarters of the udder. The excessive use of antibiotics leads to multidrug resistance and associated risks for human health. In this context, the search for alternative drugs based on...
Article
In the present work, the inhibitive action of natural propolis on bronze corrosion in a weakly acidic solution containing Na2SO4 and NaHCO3 at pH 5 was evaluated using multiscale electrochemical techniques, namely potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning vibrating electrode technique measurements. The major...
Article
Full-text available
Beebread is a product of the hive obtained from pollen collected by bees, to which they add honey, digestive enzymes and subsequently is stored in the combs. The bees transform the bee pollen in beebread by an anaerobic fermentation process. A proper hive management promotes beebread collection, aimed at marketing it for human consumption since it...
Article
Full-text available
Given their beneficial effects in terms of health, the natural products, especially beehive products, have drawn the attention of consumers since long time ago. In order to guarantee the quality of these products on the market, their chemical composition needs to be analyzed. Thus, this current research had as objective the establishment of quality...
Article
Full-text available
Beebread is a valuable bee product, both for bee nutrition and for humans. The high nutritional and bioactive properties of beebread were evaluated by chemical composition analysis of beebread from Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata. Bee bread harvested from Romania and India, coming from Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata bees, were evaluated for their...
Article
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Honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) serve as attractive hosts for a variety of pathogens providing optimal temperatures, humidity, and an abundance of food. Thus, honeybees have to deal with pathogens throughout their lives and, even as larvae they are affected by severe brood diseases like the European Foulbrood caused by Melissococcus plutonius. A...
Article
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Individual minerals and antibacterial activity were investigated in 5 medicinal plants (pot marigold - Calendula officinalis, burdock - Arctium lappa, celandine - Chelidonium majus, basil- Ocimum basilicum, thyme - Thymus vulgaris) using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) technique and antibiogram method. The antibacterial susceptibility has been...