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Whey proteins were isolated from whey powder by a combination of gel exclusion chromatography and protease (pepsin or trypsin) treatment. Whey solution (6g/dl) was applied to Sephadex G-200 column chromatography and three fractions were obtained. Gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to identify the fractions; the first one contained immunoglobulins and bovine serum albumin, the second contained beta-lactoglobulin and alpha-lactalbumin whereas the third fraction contained small peptides. We have also subjected the whey filtrate to proteases (pepsin and trypsin). Treatment with proteases showed that beta-lactoglobulin can be obtained after hydrolysis of the second fraction with pepsin. When the whey filtrate was treated with pepsin and then applied to Sephadex G-200 column chromatography three fractions were obtained; the first one was bovine serum albumin, the second was beta-lactoglobulin and the third fraction contained small peptides. After trypsin treatment only two fractions were obtained; the first one was serum albumin and the second fraction was an alpha-lactalbumin rich fraction. We have determined the antioxidant activity of the fractions using an assay based on the measurement of superoxide radical scavenging activity. Our results showed that among the three fractions, the first fraction had the highest superoxide radical scavenging activity. Also, protease treatment of the second fraction resulted in an increase in the antioxidant activity.

Methanolic extracts of Viscum album ssp. album (mistletoe) grown on different host trees were investigated for their potential antioxidant activity. Scavenging activity was tested by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and the inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation was examined by ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid methods. The extract from mistletoe grown on lime tree in summer showed the highest activity. It was found that antioxidant capacity of the plant differed according to the harvesting time as well as the host tree.

Immunostimulant effects of the dietary intake of various medicinal plant extracts on fish, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), were investigated. For this purpose fish were fed with diets containing aqueous extracts of mistletoe (Viscum album), nettle (Urtica dioica), and ginger (Zingiber officinale). Food containing lyophilized extracts of these plants as 0.1 and 1% was used at a rate of 2% of body weight per day for three weeks. At the end of the experimental period, various parameters of non-specific defence mechanisms, including extracellular and intracellular respiratory burst activities, phagocytosis in blood leukocytes and total plasma protein level were examined. Specific growth rates (SGRs) and condition factors (CFs) of the fish were also measured. Plant materials tested for immunostimulatory food additives caused an enhanced extracellular respiratory burst activity (P

Various extracts from the leaves of mistletoe (Viscum album L. ssp. album) were investigated for their antiviral activity on human parainfluenza virus type 2 (HPIV-2) growth in Vero cells. Plant extracts were prepared using distilled water, 50% ethanol, petroleum ether, chloroform and acetone. The 50% effective dose (ED(50)) of aqueous extract for HPIV-2 replication was 0.53 +/- 0.12 micro g/mL, and the antiviral index (AI), which was based on the ratio of the 50% inhibitory concentration (CD(50)) for host cell viability to the ED(50) for parainfluenza virus replication, was 10.05. The aqueous extract was found to be the most selective inhibitor. Furthermore, the aqueous extract at a concentration of 1 micro g/mL was found to inhibit HPIV-2 replication and the virus production was suppressed to more than 99% without any toxic effect on host cells. The chloroform extract was also found to be moderately active. In an effort to further analyse the mechanism of antiviral activity, the effectiveness of the aqueous extract on different steps of virus replication was examined. The antiviral activity could neither be attributed to the direct inactivation of the HPIV-2 nor to the inhibition of adsorption to Vero cells. The active aqueous extract has shown a dose-dependent antiviral activity on virus replication.

Background: Pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) is commonly consumed as fresh fruit and fruit juice. It is also used in the production of jam, wine, food coloring agent, and flavor enhancer. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the possible longevity, fertility and growth promoting properties of different ethanolic extract concentrations of pomegranate in Caenorhabditis elegans, which is increasingly popular and has proven to be a very useful experimental model organism for aging studies as well as for testing antioxidants and other compounds for effects on longevity. Materials and Methods: In this study, five experimental groups (20, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 mg pomegranate extract/mL and one control group) were used to determine the most effective dose of pomegranate in terms of longevity, fertility and growth parameters. Results: It was seen that, pomegranate extracts up to the concentration of 5 mg/mL, had the potential to promote for the longevity, formation of new generations, fertility of new generations and growth properties of C. elegans although higher concentrations significantly reduced these parameters. Conclusion: these findings indicated that pomegranate could be used as a supplement to enhance longevity, fertility and growth rate for the other living organisms and human beings, but the dose should be carefully adjusted to avoid adverse effects.

