Metabolomics of endemic six Astragalus species by combined NMR and GC-MS analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Astragalus anthylloides, A. dipsaceus, A. karamasicus, A. lycius, A. sigmoideus and A. xylobasis var. angustus are an endemic and generally grow in the Irano-Turanian phytogeographic region of Turkey. Astragalus species contain saponins, polysaccharides, and phenolics, while the toxic compounds include imidazoline alkaloids, nitro toxins, and selenium derivatives. OBJECTIVES: To apply a combined metabolomic fingerprinting approach by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of endemic six Astragalus species extract. METHODOLOGY: The whole plant collected in Turkey of six endemic Astragalus subsp. were dried and then extracted with hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate, n-butanol and methanol solvents, respectively. The hexane extracts were analyzed by GC-MS. Carbon-13 (13 C)-NMR analyzes of all extracts were performed. In both analyses, a biomarker was obtained. RESULTS: The hexane extracts were determined as palmitic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, and linolenic acid as the main components. As a result of 13 C-NMR analyzes, in hexane, chloroform, and ethylacetate the extracts detected were palmitic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, and linolenic acid. d-Pinitol was obtained using 13 C-NMR analyzes with n-butanol and methanol extracts. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that d-pinitol is a biomarker for the endemic six Astragalus subsp.

First determination of anticancer, cytotoxic, and in silico ADME evaluation of secondary metabolites of endemic Astragalus leucothrix Freyn & Bornm.

Isolation and characterization of anticancer activity guided secondary metabolites of endemic Astragalus leucothrix Freyn& Bornm were aimed. Aerial parts of the plant were extracted by maceration method in the solvent system methanol-chloroform (1 : 1) at room temperature. The obtained crude extract was dissolved in purified water. Then, the extract was partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, respectively. Anticancer activity tests of all the fractions were performed against HeLa and C6 cancer cells. The chloroform fraction that has highest anticancer activity was subjected to chromatographic methods such as column chromatography and thin layer chromatography. Pentyl tetratetracontanoate (1), alfalone (2), 3,6,8-tribromoquinoline (3), and 3,6,8-tribromochromenium (4) molecules were detected from this plant for the first time. The structure determinations of the isolated molecules were elucidated by methods such as 1D and 2D NMR, HPLC - TOF / MS, and GC - MS analysis. Finally, anticancer and cytotoxic activity tests of the compounds were performed. Literature review showed that 3,6,8-tribromochromenium is a new compound. IC50 values of compound 1-2 and compound 3-4 mix were determined to be 4.50 ± 0.10, 2.81 ± 0.00, 4.33 ± 0.00 µM against C6 cell, respectively. The drug likeness properties of 1-4 were obtained by SwissADME. According to Lipinski's rule of five; 2-4 could be a new potential anticancer agent.

Land degradation assessment by geo-spatially modeling different soil erodibility equations in a semi-arid catchment.

Land degradation by soil erosion is one of the most serious problems and environmental issues in many ecosystems of arid and semi-arid regions. Especially, the disturbed areas have greater soil detachability and transportability capacity. Evaluation of land degradation in terms of soil erodibility, by using geostatistical modeling, is vital to protect and reclaim susceptible areas. Soil erodibility, described as the ability of soils to resist erosion, can be measured either directly under natural or simulated rainfall conditions, or indirectly estimated by empirical regression models. This study compares three empirical equations used to determine the soil erodibility factor of revised universal soil loss equation prediction technology based on their geospatial performances in the semi-arid catchment of the Saraykoy II Irrigation Dam located in Cankiri, Turkey. A total of 311 geo-referenced soil samples were collected with irregular intervals from the top soil layer (0-10 cm). Geostatistical analysis was performed with the point values of each equation to determine its spatial pattern. Results showed that equations that used soil organic matter in combination with the soil particle size better agreed with the variations in land use and topography of the catchment than the one using only the particle size distribution. It is recommended that the equations which dynamically integrate soil intrinsic properties with land use, topography, and its influences on the local microclimates, could be successfully used to geospatially determine sites highly susceptible to water erosion, and therefore, to select the agricultural and bio-engineering control measures needed.

Evaluation of soil properties and flora under afforestation and natural forest in semi-arid climate of central Anatolia.

Arid and semi-add climates and antropojen effects have caused rapid deterioration of the natural resources in the watershed. The main objectives of the study were to determine the correlation between soil properties and flora and to examine some soil properties and floristic composition under natural forest and afforestration. The topographical, geological and stand viewing maps of the watershed belong to 1955 and 2006 years were eximaned in the study. According to this study the 14.5% rate of black pine forest in 1955 increased to 35.8% in 2006. Degraded forest, degraded black pine and agricultural area decreased respectively to 5.7, 1.8 and 15.8% in 51 years. The richest families in the research area were Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Boraginaceae, Apiaceae and Rosaceae. The rate of the richest families was 71.75% in the total species, the remaining 22 families were scattered to 28.25% in proportion of species.