The comparative analysis of the fruit and seed capacity of Chaenomeles Lindl., grew in the botanical garden of the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, was carried out. It is shown that all studied taxa undergo a complete vegetation cycle. According to our observations, the duration of the growing season is as follows: the smallest in Chaenomeles japonica, the longest in C. × superba and C. maulei, the longest in C. speciosa, C. cathayensis and C. californica. Seed length in Chaenomeles plants ranged from 4.2 ± 0.10 mm (C. japonica var. maulei) to 8.5 ± 0.25 mm (C. сathayensis). Seed widths varied from 4.1 ± 0.32 mm (C. cathayensis) to 11.1 ± 0.10 mm (C. japonica var. maulei). According to the results obtained, the average number of seeds in one fruit of different Chaenomeles species differed, decreasing in the following order: C. cathayensis, C. speciosa > C. × californica > C. × superba > C. japonica > C. japonica var. maulei. Most of the Chaenomeles genus representatives were found to be in a good condition: C. japonica var. maulei vitality was estimated at 7 balls, C. japonica and C. × superba – 6 balls. This index is slightly lower for C. speciosa, C. × californica and C. cathayensis as 5 and 4 balls, respectively. It should be noted that the highest vitality was shown by C. japonica var. maulei, which was introduced in the Botanical Garden of DNU in 1955. In research, considerable attention has been paid to the antioxidant system, which is a powerful mechanism preventing the development of avalanche-free and radical peroxide reactions in living organisms. The antioxidant capacity of Chaenomeles fruits, determined in the range from 565.8 ± 15.7 (C. speciosa) to 1121.7 ± 27.5 (C. cathayensis) mg UAE / 100 g DW, can be considered quite high. The overall antioxidant capacity was highest for C. cathayensis fruits (1121.7 ± 27.5 mg AE / 100 g DW), which exceeded the indexes of other species by 1.2–2.0 times. The presence of antioxidants in raw materials and finished products provides for the prevention of their deterioration, reduction of losses, increase the shelf life and release of high quality products, retaining for a long time the characteristic features inherent in fresh, complete products. High taste qualities are characteristic of C. speciosa and C. × californica. Considering the large assortment of Chaenomeles, representatives differing in their biological, physiological and nutritional properties, we consider it promising to introduce their use in the food industry to obtain functional products with high consumer properties, namely, high content of antioxidants, catering for a variety of dishes or for exotic flavors, as well for direct consumption by the population of useful fruits with different flavors.

The main stages of the beginning and development of probiotic preparations, the general characteristics of modern probiotics, the scope of their use in medicine and veterinary are presented. The characteristics of microorganisms (bifidus bacteria, lactobacteria and Bacillus bacteria) used in the production of probiotics, the basic requirements that should be met by these organisms, as well as prospects for the development of probiotics are shown.

Plants of two species of Actinidia genus grown in an adverse steppe climate were examined in terms of secondary metabolites’ accumulation, antioxidant potential, and antimicrobial ability. The aim of the work was to reveal whether the introduced plants A. arguta and A. polygama retain their well-known health benefits. Total content of polyphenols (549.2 and 428.1 mg GAE/100 g FW, respectively), flavonoids, and phenolic acids as well as total antioxidant activity and reducing power of the fruit isopropanol extracts were found to be equal or even higher than the reported data on kiwifruit varieties cultivated in China and other regions. Antioxidant potential and phenolic compounds’ content in the fruit peel of both species were higher when compared to pulp, while corresponding indices of leaves exceeded those of the fruit. Disc-diffusion assays showed low to moderate antibacterial activity of A. arguta and A. polygama fruit and leaf extracts against collection Gram-negative and Gram-positive strains. Clinical strains of P. aeruginosa and E. coli resistant to the action of ofloxacin were notably inhibited by A. arguta and A. polygama fruit and leaf crude extracts. Inhibiting effects of plant extracts on clinical strains of K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii were comparable with the effect of ofloxacin. GC-MS assays identified 23 and 36 chemical constituents, respectively in A. arguta and A. polygama fruit isopropanol extracts. The main compounds in both extracts were 2-propenoic acid, pentadecyl ester followed by squalene, 7,9-di-tert-butyl-1-oxaspiro(4,5)deca-6,9-dien-2,8-dione, octadecanoic acid, 2-oxo-methyl ester, ethyl-isoallocholate, and phytol having known bioactivities. Our findings confirmed the preservation of useful properties by the introduced plants and also indicated the rich health-promoting abilities and expedience of cultivating A. arguta and A. polygama in a steppe climate.

