TNMU Professor Took Part in the Seminar “Balanced Nutrition as the Key to a Healthy and Active Life”

As part of the celebration of the World Day of Healthy Eating, which is celebrated annually on October 16, a scientific and practical seminar “Balanced nutrition as the key to a healthy and active life” was held at the National University of Pharmacy. Professor Inna Vladymyrova, Doctor of Sciences in Pharmacy, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work of the National University of Pharmacy, addressed the participants of the seminar with a welcome speech.

The Head of TNMU Department of Pharmacognosy and Medical Botany, Professor Svitlana Marchyshyn took part in the scientific and practical seminar with the report “Medicinal plants – healthy food products”. She drew attention to the importance of eating the right food to prevent the development of a number of diseases; supplementing your diet with fruits, vegetables, sea fish, products containing fatty acids, vegetable protein; consuming a whole range of medicinal plants as food or seasonings. Observations and research of some medicinal plants at the Department of Pharmacognosy and Medical Botany showed that the biologically active substances contained in these plants have not only medicinal properties and save us from many ailments, but they can also be used in dietary nutrition, cooking, etc. For example, watercress dishes (garden nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus L.) have dietary and medicinal properties, its fresh leaves and flowers are used to prepare vitamin salads, mashed potatoes, sandwiches, etc., flowers are used for vinegar, buds and green fruits are pickled and served to the table as a spicy seasoning or added when pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, Brussels and Savoy cabbage.

Many types of marigolds are used in the food industry and in nutrition due to the presence of pigments, glycosides, organic acids, essential oils and vitamins. Dried flowers are used as spices when salting and pickling vegetables, flowers are used to decorate salads, cheese casseroles, sandwiches, cold snacks, etc. Professor Svitlana Marchyshyn informed the participants of the seminar that TNMU concluded an agreement and cooperates with the Department of Food Biotechnology and Chemistry of Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University, implementing marigold research into practice. Colleagues from TNTU make bakery products with the addition of extracts from marigold flowers.

The participants of the seminar also learned about the consumption of Crambe cordifolia, yacón, Cyperus esculentus (chufa or earth almond), medicinal lovage, Pimpinella saxifraga (burnet-saxifrage), Elymus repens (couch grass), etc.

The scientific and practical seminar was also attended by scientists and leading specialists of the National University of Pharmacy, Kharkiv National Medical University, State Institution “O.M. Marzeiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”.