Radical scavenging and anti-acetylcholinesterase activities of aqueous extract of wild pistachio (Pistacia atlantica Desf.) leaves

The purpose of this work is to assess the radical scavenging activity, acetylcholinesterase inhibition, and proline content of an aqueous extract from wild pistachio (Pistacia atlantica Desf.) leaves. The effect of aqueous extract on superoxide radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, N,N-dimethyl-1,4-phenylendiammoniumdichloride (DMPD center dot+) radical scavenging, ABTS(center dot+) radical scavenging, nitric oxide scavenging, and beta-carotene bleaching activities was examined. This study found that the aqueous extract possesses considerable amounts of flavonoids (33.52 +/- 2.04 mu g catechin equivalents/mg of extract). The effect of this extract in scavenging activity of hydroxyl radical and DMPD center dot+ was significantly better than that of ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The effect of the extract in superoxide and ABTS(center dot+) was significantly similar than that of tested standard antioxidants. The proline content of the extract was found to be 0.54 +/- 0.01 mu g proline/mg of extract. Aqueous extract of P. atlantica inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity effectively with IC50 value of 58.05 +/- 0.12 mu g/mL

Antioxidant activities of aqueous extracts of purslane (Portulaca oleracea subsp sativa L.)

The antioxidant activities of the infusion and aqueous extracts of purslane (Portulaca oleracea subsp. sativa L.) were investigated. Different antioxidant tests were employed, namely reducing power, total antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, metal chelating activities and P-carotene bleaching effect. In addition, the results were compared with natural and synthetic antioxidants, e.g. alpha-tocopherol, butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole. The levels of anthocyanins, total flavonoids and total phenolics of the extracts were also determined. Total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of the infusion were found to be higher than those of the aqueous extract. Infusion of purslane exhibited a strong Fe2+ chelating effect, free radical scavenging activity, hydrogen peroxide scavenging ability, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract increased with increased concentrations, in the range of 20-100 mu g/ mL. The aqueous extract also exhibited a strong superoxide radical scavenging activity. This study showed that purslane extracts exhibited antioxidant activity in all tests and the extracts could be considered as a source of natural antioxidants

Determination of chitinase activity in different plant samples of Turkey

The chitinase activity constitutively present in fruits, vegetables and cereal grains from various healthy plant species growing in Turkey have been determined. Crude extracts from 47 different fruit species, 35 kind vegetables and 4 various cereal grains were tested for chitinase activity using colloidal chitin as a substrat. In general, fruits seem to be the best sources of chitinase activity. The highest activity was found in persimmon fruits and grape berries

EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIACETYLCHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITIES OF THE EXTRACTS OF PISTACIA ATLANTICA DESF. LEAVES

Pistacia atlantica Desf. (Anacardiaceae), a tree that is widely distributed in the Marmara, Mediterranean and Central Anatolia regions of Turkey, has been utilized traditionally for culinary and medicinal purposes. In the present study, methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts were prepared from young leaves of P. atlantica Desf., which were collected during the spring, and their antioxidant, scavenging, chelating and anti-acetylcholinesterase activities were evaluated. Both of the extracts showed strong antioxidant activity compared to synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene and alpha-tocopherol whereas they exhibited relatively lower level of anti-acetylcholinesterase activity. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of the ethylacetate extract was higher than the inhibitory effect of the methanolic extract. Therefore, the extracts of the young leaves of P. atlantica Desf. might be a potential antioxidant supplement for food and pharmaceutical products. It might also be used to stabilize the foods against oxidative deterioration

Antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of some norcantharidin and bridged perhydroisoindole derivatives

A series of norcantharidin and bridged perhydroisoindole derivatives were evaluated for their antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. Different in vitro methodologies, such as total reducing power, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH center dot) free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging and metal chelating activities were used. Among the 11 tested compounds, 7 compounds showed potent reducing power activity and 7 compounds showed potent superoxide anion radical scavenging activity. All the tested compounds exhibited potent free radical scavenging ability. The results showed that the synthesized compounds have effective antioxidant power