Instant stevia powder as a novel potential additive for enhancing nutritional value and quality characteristics of yogurt.

In the current study, yogurts containing instant stevia powder (ISP) at varying proportions (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 g/100 mL) were perused in terms of physicochemical attributes, textural behavior, antioxidant activity, and sensory acceptability during 14 day storage at 4 °C. For this, bioactive components extracted by using microwave-assisted system were spray dried in optimum conditions (11 mL/min flow rate and 167 °C inlet air temperature) and then incorporated into yogurts. The minimal syneresis value (17.09 g/100 g) at the day of 14 was detected in ISP (0.4 g/100 mL)-supplemented yogurts while this value was reached to 19.45 g/100 g in control counterpart without stevia powder. Enriching yogurts with powders was a plausible way for boosting their mechanical properties. The antioxidative parameters namely total phenolic content (TPC), DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC values were tendency to increase with ISP increment in yogurts. Low scores in sensory evaluation were detected in yogurts loaded with ISP above a certain amount (more than 0.2 g/100 mL). Sum up, the findings proved that the hypotheses (fabricating innovative dairy product rich in bioactive substances and maintaining quality parameters of yogurts during storage) predicted for this study were successfully achieved. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05892-z.

Recombinant expression and characterization of Oryctolagus cuniculus chymosin in Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris).

This study was conducted for investigating expression and enzymatic characteristics of recombinant Oryctolagus cuniculus chymosin (ROCC) expressed in Pichia pastoris. SDS-PAGE of partially purified supernatant displayed two distinct molecular bands approximately at the sizes of 40 kDa and 45 kDa corresponding to chymosin and partially glycosylated chymosin, respectively. Proteolysis assay demonstrated that rabbit chymosin was more specific compared to bovine and camel chymosins when it comes to hydrolyzing α, ß, and κ-casein. Rabbit chymosin kept its stability in a wide pH range (3.0-6.0) at 37 °C for 8 h. Active chymosin exhibited maximum enzymatic activity at 40 °C and pH 4.0 with the addition of 75 mM CaCl2. The ROCC clotting activity on donkey, cow, goat, lamb, camel milk was determined as 40, 10, 5.7, 3.07, and 2.66 IMCU/mL, respectively. These results revealed that ROCC might possess a potential for incorporation into cheese manufacture technology as a milk-clotting enzyme.

Sour Cherry By-products: Compositions, Functional Properties and Recovery Potentials - A Review.

Sour (tart) cherry is an industrial fruit where a considerable amount of by-products remain after processing. Sour cherry by-products consist of pomace (skin and flesh) and seeds (pit, stone) which remain after the fruit juice and IQF processes. Sour cherry pomace is characterized with a high content of phenolic compounds and the seed constitutes a high oil yield with beneficial effects on human health because of their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. There has been a great interest in sour cherry by-products due to the increasing production rate of sour cherry worldwide and the increasing efforts on seeking bioactive compounds from natural sources as functional food. Thus, there have been a number of studies regarding the sour cherry pomace and sour cherry seed, especially in the last five years. The present review summarizes the chemical, biological, functional, and technological properties of the sour cherry pomace and sour cherry seed with their current and potential applications.

Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 contamination in ground red peppers commercialized in Sanliurfa, Turkey.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are hepatogenic, teratogenic, imunosuppressive, and carcinogenic fungal metabolites found in feeds, nuts, wine-grapes, spices, and other grain crops. Humans are exposed to AFs via consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated foods. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of AF contamination in powdered red peppers sold in Sanliurfa. A total of 42 samples were randomly collected from retail shops, supermarkets, open bazaars, and apiaries and examined for the occurrence and levels of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2 toxins. AFs were determined by using an HPLC system after pre-separation utilizing immunoaffinity columns. AFs levels were below 2.5 µg/kg in 16 samples, between 2.5 and 10 µg/kg in 13 samples while 13 samples had AFs higher than the tolerable limit (10 µg/kg) according to the regulations of Turkish Food Codex and European Commission. The occurrence of AF fractions during powdered red pepper processing steps was also evaluated. According to the results obtained in this study, it was found that the highest AF accumulations in powdered red peppers start during perspiration and final drying of the products processed on soil contacted surfaces while there was no limit exceeding aflatoxin contamination in the samples produced on concrete surfaces.

