Stimulating the Export of Organic Products

The paper considers the problems of exporting organic products from Russia. It has been shown that the product of wild plants is a positive direction of export growth. About a fifth of the area of all forests of the world is located in Russia. This determines the huge potential for developing non-timber forest products—wild berries, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, birch juice, etc. Consumer societies of Centrosoyuz carry out the main collection of organic products. However, only about 20–30% of the possible volumes are of commodity value. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for organic products to restore natural immunity. This fact creates good prerequisites for developing Russian exports. It is necessary to develop a concept for promoting organic products in foreign markets—support measures, compensation of costs for certification, reduction of tariffs and elimination of non-tariff restrictions, development of infrastructure, and support for promotion in foreign markets. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Reseña. Estrategias Orzowei en tiempos de la Covid19. Contratación en origen y supervivencia agraria en España

En la obra reseñada, Márquez nos acerca, desde un punto de vista realmente objetivo, a la situación vivida en la provincia de Huelva durante el confinamiento consecuencia de la pandemia ocasionada por la Covid-19. La provincia onubense, la mayor productora de berries (mayoritariamente arándanos y fresas), fue una de las más sacudidas por esta situación puesto que la mano de obra recaía en la contratación de origen. Como consecuencia del confinamiento y el cierre de fronteras, la mayoría de las jornaleras no pudieron llegar a su destino. Ante esta situación de crisis, los empresarios agricultores tuvieron que adoptar estrategias orzowei (transgresoras e innovadoras) para sobrevivir esta situación tan inesperada. Se evidencia pues la fragilidad del sector agrícola ante situaciones de estrés (sobre todo si se depende mayoritariamente de jornaleros extranjeros), pero también su capacidad de adaptarse y reinventarse para salir de estas situaciones adversas.

Stimulating the Export of Organic Products

The paper considers the problems of exporting organic products from Russia. It has been shown that the product of wild plants is a positive direction of export growth. About a fifth of the area of all forests of the world is located in Russia. This determines the huge potential for developing non-timber forest products—wild berries, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, birch juice, etc. Consumer societies of Centrosoyuz carry out the main collection of organic products. However, only about 20–30% of the possible volumes are of commodity value. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for organic products to restore natural immunity. This fact creates good prerequisites for developing Russian exports. It is necessary to develop a concept for promoting organic products in foreign markets—support measures, compensation of costs for certification, reduction of tariffs and elimination of non-tariff restrictions, development of infrastructure, and support for promotion in foreign markets. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Significance and importance of fruits in strengthening immune system during COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019 followed by its new variants till now in 2021, made it more necessary to find more identify effective antiviral agents to be included in daily life to combat SARS-CoV-2 and support vaccines and their effect. Fruits are always considered good for health and many studies are trying to find the solution and different compounds with antiviral properties in fruits. Recently, many in vivo and docking studies found many phytochemical compounds effective against COVID-19. In this review, we tried to collect data from different studies. We found that fruits are most valuable gift with great healing property.

Corozo (Bactris guineensis) fruit extract has antiviral activity in vitro against SARS-CoV-2

Background: Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, numerous drug development studies are being carried out for the treatment and control of this disease. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antiviral potential of Corozo fruit extract (Bactris guineensis) against SARS-CoV-2.Methods: Corozo extract (CE) was prepared from the pulp of mature Corozo fruits. The total content of phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins in the extracts was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu, aluminum chloride, and pH differential methods, respectively. The cytotoxicity on Vero E6 cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Antiviral activity was evaluated by pre-post-treatment using a Colombian isolate of SARS-CoV-2. Viral titer was quantified by plaque assay.Results: Anthocyanin concentration of CE was 144.95 +/- 10.3 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/L. The cytotoxicity of CE on Vero E6 was lower to 20 % at 15.6 g/L. Corozo extract inhibited SARS-CoV-2 at 15.6, 7.8, 3.9 and 1.9 g/L with inhibition percentages of 88.2%, 84%, 59.6% and 56.3%, respectively.Conclusion: This is the first report on the in vitro antiviral effect of Corozo fruit extract against SARS-CoV-2. Since this is a natural product, proven safe for consumption, in the future and with further studies, it could be considered an important functional food that can be useful in preventing strategies to fight against COVID-19.

