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Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is recognized as a valuable source of bioactive compounds; however, the phytochemical composition and biological potential of wild Romanian hops remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, the bioactive profile of wild hop cones was evaluated using an integrated phytochemical, biological, and in silico approach. The hydroethanolic extract was characterized by a total phenolic content of 25.61 mg GAE/g DW and a total flavonoid content of 3.20 mg RE/g DW, with α-acids predominating (8.77%) and β-acids detected only at trace levels (0.15%). Hydrodistillation yielded 0.613 ± 0.11% essential oil, which was rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (64.61%), mainly α-humulene, β-caryophyllene oxide, selina-3,7-diene, and germacrene B. The hydroethanolic extract exhibited strong antioxidant activity (IC50 = 5.03 µg GAE/mL), whereas the essential oil showed a moderate but dose-dependent radical-scavenging capacity (IC50 = 0.44% v/v). In addition, the essential oil displayed pronounced antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, at 25 mg/mL, with the highest antibiofilm inhibition observed for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (96.44%). Molecular docking analysis suggested that the major volatile constituents may interact with Staphylococcus aureus Sortase A, providing a plausible mechanistic basis for the observed antibiofilm effects. Overall, these findings indicate that wild Romanian hop cones represent a promising source of antioxidant and antimicrobial bioactive compounds, supporting their potential applications in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic formulations, as well as in natural-product-based drug discovery.

Three poplar species widely distributed in southern Romania were investigated for their chemical composition and bioactivity. Male buds from black poplar (Populus nigra L.), white poplar (Populus alba L.), and Euroamerican hybrid poplar (Populus × euramericana (Dode) Guinier.) were analyzed using HPTLC, HPLC, GC-MS, and spectrophotometric assays. The analysis revealed predominantly polyphenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, secondary metabolites recognized for their antioxidant properties, particularly valuable in alleviating oxidative stress disorders. Heavy metal content was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy, and antioxidant capacity was assessed through DPPH and FRAP assays alongside a cytotoxicity evaluation. Polyphenolic content ranged from 19.26 to 33.37 mg GAE/g DW and flavonoid content from 2.15 to 4.45 mg RE/g DW. All three species demonstrated notable antioxidant capacity and cytotoxic activity. Hydroethanolic extracts of P. nigra and P. euramericana showed higher antioxidant activity than aqueous extracts, with P. nigra achieving the lowest IC50 value overall, highlighting the influence of solvent choice on antioxidant efficacy. Furthermore, poplar hydroethanolic extracts exhibited concentration-dependent cytotoxicity against fibroblast-like human osteosarcoma MG63 cell lines, with IC50 values of 42.55 µg/mL for P. nigra, 40.87 µg/mL for P. × euramericana, and 132.49 µg/mL for P. alba, underscoring significant interspecies variability in cytotoxic potency. These findings suggest that male floral buds from Romanian poplar species may serve as valuable sources of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential.

This article examines modern medicine as a hybrid social artifact that exists at the crossroads of science, magic, and commerce. Drawing on insights from medical sociology, medical anthropology, and science–technology–society (STS) studies, it develops an integrated theoretical framework that views medicine as an epistemic object, a cultural symbol, and a product of the global political economy. The analysis explores how the processes of medicalization, biomedicalization, and pharmaceuticalization reshape the relationship among the body, identity, and governance, transforming health into a continuous biotechnological endeavor managed through risks, algorithms, and pharmaceutical infrastructures. At the same time, it investigates the symbolic and ‘magical’ aspects of medicine, from the ambivalence of pharmakon and daily rituals of administration to pharmaceutical lives, belief, hope, and conspiracies and demonstrates how these elements intertwine with the economic logic of the globalized pharmaceutical market, characterized by the fetishization and spectacle of commodities, inequalities in access, and regimes of pharmapower. Methodologically, the analysis relies on a theoretical and interpretative review of specialized literature, providing a critical synthesis that considers medicine as a “total social fact” (Mauss, 1925). The article argues that understanding modern medicine requires an interdisciplinary approach that addresses both the physical existence of molecules and their symbolic and economic circulation.

The increasing use of herbicides in recent years for improved crop yields requires a risk assessment. To assess their impact on soil, the use of an indicator named the synthetic biological indicator (ISB%) is proposed, which includes a range of biotic and enzymatic parameters derived from previous experiments. Three sulfonylurea herbicides were evaluated, named chlorsulfuron, amidosulfuron, and tifensulfuron. The biotic and enzymatic parameters were monitored using different herbicide doses in field and laboratory experiments. Calculating this indicator for all experimental variants in the field and laboratory showed that the impact of the analyzed herbicides was insignificant, but there were statistically significant differences between the experimental conditions. The registration of an herbicide based on the legislation of different countries requires several toxicity tests of the active substance’s effects against soil microorganisms and some of the soil functions performed by microorganisms, parameters which are also included in the synthetic biological indicator (ISB). This indicator has the capacity to provide important information for sustainable soil management, including a minimum set of parameters, which can provide global information regarding the environment, showing changes in multiple areas of interest, including parameters that can be applied at minimal cost worldwide. In conclusion, we can say that the use of the indicator highlights all the changes caused by various soil chemical treatments because it follows the variation in a large number of parameters, unlike other indicators that follow only one, providing useful information for sustainable farming practices.