Pineal gland volume in schizophrenia and mood disorders.

BACKGROUND: The majority of patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders have disruptions in sleep and circadian rhythm. Melatonin, which is secreted by the human pineal gland, plays an important role in sleep and circadian rhythm. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare pineal gland volumes in patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the pineal gland volumes of 80 cases, including 16 cases of unipolar depression, 17 cases of bipolar disorder, 17 cases of schizophrenia, and 30 controls. The total pineal gland volume of all cases was measured via magnetic resonance images, and the total mean pineal volume of each group was compared. RESULTS: The mean pineal volumes of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, unipolar depression, and the controls were 83.55±10.11 mm(3), 93.62±11.00 mm(3), 95.19±11.61 mm(3) and 99.73±12.03 mm(3), respectively. The mean pineal gland volume of the patients with schizophrenia was significantly smaller than those of the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that patients with schizophrenia have smaller pineal gland volumes, and this deviation in pineal gland morphology is not seen in those with mood disorders. We hypothesize that volumetric changes in the pineal gland of patients with schizophrenia may be involved in the pathophysiology of this illness.

Optimization of extraction parameters on the isolation of phenolic compounds from sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) pomace.

There is an increasing interest to bio-components obtained from fruit & vegetable wastes. Anthocyanin is one of the components regained from fruits especially from red ones. Sour cherry is considered as industrial fruit since most of the grown fruit is processed into juice and hence considerable amount of pomace is removed from process. The influences of process parameters on the extraction of phenolic compounds from sour cherry pomace were investigated. Fifty-one percent ethanol concentration, 75 °C temperature and 12 mL/g solvent to solid ratio were selected as optimum process parameters. Time effect on the process efficiency was monitored at three different temperatures (25, 50 and 75 °C) and total phenolic and total anthocyanin contents were found to reach equilibrium concentrations between 80 and 100 min time intervals. Ethanol concentrations affected differently extraction yield of anthocyanins and non-anthocyanin phenolics. Various individual phenolic compounds present in sour cherry pomace were identified and quantified by HPLC equipped with UV/Vis PDA. Of the phenolic compounds, cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside, neochlorogenic acid and catechin were the most abundant ones found in the pomace. 14.23 ± 0.38 mg/g total phenolic, 0.41 ± 0.02 mg/g total anthocyanin, 0.19 ± 0.02 mg/g cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside, 0.22 ± 0.01 mg/g neochlorogenic acid and 0.22 ± 0.02 mg/g catechin contents (dry weight) were determined in the pomace at optimum extraction conditions.

Fatty-acid incorporation improves hydrophobicity of pea protein based films towards better oxygen/water barrier properties and fruit protecting ability.

The current study was undertaken to synthesize pea protein based films containing fatty acids with various chain lengths. Films namely PFAF1, PFAF2, and PFAF3 were fabricated in the presence of pelargonic acid, margaric acid, and pentacosanoic acid, respectively. Also, negative (PF: film formulated using protein alone) and positive control (PCF: film formulated using mixture of protein and chitosan) control were prepared. Interactions occurring within films were clarified by FTIR. Moreover, morphology and thermal behavior of samples were evaluated by SEM and TGA. Variations in thickness (PF: 0.03 mm, PFAF1: 0.03 mm, PFAF2: 0.04 mm, PFAF3: 0.04 mm, PCF: 0.06 mm) and water content (PF: 28.85 %, PFAF1: 16.20 %, PFAF2: 14.51 %, PFAF3: 12.04 %, PCF: 13.83) were obvious. Superior opacity was identified in PCF, followed by PFAF3, PFAF2, PFAF1, and PF. PFAF3 together with PCF were more successful than others in reducing/protecting oxygen and water permeation. Adding fatty acid or chitosan to protein films led to the decline in tensile strength (TS) and increment in elongation at break (E). As for preservation performances, maximum limitations against shifts in weight and color of bananas during 7-day storage were provided by PFAF3. Also, except for PF, all coatings (especially PFAF3) postponed the rotting of fruits.

