Essential oils are the natural products that can pave the way for the creation of effective drugs with various beneficial properties. Plants of Lonicera maackii are well known in the natural growth regions of temperate Asia due to therapeutic effects and a high content of the bioactive compounds. Species diversity of steppe vegetation is enriched by the introduction of plants, but the assessment of this process effectiveness should also take into account the realization of plant genetic potential for the accumulation of secondary metabolites in the new growth conditions. The aim of the work was to establish whether the plants of L. maackii introduced in the steppe zone could reproduce the health promoting properties. The essential oil from the fruits of L. maackii was obtained by hydro distillation method. Chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions isolated from the aqueous distillate of L. maackii fruits were analyzed by gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS analysis). Chemical constituents identified in ethyl acetate and chloroform fraction represented 98.6% and 94.2 % of the total compounds content, respectively. Among the most abundant components were hexadecane, acetic acid, butyl ester, hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, linoleic acid, and linoleic acid methyl ester in the and the alkanes heptacosane, hexadecane, and tetradecane in chloroform fraction. Linoleic acid and some minor constituents of L. maackii fruit essential oil, such as ethyl-isoallocholate, arachidic acid, linalool and d-mannitol-1-decylsulfonyl are well known because of their reported bioactivities. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil was assessed against several clinical and collection bacterial and fungal strains. The results of disc-diffusion assays showed low to moderate activity of L. maackii fruit essential oil against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, as well as against fungal itraconazole-resistant clinical strain of Candida albicans. Thus, the essential oil derived from Lonicera maackii fruits may serve as potential resource of bioactive compounds having beneficial properties, in particular, the ability to overcome the resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to drugs. Further research is needed to identify the full range of bioactivities of the essential oil obtained from honeysuckle fruits.

Unfavourable socio-economic conditions and unbalanced nutrition, expressed in the deficiency of biologically active substances, determine the need to use fruit crops as a source of biologically active substances. In world practice, priority is given to fruit plants that have biological activity useful for the human body. The relevance of the concept of balanced natural nutrition is increasing with the growth of the global population. Products containing pesticides, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors or other chemicals are included in the "black" list of all natural food advocates. Jošta fruits is a low-calorie berry, 100 g of berries contain only 45‒48 calories. Nutritional value of yoshta (per 100 g of product): carbohydrates ‒ 9.1 g; fats ‒ 0.2 g; proteins ‒ 0.7 g; water ‒ 80 g. Jošta fruits contains vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in large quantities, vitamin P (rutin), pectin substances, phytoncides, organic acids, sugar, anthocyanins, potassium, iron, iodine, copper, etc. And the anthocyanins included in its composition accelerate metabolic processes and are capable of breaking down fats. Pectins improve and normalize intestinal microflora, which in turn contributes to cleansing. The aim of the work was the study of Jošta plant as a promising species for further possible ecological diversity of the territory of the right bank of the Dnieper in Ukraine. The rare currant-gooseberry hybrid Jošta plant can be recommended for growing and using fruit products in functional human nutrition. The Jošta can be recommended for the cultivation and use of fruit products in functional human nutrition and, in particular, in the restaurant business namely locavores for the presentation of the author's intellectual interpretation of local products

Sufficient water supply for plants is one of the most important conditions for their vital activity, since most of the biochemical reactions that regulate the plants physiological functions take place in the water environment. The plants adaptive capacity to the influence of a complex of environmental factors in field conditions is largely determined by the ability to maintain water balance, which can be characterized by various features. Among them, the transpiration intensity and the level of water deficit are the most important indicators that are related to the mechanisms of plant resistance to water or high-temperature stress. The aim of the work was to evaluate the introduction success of plants according to the markers of water availability in a new environment. The objects of the study were plants of the genus Chaenomeles, introduced in the Botanical Garden of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University: three natural species (Ch. japonica, Ch. speciosa, and Ch. cathayensis), as well as two hybrids (Ch. × superba and Ch. × californica). Species Ch. japonica naturally grows in humid areas with moderate temperatures, while species of Chinese origin Ch. speciosa and Ch. cathayensis are adapted to mountainous terrain with sharp temperature fluctuations. Water deficiency in the leaves of introduced plants was determined by saturating leaf cuttings with water; the intensity of transpiration was studied by the method of rapid weighing. Both indicators of the water regime in the leaves of introduced plants were measured under contrasting levels of moisture supply during the growing season in the steppe zone conditions: in the wet period, the dry period, and the period of moisture restoration. It was found that during the drought, the intensity of transpiration increased significantly (P ˂ 0.05) compared to the wet period in the leaves of all introduced Chaenomeles plants, the most (by 1.6–1.7 times) in Ch. japonica, Ch. speciosa and Ch. × superba, the least (by 1.3 times) in the leaves of Ch. × californica. Water deficit in the dry growing season in the leaves of all studied Chaenomeles plants increased significantly (P ˂ 0.05), the most in the leaves of Ch. catayensis (2.8 times compared to the wet period), the least in the leaves of Ch. spesiosa (in 2.0 times compared to the wet period). The level of water deficit in the leaves of both Chinese species was lower than that of Ch. japonica (18.85%). In the leaves of Ch. japonica, Ch. speciosa and Ch. × superba was the fastest recovery of the water balance after drought, as well as the most effective regulation of the transpiration intensity level with the onset of drought and during the recovery period. Introduced plants of the species Ch. japonica, Ch. speciosa and Ch. × superba turned out to be the most adapted to vegetation in the conditions of the steppe climate, which is characterized by periods of drought.