Geographic Variability of Berry Phytochemicals with Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties.

The aim of this study was to determine the variability of several chemical compounds and the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of eight types of berries harvested from two different geographical regions in the same year. The analyses were performed on bilberry, black currant, gooseberry, red currant, raspberry, sea buckthorn, strawberry and sour cherry, which were handpicked during the summer of 2019, in the same periods when they are typically harvested for consumer purposes. Total anthocyanins content (TAC), total flavonoids content (TFC), total polyphenolic compounds (TPC), determination of the Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), determination of the DPPH free radical scavenging assay (RSA), determination of nine phenolic compounds by HPLC-UV assay and antimicrobial activity were determined for undiluted hydroalcoholic extracts of all the studied berries. The results showed that the berries from Romania were richer in antioxidant compounds than the berries from Russia. The TPC content varied between 4.13-22.2 mg GAE/g d.w., TFC between 3.33-8.87 mg QE/g d.w. and TAC between 0.13-3.94 mg/g d.w. The highest variability was determined for TPC. Regarding the antioxidant activity assessed by FRAP assay, values were between 6.02-57.23 µmols TE/g d.w. and values for the RSA method between 18.44-83.81%. From the eight types of berries analyzed, bilberries and raspberries had the highest antioxidant activity considering both regions and both determination methods. Not only the type, but also the environmental and cultivation conditions in which the berries grow, can lead to variations in their chemical composition. The extracted polyphenolic compounds from the studied berries showed antibacterial properties on pathogens, such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphyloccocus aureus. The inhibitory action on Salmonella typhi and fungi Candida albicans and Aspegillus niger was absent to very low. The antimicrobial activity of the hydroalcoholic extracts was dependent on the provenance of the berries, too.

SARS-CoV-2 remains infectious for at least a month on artificially-contaminated frozen berries.

The potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via food has been controversial since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. To investigate these concerns, reliable detection methods and data on virus die-off rates in various foods are needed. Here, an FDA-standard method for the detection of enteric viruses' RNA from soft fruits was modified for the recovery of infectious SARS-CoV-2. Then, the survival of SARS-CoV-2 on berries was investigated as well as the effectiveness of washing virus-contaminated berries with water. The modified method did not significantly reduced log infectivity titers of recovered viruses, but berries did. The detection limit of the method for infectious SARS-CoV-2 was ∼2.97 log TCID50/g of berries. On SARS-CoV-2-inoculated berries that were stored at 4 °C for 7 days, significant reductions in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity were observed over time. In contrast, on frozen berries, infectious SARS-CoV-2 was recovered for 28 days without significant reductions. Washing SARS-CoV-2-inoculated berries with water removed >90% of infectious viruses within 10 min; however, infectious viruses were detected in wash water. Therefore, on fresh berries infectious viruses are markedly inactivated over time and can be largely removed by washing with water. However, the prolonged survival of SARS-CoV-2 on frozen berries suggests that the virus can potentially spread through frozen fruits.

Effects of antioxidant supplement on immune health and physical wellbeing: A randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Maintaining a healthy immune system came to the forefront of people's minds as SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) was introduced. Antioxidants contained in dark berries have been shown to support the physical wellbeing of otherwise healthy adults. Adding a supplement rich in dark berries and citrus essential oils contributes antioxidants to the body and serves as an aid to reduce free radicals. Aim: We evaluated the effects of an antioxidant rich supplement on immune health and overall physical wellbeing compared to a control group. Method: Participants were otherwise healthy adults, aged 18-60 years old, and were placed in either the antioxidant supplement group or control group using adaptive randomization. Data was collected at day 1 and 60. The Physical Health Questionnaire was used to measure the primary outcomes of this study. The immune health was reflected through the Jackson Symptom Scale. Results: 155 participants were analyzed. Participants who consumed the antioxidant beverage saw improvements to overall health which dramatically exceeded those of the control group. The sleep domain produced improvements which represented disturbances in sleep habits as they pertain to general health. Those in the supplement group who reported illness, had illnesses lasting 1-2 days while those in the control group had illnesses lasting from 1 to 9 days. Conclusion: Length of illness was shorter and sleep duration improved in the supplement group compared to the control group. Daily consumption of 60 ml of the antioxidant drink NingXia RedⓇ showed significant improvement after 60 days.