Unveiling the multifaceted world of anthocyanins: Biosynthesis pathway, natural sources, extraction methods, copigmentation, encapsulation techniques, and future food applications.

Numerous datasets regarding anthocyanins have been noted elsewhere. These previous studies emphasized that all processes must be carried out meticulously from the source used to obtain anthocyanins to their inclusion in relevant applications. However, today, full standardization has not yet been achieved for these processes. For this, presenting the latest developments regarding anthocyanins under one roof would be a useful approach to guide the scientific literature. The current review was designed to serve the stated points. In this context, their biosynthesis pathway was elaborated. Superior potential of fruits and certain by-products in obtaining anthocyanins was revealed compared to their other counterparts. Health-promoting benefits of anthocyanins were detailed. Also, the situation of innovative techniques (ultrasound-assisted extraction, subcritical water extraction, pulse electrical field extraction, and so on) in the anthocyanin extraction was explained. The stability issues, which is one of the most important problems limiting the use of anthocyanins in applications were discussed. The role of copigmentation and various encapsulation techniques in solving these stability problems was summarized. This critical review is a map that provides detailed information about the processes from obtaining anthocyanins, which stand out with their functional properties, to their incorporation into various systems.

Drying Technique Providing Maximum Benefits on Hydrogelling Ability of Avocado Seed Protein: Spray Drying.

The current study focused on creating natural hydrogels consisting of mixtures of avocado seed proteins dried with different techniques and locust bean gum. Proteins were extracted from avocado seed by alkali and isoelectric precipitation methods. Avocado seed proteins were dried by five different drying methods, namely ambient drying, oven drying, vacuum drying, freeze drying, and spray drying. FT-IR spectra were used to analyze the chemical structure of proteins dried using various techniques. Additionally, hydrogel models were constructed in the presence of avocado seed proteins and locust bean gum to clarify the effect of drying techniques on their hydrogelling ability. The impact of drying techniques on the functional behavior of hydrogels was notable. The maximum water holding capacity values were detected in the hydrogel system containing spray-dried proteins (93.79%), followed by freeze-dried (86.83%), vacuum-dried (76.17%), oven-dried (72.29%), and ambient-dried (64.8%) counterparts. The swelling ratio was 34.10, 33.51, 23.05, 18.93, and 14.39% for gels in the presence of freeze-dried, spray-dried, vacuum-dried, oven-dried, and ambient-dried proteins, respectively. Additionally, the desirable values for the amount of protein leaking from the systems prepared using spray-dried (7.99%) and freeze-dried (12.14%) proteins were obtained compared to others (ambient-dried: 24.03%; oven-dried: 17.69%; vacuum-dried: 19.10%). Superior results in terms of textural properties were achieved in hydrogel models containing spray-dried and freeze-dried proteins. In general, hydrogel models exhibited elastic behavior rather than viscous properties; however, the magnitudes of elasticity varied. Furthermore, the success of gels containing hydrogel models containing spray-dried protein and locust bean gum in the bioactive compound delivery system was obvious compared with protein ones alone.

Locust bean gum provides excellent mechanical and release attributes to soy protein-based natural hydrogels.

The current study concentrated on designing soy protein (SP)-based natural hydrogels in the presence of locust bean gum (LBG). For this, the gums were recovered from the kernel of the relevant plant and incorporated into SP gel models. Three more hydrogels were fabricated using commercial carbohydrates (gum Arabic (GA), maltodextrin (MD), and pectin (PC)) to decipher exactly the ability of LBG in these models. The chemical and morphological structures of the samples were elaborated by FTIR and SEM analyses. The coexistence of protein and carbohydrates led to an enhancement in functional (water holding capacity (WHC), swelling ratio, protein leachability, volumetric gel index (VGI)) and mechanical (textural and rheological behavior) features of natural gels compared to SP alone (control) but the quality of hydrogels was impressed by the carbohydrate type. Hydrogels designed with LBG came to the fore in terms of these attributes. Additionally, these gel models created awareness for phenolic delivery.

