Emine Orhan

Antioxidant activities and fatty acid composition of wild grown myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) fruits.

The fruits of eight myrtles, Myrtus communis L. accessions from the Mediterranean region of Turkey were evaluated for their antioxidant activities and fatty acid contents. The antioxidant activities of the fruit extracts were determined by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays. The fatty acid contents of fruits were determined by using gas chromatography. The methanol extracts of fruits exhibited a high level of free radical scavenging activity. There was a wide range (74.51-91.65%) of antioxidant activity among the accessions in the β-carotene-linoleic acid assay. The amount of total phenolics (TP) was determined to be between 44.41-74.44 μg Gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/mg, on a dry weight basis. Oleic acid was the dominant fatty acid (67.07%), followed by palmitic (10.24%), and stearic acid (8.19%), respectively. These results suggest the future utilization of myrtle fruit extracts as food additives or in chemoprevention studies.

Phenolic and antioxidant diversity among persimmon (Diospyrus kaki L.) genotypes in Turkey.

The amount of research on the healthy benefits of fruits has increased in recent years. The objective of the present study is to determine the antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of 18 selected persimmon genotypes. The genotypes were established in a collection parcel at the Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute, Samsun, Turkey. The β-carotene bleaching method was used to determine antioxidant activity and the Folin–Ciocalteau colorimetric method to determine total phenolics in persimmon fruits. The total phenolic content in fruits, estimated as gallic acid equivalents, ranged from 15.7 mg/g dry weight for 08 TH 12 to 42.3 mg/g gallic acid equivalent for the 08 TH 10 genotype. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in 08 TH 10 as 91.6%, while the lowest was in 14 TH 01 (51.7%), respectively. The antioxidant activities of butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene were 93.4% and 91.8%, respectively. A low correlation (R=0.711) was obtained between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity among genotypes. The results indicate that antioxidant activity in persimmon fruits is strongly affected by genotype.

Relationships among some cornelian cherry genotypes (Cornus mas L.) based on RAPD analysis

Turkey is an important producer of cornelian cherries (Cornus mas L.), especially in northern Anatolia. Seed propagation and long-term human selection has given rise to a great diversity of trees. Twenty-six cornelian cherry genotypes (CC1–CC26) from the Coruh Valley in northern Anatolia were evaluated for genetic relationships by using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, based on 56 decamer random primers, seven of which showed reliable polymorphisms. These seven primers generated 80 markers, with 77 (96.25%) displaying polymorphisms. Cluster analysis of the cornelian cherry genotypes was performed based on data from polymorphic RAPD bands, by using Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and the Unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering method. A similarity matrix showed that the highest genetic similarity (0.913) was between CC15 and CC16 and the least (0.129) was between CC4 and CC16. The cophenetic correlation coefficient between the similarity matrix and the cophenetic matrix of the dendrogram was relatively high (rxa0=xa00.87), supporting the validity of the dendrogram. Based on these results, RAPD analysis can be used for the characterization and grouping of cornelian cherry genotypes. Genetically divergent genotypes identified in this study may be useful for future breeding programs. This is the first study demonstrating that RAPD analyses can be used to differentiate and classify cornelian cherry genotypes.

Genetic variations among mulberry genotypes (Morus alba) as revealed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Turkey is one of the most important mulberry fruit producers in the world. In particular, in Eastern and Inner part of Turkey, mulberry fruits are processed into several products such as `Mulberry Pekmez, `Mulberry Pestil, `Mulberry Kome etc. Therefore, mulberry fruits give higher economic returns thus have greater employment potentials in Turkey. In order to improve the yield and fruit quality through breeding, the genetic variations and relationships among 15 selected white mulberry genotypes (Morus alba L.) were evaluated using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). A total of 101 DNA markers were generated by 16 random primers, with an average of 6.3 easily detectable markers per primer. Several RAPD markers showed unique patterns of mean frequency that differed among the white mulberry genotypes. The distance matrix showed that the highest genetic distance (0.902) was between EMS13 and EMS8 and the least (0.413) was between EMS12 and EMS15. According to the results, RAPD analysis can be used for the characterization and grouping of mulberry genotypes. The genetically divergent genotypes identified from this study would be of much use in the future breeding program.

Seasonal Variation of Total Phenolic, Antioxidant Activity, Plant Nutritional Elements, and Fatty Acids in Tea Leaves (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis clone Derepazari 7) Grown in Turkey

Seasonal variations of total phenolic, antioxidant activity, PNE (Plant Nutrient Elements), and fatty acids in fresh tea leaves grown in Turkey were studied. Fresh tea leaves sampled from Derepazari 7 clone [Camellia sinensis L. var. sinensis (Theaceae)] were analyzed and compared during the three commercial harvest seasons (May 15, July 15, and September 15) in both 2005 and 2006. The levels of total phenolics and antioxidant activity was higher at 2nd harvest time (62.88 μ g/mg and 89.27%). The seasonal variations of the individual fatty acids were significant (P < 0.05) between the three harvest seasons. The amount of N and P in tea leaves was the highest at 1st harvest; however K, Ca, Mg, S, and Mn were highest at 2nd harvest time. This study revealed that total phenolics could be used as quality descriptors for monitoring the seasonal variations in Turkey-grown tea leaves.

