The work is devoted to study of seed oil composition of amaranth varieties: Kharkov, Lera, Andijan and Helios, acclimatized in Uzbekistan. We demonstrated the possibility of using reversed-phase HPLC using a refractometric detector, which allows simultaneous determination of squalene and triacylglycerides in plant seeds and determining the authenticity of amaranth oils. Established seed oiliness ranged from 6.39 to 7.81 % of the initial mass. Amaranth oil samples contained quite large amount of unsaturated fatty acids 72.72 – 73.28 %, 1.17 % of which is omega-3-alpha-linolenic acid. The squalene content in the seeds ranged from 0.35 % to 0.55 %. It was established that the squalene content in oils obtained by extraction is greater than the one obtained by cold pressing. In the triacylglyceride composition of the investigated cold-pressed and extracted oils, no significant differences were found.

The cotton plant suffers from many pests and due to its economic importance, the use of efficient but ecologically friendly pesticides is highly desirable. The insecticide Sumi-Alpha with active compound Esfenvalerate is widely used for cotton treatment in Uzbekistan. This insecticide is considered as moderately hazardous for different organisms of ecosystems, while more collected data and relevant research is a necessity for judgement of their safety and/or potential risk. Therefore, a comparative analysis of cotton leaves was performed to study the protein profile changes upon treatment with this insecticide. Our data showed elevated accumulation of fructose bisphosphate aldolase and degradation of RuBisCo in the treated tissue. Besides, a protein belonging to P-loop containing nucleoside triphosphate hydrolases superfamily exerted lower accumulation. Our results indicate that the applied pyrethroid pesticide possibly can affect photosynthesis performance and cause accumulation of simple saccharides which in turn might contribute to enhanced colonisation of sucking insects. Further molecular research on Sumi-Alpha effects on cotton is necessary for its safer use in agricultural practice.

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Fruit proteins, seed proteins and capsaicinoids fractions were isolated from red pepper of Capsicum annum L. plants family and their effects on mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) and lipid peroxidation of rat liver were studied in vitro. Seed proteins did not influence to MPTP; however fruit proteins caused MPTP to open and led to mitochondrial membrane permeabilization. Opening of the MPTP causes massive swelling of mitochondria; capsaicinoids fractions inhibited the swelling process of mitochondria and caused the closed state of the MPTP. Fruits and seeds protein fractions from red pepper did not reduce the effect of Fe2+/ascorbate-induced mitochondrial swelling and had no effect on the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the membranes of mitochondria. Capsaicinoid fraction had a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the Fe2+/ascorbate-dependent swelling of mitochondria and of lipid peroxidation. Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) on the swelling of mitochondria fraction was 2 µg/ml. Сapsaicinoids fraction prevented the effect of Fe2+/ascorbate on mitochondria and reduced the accumulation of MDA in membrane. Complete inhibition of lipid peroxidation was shown at a 50 µg/ml capsaicinoids concentration. Capsaicinoids, reducing the membrane destructive effects of Fe2+/ascorbate, had antioxidant properties and a protective effect on mitochondria. The obtained results showed the presence of different compounds in red pepper differently affecting MPTP and lipid peroxidation.

Application of some insecticides in cotton protection is often associated with secondary biotic stress, for example, huge colonization of aphids. One of the possible reasons for this phenomenon is increased level of nutritious compounds in treated plants. Since amino acids (AA) are necessary for the development of aphids, we studied the levels of free amino acids (FAA) and total nitrogen in cotton plant leaves in response to application of three different class insecticides. The plants were treated with Carbophos, Lannate, and Sumi-alfa in early blooming stage and the leaf samples were taken on the 10th and 13th days of the treatment. Carbophos suppressed the portion of total nitrogen in dry mass by 6 % while sumi-alfa elevated by 16 %. The most abundant AA found in leaf samples were alanine, arginine, glutamine, and cysteine. The highest changes in response to insecticides application were observed for tyrosine, methionine, and arginine (P B 0.05). Compared to control, the greatest differences in total FAA and essential amino acids (EAA) were found on the 13th day of the treatment with Lannate; that 1.76 (P B 0.05) and 1.83 (P B 0.05) times more total and EAA were gathered. Sumi-alfa was found to exert mildest effect on cotton by means of the number of AA affected. However, on the 10th day sumi-alfa caused the highest amount of EAA that 1.67 (P B 0.05) times more, than control, EAA accumulated. Due to altered nutritional value, effects of the tested agrochemicals on cotton should be considered in pesticide management.