Antibacterial and antifungal activity of the essential oils of Thymus revolutus Celak from Turkey.

The chemical composition of the volatile constituent from flowering parts of Thymus revolutus C., an endemic plant of Turkey, were analysed by GC/MS. Twenty-two components were identified, and carvacrol was found as a predominant compound in the oil. Furthermore, the essential oil was tested against 11 bacteria and four fungi at different concentrations. Results showed that the oil exhibited a significant antibacterial and antifungal activity.

Antimicrobial activities of several parts of Pinus brutia, Juniperus oxycedrus, Abies cilicia, Cedrus libani and Pinus nigra.

In this study, the antimicrobial activities of several parts of various trees grown in the Kahramanmaras region of Turkey were investigated by the disc diffusion method. Chloroform, acetone and methanol extracts of leaves, resins, barks, cones and fruits of Pinus brutia Ten., Juniperus oxycedrus L., Abies cilicia Ant. & Kotschy Carr., Cedrus libani A. Rich. and Pinus nigra Arn. were prepared and tested against Bacillus megaterium DSM 32, Bacillus subtilis IMG 22, Bacillus cereus FMC 19, Escherichia coli DM, Klebsiella pneumoniae FMC 3, Enterobacter aerogenes CCM 2531, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1, Mycobacterium smegmatis RUT, Proteus vulgaris FMC 1, Listeria monocytogenes Scoot A, Pseudomonas aeruginosa DSM 5007, Candida albicans CCM 314, Candida tropicalis MDC 86 and Penicillium italicum K. The results showed that antifungal effects were not observed for the whole extracts, E. coli was not inhibited by any of the plant extracts except by the chloroform and acetone extracts of the leaves of A. cilicia, which showed inhibition zones of 16-18 mm, respectively. All the plant extracts used in this study inhibited the development of the other bacteria studied. When the results of this study were compared with an ampicillin standard, it was found that the microorganisms studied were generally susceptible, intermediate or resistant to the extracts of species when compared with the ampicillin standard. On the other hand, the acetone and methanol extracts of Juniperus fruits were found to be quite resistant.

The effects of selenium, vitamin E and their combination on the composition of fatty acids and proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The aim of our studies was to test the effect and role of vitamin E and selenium supplements on yeast cell. In this study, the effects of selenium (Se), vitamin E (Vit. E), and their combination (Se plus Vit. E) on the composition of fatty acids and proteins were examined in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains WET136 and 522. S. cerevisiae cells were grown up in YEPD medium supplemented with Se, Vit. E or their combination. It was found that the level of stearic acid was increased in all supplemented groups (p < 0.05; p < 0.001). The content of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids was decreased (p < 0.05; p < 0.01; p < 0.001) in Vit. E and Vit. E plus Se supplemented S. cerevisiae. On the other hand, Se alone caused an increase (p < 0.001) in the saturated fatty acids but a decrease (p < 0.05; p < 0.001) in the unsaturated fatty acids. Total proteins in S. cerevisiae were significantly increased (p < 0.001) by Vit. E supplement. There was no significant change observed in S. cerevisiae supplemented with Se. These findings indicate that membrane composition of S. cerevisiae is affected by both Vit. E and Se supplements.