Purpose: To characterise the phytochemical profile of whole plants of Centaurea balsamita, C. depressa and C. lycopifolia with LC-ESI-MS/MS, and as well as their antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antimicrobial activities.Methods: Organic and aqueous extracts of the three Centaurea species were evaluated for DPPH free radical, ABTS cation radical scavenging and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC). Acetyland butyryl-cholinesterase enzyme inhibition abilities of the extracts using petroleum ether, acetone, methanol and water were studied to determine anticholinesterase activity, while antimicrobial activity was determined by disc diffusion method using appropriate antimicrobial standards and organisms. The phytochemical components of the methanol extracts were assessed by LC-MS/MS.Results: The methanol extract of C. balsamita exhibited much higher DPPH free and ABTS cation radicals scavenging activities (with IC50 of 62.65 ± 0.97 and 24.21 ± 0.70 mg/ml, respectively) than the other extracts. The petroleum ether extracts of the plant species exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against butyrylcholinesterase enzymes while the acetone extract of C. balsamita showed good antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Quinic acid (17513 ± 813 μg/g, 63874 ± 3066 μg/g and 108234 ± 5195 μg/g) was the major compound found in the methanol extracts of C. balsamita, C. depressa and C. Lycopifolia, respectively.Conclusion: These results indicate quinic acid is the major compound in the three plant species and that Centaurea balsamita has significant antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antimicrobial properties. Further studies to identify the compounds in the extracts responsible for the activities are required.Keywords: Centaurea, LC-ESI-MS/MS, Anticholinesterase, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial
Abstract Representatives of the Achillea genus are widely used as foods or nutraceuticals. Considering the increasing demand for herbal dietary supplements with health promoting effects, the objective of this research was to evaluate the chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oils obtained from sixteen Achillea species ( A. biebersteinii , A. wilhelmsii subsp. wilhelmsii , A. aleppica subsp. zederbaueri , A. vermicularis , A. monocephala , A. nobilis , A. goniocephala , A. sintenisii , A. coarctata , A. kotschyi subsp. kotschyi , A. millefolium subsp. millefolium , A. lycaonica , A. spinulifolia , A. teretifolia , A. setacea , and A. schischkinii ). Anticholinesterase, antiurease, antityrosinase enzymes inhibition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, toxic and cytotoxic activities of obtained essential oils were investigated. DPPH activities were found to be very low in all studied samples, while ABTS and CUPRAC antioxidant activities were found to be moderate. In addition, all samples were found to have moderate anticholinesterase and antimicrobial effects. It has been determined that the studied species have low cytotoxicity and high toxicity. Besides, chemical composition of the essential oils were determined by GC/MS and the results were chemometrically analyzed. The chemometric analyses of Achillea species collected from nine different regions were accomplished by principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) techniques. According to the PCA analysis, A. nobilis subsp. neilreichii was found to be different from all studied species in terms of essential oil composition. The major components found in these species were piperitone, camphor, α ‐terpinene, eucalyptol, artemisia ketone, endo ‐borneol, β ‐eudesmol and verbenol. The fact that camphor was toxic and found in majority of the studied species stands out as a remarkable result.
In this study, implantable and degradable molecularly imprinted cryogel was prepared for pH-responsive delivery of doxorubicin. Cryogel discs were synthesized using amino acid-based functional monomer with HEMA and gelatin. The molecularly imprinted discs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, degradation and swelling tests. In vitro delivery experiments were carried out in order to examine the effects of medium pH and drug content. The degree of degradation of composite cryogels was found to be 83.45±1.86% after 56 days. The release profiles of DOX from molecularly imprinted cryogel discs exhibit a biphasic delivery. It was observed that an initial burst release step from 0 to 12 h was followed by a slower and sustained release. Release rate of DOX from cryogel discs increased in more acidic conditions. Kinetic studies showed that a combination of diffusion and erosion control is mainly responsible from the general release behaviors of molecularly imprinted cryogel discs.
The polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is an enzyme that is responsible for the enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables. This is generally undesired process and need to be prevented in food technology. PPO from purslane was purified, characterised and the kinetic parameters for three substrates namely, catechol, L-Dopa and 4-methylcatechol were determined. The optimum pH and temperature values were found to be pH 7.0 and 50 °C, respectively using the catechol as substrate. The apparent molecular weight of the PPO from purslane was determined as high as 163 kDa by partially denaturing SDS-PAGE. Moreover, the inhibition kinetics of the purified PPO were determined, using both synthetic and natural inhibitors. Among inhibitors tested, ascorbic acid was the most effective inhibitor with the lowest Ki value of 0.36 mM. This is the first study on the purification and characterisation of PPO from purslane (Portulaca oleracea) that may provide new insight into how to overcome the enzymatic browning.
The purpose of the present work was to calculate the phenolic and the fatty acids profiles by LC-MS/MS and GC/MS with their antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antimicrobial activities, and aflatoxin contents of Malva neglecta and Malvella sherardiana. The phenolic contents of M. neglecta and M. sherardiana were determined by LC-MS/MS. Malic and 4-OH benzoic acids were found to be the most abundant compounds in M. neglecta and M. sherardiana, respectively. On the other hand, essential oils and fatty acids composition were determined by GC/MS analysis. The methanol extracts of the plants showed the highest effect in all antioxidant assays of this study. The methanol extract of M. neglecta showed the highest activity among the petroleum ether, acetone, methanol and water extracts against acetyl- and butyryl- cholinesterase enzymes (53.68% and 63.95% inhibition ratio, respectively). The acetone extracts of M. neglacta and M. sherardiana exhibited moderate activity against C. albicans with 18 and 17 mm inhibion zone diameter, respectively. The results of the present study is also showed that the M. neglecta and M. sherardiana can also be used as a food source due to its high phenolic acid content and good antioxidant property. Also, the samples were aflatoxin free.
Abstract This work reports the application of Bacillus subtilis as adsorbent for the removal of Ni(II) from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were conducted to study the effects of several parameters such as, contact time, initial concentration of adsorbate (25–200 mg L−1), temperature (298–318 K), and adsorbent dose (0.05–0.4 g) on Ni(II) adsorption. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms and kinetics were also investigated. The equilibrium experimental data were analyzed by Freundlich and Langmuir models. The kinetic data obtained with different initial concentration and temperature were analyzed using a pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion equations. The results showed that this novel adsorbent had a high adsorption capacity, making it suitable for use in the treatment of Ni(II)-enriched wastewater.
Astragalus L. is the largest flowering genus of the Fabaceae family and is represented by approximately 3000 species worldwide.This study aims to determine the anti-aging and anti-diabetes effects of Astragalus leporinus, A. distinctissimus, and A. schizopterus, three endemic species in Anatolia.The anti-aging effects against elastase and collagenase enzymes and the anti-diabetic effects against α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes were determined.Some triterpene contents were also determined by GC-MS.Ursolic acid (85.86 mg/g extract) and oleanolic acid (49.11 mg/g extract) were detected in the acetone extract of A. schizopterus species, and only (2.10 mg/g extract) oleanolic acid was detected in the ethanol extract.α-Amyrin (5.46 mg/g extract), oleanolic acid (6.09 mg/g extract), and ursolic acid (8.95 mg/g extract) were identified in the acetone extract of A. distinctissimus species.In terms of anti-aging, A. leporinus var.hirsutus ethanol extract has shown the highest activity in elastase and collagenase inhibition activity methods (inhibition %: 17.26±0.18and 11.47±0.15,respectively), standard reference substances (oleanolic acid and epicatechin gallate, inhibition %: 43.80±0.76,84.08±0.49,respectively).When it is evaluated in terms of anti-diabetic, it was determined that acetone extracts of A. schizopterus and A. distinctissimus species inhibited α-glucosidase at a higher level than acorbose, which was used as the standard reference substance, at all concentrations.In addition, it has also been observed that both acetone and ethanol extracts of the three species studied showed moderate inhibitory activity against the α-amylase enzyme.When the results obtained were evaluated, it is possible to state that A. schizopterus and A. distinctissimus species used as animal feed should be subjected to more detailed studies to be used for the pharmaceutical industry, as they are rich in oleanolic and ursolic acids and show anti-diabetic.