The first case of glioma detected by an artificial intelligence algorithm running on real-time data in neurosurgery: illustrative case.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper is to report one of the significant applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it affects everyday clinical practice in neurosurgery. The authors present a case in which a patient was diagnosed via an AI algorithm during ongoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). According to this algorithm, the corresponding physicians were immediately warned, and the patient received prompt appropriate treatment. OBSERVATIONS: A 46-year-old female presenting with nonspecific headache was admitted to undergo MRI. Scanning revealed an intraparenchymal mass that was detected by an AI algorithm running on real-time patient data while the patient was still in the MRI scanner. The day after MRI, a stereotactic biopsy was performed. The pathology report confirmed an isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type diffuse glioma. The patient was referred to the oncology department for evaluation and immediate treatment. LESSONS: This is the first report of a glioma diagnosed by an AI algorithm and a subsequent prompt operation in the literature-the first of many and an example of how AI will enhance clinical practice.

Relationship between sleep quality and depression among elderly nursing home residents in Turkey.

OBJECTIVES: Epidemiological studies indicate that more than half of the elderly population suffers from chronic sleep disturbances. Therefore, this descriptive study was conducted to examine sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, daytime napping, and depression among a population of nursing home residents. METHODS: The study's sample included 73 elderly people living in a nursing home in Turkey. Geriatric Depression Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and a sleep diary were used. RESULTS: The participants' mean age was 74.0 years (standard deviation (SD) = 6.7). Forty-four of the individuals had a poor sleep quality prevalence of 60.3%; and the mean global PSQI score was 6.6 (SD = 3.6). Their mean ESS score was 5.9 (SD = 4.6) and 14 participants (19.2%) had daytime sleepiness. The mean daytime napping duration was 1.0 h (SD = 1.3) according to the participants' sleep diaries. The study found that 60.3% of the participants were depressed, furthermore the mean depression score was 15.9 (SD = 7.0). There was a significant correlation between the PSQI subscores; subjective sleep quality, the sleep latency, and sleep disturbances scores and depression scores. Also, daytime napping frequency and daytime napping duration, according to the sleep diary, were correlated positively with depression scores. CONCLUSIONS: The current study's results confirm the previously reported high prevalence of poor sleep quality and depression in this nursing home population. Clinicians need to assess patients appropriately to identify high prevalence of sleep problems and depression in nursing home patients and initiate appropriate referrals and interventions.

Risk factors for laryngopharyngeal reflux.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with and without laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) to determine the risk factors for the occurrence of LPR in patients with GERD. This is a retrospective study of GERD patients with and without LPR. From the outpatient computer program of our hospital we randomly enrolled 45 GERD patients with LPR into the first group and another 45 GERD patients without LPR to the second group. Medical records of the patients in both groups were examined. All patients underwent upper gastrointestinal system endoscopy. LPR was confirmed by laryngoscopy, and LPR-related laryngoscopy scoring. Non-erosive GERD (NERD), erosive GERD (ERD) and Barrett's esophagus (BE) were diagnosed by endoscopy and histopathology. Various clinical parameters including status of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, topography of gastritis were analyzed. For therapy, lansoprazole in a dosage of 30 mg BID for at least 8 weeks were given to all patients in both groups. GERD patients with and without LPR were compared according to demographic, clinic, endoscopic and histopathological parameters. The results revealed that patients with LPR were younger than the patients without LPR (38.7 ± 10.2 years and 43.8 ± 11.5 years; p = 0.08); however, there was no statistical significance. Patients without LPR showed no gender predilection (55% male) while LPR patients showed male preponderance (71% male). In LPR group, 11 patients (24%) had NERD, while 28 (62%) and 6 (13%) patients had ERD and BE, respectively. Twenty-seven (60%) patients without LPR were diagnosed as NERD, 15 patients (33%) without LPR had ERD and only 3 patients (6.6%) showed the histological findings of BE. The patients in LPR group had higher body mass index. Hiatal hernia was more frequent in the patients with LPR (53%) than in the patients without LPR (24%) (p = 0.005). LPR patients had longer duration of reflux symptoms than the patients without LPR (p = 0.04). H. pylori status was not different in both groups but the patients without LPR had more corpus gastritis than the patients with LPR. Eight weeks of lansoprazole treatment was successful in 71% of patients with LPR, and 86% of patients without LPR. We concluded that male gender, hiatal hernia, longer duration of symptoms, high BMI, having ERD and BE seems as risk factors for the occurrence of LPR in patients with GERD. H. pylori status did not have any effect on the development of LPR. Corpus dominant gastritis may have a protective role against the development of LPR. Proton pump inhibitor therapy is less effective in patients with LPR.