Disorders of the microbiome of the reproductive tract of women is quite common and can have significant consequences for the woman and for her sexual partners or to the fetus during pregnancy. The study of vaginal microbiome and biological properties of same microorganisms is a necessary step for choice the treatment strategy. The aim of research was to analyze qualitative and quantitative composition of microbiome of the vagina of women using the test-system Femoflor-16 and to study the ability of staphylococci strains to biofilm-formation. Using molecular genetic methods for detecting of microorganisms disorders of vaginal microbiome was confirmed in 92.7% of the surveyed women. It our study, 21 (41.2%) cases of dysbiosis were found to accompany infectious diseases. <em>Candida</em> spp., <em>Mycoplasma</em> <em>hominis</em>, <em>M. genitalium</em> and <em>Ureaplasma</em> (<em>urealyticum</em> + <em>parvum</em>) showed overwhelming. Most of the pathogens detected were a monoinfection (71%), with two-agent associations accounting for only 29% of the cases. The predominant associations of opportunistic bacteria, detected during disorders of vaginal microbiome, were <em>Gardnerella vaginalis</em> + <em>Prevotella bivia</em> + <em>Porphyromonas</em> spp. that found in 50.9% of patients and <em>Megasphaera</em> spp. + <em>Veillonella</em> spp. + <em>Dialister</em> spp. – found in 34.5% of patients. Among cases of monoinfection the most often found opportunistic pathogens were <em>Eubacterium</em> spp. – 50.9% of cases and <em>Staphylococcus</em> spp. – 49.1% of cases: 92.6% of these were identified as <em>Staphylococcus</em> epidermidis and 7.4% – as <em>Staphylococcus</em> <em>saprophyticus</em>. 44% of <em>S. epidermidi</em>s strains were able to form biofilm. None of <em>S. saprophyticus</em> strains was film-forming.

The problem of nosocomial infections is considered in connection with more frequent formation and wide distribution in clinical practice of new strains of hospital bacteria that have a cross-resistence to antibacterial drugs. The nosocomial agents were isolated from wounds and identified as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 72.0% of S. aureus strains and 61.5% of P. aeruginosa clinical isolates had the capability of forming biofilms. The sensitivity to antibiotics of all isolated strains was investigated with tne agar diffusion test. This method showed that all strains of S. aureus with the capability to form biofilms had resistence to erythromycin, gentamycin, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. The had the greatest sensitivity to klindamycin (90.3%), vancomycin (80.6%) and gatifloxacin (80.6% cultures). The strains of S. aureus with the capability to form biofilms were more resistent to antibiotics than strains of S. aureus without such properties. Only cefotaxim suppressed the growth of 75.0% of strains of staphylococci. All isolated strains of S. aureus without the capability to form biofilms were sensitive to doxycyclin, gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and klindamycin. All clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa with capability to form biofilms had resistence to ampicillin, gentamycin, imipenem, cefotaxime and ceftriaxone. They were most sensitive (75.0%) to piperacillin and cefoperazone/sulbactam. The strains of P. aeruginosa without the capability to form biofilms kept the resistence to gentamycin, imipenem and ceftriaxone. They showed the greatest sensitivity (75.0%) to ciprofloxacin (80.0% isolates) and also to amikacin, ampicillin, meropenem, norfloxacin and cefotaxime (60.0% cultures). We investigated the minimum inhibitory concentrations of gentamycin and ciprofloxacin, which appeared higher for P. aeruginosa than for S. aureus. The most effective disinfectant against all isolated nosocomial agents without the capacity for biofilm formation was “Desactin” in a concentration 0.1% or 0.2%. For strains of staphylococci with this capability, the efficiency of “Desactin” went down by 9.7%. The best biocide effect against the strains of P. aeruginosa with the capability of forming biofilms was shown by 0.1% solution of “Neochlorine tabs”, which suppressed the growth of 75.0% of tested cultures. As a result, we detected a direct relationship between resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants and the capacities for biofilm formation among the nosocomial agents S. aureus and P. aeruginosa.