Emre Sevindik

Determination of the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Teucrium polium and Achillea millefolium grown under North Anatolian ecological conditions

ABSTRACT The chemical composition and antimicrobial effect of essential oils derived from Teucrium polium L. and Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium Afan. in in vitro conditions were investigated in the present study. The results from the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis showed that the obtained (Z)-β-farnesene from T. polium was with the highest percentage (15.49%), whereas β-pinene from the same plant was with the lowest percentage (0.74%). The 1,8-cineole in A. millefolium subsp. millefolium was with the highest percentage (22.83%), whereas p-cymene in the same plant was with the lowest percentage (0.93%). In the antimicrobial studies, the essential oils’ effect against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), S. aureus ATCC 6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli Q157:H7 and Bacillus cereus CCM 99 were investigated using the agar well method. P. aeruginosa and MRSA showed the biggest inhibition zones (15 mm), whereas E. coli Q157:H7 showed the smallest inhibition zone (11 mm), each generated by using T. polium essential oils. MRSA showed the biggest inhibition zone (21 mm), whereas P. aeruginosa showed the smallest inhibition zone (10 mm), both obtained by using A. millefolium subsp. millefolium essential oils. Therefore, it was concluded that the essential oils obtained from the two plant species had an inhibition effect on resistant micro-organisms.

Comparative study of bioactive components in pear genotypes from Ardahan/Turkey

ABSTRACT In this study, 10 pear genotypes (İncir, Bal, Nene, Kabak, Banda, Kırmızı, İmlahor, Baraka, Limon and Güğüm), which grow in the Ardahan region, were evaluated for their total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content, brix°, pH, titratable acidity, total ascorbic acid content and antioxidant activity. According to the results, the pear genotypes used in this study had a high brix˚ content, high phenolic, anthocyanin and ascorbic acid contents, as well as high antioxidant activity. It was determined that ‘Bal’ pear had the highest total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. In ‘Nene’ and ‘Incir’ pears, the quantity of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin, as well as the antioxidant activity were less than those in the other genotypes. Correlations between brix° and pH, acidity and pH, peel phenolic content and flesh phenolic content, flesh ascorbic acid content and peel phenolic content, peel antioxidant activity and flesh phenolic content, were found to be significant. As a conclusion, due to the high levels of antioxidants and other bioactive compounds in pears, it is suggested to consume those fruits, especially with their peels. The results from this study will provide new insights into farming, fresh fruit consumption, industrial food processing and future research studies.

Chemical Compositions and Antiproliferative Effect of Citrus sinensis and Citrus aurantium Flowers in The West Anatolian Ecological Conditions

Abstract The aim of this was to assessment chemical composition, antiproliferative of valuable essential oils from Citrus sinensis and Citrus aurantium flowers commonly used in Anatolia. According to the results of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, nerolidol (22.13 %), linalool (14.06 %) were found to be highest in the essential oil obtained from C. sinensis. Nerolidol (28.07 %), 2,6,10-dodecatriene-1-ol (15.11 %), were found to be highest in the essential oil obtained from C. aurantium. The antiproliferative activity for both natural products was conducted following the European Pharmacopoeia 8.0 protocol. According to this protocol, we investigated both products for in vitro antiproliferative activity against HeLa, HT29, A549, Hep3B, MCF7 cancer cells and FL normal cells using a cell proliferation assay, cytotoxicity assay (LDH), and phase-contrast microscopic image evaluation techniques. Both essential oils exhibited the strong antiproliferative effect together with low cytotoxicity values at the low and mid concentration (1.9-2.9 Log10 μg/mL). Both samples altered the morphological shape of the cells from being cell shrinkage and rounding to being decreased cell elongation and volume at high concentration (2.9-4.4 Log10 μg/mL). However, these essentials oils caused high cytotoxic effect against FL normal cells compared to that of cancer cells, indicating that these were not promising suitable antiproliferative agents against cells tested. We believe that both essential oils need to be developed by making a more rational research because they have affected normal FL cells. As a conclusion, it seems substantial to continue to improve both essential oils to help the cancer problem further.

