Chemical Researches in Slovenia

by Marjan Donko

Houseleeks are researched at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, Department of Food Science and Technology since 1994. There is very limited literature on the subject. Only one other (Hungarian) group of scientists works on houseleeks, namely on the influence on reduction of lipids in the blood and protection of the liver.

From the interesting research lets mention only the effect of houseleeks on 7 common micro-organisms that spoil food:

Bacillus cereus
Proteus morgani
Staphylococus aureus
Enterococcus faecalis
Escherichia coli
Geotrichum spec.
Saccharomyces cerevisae

A 10 % addition of houseleek tissue  to a culture had the most pronounced effect on Geotrichum spec.

Test

Antimicrobial effect of houseleek on Staphylococcus aureus.
Photo: Marjan Donko

K- control; sample without  houseleek
t-   time of incubation in hours
R- dilution of sample

 

Recently the interest is in mechanisms of induction of certain molecules in houseleeks, especially polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme involved in reaction to stress. Although much research has been done, the function of this enzyme is still unknown. Houseleeks remain attractive plants not only for gardeners, but also for future scientific research.