The aim of this study was to determine the level of antioxidants in the seeds of wheat, lentil, pea, radish, broccoli, alfalfa, sunflower and amaranth germinated for 24, 72 and 120 hours. Following germination, the highest increases in the total phenols corresponded to 5.39, 4.62 and 2.20 times in broccoli, radish and alfalfa seeds respectively. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was higher after germination for 120 hours in all the seed types as compared with the non-germinated seeds. In radish, sunflower and alfalfa seeds, the ability to scavenge ABTS increased by 5.19, 1.34 and 2.90 times respectively, after germination. According to the different changes in the amounts of tocopherol isomers in germinating seeds can be summarized, that the α-tocopherol content increased and that of β-, γ-, δ-tocopherol decreased irrespective of the species, therefore suitable for germination time and seeds variety allows having products with a high nutritional and antioxidant properties.

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is an ancient plant with recently rediscovered nutritional and medicinal values. This research was carried in 2016-2017 in order to investigate and compare the mineral composition and fatty acid of sea buckthorn berries growing in the wild and cultivated in Lithuania. The content of essential elements (N, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Zn, Se, Ni, and Cu), toxic heavy metals (Pb and Cd) and fatty acid composition was determined. The results showed that the main minerals identified were N and K. Cultivated berries had significantly more N (5.62%), P (14.00%), Ca (33.33%), Fe (7.09%), Mg (12.11%) and B (19.76%) than wild berries. In the whole berry, the dominant fatty acid classes were monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), followed by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs). The total MUFA content was significantly higher in wild berries than in cultivated ones, while PUFA and SFA levels were higher in cultivated berries. Based on these results, we conclude that berries of cultivated sea buckthorn can be a rich alternative source of PUFAs, such as linoleic and γ-linolenic acids, as well as some mineral elements (N, P, Ca, Fe, Mg). However, wild berries were found to be a good source of MUFAs (especially palmitoleic and vaccenic acids) and Cu. The high variation between different wild and cultivated sea buckthorns shows the potential for the selection and breeding of raw material for variously defined purposes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of biodynamic (BD) preparations 500 and 501 on the quality of white mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves. Leaves of the two mulberry cultivars, Plodovaja 3 and Turchanka, were collected in September 2015 and 2016. Quantitative determinations of phenolic, flavonoid and chlorogenic acid concentrations in mulberry leaves were conducted by UPLC methods. The results showed that the total phenolic compounds concentration (TPCC) and total flavonoid concentration (TFC) in the samples ranged from 4483 to 5005 and from 2944 to 3292 mg ChAE 100 g−1 DM, respectively, with leaves of Turchanka containing the highest concentrations and significant differences between the cultivars for treatments with BD application. The major flavonoids in the mulberry leaves were quercetin-acetylhexoside, isoquercitrin, rutin, kaempferol-acetylhexoside and astragalin, and the concentration of these varied depending on the cultivar (apart from for isoquercitrin and astragalin). The results demonstrated that BD preparations influenced the TPCCs of the two cultivars differently. The application of BD preparation 500 significantly increased the total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations in the leaves of Turchanka by 3.62% and 6.1%, respectively. Using the two preparations together (500 + 501) had significant effects on quercetin-acetylhexoside and kaempferol-acetylhexoside accumulation in the mulberry leaves of both cultivars. Application of preparation 501 significantly reduced the TPCC, TFC and chlorogenic acid concentration in the leaves of Plodovaja 3, compared with the control. The results showed that BD preparations had the greatest positive effect on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in the leaves of the Turchanka cultivar.