Comparative Analysis of the Genomic DNA Isolation Methods on Inula sp. (Asteraceae)

Simple, fast, low-cost and high throughput protocols are required for DNA isolation of plant species. In this study, phenol chloroform isoamyl alcohol and commercial (Sigma) DNA isolation kit methods were applied on some Inula species that belong to Asteraceae family. Genomic DNA amounts, A 260 , A 280 , A 260 /A 230 and purity degrees (A 260 /A 280 ) that were obtained through both methods were measured through electrophoresis and spectrophotometer. Additionally, PCR amplification was realized by primer pairs specific to nrDNA ITS, cpDNA ndh F (972F-1603R) and trn L-F regions. Results showed that maximum genomic DNA in nanograms obtained by phenol chloroform isoamyl alcohol method. The study also revealed that I. macrocephala had the maximum DNA and I. heterolepis had the minimum DNA amount. A 260 /A 280 purity degrees showed that the highest and lowest purity in gDNAs obtained through phenol-choloform isoamyl alcohol method were in I.aucheriana and I. salicina , respectively. The highest and lowest purity degrees of gDNAs obtained through commercial kit was observed in I. fragilis and I. macrocephala samples, respectively. PCR amplification results showed that while band profiles of each three regions (ITS, trn L-F and ndh F) did not yield positive results in PCR amplifications using phenol-choloform isoamyl alcohol method; PCR band profiles obtained through commercial kit yielded positive results. As a result, it is fair to say that the relation of genomic DNA with PCR was found to be more efficient although the maximum amount of genomic DNA was obtained through phenol chloroform isoamyl alcohol method.

Genome-wide identification and comparative structural analysis of RuBisCo proteins in the asteraceae

Asteraceae, the largest known plant family in the world, contains economically important species including ornamental plants. The most abundant enzyme on Earth, Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBisCo), catalyzes the first step of carbon assimilation in photosynthesis. In this study, we conducted sequence, physicochemical, phylogenetic, and three-dimensional comparative analyses of 22 RuBisCo proteins in the Asteraceae using various bioinformatic tools. The alignment results showed that all residues corresponding to the region between 48-179 amino acids were conserved in all species, except for just seven residues: G79, I80, S88, F90, F93, I135, and S136. The sequence lengths of the RuBisCo large subunits were between 163 and 477 amino acids, with an average length of 255 amino acids. Their molecular weights (Mw) ranged from 18341.8 to 52895.1 Da, with an average Mw of 26294.5 Da. We found that the most abundant amino acid residue was Gly, which comprised 9.88% of these RuBisCo proteins. Ala (8.17%) and Leu (8.53%) were also both abundant. The extinction coefficient of the RuBisCo proteins at 280 nm ranged from 27515 to 69830 M-1 cm-1. The instability index values ranged from 24.41 to 40.65, and only one protein (from Gymnarrhena micrantha) was unstable in vitro. The aliphatic index values ranged from 72.56 to 81.13, while the GRAVY values ranged from -0.394 to -0.179. A total of ten motifs were identified in the sequences of the RuBisCo proteins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the 22 RuBisCo proteins formed two main clades. A RAMPAGE analysis revealed that 95.0-98.4% of residues were located in the favored region in 22 RuBisCo proteins. Sequence alignment and 3D analysis revealed that a catalytically important Lys residue was conserved among all the RuBisCo enzymes of Asteraceae. The results of this study provide insights into the fundamental characteristics of the RuBisCo proteins of the Asteraceae.

Ardahan Bölgesinde Yetiştirilen Elma Çeşitlerinin Biyoaktif Bileşiklerinin ve Toplam Antioksidan Kapasitesinin Belirlenmesi

Bu calismada Ardahan bolgesinde yetisen 26 elma cesidinde toplam fenolik madde icerigi, toplam antosiyanin icerigi, suda cozunebilir kuru madde (SCKM), pH, titre edilebilir asitlik, toplam askorbik asit icerigi ve antioksidan kapasitesi belirlenerek cesitlerin besleyici degeri ortaya cikarilmistir. SCKM icerigi yuksek, asitlikleri dusuk olan cesitler Şah Elmasi ve Dervisbey, SCKM icerigi dusuk ve asitligi yuksek olan cesit ise Mahara olarak belirlenmistir. Limon Elmasi ve Yabani Elma’nin biyoaktif bilesik iceriginin ve meyve kalitesinin diger cesitlere oranla dusuk oldugu tespit edilmistir. Ici kirmizi Uruset cesidinin toplam fenolik madde ve antosiyanin icerigi ile antioksidan kapasite yonunden, Mahara cesidinin ise askorbik asit icerigi yonunden diger cesitlerden zengin olduklari belirlenmistir. Sonuc olarak, bolgede yetisen cesitlerin yuksek besleyici degere ve antioksidan kapasiteye sahip olduklari ortaya cikarilmistir. Bu bakimdan meyvelerin icerdikleri sagliga faydali bilesiklerden oturu fonksiyonel gida kaynagi olarak ozellikle kabuklariyla birlikte tuketilmeleri onerilmektedir.