Protective effect of Petroselinum crispum methanolic extract against acrylamide-induced reproductive toxicity in male rats through NF-ĸB, kinesin, steroidogenesis pathways.

This study examined the protective effects of a Petroselinum crispum (P. crispum) methanolic extract on reproductive dysfunction induced by acrylamide in male rats. A total of 40 rats were divided into four groups (n=10). The control group received distilled water, the acrylamide group received 10 mg/kg of acrylamide, the P. crispum group received 100 mg/kg of P. crispum extract, and the combined group was pretreated with P. crispum for two weeks before co-administration of P. crispum and acrylamide. All administrations were administered orally using a gastric tube for eight weeks. Acrylamide decreased testosterone levels but did not affect levels of FSH or LH. It also increased testicular levels of (MDA) malondialdehyde and reduced activity of (SOD) superoxide dismutase and impairment of sperm parameters. Furthermore, the administration of acrylamide resulted in an elevation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels and a reduction in the levels of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR) and cytochrome P450scc (P450scc). Acrylamide negatively affected the histopathological outcomes, Johnsen's score, the diameter of seminiferous tubules, and the thickness of the germinal epithelium. It also upregulated the expression of NF-ĸB P65 and downregulated the expression of kinesin motor protein. In contrast, treatment with P. crispum extract restored the levels of antioxidant enzymes, improved sperm parameters, and normalized the gene expression of TNF-α, IL-10, IL-6, iNOS, NF-ĸB, STAR, CYP17A1, 17ß-HSD and P450scc. It also recovered testicular histological parameters and immunoexpression of NF-ĸB P65 and kinesin altered by acrylamide. P. crispum showed protective effects against acrylamide-induced reproductive toxicity by suppressing oxidative damage and inflammatory pathways.

Biological Activities and Chemical Compositions of Prangos platychlaena Boiss. Essential Oil and Fractions, Multivariate Statistical Analyses.

In this research, essential oil was obtained from the aerial parts of Prangos platychlaena Boiss. by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, separated into fractions having different polarities by column chromatography. Both essential oil and the fractions were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS simultaneously. Nona-3,5-diyne-2-yl acetate (46%) and 3,5-nonadiyne (13.5%) were found to be the main constituents of the essential oil. While the main components of the n-hexane fraction were characterized as 3,5-nonadiyne (45.6%) and germacrene B (16.4%), the major components of the methanol fraction were found to be nona-3,5-diyne-2-yl acetate (59.6%) and 3,5-nonadiyne-2-ol (25.9%). In addition, principal multivariate statistical analyses were performed with principal component analyses and Venn diagram calculations, utilizing chemical compositions of the essential oil and the fractions. Furthermore, in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of the essential oil and the fractions were evaluated to correlate the chemical composition with the biological activity, and to the best of our knowledge, this study was performed for the first time in this aspect. LOX inhibitions of the essential oil, n-hexane, and methanol fractions were determined to be 70.98 ± 1.7, 67.10 ± 2.5, and 50.11 ± 4.8%, respectively. Preliminary initial findings of this study will be extended in the future with new biological assays.

Essential Oil Composition of Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. Aerial Parts.

Objectives: Capsella Medik. belongs to Brassicaceae family and is represented by 4 species in Türkiye. Among them, Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. is a cosmopolite species and grows naturally throughout Türkiye. There have been a few studies on the essential oil composition of different parts of the plant, and, as far as we are concerned, the essential oil composition of the plant growing in Türkiye has not been studied previously. Thus, in this study, we isolated and analyzed the essential oil composition of the aerial parts of C. bursa-pastoris growing naturally in Ankara, Türkiye. Materials and Methods: Plant material was collected from Ankara University, Tandogan Campus, and essential oil of the aerial parts was obtained from hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus for 3 h and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detection and GC-mass spectrometry simultaneously. Results: The essential oil yield was determined to be 0.2%, and 90.2% of the essential oil composition was identified, corresponding to 21 components. The major components of the oil were determined to be nonacosane (19.6%), phytol (19.3%), pentacosane (13.5%), heptacosane (9.9%), and hexadecanoic acid (9.9%). Conclusion: Phytol was found to be the main component of the essential oil of leaves and aerial parts (16.34% and 13.14, respectively) in a literature study consistent with the results of our study. The essential oil content of other parts of the species, along with species collected from different localities, would be an important contribution to the species and the genus and should be performed in the future.

Microbial Transformation of Hesperidin and Biological Evaluation.

