The Fig Tree in Alimentary Culture, Folk Medicine and Traditions among the Peoples of the Western Balkans [Inzhir v alimentarnoi kul’ture, narodnoi meditsine i traditsiiakh u narodov Zapadnykh Balkan]

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Alexander Novik ◽  
◽  
Marina Domosiletskaya ◽  
◽  

The article analyzes the role of the fig tree in various spheres of culture of the Albanians, Croats, Greeks, and other peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the use of its fruit as food and raw material for the production of alcoholic beverages and medicine. Until the 19th century, the pollination of the plant remained a mystery (not even Carl Linnaeus, the “father of botany” and the creator of the modern classification of wildlife species, was able to solve the complex puzzle of nature), which led to the emergence and proliferation of numerous mythologemes, still recorded to date, that are consistently associated with the fig tree. Currently, notions about the magical properties of the plant and its fruit are being transformed under the influence of the global passion for environmentally friendly bio products. The discussion specifically focuses on the mechanism through which such “new meanings” enter the public discourse.

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Hellman ◽  
Thomas Karlsson

Aims The study investigates how the dissimilar tax reductions for different alcoholic beverages (spirits, wine and beer) were debated during the large tax decrease on alcoholic beverages in Finland in 2004. Design and Data The material comprises parliamentary proceedings and discussions, as well as daily press items (=105) from 2003–2004. Content analyses, both quantitative and qualitative, were performed. Results The parliament's discussion on the unequal treatment of different beverage types concerned mostly the overall framing of a public health perspective, differencing between consumption of “spirits” and “non-spirits”. The mass media framed the question mostly from the industry's point of view. Neither a clear support of the total consumption model (excluding specification of beverage sort), nor a strong liberalisation model for alcohol policy were expressed in the materials. Varying stances were merely motivated within a paradigm of “changing drinking patterns”. Conclusions The differing treatment of different beverage types, especially the large reductions in spirits taxes, was crystallised as the fundamental public health concern surrounding the decision to lower alcohol taxes. In the end of the article the authors ask whether the lack of clear stances other than the drinking pattern framing could imply that the Finnish alcohol policy debate has become more heterogeneous, neutralised or resigned in its basic nature.


Pharmacia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-152
Author(s):  
Dhurgham Khalid Abed Sarray ◽  
Liliia M. Horiacha ◽  
Iryna O. Zhuravel ◽  
Andrii I. Fedosov

Mirabilis jalapa is a popular decorative plant valued for its beautiful multicolored flowers. Folk medicine in various countries applies Mirabilis jalapa as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, spasmolytic drug. Chemical composition of different types of Mirabilis jalapa has not yet been adequately studied which is an obstacle for its application in medicine. The qualitative composition and quantitative content of phenolic compounds were studied by the HPLC method. The performed experiment revealed presence of hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonoids, isoflavonoids and coumarins in tested herb. The content of phenolic compounds was the highest in Mirabilis jalapa flowers, counting as much as 2977.41 ± 59.55 µg/mg. Total content of phenolic compounds in Mirabilis jalapa herb was 304.25 ± 6.08 µg/mg, in fruits – 67.92 ± 1.36 µg/mg, and in roots – 12.44 ± 0.25 µg/mg. Quantitatively neochlorogenic acid dominated in flowers, chlorogenic acid in fruits, whereas Mirabilis jalapa herb mostly contained rutin and hyperoside. The obtained results will be useful in the development of quality control methods for Mirabilis jalapa herb and manufacture of drug preparations on its basis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e8299109135
Author(s):  
Amazile Biagioni Maia ◽  
Lorena Simão Marinho ◽  
David Lee Nelson

