Stable isotope analysis of teeth and bones is regularly applied by archeologists and paleoanthropologists seeking to reconstruct diets, ecologies, and environments of past hominin populations. Moving beyond the now prevalent study of stable isotope ratios from bulk materials, researchers are increasingly turning to stable isotope ratios of individual amino acids to obtain more detailed and robust insights into trophic level and resource use. In the present article, we provide a guide on how to best use amino acid stable isotope ratios to determine hominin dietary behaviors and ecologies, past and present. We highlight existing uncertainties of interpretation and the methodological developments required to ensure good practice. In doing so, we hope to make this promising approach more broadly accessible to researchers at a variety of career stages and from a variety of methodological and academic backgrounds who seek to delve into new depths in the study of dietary composition.

• Klíčová slova
• Isotope fingerprinting, archeology, human nutrition, paleoecology, trophic ecology,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

This review summarizes the current knowledge on essential vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B5. These B-complex vitamins must be taken from diet, with the exception of vitamin B3, that can also be synthetized from amino acid tryptophan. All of these vitamins are water soluble, which determines their main properties, namely: they are partly lost when food is washed or boiled since they migrate to the water; the requirement of membrane transporters for their permeation into the cells; and their safety since any excess is rapidly eliminated via the kidney. The therapeutic use of B-complex vitamins is mostly limited to hypovitaminoses or similar conditions, but, as they are generally very safe, they have also been examined in other pathological conditions. Nicotinic acid, a form of vitamin B3, is the only exception because it is a known hypolipidemic agent in gram doses. The article also sums up: (i) the current methods for detection of the vitamins of the B-complex in biological fluids; (ii) the food and other sources of these vitamins including the effect of common processing and storage methods on their content; and (iii) their physiological function.

• Klíčová slova
• essential, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, thiamine,
• MeSH
• avitaminóza * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• thiamin MeSH
• vitamin A MeSH
• vitamin B komplex * MeSH
• vitamin K MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• thiamin MeSH
• vitamin A MeSH
• vitamin B komplex * MeSH
• vitamin K MeSH

Functional foods are of interest because of their significant effects on human health, which can be connected with the presence of some biologically important compounds. In this study, we carried out complex analysis of 239 apricot cultivars (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivated in Lednice (climatic area T4), South Moravia, Czech Republic. Almost all previously published studies have focused only on analysis of certain parameters. However, we focused on detection both primary and secondary metabolites in a selection of apricot cultivars with respect to their biological activity. The contents of thirteen biogenic alpha-L-amino acids (arginine, asparagine, isoleucine, lysine, serine, threonine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, proline and alanine) were determined using ion exchange chromatography with UV-Vis spectrometry detection. Profile of polyphenols, measured as content of ten polyphenols with significant antioxidant properties (gallic acid, procatechinic acid, p-aminobenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, rutin, ferrulic acid and quercetrin), was determined by high performance liquid chromatography with spectrometric/electrochemical detection. Moreover, content of total phenolics was determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Antioxidant activity was determined using five independent spectrophotometric methods: DPPH assay, DMPD method, ABTS method, FRAP and Free Radicals methods. Considering the complexity of the obtained data, they were processed and correlated using bioinformatics techniques (cluster analysis, principal component analysis). The studied apricot cultivars were clustered according to their common biochemical properties, which has not been done before. The observed similarities and differences were discussed.

• MeSH
• algoritmy MeSH
• aminokyseliny chemie   MeSH
• analýza hlavních komponent * MeSH
• antioxidancia chemie   MeSH
• benzothiazoly chemie   MeSH
• bifenylové sloučeniny chemie   MeSH
• genový pool MeSH
• kyseliny sulfonové chemie   MeSH
• ovoce chemie   MeSH
• pikráty chemie   MeSH
• polyfenoly chemie   MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty chemie   MeSH
• shluková analýza MeSH
• slivoň chemie   MeSH
• volné radikály chemie   MeSH
• výpočetní biologie MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl MeSH Prohlížeč
• 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid MeSH Prohlížeč
• aminokyseliny MeSH
• antioxidancia MeSH
• benzothiazoly MeSH
• bifenylové sloučeniny MeSH
• kyseliny sulfonové MeSH
• pikráty MeSH
• polyfenoly MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty MeSH
• volné radikály MeSH