Objective: Oxidative DNA damages occur in the cells constantly exposed to reactive oxygen species that can originate from normal metabolic processes and from environmental agents. Accumulation of oxidative DNA damages has been observed in several pathologies, such as aging, carcinogenesis and degenerative diseases. In this study the hypothesis that gallic acid, one of the most distributed phenolics in plants, could prevent the H2O2-induced both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nDNA) damage was investigated. Methods: The cells were pretreated with gallic acid (28 µg/ml) for 4 h before the induction of oxidative stress by H2O2 (300 µM) exposure for 1 h. DNA damage was assessed in the mitochondrial DNA and two nuclear regions using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay. Results: Pretreatment with gallic acid significantly reduced both nDNA and mtDNA damages occurred with H2O2 exposure. Conclusion: The results clearly demonstrate that gallic acid has a protective effect against oxidative damage for both nDNA and mtDNA in HeLa cells. Gallic acid is most likely to act as an antimutagenic/anticarcinogenic agent through the protection of genome against the damaging effect of chronic oxidative stress.

The genus Tanacetum has been used as medicinal plants for over 2000 years. Interest in the genus has been stimulated by its biological activities, particularly as insect antifeedants, antitumor and antimicrobial activities due to its sesquiterpenoid constituents. The genus Tanacetum is represented by c.a.70 species in the worldand by 44 in Turkey. It is an Asia centered genus whichis widespread in the Northern Hemisphere and temperate regions. Tanacetum species contain mainly sesquiterpenoids and flavonoids, whereas the other terpenoids and phenolic compounds are rarely found. Sesquiterpenoids which are the main constituents of the genus, supposed to be bioactive principles of the plants. Flavonoids and essential oils are also pointed out as active substances in some species. On the other hand,there is a confusion on the systematic position and classification of several species of Asteraceae, therefore chemotaxonomy of the species will help the systematic studies. Since the importance of sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones and flavonoids from the chemosystematic and the biological point of views, especially the chemistry and the biological activities of these compounds will be reviewed in this chapter, whilethe essential oils and the acetylenic compounds will not be mentioned.

The ability of Trolox (6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchromane-2-carboxylic acid), a water-soluble vitamin E analogue, to prevent oxidative damages is well characterized, but the mechanisms underlying it remain unclear. The protective effect of Trolox pre-treatment on H(2)O(2)-induced toxicity might be attributed to the decreased cellular permeability to H(2)O(2) or in vitro scavenging activity of Trolox, induction of antioxidant enzymes or the direct scavenging activity of Trolox. The results obtained rule out the first and second possibilities and intracellular scavenging activity was found to be the mechanism whereby Trolox confers protection. This was confirmed by measuring protein oxidation (levels), and the observed decrease in proteasomal activity indicated that the decrease in protein carbonyls was due to Trolox scavenging activity rather than proteasome activation. In conclusion, the intracellular scavenging activity of Trolox is a key protective mechanism against H(2)O(2). These findings obtained in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a good model organism for eukaryotic cells, can be used as standard protocols for investigating the antioxidant activity of pure or complex potential antioxidants.

The marcs of two red grape ( V. vinifera L.) varieties (Boğrazkere and Öküzgözü), grown in eastern Anatolia (Elaziğr), were evaluated for their fatty acid composition, and antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The hexane extracts of both varieties were found to contain linoleic, palmitic, stearic and oleic acids by GC-MS analyses. The major fatty acid (linoleic acid) was detected relatively as 57.13% in Öküzgözü and 59.07% in Boğrazkere in methylated hexane extracts. In addition, myristic and palmitoleic acids were observed in Boğrazkere as minor components. The free radical (DPPH) scavenging activity of Öküzgözü was higher than that of Boğrazkere. The IC50 values were calculated as 403.0 ± 7.8 μg/mL for Öküzgözü and 552.0 ± 23.6 μg/mL for Boğrazkere. The extracts were found to be effective on the four gram (+) and four gram (-) test bacteria, but not as good as standard antibiotic, gentamycine by MIC method.

WOS: 000299683800008, The fatty acid compositions of the n-hexane extracts of the aerial parts of four Turkish Cephalaria species (C. paphlagonica, C. stellipilis, C. davisiana and C. elazigensis var. purpurea) were analyzed by GC-MS for the first time. The oil yields of these species were determined as ranging from 0.07% to 0.36 %. Seventeen fatty acids as methyl esters were identified. All extracts were found to contain significant quantities of palmitic, linoleic (LA), stearic and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA was the most abundant fatty acid in all species (29.00%, 30.51%, 32.49% and 34.87% for C. stellipilis, C. elazigensis, C. davisiana and C. paphlagonica, respectively). Other dominant fatty acid was palmitic acid, which ranged from 19.10% to 28.23% for all species. LA was detected in a considerable amount of 19.44 % for C. paphlagonica. The n-hexane extracts of the plants were also checked for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities., TUBITAKTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [107T028], The authors acknowledge to TUBITAK for financial support (107T028) and also Hygiene Center of Izmir for GC-MS analyses.