Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans

BACKGROUND: Sarma - cooked leaves rolled around a filling made from rice and/or minced meat, possibly vegetables and seasoning plants - represents one of the most widespread feasting dishes of the Middle Eastern and South-Eastern European cuisines. Although cabbage and grape vine sarma is well-known worldwide, the use of alternative plant leaves remains largely unexplored. The aim of this research was to document all of the botanical taxa whose leaves are used for preparing sarma in the folk cuisines of Turkey and the Balkans. Methods: Field studies were conducted during broader ethnobotanical surveys, as well as during ad-hoc investigations between the years 2011 and 2014 that included diverse rural communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Primary ethnobotanical and folkloric literatures in each country were also considered. Results: Eighty-seven botanical taxa, mainly wild, belonging to 50 genera and 27 families, were found to represent the bio-cultural heritage of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. The greatest plant biodiversity in sarma was found in Turkey and, to less extent, in Bulgaria and Romania. The most commonly used leaves for preparing sarma were those of cabbage (both fresh and lacto-fermented), grape vine, beet, dock, sorrel, horseradish, lime tree, bean, and spinach. In a few cases, the leaves of endemic species (Centaurea haradjianii, Rumex gracilescens, and R. olympicus in Turkey) were recorded. Other uncommon sarma preparations were based on lightly toxic taxa, such as potato leaves in NE Albania, leaves of Arum, Convolvulus, and Smilax species in Turkey, of Phytolacca americana in Macedonia, and of Tussilago farfara in diverse countries. Moreover, the use of leaves of the introduced species Reynoutria japonica in Romania, Colocasia esculenta in Turkey, and Phytolacca americana in Macedonia shows the dynamic nature of folk cuisines. Conclusion: The rich ethnobotanical diversity of sarma confirms the urgent need to record folk culinary plant knowledge. The results presented here can be implemented into initiatives aimed at re-evaluating folk cuisines and niche food markets based on local neglected ingredients, and possibly also to foster trajectories of the avant-garde cuisines inspired by ethnobotanical knowledge

Spontaneous pneumothorax as a complication of cystic bronchioloalveolar carcinoma: Pathology, HRCT findings and review of the literature

We present a rare case of cystic bronchioloalveolar cacinoma (BAC) which was complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax. Descriptions about the mechanism of cysts and complications of pneumothorax in BAC are few in the literature. Check-valve mechanism is one of these factors which may be responsible for the cystic lesions and spontaneous pneumothorax in cystic BAC. Narrowing of the respiratory bronchioles by the tumor cells should be a cause of the check-valve mechanism. In our case, high resolution CT (HRCT) showed that some of the cysts have a connection with the airways, which was confirmed by pathology. This case is original because the connection between the airways and cysts was supported by not only pathology specimens but also HRCT

Ligninolytic enzyme activities in mycelium of some wild and commercial mushrooms

Lignin is probably one of the most recalcitrant compounds synthesized by plants. This compound is degraded by few microorganisms. White-rot fungi have been extensively studied due to its powerful ligninolytic enzymes. In this study, ligninolytic enzyme activities of different fungal species (six commercial and 13 wild) were investigated in solid and liquid culture media. It was postulated that, among the wild strains, only Pleurotus ostreatus-1 (MCC45), P. ostreatus-2 (MCC40), Pleurotus eryngii-1 (MCC25) and P. eryngii-2 (MCC26), and commercial strains P. ostreatus, P. sajor-caju, P. eryngii presented lignin peroxidase (LiP) activity. All enzymes tested in this study were not determined in Rigidoporus ulmarius, Gloeophyllum trabeum and Tricholoma caligatum as well as commercial strainPleurotus citrinopileatus. Therefore, the results of the present study allow us to conclude that wild P. ostreatus and P. eryngii are good candidates for scale-up ligninolytic enzyme production

Novel splice-site and missense mutations in the ALDH1A3 gene underlying autosomal recessive anophthalmia/microphthalmia

Aim: This study aimed to identify the underlying genetic defect responsible for anophthalmia/microphthalmia. Methods: In total, two Turkish families with a total of nine affected individuals were included in the study. Affymetrix 250 K single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping and homozygosity mapping were used to identify the localisation of the genetic defect in question. Coding region of the ALDH1A3 gene was screened via direct sequencing. cDNA samples were generated from primary fibroblast cell cultures for expression analysis. Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) analysis was performed using direct sequencing of the obtained fragments. Results: The causative genetic defect was mapped to chromosome 15q26.3. A homozygous G>A substitution (c.666G>A) at the last nucleotide of exon 6 in the ALDH1A3 gene was identified in the first family. Further cDNA sequencing of ALDH1A3 showed that the c.666G>A mutation caused skipping of exon 6, which predicted in-frame loss of 43 amino acids (p. Trp180-Glu222del). A novel missense c.1398C>A mutation in exon 12 of ALDH1A3 that causes the substitution of a conserved asparagine by lysine at amino acid position 466 (p.Asn466Lys) was observed in the second family. No extraocular findings - except for nevus flammeus in one affected individual and a variant of Dandy-Walker malformation in another affected individual - were observed. Autistic-like behaviour and mental retardation were observed in three cases. Conclusions: In conclusion, novel ALDH1A3 mutations identified in the present study confirm the pivotal role of ALDH1A3 in human eye development. Autistic features, previously reported as an associated finding, were considered to be the result of social deprivation and inadequate parenting during early infancy in the presented families

Correlations among enthesitis, clinical, radiographic and quality of life parameters in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

PubMedID: 24252034Objectives. To investigate the relationship between enthesitis and disease activity, functional status, fatigue, joint mobility, radiological damage, laboratory parameter and quality of life in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods. A total of 421 patients with AS (323 male and 98 female) who were included in the Turkish League Against Rheumatism Registry were enrolled in the study. The Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), fatigue, the Bath AS Functional Index (BASFI), the Bath AS Metrology Index (BASMI), the Maastricht AS Enthesitis Score (MASES), AS quality of life (ASQoL), the Bath AS Radiology Index (BASRI) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were evaluated. Results. Enthesitis was detected in 27.3% of patients. There were positive correlations between MASES and BASDAI, BASFI and fatigue (p < 0.05). MASES was not correlated with BASRI, BASMI, ASQoL and ESR. The mean MASES score was 1.1 ± 2.4. The most frequent regions of enthesopathies were right iliac crest, spinous process of L5 and proximal to the insertion of left achilles tendon, respectively. Conclusions. Enthesitis was found to be associated with higher disease activity, higher fatigue, worse functional status and lower disease duration. As enthesitis was correlated with BASDAI, we conclude that enthesitis can reflect the disease activity in patients with AS. © 2014 Japan College of Rheumatology