There is a growing interest in chemical markers for the identification and certification of cachaça as a cane spirit produced in Brazil. It is known that the higher alcohols that are usually analyzed (propyl alcohol, Isobutyl alcohol and isoamyl alcohol) occur in all alcoholic beverages (fermented and distilled), but the relative proportions can vary markedly according to the peculiarities of the raw material and the production process. In this work, the contents of higher alcohols in 300 samples of alembic cachaça were compared, 220 from the state of Minas Gerais and 80 from other states, as well as three samples of industrial cachaça and 14 samples of whiskeys of various brands. The typical range of total higher alcohols in cachaça was 180-360 mg/100 mL ethanol. Cachaça containing higher alcohol concentrations greater than 360 mg/100 mL ethanol do not comply with Brazilian legislation. However, cachaças with higher alcohols concentrations below 180 mg/100 mL ethanol, as was found in one of the industrial cachaças, signify adulteration, for example, by mixing with fuel alcohol. The C4/C5 ratio varied less than the C3/C5 ratio, being consistently within the range of 0.20-0.50. In the whiskeys analyzed, the concentrations of higher alcohols were in the range of 160 and 270 mg/100 mL. Therefore, this parameter would not assist in differentiating between cachaça and whiskey. But the C4/C5 ratio was consistently different, being always greater than 0.50 for the whiskeys. Thus, the routine analysis of higher alcohols provides useful information both for tracking possible fraud and for assessments related to the identity or origin of cachaça.


Author(s):  
Jacek Srokosz

The article presents the debate that took place between supporters and opponents of popular election of judges in the United States during the so-called “jacksonian democracy” (also called populist democracy) from the early thirties of the 19th century to the outbreak of the Civil War. Starting from the presidency Andrew Jackson, the political fight between mere people represented by the Democratic Party, and the elites whose interests defended the Whigs Party took place in the US. The subject of the dispute has become a demand for a broader participation of the people to exercise power and democratization of the existing oligarchic republic, through the extension of electoral rights and widespread elections as methods of casting most public office. One of the subjects of the dispute during the state constitutional conventions was the issue of popular elections of judges. The implementation of popular election system demanded Democrats emphasizing the importance of democratic legitimacy for the independence of the judiciary and the development of the Judicial Review. Against the popular elections of judges were Whigs convinced that this will lead to the fall of authority of the judiciary and make it subject of Parties' competition. The author indicates that the debate ended with the victory of democrat postulates and introducing the popular election of judges in most states. However, lawyers participating in constitutional conventions, representing both Democrats and Whigs, have introduced a number of institutions ensuring the independence of the judiciary and the possibility of effective implementation of the judicial review. Political changes from the period of Jakcson’s democracy have contributed to raising the authority of the judges and strengthened the role of judiciary in the American political system.


2021 ◽  
pp. 233-252
Author(s):  
Tatiana Bitkova ◽  

The article analyzes some aspects of Romania’s foreign policy in the Balkan region. It is noted that the same fact that country belongs to the Balkans causes ambiguous interpretations on the part of Romanian politicians and experts, many of whom believe that Romania cannot be attributed to this region either geographically or politically. At the same time, culturally and historically, according to a certain part of historians and sociologists, Romania nevertheless carries the features of the so-called «Balkanism», due to the common Ottoman past with the Balkan Peninsula. These features are also relevant for the current socio-political situation, which is shown in the article with specific examples. In addition, criticism of the very term «Balkanism» from the side of Romanian analysts is presented. The author also examines Romania’s relations with the countries of the Western Balkans, primarily with Serbia. The points of contact of the positions of these countries are noted, which are largely due to the desire of Serbia to resolve the Kosovo problem in its favor, relying on the support of Romania - one of the five EU countries that did not recognize the independence of Kosovo. Romania, using this situation, is trying to strengthen its position, seeking regional leadership. The author comes to the conclusion that, although the Western Balkan countries directly or indirectly aspire to Euro-Atlantic structures, some of them (primarily Serbia) maintain and develop friendly relations with Russia, which complicates their interaction with Romania, orthodoxly adhering to the NATO and European Union policies and having a very difficult relationship with Russia.


Author(s):  
Jim Powell

Losing the Thread is the first full-length study of the effect of the American Civil War on Britain’s raw cotton trade and on the Liverpool cotton market. It details the worst crisis in the British cotton trade in the 19th century. Before the civil war, America supplied 80 per cent of Britain’s cotton. In August 1861, this fell to almost zero, where it remained for four years. Despite increased supplies from elsewhere, Britain’s largest industry received only 36 per cent of the raw material it needed from 1862 to 1864. This book establishes the facts of Britain’s raw cotton supply during the war: how much there was of it, in absolute terms and in relation to the demand, where it came from and why, how much it cost, and what effect the reduced supply had on Britain’s cotton manufacture. It includes an enquiry into the causes of the Lancashire cotton famine, which contradicts the historical consensus on the subject. Examining the impact of the civil war on Liverpool and its cotton market, the book disputes the historic portrayal of Liverpool as a solidly pro-Confederate town. It also demonstrates how reckless speculation infested and distorted the raw cotton market, and lays bare the shadowy world of the Liverpool cotton brokers, who profited hugely from the war while the rest of Lancashire starved.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Kwiecień ◽  
Beata Kawka ◽  
Halina Ekiert

