Microelement Contents and Fatty Acid Compositions of some Isatis Species Seeds

Isatis species are important biennial, herbaceous shrubs represented by 40 taxa, of which 24 are endemic to Turkey. The chemical compounds found in leaves and roots of all Isatis species have medicinal properties and are used for treatment of a wide range of disorders. No study reports seed characteristics, microelement contents and fatty acid compositions of the seeds of any Isatis species except I. tinctoria. Therefore the study was carried out to find seed fatty oil, fatty acid compositions protein content, characteristics, and microelement contents of I. aucheri, I. cochlearis, I. constricta, I. demiriziana (endemic), I. glauca and I. lusitanica. The results showed fatty oil and protein content of these species in range of 2 to 10% and 16.07 to 25.17%, respectively. Furthermore, these seeds were rich in microelements Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na and P. Major fatty oil components of these species were determined as erucic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acid; such that erucic acid content of these species ranged 16.94 to 30.52%

Determination of in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of shoot and root extracts of Astragalus diphtherites FENZL var. diphtherites and Astragalus gymnalopecias RECH. FIL. obtained by different solvents

WOS: 000441467900008Objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of shoot and and root parts of Astragalus diphtherites var. diphtherites (A. diphtherites) and Astragalus gymnalopecias (A.gymnalopecias) species which were subjected to solvent series with different polarity. Total phenolic, total flavonoid, 2.2-diphenyl - 1 - picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH). metal chelating, reducing power and hydroxy radicals scavenging activities of the extracts were tested to determine antioxidant. properties. The highest total phenolic content of A. diphtherites. was obtained from the methanol extract of shoots and the acetone extract of root parts. On the other Antimicrobial. hand. the highest total phenolic content in A. gymnalopecias were achieved from methanol extract of shoot parts and the ethyl acetate extract of the root part. The highest amount of total flavonoids and reducing power activities of A. diphtherites and A. gymnalopecias were obtained from the acetone extracts in the shoot. part and from the ethyl acetate extracts in the root part. While the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity was determined in the methanol extract in the shoot part and the acetone extract in the root part of A. diphtherites. The highest DPPH radical scavenging activity for A. gymnalopecias was determined in the methanol extract of the shoot part and the ethyl acetate extract of the root part. The highest metal chelating activity was seen in the methanol extracts from shoot parts and in the hexane extracts from the root part of A. diphtherites. The ethyl acetate extracts of the shoot and root part in both species showed the highest hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. It. was determined that. acetone and methanol extracts of the shoot part of A. gymnalopecias have inhibition effect on the growth of Streptococcus pyogenes.Dicle University [DUBAP-07-01-25]The present work was carried out under the financial support of Dicle University (DUBAP-07-01-25)

SOME AGRONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION OF HYSSOP (Hyssopus officinalis L.) UNDER CULTIVATION CONDITIONS

WOS: 000401783000014Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.) is an aromatic and medicinal perennial herb native to Southern Europe and temperate regions of Asia. The study aimed to determine the effect of different plant parts harvested at different flowering stages: pre-flowering, full-flowering and post-flowering, in some agronomical characteristics, essential oil yield and components of hyssop plant in semi-arid climatic conditions of South Eastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir, Turkey. The results showed that both flowering stages and plant parts had important effects on fresh, dry herbage, dry leaf yield of hyssop, as well as essential oil content. It was concluded that under semi-arid climatic conditions, hyssop plant could be grown successfully in conformity to the limits of ISO standards and harvest from top parts of the plants at full flowering stage could be preferred for maximum dry leaf yield and essential oil contents

Phenolic Content and Biomolecule Oxidation Protective Activity of Globularia alypum Extracts

ABSTRACT The protective activity of methanolic (Met E) and aqueous (Aq E) extracts of Globularia alypum L. (G. alypum) against DNA, lipid and protein oxidative damage was investigated. Moreover, the scavenging, chelating, and reducing power activities of the extracts were also evaluated. Phytochemical analysis was performed to determine phenolic compounds. Results showed that Met E and Aq E were rich in phenolic compounds, and were able to scavenge DPPH˙ with IC50 values of 48.61 µg/mL and 51.97 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, both extracts were able to chelate ferrous ions. At 300 μg/mL, the chelating activity was 97.53% and 91.02%, respectively. The reducing power of these extracts was also remarkable and concentration dependent. At 100 µg/mL, both extracts inhibited lipid peroxidatin by only 42.45% and 4.03%. However, the DNA oxidation damage was inhibited dose-dependently in the presence of G. alypum extracts. At 1 mg/mL, both extracts suppressed DNA cleavage by 83%-84%. The protein oxidation was also inhibited by G. alypum extracts. At 1 mg/mL, Aq E and Met E protected BSA fragmentation by 77%-99%. The overall results suggest that G. alypum extracts exerted antioxidant activity and protect biomolecules against oxidative damage; hence it may serve as a potential source of natural antioxidants

Synthesis Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Fe III Valex Complex

Iron (III) complex with a mixture of hydrolysable tannins from the fruits of Valonia Oak (Quercus ithaburensis sp. macrolepsis) known as Valex was synthesized and characterized using various techniques. Stoichiometry of the complex was determined to be M2L at pH 4.4 with the stability constant (K) of 1.5 ´ 108 L2mol-2. The antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activity of the Fe(III)-Valex complex was studied. The Fe(III)-Valex complex was found to have antioxidant activity but did not show any antimicrobial and antifungal activity against the tested microorganisms

Unusual Genetic Organization of a Functional Type I Protein Secretion System in Neisseria meningitidis

Proteins secreted by Neisseria meningitidis are thought to play important roles in the pathogenesis of meningococcal disease. These proteins include the iron-repressible repeat-in-toxin (RTX) exoprotein FrpC. Related proteins in other pathogens are secreted via a type I secretion system (TOSS), but such a system has not been demonstrated in N. meningitidis. An in silico search of the group B meningococcal genome suggested the presence of a uniquely organized TOSS. Genes encoding homologs of the Escherichia coli HlyB (ATP-binding), HlyD (membrane fusion), and TolC (outer membrane channel) proteins were identified. In contrast to the cistronic organization of the secretion genes in most other rtx operons, the hlyD and tolC genes were adjacent but unlinked to hlyB; neither locus was part of an operon containing genes encoding putative TOSS substrates. Both loci were flanked by genes normally associated with mobile genetic elements. The three genes were shown to be expressed independently. Mutation at either locus resulted in an inability to secrete FrpC and a related protein, here called FrpC2. Successful complementation of these mutations at an ectopic site confirmed the observed phenotypes were caused by loss of function of the putative TOSS genes. We show that genes scattered in the meningococcal genome encode a functional TOSS required for secretion of the meningococcal RTX proteins