Orçun Toksöz

Edible insects have been highlighted as an alternative source for functional food formulations. Tenebrio molitor, has been reported to be a more acceptable insect to humans. This study aimed to identify vitamins and antioxidant compounds present in T. molitor larvae by LC-MS/MS analysis. These compounds were analyzed for their Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicological (ADMET) profiles. Antibacterial and antibiofilm potential of extracts of T. molitor larvae against several foodborne pathogens were determined. The results demonstrated that high abundance vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 as vitamins, and quercetin, luteolin, and apigenin as antioxidant compounds. The extracts showed high levels of antibiofilm activity. Functional food ingredients can be analysed by computational analyses in the food R&D process.

The persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) is used in folk medicine, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It has several reported benefits, including antibacterial and antibiofilm properties. This study focused on investigating potential active compounds of fresh persimmon extract against test bacteria (Acinetobacter pittii, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) isolated from diabetic foot (DF) patients regarding antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. Accordingly, antibacterial, antibiofilm and cellular proliferation abilities for PCS-201-102 human dermal fibroblast cell line of extracts were determined. The chemical compounds of extracts were determined by Q-TOF-MS Accurate-Mass. Eleven molecules according to the negative ESI mode and seven molecules according to the positive ESI mode were selected. The selected compounds were analyzed for binding affinities to biofilm associated OmpA protein (for A. baumannii and A. pittii) and the YfiBNR triple signal sequence (for P. aeruginosa), via in silico modelling. Then, these compounds with high binding energy were also tested in vitro for their antibacterial and antibiofilm properties. Although no significant antibacterial activity of extracts has been recorded, high results (80.80-68.61%) have been observed for antibiofilm activity. The extracts did not show toxicity. Aesculin and rutin demonstrated high binding energy to the relevant proteins. Aesculin inhibited biofilm formation by A. pittii (76.18%), A. baumannii (81.88%) and P. aeruginosa (75.25%), while rutin was also over 75% effective against A. baumannii (79.29%) and P. aeruginosa (75.64%). Considering the crucial role of biofilm structure in worsening the clinical course of DF, aesculin and rutin have the potential to be used as adjuvants in combination with other ingredients/antibiotics.

Pollen grains, as highly sensitive reproductive units, rely on structural and biochemical mechanisms to withstand environmental stressors, particularly UV-B radiation. This study evaluated the UV-B absorbance capacity of UV-B absorbing compounds extracted from cytoplasmic, wall-bound, and sporopollenin-associated fractions of pollen grains from four Corylus avellana genotypes (Sarı, Palaz, Kara, Yomra). Spectral analyses revealed distinct fraction-specific absorbance patterns, showing a general decrease between 280–315 nm in the cytoplasmic and wall-bound fractions, whereas the sporopollenin fraction exhibited an increasing trend. Spectrophotometric analyses revealed that the cytoplasmic fraction exhibited the highest UV-B absorbance across all genotypes, followed by the sporopollenin and wall-bound fractions. Genotype-specific patterns were evident, with Palaz showing the highest cytoplasmic absorbance and Sarı displaying superior sporopollenin-associated absorbance, while Kara consistently recorded the lowest across all fractions. Multivariate analyses, including principal component analysis and heatmap clustering, confirmed distinct groupings among genotypes and UV-B absorbing compounds fractions. These findings suggest that inherent variability in UV-B absorbing compounds distribution contributes to differential photoprotection potential among genotypes. Identifying hazelnut genotypes with stronger inherent UV-B defense capacity may inform breeding strategies aimed at improving reproductive resilience under increasing UV-B exposure.

Since tea is an economically valuable medicinal plant, pollen germination and pollen tube elongation are important for seed yield and quality. Therefore, strategies to increase pollen tube elongation for tea production are developing and especially the use of beneficial microorganisms is gaining importance. We aimed to investigate the potential activities of Streptomyces albidoflavus, Streptomyces indigoferus, Streptomyces nanhaiensis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Paenibacillus xylanilyticus, and Paenibacillus alginolyticus on pollen germination and pollen tube length of Camellia sinensis. The amount of reducing sugars was determined by DNS method, and heat map analyses were performed to evaluate pollen germination, pollen tube length, and RS content. The tested bacteria were grown on pollen germination medium for 3, 6, and 24 h, after which the aforementioned parameters were analyzed. No statistically significant effect of treatments with tested bacteria was found in terms of pollen germination. However, especially in pollen samples treated with P. alginolyticus at 6 and 24 h, pollen tube length was found to be the most effective with an increase of 28.6 and 13.87%. Reducing sugar content was found to be the highest in S. indigoferus + pollen and P. alginolyticus + pollen groups at 24 h. According to heat map analyses, P. alginolyticus maintained consistently high values for pollen germination, tube elongation, RS content and showed the strongest positive effect. In conclusion, P. alginolyticus significantly increased pollen tube elongation and RS levels, suggesting its potential role in plant development and pollination. These findings indicate that such rhizosphere bacteria may act as biostimulants to enhance fertilization and support sustainable tea cultivation.

