## 4 Discussion  
Herbal spirits are special strong alcoholic drinks obtained by maceration of aromatic and medicinal herbs in spirits and are also, like liqueurs, traditional household products. Recently, they have been used not only for their smell and taste, but also because of the bioactive substances contained in them [7]. The herbal spirits are expected to have a decent smell and a slight yellow to green color. According to these requirements, it is necessary to adjust the production conditions, in terms of the amount of plants, ethanol strength, and maceration time. Because of that, the influence of maceration parameters on the physicochemical properties and volatile compounds of mistletoe macerates for the preparation of _biska_ spirit is studied here. The results show that both the ethanol content in the ethanol-water solution and the content of macerated plants influence the pH values of the macerate (Figure 1). [PERSON] et al. [11] consider that the most suitable solvent for extraction is mixture of solvents of different polarity, as it facilitates the extraction of plant compounds of different polarity. Aqueous extracts have a higher proportion of polar compounds, while organic solvents have a higher proportion of less-polar compounds. The obtained results show that mistletoe contains different compounds (both basic and acidic) extracted during maceration in ethanol-water solution, so different functional and physicochemical properties of the obtained macerates can also be expected. [PERSON] et al. [23] measured slightly lower pH values in commercial samples of _biska_ made with grape marc spirit as a base, while _biska_ made with ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin had pH values similar to the results in this paper. Indeed, distillates made from fruit or fruit pomace have a higher acidity, which ultimately affects the pH of the herbal spirits made from them. The composition of the ethanol-water solution also affects the values of total extract and total acids (Figures 2 and 3). In accordance with [PERSON] et al. [24], higher values of total extract were measured in macerates with lower ethanol concentration. Mistletoe contains significant amounts of glucose, fructose, and sucrose, with sucrose predominating. Of the polysaccharides, it contains pectin, highly methylated homogalacturonan, arabinolactan, and \(\alpha\)-1,4-methyl ester of galacturonic acid [7; 25; 26]. The decrease in total extract with increasing ethanol content can be explained by a decrease in the solubility of sugars in solution with increasing ethanol concentration [27]. Sugars with five and six hydroxyl groups form more hydrogen bonds with water than with ethanol. As ethanol content increases, the number of hydrogen bonds in the solvent decreases, reducing solubility. Mistletoe is reported to contain oleanolic acid, to which cytotoxic properties are attributed [25]. [PERSON] et al. [28] determined the content of triterpen acids, betulinic acid, and oleanolic acids in _V. album_ from different hosts and in various seasons. High variance in the acids' content was noted. However, oleanolic acid was a dominant triterpene acid. Also, unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic and linoleic acids, were identified in nine lipophylic extracts obtained from _V. album_ samples growing on different host trees in Turkey [29]. Mistletoe is rich in these non-volatile acids, while the volatile acids were sporadically present in our macerates with lower alcohol content. [PERSON] et al. [23] also detected only myristic acid and oleic acid in comercial _biska_ spirits. The volatile components are responsible for the organoleptic quality and safety of spirits, depending on their composition, concentration and sensory characteristics, which are crucial for their acceptance by the customer. Reports on mistletoe volatile extract composition have appeared in literature [9; 30], but detailed reports have not been published. Most investigations on _V.