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Depression has become a current issue which is tried to be understood and where many researches are made on the causes of and treatment methods. According to the studies, it is important to examine the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet as depression is becoming an important public health problem both in individual and social dimensions. The role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of depression is being studied at an increasing rate due to the diagnosis of depression which has become widespread in the last decade. It has been reported in many studies that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be effective in the treatment of depression by presenting anti-inflammatory effects, increasing membrane fluidity, altering neurotransmitter passage, affecting the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, increasing levels of neurotrophic factors. Further research is being conducted as there is no identified side effect associated with the use of n-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids in appropriate amounts. Although the efficacy of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids has been proven by many studies, the issues of "efficacy of their use individually or in combination" and "usability as an alternative therapy in the treatment of depression" remain controversial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrofungi lacking chlorophyll, belong to the Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes classes. Naturally grown and cultured macrofungi are consumed as a food source also in our country. Wild macrofungi are a major source of living for forest loggers and it is exported to other countries. Macrofungi contain water (up to 95%), proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. c. Agaricus species have the highest protein and lipid content of all examined fungi species. However, Boletus edulis have the highest carbonhydrate content. Overall, it has been demonstrated that macrofungi contain more than 40% carbonhydrate, between 20% and 40% protein, but less than 8% lipid. Glutamine, asparagine and methionine are the most abundant aminoacids in macrofungi. The unsaturated fatty acid ratio is higher than the saturated fatty acid ratio in macrofungi. Linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids are the unsaturated fatty acids present in the highest concentrations. Macrofungi are also rich in essential vitamins for human metabolisms, including thiamine, riboflavin and niacin Macrofungi contain antioxidants such as flavonoid, ascorbic acid, β-carotene and lycopene. Other active substances obtained from macrofungi include β-glucans, ergon and ganoderic acid. In addition to those nutritional benefits, it has been shown that macrofungi have also some biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and immunostimulation. Given the fact that macrofungi have a wide spectrum of biological effects, increasing efforts on culturing wild grown macrofungi and studies on the isolation and standardization of the active ingredients are needed in order to create alternatives to other food products and drugs used today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total lipid, total fatty acids and fatty acid composition of Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae) larvae and pupae fed by hazelnut, peanut, walnut, almond, and polen were investigated. Food type-related differences in the ratio of total lipid and fatty acids were observed in larvae. The ratios of total fatty acids to total lipids also differed in larvae fed with polen , almond, hazelnut, walnut and peanut and were found as 17.39, 13.65, 13.94, 20.31 and 13.48%, respectively. However, there were no differences in the ratios of total fatty acids to total lipids in pupae. Gas chromatographic investigation of the fatty acid composition of food types revealed that the highest ratios in the foods were oleic acid (C18:1) in almond and hazelnut (67.42 and 80.11%, linoleic acid (C 18:2) for walnut and peanut (61.16 and 49.78%), linolenic acid (C18:3n-3) in polen (38.19%). Larvae fed by walnut and hazelnut exhibied the highest ratio of linoleic acid whereas the ratio of oleic acid was the highest for larvae fed by almond, polen and peanut. In the case of pupae oleic acid had highest ratio when pupae were fed by polen, almond and hazelnut. However the ratio of linoleic acid exceeded others when pupae were fed by walnut and peanut. There were also differences in other fatty acid ratios related to food type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]