American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora L.) has long been used as a medicine by North American Indian tribes. A monograph of Scutellariae lateriflorae herba was included in the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia in 2009. This raw material is very popular in North America because of its sedative action. It is also highly valued in Australia, while in Europe, it has been widely used until now in the United Kingdom. The main components of the herb of this plant species include flavonoids specific for the Scutellaria genus, mostly baicalein, baicalin, wogonin, scutellarin. They are accompanied by other groups of compounds: diterpenoids – neoclerodan derivatives, γ-aminobutyric acid, melatonin, serotonin, catalpol, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoid glycosides (mostly verbascoside) and essential oil. Studies of chemical composition and investigation of medicinal activity of this raw material confirmed its uses known from North American folk medicine. Study results proved most of all a significance of flavonoid compounds present in the raw material for its documented biological activity. The aim of the paper is to review the present knowledge on chemical composition and medicinal significance of this very valuable plant. The research team from the Department of Pharmaceutical Botany JU MC initiated biotechnological studies of this species. Its microshoots successfully grown in vitro produce considerable amounts of specific flavonoids (mostly baicalin and wogonoside) and verbascoside, and in future they can be an alternative rich source of these compounds for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.


Author(s):  
Lucia Cintia COLIBABA ◽  
Stefan TUDOSE-SANDU-VILLE ◽  
Camelia LUCHIAN ◽  
Andreea POPIRDA ◽  
Marius NICULAUA ◽  
...  

The distillates obtained from wine, both raw and aged, are highly appreciated alcoholic beverages due to the refinement and fineness that characterizes them. Romania’s viticultural conditions are very favourable for these products - which in the last centuries have made regions such as Cognac and Armagnac in France famous. In Romania the aged distillate of wine is called “vinars” and in the Republic of Moldova it is named “divin”. This study analyses how the main compositional parameters and volatile compounds are influenced by the raw material wine, distillation technology, distillation steps, removal of the lower-quality fractions (heads and tails). The raw material used to make the distillates was a mixture of two wines of Fetească albă and Fetească regală, harvest of 2015, from Iasi vineyard. The proposed experimental protocol consisted of the double distillation of a volume of 1000 L of raw material. For the distillation, a simple copper distillery with a deflector was used. From each 10 L of distillate obtained, samples were taken and analysed via gas-chromatography.In the first and second distillation, the largest amounts of acetic acid are found in the head. The highest concentrations of octanoic acid are recorded in tails, as does hexanoic acid. The product obtained after the first distillation recorded an average alcoholic strength of 33.5% vol, which increased after the second distillation, so that the final distillate has an alcoholic strength of 58.5% vol. Concerning the acid profile, the following can be concluded: Acetic acid can be considerably diminished with the removal of the head fractions; Octanoic, hexanoic and decanoic acids fall into the class of short chain fatty acids, can affect the organoleptic qualities but are easily esterify the resulting compounds giving pleasing odour; aging in oak or mulberry wood barrels of crude distillates to achieve the maximum potential is recommended.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1142
Author(s):  
Sergi Maicas

In recent years, vessels have been discovered that contain the remains of wine with an age close to 7000 years. It is unclear whether, in ancient times, humans accidentally stumbled across fermented beverages like wine or beer, or was it a product intended as such. What is a fact is that since then, alcoholic beverages have been part of the diet and culture of many of the civilizations that have preceded us. The typical examples of beer and wine are an example of many other drinks resulting from the action of yeasts. In addition to these two beverages, various companies have developed other types of fermented foods and non-alcoholic beverages prepared in a traditional or commercial manner. The climatic conditions, the availability of raw material and the preferences of each region have conditioned and favored the maintenance of some of these products. In addition to the aforementioned traditional alcoholic beverages produced from fruits, berries, or grains, humans use yeast in the production of chemical precursors, global food processing such as coffee and chocolate, or even wastewater processing. Yeast fermentation is not only useful in food manufacturing. Its uses extend to other products of high interest such as the generation of fuel from vegetable sources.


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