The Effects of Berry Polyphenols on the Gut Microbiota and Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials in Humans.

Berry consumption has beneficial effects on blood pressure. Intestinal microbiota transform berry phytochemicals into more bioactive forms. Thus, we performed a systematic review of randomized clinical trials to determine whether berry polyphenols in foods, extracts or supplements have effects on both the profile of gut microbiota and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in humans. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and CAB Abstracts (EBSCOhost) were searched for randomized clinical trials in humans published from 1 January 2011 to 29 October 2021. Search results were imported into Covidence for screening and data extraction by two blinded reviewers, who also performed bias assessment independently. The literature search identified 216 publications; after duplicates were removed, 168 publications were screened with 12 full-text publications assessed for eligibility. Ultimately three randomized clinical trials in humans met the eligibility criteria. One randomized clinical trial showed a low risk of bias while the other two randomized clinical trials included low, high or unclear risk of bias. Together the randomized clinical trials showed that berry consumption (Aronia berry, strawberries, raspberries, cloudberries and bilberries) for 8-12 weeks had no significant effect on both blood pressure and the gut microbiota. More randomized clinical trials are needed to determine the effects of berry consumption on the profile of gut microbiota and blood pressure in humans.

Assessing Spread and Impacts of Non-native Plants from Highway Corridors in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada

Species invasions are recognized as one of the leading threats to biodiversity globally and have been associated with declines in native species and changes in ecosystem function, disturbance regimes, species community composition and structure, and species interactions. Invasions are often strongly associated with human disturbances and increased propagule pressure. Thus, transportation corridors like roads, which experience ongoing disturbance as well as potentially large numbers of unintentional introductions of non-native plant propagules due to vehicular traffic, are often key pathways for the introduction and spread of non-native species into remote areas. Additionally, spread of non-native plants away from these anthropogenically-disturbed corridors into natural areas, including into natural disturbances in particular, is increasingly being documented. Here, Singer discusses the spread and impact of non-native plants and distinguishes between the different selection factors operating at each stage of the invasion process.

Berry derived constituents in suppressing viral infection: Potential avenues for viral pandemic management.

Berries are acknowledged as a rich source of major dietary antioxidants and the fact that berry phenolics exhibit antioxidant property is widely accepted. Berries are abundant in Vitamin C and polyphenols such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. Polyphenols are found to have several therapeutic effects such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. Increasing studies are focusing on natural products and their components for alternative therapeutics against viral infections. In particular, berries such as elderberry, blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry have proven to be effective against viral infections. Of note, the decoction of Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) has been shown to treat viral epidemic diseases. Owing to the rich source of various antiviral constituents, berries could be an alternative source for managing viral infections. In this review, we provide insights into how berry derived components inhibit viral infection and their clinical usefulness in viral disease management.

Flecainide toxicity associated with the use of goji berries: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Goji berries (GB), usually marketed as a 'superfruit', are a widely used herbal supplement. As with other herbal remedies, the use of GB might be associated with herb-drug interactions, increasing plasma levels of other drugs and causing adverse events. Here, we present the case of a patient that developed flecainide toxicity secondary to an herb-drug interaction, associated with the use of GB to prevent COVID-19. CASE SUMMARY: A 75-year-old female presented to the emergency department with fainting. She was taking flecainide for the treatment of atrial extrasystoles diagnosed 2 years previously, and she was using a tea of GB for the prevention of COVID-19. The admission electrocardiogram showed a wide complex polymorphic tachycardia that was considered and treated as flecainide toxicity. The patient had a favourable evolution and was discharged 48 h after admission. DISCUSSION: Flecainide toxicity is uncommon and needs timely recognition and treatment; it is usually secondary to overdose and renal or hepatic failure. In our case, toxicity was associated with GB use, probably by inhibition of CYP2D6 which is the main enzyme associated with the metabolism of flecainide. Clinicians need to be aware of the possible interactions between herbal remedies (in this case used for the prevention of COVID-19) and cardiovascular drugs that are used to treat chronic cardiovascular diseases.