The hydro-alcoholic extracts of five Equisetum species, E. arvense L., E. sylvaticum L., E. fluviatile L., E. palustre L. and E. telmateia Ehrh., growing-wild in Serbia were evaluated for their genotoxicity, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant capacity and the results related to the total phenol content and HPLC flavonoid profiles. The total phenol content was 92-349 micromol expressed as equivalents of chlorogenic acid per g of dried plant material. Main identified compounds were kaempferol-, quercetin- glycosides and caffeic acid derivatives. E. telmateia extract showed the greatest antioxidant capacity. Almost all tested microorganisms demonstrated some degree of sensitivity to the examined extracts. All tested extracts at 62.5 microg/ml showed higher incidence of micronucleus formation than in the control sample. The obtained data allowed mutual comparison of examined species and their assessment as possible sources of antioxidants, antimicrobials and/or genotoxic substances.

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Diethanolammonium hydrogensulfate (DHS), as a liquid salt, and glycolic acid (GA) were used for the synthesis of highly functionalized tetrahydropyridines (THPs). Due to the simplicity of the reaction procedure, excellent diastereoselectivity, and catalyst regeneration, these green protocols may be considered as an attractive approach for the preparation of THPs. Unlike numerous reported reactions for the synthesis of THPs that last for hours and with heating, GA‐promoted reactions finished mostly within an hour and at room temperature. As improvement to other organocatalysed reactions for the synthesis of THPs with moderate yields, this protocol provided good to excellent yields. Application of these procedures produced three vanillic compounds reported here for the first time. Their structure was elucidated based on experimental and theoretical data (IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, NOESY, UV‐Vis, and DFT). Experimental and theoretical antioxidant evaluation of these compounds has been carried out. DFT thermodynamical parameters supported experimental results that newly synthesized THPs deserve considerable attention as potent radical scavengers.

Fully brominated diphenyl ether (BDE-209) is a flame retardant widely used in plastics and textiles. Because of its high persistence, humans are exposed to it continuously, mainly via dust ingestion. We investigated effects of BDE-209 on renal function and oxidative stress development in the kidney after subacute exposure in rats. Five groups of animals were given by oral gavage 31.25-500 mg BDE-209/kg b.w./day for 28 days, and relative kidney weight, serum urea and creatinine, and oxidative stress parameters in the kidney were determined. Benchmark-dose approach was used for dose response modeling. Serum creatinine was increased, while results obtained for serum urea were inconclusive. Relative kidney weight was not affected by BDE-209. Kidney reduced glutathione was elevated, while superoxide dismutase activity was not changed after BDE-209 treatment. Also, levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were increased and total -SH groups were decreased, which indicated oxidative imbalance. The critical effect dose (CED)/CEDL ratios for the effects on TBARS and total -SH groups indicated estimated CEDs for these markers can be used in risk assessment of BDE-209. Our study results have shown that a relatively low dose of BDE-209 affects kidney function and that oxidative stress is one of the mechanisms of its nephrotoxicity.

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