The number of outbreaks caused by foodborne pathogens is increasing annually due to poor hygiene practices in the food industry. Synthetic compounds are added to foods to extend shelf life and add flavour. Ethyl vanillin, a derivative of vanilla, is widely used as a flavouring agent. We aimed to determine the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of ethyl vanillin on Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli O157:H7, to determine its antioxidant potential (Folin-Ciocalteu and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH)) and to analyse its chemical absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) properties. The antibacterial activity of ethyl vanillin against B. cereus and E. coli O157:H7 was remarkably high, with inhibition ratios of 94.74 ±0.3% and 94.52 ±0.2%, respectively, at a concentration of 6000 µg/mL. The antibiofilm activity of ethyl vanillin against B. cereus was also high, with inhibition ratios of 92.03 ±0.04 and 92.9 ±0.65% even at very low concentrations. In addition, DPPH inhibition and TPC activity were found to be high. In this study, ethyl vanillin exhibited high levels of antibacterial, antibiofilm, and antioxidant activity. Ethyl vanillin was found to be acceptable for many properties according to ADMET analysis.

Likenler içerdikleri 1000’den fazla metabolit sayesinde antioksidan, antimikrobiyal, antifungal, insektisidal, antikanser ve boyar madde potansiyelleri gibi biyolojik etkinliklerinden dolayı çeşitli sektörlerde bir hammadde kaynağı olarak tercih edilmektedir. Yüzlerce yıldır etnofarmakolojik olarak birçok hastalığın tedavisinde halk arasında kullanılmasının yanı sıra günümüzde hala likenlerin ilaç potansiyelleri araştırılmaya devam edilmektedir. Likenlerin kendilerine has aromatik yapısı ve besleyici özellikleri nedeniyle baharat, ekmek-pasta ve çay olarak tüketimleri gıda sektöründe uzun yıllardır devam etmektedir. Ekonomik anlamda en önemli kullanım alanlarından biri olan boyar madde içerikleri nedeniyle likenler başta tekstil sektörü olmak üzere birçok sektörde tercih edilmektedir. Ayrıca tarımsal alanda ise fitopatojenlere karşı insektisidal ve antifungal etkinliğe sahip oldukları bilinmektedir. Likenlerin ve içerdikleri metabolitlerin yalnızca bir kısmının etkinlikleri biliniyor olsa da, tüm özellikleri hala tam olarak aydınlatılmamıştır. Bu bağlamda, liken ve etken maddelerinin biyoaktivitelerinin gelecekte açığa çıkartılmasıyla birlikte, birçok sektörde potansiyel hammadde olarak kullanılması öngörülmektedir.

Geleneksel tarımda bilinçsiz kimyasal kullanımının toprak yapısında değişikliklere yol açarak, toprak verimliliğini olumsuz yönde etkilediği belirtilmektedir. Ayrıca gittikçe artan dünya nüfusu nedeniyle gıda taleplerinin karşılanması için önlemlerin alınması gerekliliği de vurgulanmaktadır. Son yıllarda, alternatif bir çözüm olarak topraksız tarım araştırmaları; iş gücü, zaman, su tasarrufu sağlanması, herbisit/pestisit kullanımının azalması, mikrobiyolojik sıkıntıların ortadan kalkması gibi avantajları olduğu için artmaktadır. Öte yandan, dezavantaj olarak yüksek maliyetlerin düşürülmesi için de girişimlerde bulunulmaktadır. Bazı ülkelerde kentsel tarımın desteklenmesi amacıyla dikey tarım uygulamalarının yapıldığı merkezler bulunmaktadır. Son dönemlerde dikey tarım uygulamaları ile ilgili olarak uzayda bitki yetiştirilmesi, uzay çiftlikleri gibi başlıklar da popülerdir. NASA’nın yürüttüğü projelerde başarıya ulaşılmış olan ürünler bulunmaktadır. Mikro yerçekimi etkisi ile oluşabilecek hasarlar incelenerek, çalışmaların teknolojinin avantajlarıyla daha da ileri götürülmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Ayrıca, gastronomi alanında da topraksız/dikey tarım sürdürülebilirlik açısından son zamanlarda ön plana çıkmaktadır. Bu tekniklerin uygulanarak küçük ölçekli üretimlerin yapıldığı restoranların ön plana çıktığı görülmektedir. Bu derlemede bu konular detaylı olarak irdelenecektir.