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 parameters for beehive brood food derived products: apilarnil and queen bee larvae triturate. These two products were compared with royal jelly which is the basis of brood food in the first 3 days of larval stage. The carbohydrates were determined by HPLC-IR and allowed the identification of seven carbohydrate compounds, predominantly glucose, fructose and sucrose. The lipid profile was analyzed by the Soxhlet method. The total protein content was determined by the Kjeldahl method. Free amino acids were analyzed by LC-MS. A total of 31 amino acids were identified of which nine are essential amino acids for humans.

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In Romania, Prunus genetic resources are held in collections located mainly in research and development institutes or in fruit growing stations. A possible disadvantage of the utilization of these resources for genetic studies and also for breeding programmes is the lack of reliable data for correct identification and characterization of accessions. In this study, 27 plum accessions from Râmnicu-Vâlcea Fruit Research Station, Romania, were assessed using nine SSR markers generating a total of 134 distinct alleles, with an average of 14.89 alleles per locus. Differentiation between the Romanian plum cultivars and international reference cultivars was low, but significant, for all the nine loci (Fst = 0.012; P < 0.0001). Plum accessions were grouped in two clades, both including old and newly developed Romanian cultivars and also international reference cultivars, according to an UPGMA dendrogram. Bayesian analysis of genetic structure revealed significant admixture among examined accessions while principal coordinate analysis performed on the molecular data illustrated a substantial dispersion of old and newly developed Romanian plum accessions in the three-dimensional PCoA scatter plot. These results could make them attractive for future breeding programs and long-term conservation strategies based on identified genetic dissimilarities.

A review of the most important achievements in rose breeding at Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in the last 30 years is presented. During this period of time more than 90.000 hybrid individuals were obtained and checked concerning their ornamental value and em average•of 2.62% of selection efficiency was encountered. Hybrid combinations with the highest rates of successfit! selections are presented, as examples jar two years of artificial pollination programs. The actual results of this extensive breeding work are represented by nine new rose varieties released in Romania between 1970-1994 (Foe de tabara, Luchian, Simfonia, Rosabunda, Romstar, Incandescent, Auriu de Cluj, Rosalinda and Vigorosa) which are destined to open-air growing either for cutjlowers or as ornamentals in parks, gardens etc. The main growing characteristics of these new varieties are presented as well as their field resistance to blackspot, mildew and rust. The ornamental features of these varieties are also presented both in synthetic tables and in color photos. Additionally, the main growing and ornamental characteristics of other fourteen recent selections of rose are discussed, as well as their behavior in the National Comparative Trial Network. Finally, the prospects of rose breeding activity, at Cluj-Napoca are considered, both from a traditional point of view (for ornamental purposes) and ji•om a new and rather exciting one as a possible means of preventing soil erosion on steep slopes on which there are no or few choices for other antierosional crops.

The chemical composition of Romanian table grape varieties was determined to evaluate their phenolic and aroma profiles because they are factors useful for the variety characterization and consumer acceptance. Two white table grapes ('Aromat de Iaşi' and 'Timpuriu de Cluj') and two red table grapes ('Napoca' and 'Someşan') were studied. The phenolic composition of berry skins and seeds was determined using spectrophotometric methods. The profile of anthocyanins and hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acids (HCTs), and the content of trans-resveratrol were determined in the skins using high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods. Free volatile compounds were quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A different phenolic and aromatic composition was found in the varieties studied. Among white grapes, 'Aromat de Iaşi' stands out for the great number of aroma compounds, and 'Timpuriu de Cluj' showed high contents of polyphenols, particularly oligomeric flavanols in skins and seeds (1,171 and 1,189 mg kg -1 , respectively) and total skin HCTs (181.6 mg kg -1). The red variety 'Napoca' had high contents of total anthocyanins (380 mg kg -1 ) and total skin HCTs (183.2 mg kg -1 ), and it is characterized by high percentages of acylated anthocyanin derivatives (28.5%) and trans-caffeoyltartaric acid forms (58.8%). 'Someşan' grapes showed high contents of free volatile compounds, particularly of 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and (E)-2-hexenoic acid (167.0, 59.4 and 167.0 μg kg -1 ). These results may contribute to the knowledge of Romanian table grapes perspective and to a better exploitation of these varieties.