• Energy Research

AbstractIn this study, phytochemical and pharmacological screening of the aerial part and roots extracts fromDoronicum orientaleHoffm. (Asteraceae) was carried out. Plant extracts were obtained using solvents of different polarity (hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, ethanol/water, water) for selection the most optimal solvent for the extraction of active compounds. For instance, the extracts yielded total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the range of 12.13–45.67 mg GAE/g and 0.75–12.44 mg QE/g, respectively, while the total antioxidant capacity of the extracts determined by the phosphomolybdenum assay ranged from 0.88–2.53 mmol TE/g. HPLC/MS/MS analysis revealed 5‐caffeoylquinic acid (2.52–337.05 μg/g) and 3,5‐dicaffeoylquinic acid (3.12–299.36 μg/g) to be the major components present in the investigated extracts. Antioxidant activity in terms of radical scavenging ability of the extracts ranged from 0.82–45.56 mg TE/g in DPPH assay and from 5.07–104.58 mg TE/g in ABTS assay. The tested extracts were found to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (aerial part: 0.50–2.33 mg GALAE/g; roots: 0.40–2.43 mg GALAE/g), while with the exception of the water extracts, the other extracts showed butyrylcholinesterase inhibition (aerial part: 2.46–5.02 mg GALAE/g; root: 2.93–4.17 mg GALAE/g). Overall, this study presented an interesting scope of this species in phytomedicine with preliminary data demonstrating some of the tested extracts to possess high bioactive contents, antioxidant potential and enzyme inhibitory activity. Thus, additional investigations are necessary to confirm their safety in herbal drug applications.

Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. This has two main consequences: a high level of competitiveness among the players operating in the sector and an increasing pressure from the supply chain on the environment. These two aspects have to be supported by scientific research to foster innovation and reduce the negative impact of the coffee market on the environment. In this paper, we describe a mathematical model for espresso coffee extraction that is able to predict the chemical characterisation of the coffee in the cup. Such a model has been tested through a wide campaign of chemical laboratory analyses on espresso coffee samples extracted under different conditions. The results of such laboratory analyses are compared with the simulation results obtained using the aforementioned model. The comparison shows a close agreement between the real and in silico extractions, revealing that the model is a very promising scientific tool to take on the challenges of the coffee market.