BIOCHEMICAL LABORATORY
The main focus of the laboratory is the study of secondary metabolites of plant and microbial origin – cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, vitamins, amino acids. The tests are carried out according to Regulation EU 2017/1155 and in-house laboratory method.
The laboratory has a Gas Chromatograph (GC) and a High-Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) (Shimadzu). The two devices work differently, through FID and UV detectors, and their combination indicates the amount of biologically active substances examined.
Chromatography is one of the most powerful and comprehensive technique in modern chemical analysis. It can separate very complex mixtures of their constituent components and at the same time give a quantitative measure of each constituent. Chromatography, together with high-sensitivity detectors, especially mass spectrometers, is an invaluable way of conducting research in biochemistry and medicine, environmental and food control, as well as in many other fields of science and industry.
The following classical methods are also used:
- Demonstration of aromatic amino acids – xanthoproteic reaction
- Demonstration of sulfur-containing amino acids – nitroprusside reaction
- Demonstration of amino acids, peptides and proteins in solution – ninhydrin reaction
- UV absorption methods for protein quantification
- Biuret method for protein determination
- Lowry method for protein determination
- Determination of protein concentration with BCA (bicinchoninic acid)
- Bradford method for protein determination
- Demonstration of carbohydrates in samples – reaction with α-naphthol or thymol
- Demonstration of reducing sugars – Tromer test, Felling test
- Miller dinitrosalicylic method for total reducing sugars
- Somogyi-Nelson method for reducing sugars
- Determination of antioxidant activity
