{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,3]],"date-time":"2026-02-03T04:17:19Z","timestamp":1770092239300,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769990400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia","award":["451-03-136\/2025-03\/200168"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["451-03-136\/2025-03\/200168"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia","award":["451-03-136\/2025-03\/200177"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["451-03-136\/2025-03\/200177"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia","award":["451-03-136\/2025-03\/200032"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["451-03-136\/2025-03\/200032"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Serum-free culture of red blood cells (RBCs) typically leads to rapid loss of viability, limiting experimental and translational applications. Lipid-rich formulations and essential oils may provide biocompatible support for RBC integrity while limiting microbial overgrowth. Methods: RBCs from nine healthy adult donors were cultured in serum-free RPMI under four conditions: control, vehicle (olive oil, 1:100 v\/v), genuine adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-oil\u00ae (1:100 v\/v), and laboratory oil, \u201cmimicking\u201d ATP-oil\u00ae. Cultures were maintained for 18 days. Viability was assessed by light microscopy and trypan blue exclusion; bacterial contamination was qualitatively observed on day 18. Results: Genuine ATP-oil\u00ae maintained 35\u201345% RBC viability at day 18, whereas control and vehicle cultures declined rapidly. The mimicking preparation did not reproduce these effects. ATP-oil\u00ae immersion was associated with a qualitative reduction in bacterial contamination versus control, consistent with a dual action on RBC preservation and microbial suppression under serum-free conditions. Conclusions: Supplementation with ATP-oil\u00ae substantially prolongs RBC survival and limits bacterial overgrowth in vitro, outperforming commonly used serum or plasma supplements on a per-volume basis. These findings suggest potential applications for improving ex vivo handling or storage of blood components and for reducing background contamination in diagnostic microbiology. Further studies with larger cohorts are warranted to reveal underlying mechanisms and to define active constituents in order to standardize production.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31030516","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T15:38:12Z","timestamp":1770046692000},"page":"516","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mentha\u00a0piperita Essential Oil in Olive Oil: Extending Erythrocyte Viability and Limiting Bacterial Growth Under Serum-Free Conditions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4658-6425","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tina","family":"Novakovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University Clinical Centre of Serbia, University of Belgrade\u2014Faculty of Medicine, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8616-0525","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emina","family":"Mehmedovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Technology and Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Tuzla, 75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8794-9408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maja","family":"Krsti\u0107 Ristivojevi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CoE for Molecular Food Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, University of Belgrade\u2014Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11158 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0604-9246","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivana","family":"Prodi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera \u201cTorlak\u201d\u2014National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Vojvode Stepe 458, 11152 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9356-0813","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vesna","family":"Jovanovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CoE for Molecular Food Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, University of Belgrade\u2014Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11158 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5346-1412","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milica","family":"A\u0107imovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops\u2014National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, 21101 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4774-8895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katarina","family":"Smiljani\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CoE for Molecular Food Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, University of Belgrade\u2014Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11158 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1478","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1537-2995.2008.01734.x","article-title":"Survival of Red Blood Cells after Transfusion: A Comparison between Red Cells Concentrates of Different Storage Periods","volume":"48","author":"Luten","year":"2008","journal-title":"Transfusion"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7727","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-64319-3","article-title":"Red Blood Cells Exposed to Cancer Cells in Culture Have Altered Cytokine Profiles and Immune Function","volume":"10","author":"Karsten","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. 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