Enhancing thermal and emulsifying resilience of pomegranate fruit protein with gum Arabic conjugation.

In this study, a controlled Maillard reaction was carried out to conjugate gum Arabic (GA) polymer to pomegranate protein isolate (PPI). The Maillard conjugates (MCs) were visualized by SEM and authenticity of the conjugates was assessed by NMR, FTIR, and XRD. To reveal the effect of the Maillard conjugation on the quality attributes of PPI, functional properties, thermal stability, and emulsifying behaviors of PPI and MCs were investigated. The oil binding capacity of conjugated protein (370.52%) was higher than that of protein alone (208.19%). While GA and PPI were completely degraded or decomposed at a temperature of 1000 °C, the MCs retained approximately half of the initial mass. MCs displayed higher emulsifying activity (42.71 m2/g) and emulsifying stability (90.17 (ESI30)), compared to PPI (32.61 m2/g) and (72.25 (ESI30)). Stability coefficient was significantly improved and reached from 0.64 R to 0.95 R with the usage of MCs in the emulsions. A lower centrifugal precipitation rate was determined in MCs emulsions (28.26%) compared to PPI emulsions (45.42%). Utilization of MCs instead of protein alone as a stabilizer in the oil-in-water emulsions was a logical approach for increasing their stability against environmental degradations including freeze-thaw cycle, pH, ionic, and temperature stress.

Maras powder usage among Turkish psychiatric outpatients.

A kind of smokeless tobacco known as Maras powder, which is used in the southeastern region of Turkey, causes nicotine dependence. The aim of this study was to determine the usage of Maras powder among psychiatric outpatients and nonpsychiatric controls. The study group consisted of 276 psychiatric patients and 283 nonpsychiatric patients from psychiatry and family medicine outpatient clinics. A socio-demographic form, the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, and the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?4th Edition were given to the participants. The rates of Maras powder usage in the patient group (10.1%) were significantly higher than those in the control group (5.6%). Men were found to use Maras powder at a higher rate in both groups. The rates of Maras powder usage according to the psychiatric diagnosis were evaluated. This is the first study estimating Maras powder usage rates among psychiatric patients in Turkey. The study's limitations are noted.

Gum arabic/maltodextrin microencapsulation confers peroxidation stability and antimicrobial ability to pepper seed oil.

In this study, pepper seed oil (PSO) was microencapsulated by spray drying at optimum conditions: oil/total solid material at 20% (w/w), gum Arabic/maltodextrin (GA/MD) at 1/5 (w/w), and air inlet temperature of 184 °C. Particle size distribution and morphology of the PSO powder (PSOP) were determined by a laser particle diameter analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were employed to identify the specific chemical groups of PSO, MD, and GA in the PSO-GA/MD complexes. The thermal stability of PSOP was evaluated by thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). PSOP displayed inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis although PSO had an antimicrobial activity against only Staphylococcus aureus. GA/MD microencapsulation resulted in significant preservation of PSO against oxidation during storage period.

Combination therapy of imipramine and melatonin: additive antidepressant effect in mouse forced swimming test.