Genetic Diversity in Grapevine Germplasm Resources in the Coruh Valley Revealed by RAPD Markers

Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis was carried out in 35 autochthonous table grapevine cultivars grown in Coruh valley. Fifty-five oligonucleotide primers were screened on cultivars, and among them, 12 primers showed clear polymorphic patterns. PCR amplification with 12 primers generated a total of 157 polymorphic bands. There was genetic variation among the cultivars with values of genetic diversity ranging from 0.19 to 0.72 using the Jaccard coefficient. UPGMA analysis of the distance matrix resulted in a dendrogram with two main clusters. The first cluster included 28 cultivars and the second 7 cultivars. The greatest genetic similarity was observed between cultivars Gah and Kolik, while the greatest dissimilarity was observed between cultivars Gah and Siyah Kus Uzumu. The dendrogram revealed that the cultivars present in Coruh valley can be distinguished to a relatively high degree.

Some Physicochemical Characteristics, Bioactive Content and Antioxidant Characteristics of Non-Sprayed Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) Fruits from Turkey

Increasing consumer demands for indigenous, non-sprayed with pesticides and less-known or “forgotten” fruits necessitate knowledge on their breeding, cultivation, biochemical content, harvesting and marketing. Anatolia is rich for wild edible fruit species and barberry is abundant throughout Anatolia. The aim of this study was to determine some important physicochemical characteristics, bioactive content and antioxidant capacity of fruits from nineteen promising barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) genotypes grown in the Coruh valley, Northeastern Anatolia. The results indicated genotype-specific differences for most of the physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity and the content of some bioactive compounds. Fruit mass ranged from 0.073 (‘Coruh-7’) to 0.267xa0g (‘Coruh-11’). Total phenolic content ranged from 2532 (‘Coruh-’) to 3719xa0mg GAE per liter fruit juice (‘Coruh-11’). The genotype ‘Coruh-12’ had the highest total monomeric anthocyanin content (1004xa0mg per liter fruit juice) as cyanidin-3-glucoside. The highest total antioxidant capacity was observed in fruits of ‘Coruh-8’ and ‘Coruh-9’ genotypes with all three antioxidant-determining methods. We conclude that the barberry fruits represent a good source of bioactive phytochemicals because of their high phenolic and anthocyanin contents.ZusammenfassungDer zunehmende Wunsch der Verbraucher nach heimischen, mit Pflanzenschutzmitteln nicht behandelten, wenig bekannten oder „vergessenen“ Fruchtarten erfordert über diese Kenntnisse in Züchtung, Anbau, biochemischen Inhaltstoffen, Ernte und Vermarktung. Anatolien ist reich an essbaren Wildobstarten und die Berberitze ist in ganz Anatolien häufig vorhanden. Das Ziel dieser Studie war es, einige wichtige physikalisch-chemischen Eigenschaften, bioaktive Inhaltsstoffe und antioxidative Kapazitäten von Früchten von neunzehn vielversprechenden Berberitzen (Berberis vulgaris L.) zu bestimmen, deren Genotypen im Coruh Tal, im Nordosten Anatoliens, gewachsen sind. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass es Genotyp-spezifische Unterschiede bei den meisten der physikalisch-chemischen Eigenschaften, der antioxidativen Kapazität und einigen bioaktiven Inhaltstoffen gibt. Das Fruchtgewicht reichte von 0,073 (‘Coruh-7’) bis zu 0,267xa0g (‘Coruh-11’). Der Gesamtphenolgehalt lag zwischen 2532 (‘Coruh-9’) und 3719xa0mg GAE pro Liter Fruchtsaft (‘Coruh-11’). Der Genotyp „Coruh-12“ hatte den höchsten Gehalt an monomerem Anthocyan (1004xa0mg pro Liter Fruchtsaft) in Form von Cyanidin-3-glucosid. Der höchste Gesamtgehalt an Antioxidantien wurde in den Früchten von ‘Coruh-8’- und ‘Coruh-9’- Genotypen bei allen drei Analyseverfahren für Antioxidantien beobachtet. Wir schließen daraus, dass die Früchte der Berberitze aufgrund ihrer hohen Phenol- und Anthocyan-Gehalte eine gute Quelle für bioaktive, sekundäre Inhaltsstoffe sind.