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AbstractThere is a growing public interest in fruits labeled as „superfood” (functional food). A “superfood” should have a high content of bioactive substances with a positive impact on human health. Seven different cultivars of goji berry fruits (Lycium chinense Mill.) grown in north-western Poland were evaluated for its physicochemical parameters, antidiabetic and antioxidant activity, and polyphenol content. The length of 1-year-old shoots ranged from 36 cm (‘Big Lifeberry’) to 82 cm (‘Korean Big’). Cultivars from the group of Big were characterized by the biggest fruits (17.3-24.2 mm) with the greatest weight of 100 fruits (96.7­122.1 g). ‘Big Lifeberry’ contained high amounts of L-ascorbic acid (408 mg 1000/g) and provitamin A (190 mg 1000/g) and showed high antidiabetic (α-amylase IC50=33.4 mg/mL; α-glucosidase IC50=9.9 mg/mL) and antioxidant activity (ABTS·+ 6.21 and FRAP 5.58 mmol T/100 g). ‘Big Lifeberry’ was also characterized by a high total content of polyphenols (43.64 mg 100/g). Furthermore, the nitrite content in all the cultivars tested was at a relatively low level. Among the examined cultivars, the most attractive one concerning the consumers’ point of view of the size, weight and high content of health-promoting compounds is ‘Big Lifeberry’.

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of both NaCl and KCl alone and in comparison to AsA on the morphological and some biochemical parameters of Oxheart and Vilma cultivars of tomato under laboratory and field conditions. A combination of salt applied in the laboratory experiment caused a significant effect on seed germination and root and shoot length and a significant reduction of Chl a, Chl b and Car contents in 14-day-old tomato seedlings. However, seedlings of cultivar Vilma were characterised by higher tolerance to applied salt stress.NaCl caused a significant decrease in Chl a, Chl b and Car, and an increase in Pro and MDA content in the leaves of Vilma cultivar under field conditions. Besides, tomato plants cv. Vilma treated with NaCl alone or NaCl with ascorbic acid developed longer roots, from 48 to 73%, compared to the control.

In vitro culture is a practical plant breeding tool in developing plant resistant to different abiotic stresses such as salinity. In this study, the focus is on inducing mutations for salt tolerance using ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) in calli of petunia (Petunia × atkinsiana D. Don ‘Prism Red’), followed by cell line selection and subsequent plant regeneration. Callus cultures were initiated from leaf fragments soaked in mutagen solution in two concentrations 0.5 and 5.0 mM for 60, 120 and 180 min, respectively. Then, the callus was rinsed three times in deionized, sterile water and was transferred onto embryo formation medium Murashige and Skoog (MS) supplemented with 2.0 mg l-1 1-napthaleneaceticacid (NAA) and 5.0 mg l-1 (6-benzyloaminopurine) BAP. After 28 days, somatic embryos were transferred onto MS medium supplemented with 4.0 mg l-1 BAP for regeneration. Results of our studies showed that the callus immersion in the 5.0 mM EMS solution caused damage to the cells, and indicated by the change in callus colour into brown. The plants regenerated from the somatic embryos induced from callus treated with 0.5 mM solution of mutagen for 60 and 120 min were determined as M1 and M2 mutant variants, respectively. After the multiplication of the obtained plants, their tolerance to salinity stress was determined. The obtained results have showed that the M1 and M2 mutant lines were characterized by elevated tolerance to the stress factor in comparison to non-mutated plants.

Streszczenie. Fluor ze względu na wysoką elektroujemność jest jednym z najbardziej toksycznych dla roślin pierwiastków. Związki fluoru po wniknięciu do tkanki roślinnej mogą powodować wiele zmian fizjologicznych i biochemicznych. Celem niniejszej pracy było określenie wpływu 10 mM fluorku sodu (NaF) na parametry morfologiczne (długość korzenia, długość siewki) oraz parametry biochemiczne (zawartość proliny, chlorofilu całkowitego i karotenoidów) w liściach 10-dniowych siewek różnych gatunków roślin rosnących w warunkach laboratoryjnych. Wyniki doświadczenia wykazały, że fluorek sodu niekorzystnie wpłynął na parametry morfologiczne i biochemiczne testowanych roślin, w porównaniu z próbą kontrolną. Wśród badanych roślin trzy gatunki (jęczmień, rzodkiew, łubin) charakteryzowały się zwiększoną tolerancją na NaF w odniesieniu do innych testowanych roślin. Natomiast mniejszą tolerancję na działanie soli NaF wykazały pszenica, rzodkiewka, pomidor, lucerna i słonecznik.