Although there are tools to treat depressive patients, a considerable amount of the cases remains to be untreated. These drug-resistant patients need new drugs or drug combinations to overcome this problem. Thus, the potential synergistic effect of melatonin on a classical drug, imipramine was evaluated in the present study. To test this hypothesis, porsolt swim test, a test predictive of antidepressant-like action, was conducted in mice. Imipramine at doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg caused no alteration and statistically significant reduction in the duration of immobility in forced swim test, respectively. While 5 mg/kg melatonin had no effect, 10 mg/kg melatonin slightly reduced the duration of immobility. When sub-effective doses of imipramine and melatonin (20 and 5 mg/kg, respectively) were co-administered, there was no alteration in responses compared with those of each drug alone. Likewise, the effective dose of melatonin (10 mg/kg) did not cause any increase in responses to 20 mg/kg imipramine. Although combination of imipramine (40 mg/kg) and melatonin (5 mg/kg) did not exert an antidepressant effect above that of imipramine alone, co-administration of the effective doses (10 and 40 mg/kg for melatonin and imipramine, respectively) displayed an additive effect. There were no significant differences between groups in relation with locomotor activity test. The results show that co-administration of imipramine and melatonin exhibits an additive effect and that there seems to be no interaction between the drugs.

Effect of Oryctolagus cuniculus (rabbit) rennet on the texture, rheology, and sensory properties of white cheese.

Calf rennet has long been used in cheese-making. Because of calf rennet shortage and high cost, novel proteases were needed to meet industry's increasing enzyme demand. Recombinant chymosins and camel chymosin were started to be used in the industry. There is no study in the literature subjecting use of rabbit rennet in cheese production. Chemical, rheological, and sensorial characteristics of white cheese made with rabbit rennet were investigated in this study. Quality characteristics of rabbit rennet cheese (RC) were compared to cheeses produced with commercial calf (CC) and camel chymosins (CLC). RC and CLC exhibited higher hardness and dynamic moduli values throughout the storage as compared to CC. Although moisture levels of cheese samples were similar at day 60, CC had much lower hardness and dynamic moduli values than CLC and RC. While the appearance and structure were better for CLC, the highest odor and taste scores were obtained by RC during 60 days of storage. The results of this investigation proposed that rabbit rennet could be a suitable milk coagulant for white cheese production. Our results showed that rabbit rennet has comparable cheese-making performance with camel chymosin and could be a good alternative for calf chymosin.

The Diagnostic Value of Malondialdehyde, Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase Activity in Drug Naïve, First Episode, Non-Smoker Generalized Anxiety Disorder Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common anxiety disorder. Although lots of research done to reveal neurobiological basis of GAD, it is still unclear. Diagnosis of GAD depends on subjective complaints of patients, thus the need for a biological marker is constantly emerging. In this study, we aimed to investigate diagnostic value of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in GAD. METHODS: We evaluated MDA, SOD, and CAT levels in peripheral blood of 46 patients and 45 controls. MDA was measured with Ohkawa's methods, SOD was measured with Fridovich method, and CAT was measured with Beutler's method. RESULTS: MDA was significantly increased in patients than controls, medians 4.05 nmol/mg and 1.71 nmol/mg respectively, p＜0.001; SOD and CAT activity was significantly decreased in patients than controls, medians of SOD were 159.07 U/mg and 301.87 U/mg, p＜0.001 respectively, medians for CAT were 138.47 U/mg and 160.60 U/mg respectively. We found high correlation between Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and SOD, MDA r values were 0.723 and 0.715 respectively, p＜0.001 for both. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed high diagnostic performance for MDA and SOD, low diagnostic performance for CAT, areas under curve were 1.0, 1.0, and 0.648 respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal possible diagnostic value of MDA, less likely of SOD but not CAT. Future studies should investigate diagnostic value of oxidants and antioxidantn enzymes in larger samples and include diagnostic value of these parameters.

Evaluation of Malondialdehyde, Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase Activity in Fetal Cord Blood of Depressed Mothers.

OBJECTIVE: The umbilical cord consists of two arteries and one vein and it functions in the transport between the maternal and fetal circulation. Biochemical analysis of fetal cord blood (FCB) during delivery could be beneficial in terms of understanding the fetal environment. In this study, we aimed to investigate oxidative parameters like malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) levels in FCB during delivery. METHODS: We collected FCB samples during caesarean section. Our study included 33 depressed mothers and 37 healthy controls. We investigated MDA, SOD, and CAT levels in FCB samples. RESULTS: We found no significant difference between groups in terms of MDA (p=0.625), SOD (p=0.940), and CAT (p=0.413) levels. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals probable protective effects of the placenta from oxidative stress. Future studies should include larger samples.