The main aim of the study was the biotransformation evaluation of hesperidin for functionalization by 25 different nonhuman pathogenic microorganisms. As a result, four metabolites were identified and characterized. The structure of pinocembrin and naringenin from the microbial transformation of hesperidin was determined initially with LC/MS-MS. The metabolites eriodictyol and hesperetin were isolated, and their molecular structure was determined by NMR and MS. Pinocembrin, eriodictyol, and naringenin were characterized as new hesperidin microbial transformation metabolites, to the best of our knowledge. In order to evaluate the bioactivity, in vitro 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzyme inhibition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and acute toxicity evaluations using the brine shrimp assay of hesperidin and its metabolites were performed comparatively. According to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity results, hesperetin metabolite was more active than naringenin and hesperidin. The antimicrobial activity of hesperetin and naringenin against the human pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus strain was relatively higher when compared with the substrate hesperidin. In line with this result, biofilm activity of hesperetin and naringenin against S. aureus with combination studies using biofilm formation methods was carried out. The checkerboard combination method was utilized for biofilm layering, also for the first time in the present study. As an initial result, it was observed that hesperidin and naringenin exerted a synergistic activity with a fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) value of 1.063. Considering the bioactivity of hesperidin, hesperetin, and naringenin used as substrates are relatively nontoxic. The microbial and enzymatic biotransformation of natural products such as hesperetin and its new bioactive metabolites still have pharmacological potential, which needs further experimentation at the molecular level..

Essential Oil Composition of Fruits of Eight Ferulago Species Growing in Türkiye and Multivariate Statistical Analyses.

In this study, the composition of the volatile oils obtained from the fruits of 8 Ferulago species (Ferulago cassia Boiss., F. isaurica Pesmen, F. humilis Boiss., F. macrosciadia Boiss. & Balansa, F. setifolia K.Koch, F. silaifolia (Boiss.) Boiss., F. syriaca Boiss., F. trojana Akalin & Pimenov) growing naturally in Türkiye were examined by means of GC/MS and GC-FID and α-pinene was determined to be present in the fruits of four species along with other monoterpenes as major components. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was performed, utilizing ten major components in the eight essential oils. Also, a Venn diagram was used to demonstrate chemotaxonomical variations in the composition of the essential oils of eight Ferulago species.

Essential Oils of Ferulago glareosa Kandemir&Hedge Roots and Aerial Parts: PCA and HCA Analyses.

Ferulago glareosa Kandemir & Hedge. is an endemic species of the family Apiaceae for Turkey and has interesting morphological characteristics compared to the other members of the genus Ferulago Koch. In this study we investigated the essential oil compositions of the roots and aerial parts of F. glareosa for the first time and compared them with essential oil compositions of the roots and aerial parts of other species of the genus. In our study, major components of the essential oil of the roots were determined to be 2,3,6-trimethylbenzaldehyde (32.2 %), falcarinol (23.7 %), hexadecanoic acid (9.5 %) and 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (5.9 %); and major components of the essential oil of the aerial parts were found to be α-pinene (33.7 %), p-cymene (14.8 %), γ-terpinene (13.2 %), (Z)-ß-ocimene (12.4 %) and terpinolene (8.2 %). The essential oil compositions of F. glareosa root compare with essential oils components in the literature differ varies greatly. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was performed with Minitab software, utilizing 8 major components in the published 20 literatures, as well as in this study. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) were used in order to demonstrate chemotaxonomical variations in the composition of the essential oils of Ferulago species.

Effect of Extraction Time on Origanum onites L. Infusions and Essential Oils - Biological Evaluation, Statistical Principal Component and Hierarchial Cluster Analyses.

Origanum onites L. of Lamiaceae, is used as a culinary spice and herbal tea; also for its antioxidant, antimicrobial effects among other activities and effects. This research aims to examine the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the infusions and the essential oils (EOs) obtained using different conditions from the aerial parts of the processed and raw of O. onites herbal material. The EOs from O. onites were distilled at different times and characterized both by GC-FID and GC/MS systems. The resulting main compounds were identified as carvacrol (65.5-91 %), linalool (0.3-17.9 %), γ-terpinene (2.8-4.6 %), and thymol (0.5-1.5 %), respectively. In addition, Origanum infusions were prepared at four different time intervals, where the volatile compounds of the infusions were analysed using the HS-SPME-GC/MS system. Statistical Principal Component (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analyses (HCA) tools were used to demonstrate the composition variations on different times for O. onites infusion and EO samples.