The Relationship Between Neuroprotective Activity and Antigenotoxic and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Effects of Glaucium corniculatum Extracts

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and antigenotoxic effect with the neuroprotective activity of Glaucium corniculatum methanol and water extracts rich in rutin and quercetin flavonoids. Neuroprotective activity in terms of cell survival and development against oxidative damage was measured by MTT assay and microscopic analysis in H2O2-induced NGF-differentiated PC12 (dPC12) cells. QRT-PCR and western blot hybridization method was employed for the determination of AChE inhibition of the extracts in the same cell model, and the genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects were identified with Comet assay with human lymphocytes. H2O2-induced vitality loss in dPC12 cells was inhibited in pre-treated cells with these plant extracts. Moreover, extracts stimulated neurite formation and prevented the oxidative stress-induced reduction in neurite growth. In general, it was determined that G. corniculatum methanol extract containing higher amounts of rutin and quercetin was more effective than water extract in terms of AChE inhibitory, antigenotoxic and also neuroprotective effect. In this study, it was shown for the first time that both AChE inhibitory and antigenotoxic effects of G. corniculatum may be effective in neuroprotection and it's protective and therapeutic effects against neurodegeneration may be related to the flavonoid content.

Toxicity of herbicides to cyanobacterial isolates.

The herbicides most commonly used in Turkey are trifluralin (a,a,a-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine), 2,4-D (2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), and linuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-methoxy-N-methylurea]. The effects of these three herbicides on the growth of 10 threatened aquatic cyanobacterial isolates were tested by using 9-day exposure experiments at concentrations of 50-200 mg l-1 for trifluralin and 2,4-D and 0.05-1 mg l-1 for linuron. Concentrations of herbicides that elicited a 50% growth reduction over 9 days (EC50) were 136-882 mg l-1 trifluralin, 122-747 mg l-1 2,4-D, and 0.002-0.714 mg l-1 linuron. Synechocystis sp. H6 was more tolerant to the three herbicides than the other isolates of cyanobacteria. Chroococcus sp. S27 , Microcystis sp. S17 , and Synechococcus sp. S24 were the most sensitive to trifluralin, 2,4-D, and linuron, respectively. There has been increasing awareness about using cyanobacteria as pollution control agents. The present study indicated that as the concentrations of the these herbicides were increased, significant changes were recorded in cyanobacterial growth rates. Results obtained from this comparative study allow the choice of suitable herbicides for agricultural practices based on their effects on cyanobacterial growth.

Biosurfactant production in sugar beet molasses by some Pseudomonas spp.

In this study, rhamnolipid biosurfactant production was investigated in eighteen strains of Pseudomonas spp.. Rhamnolipid by these strains was determined by a spectrophotometric method in nutrient broth medium (NB). From the 18 strains screened, two Pseudomonas strains (Pseudomonas luteola B17 and Pseudomonas putida B12) which had produced the highest percentage yield of rhamnolipid were examined for rhamnolipid production at different incubation times (24, 48 and 72 hr) and different sugar beet molasses concentrations [1-5 % w/v concentration (1-5 g molasses/100 ml water)]. The rhamnolipid production increased with the increase in the concentration of molasses and maximum production occurred when 5 % (w/v) of molasses were used. At the same time, maximum rhamnolipid production occurred after 72 hr of incubation. When the amount of rhamnolipid produced at different incubation times (24, 48 and 72 hr) and with different concentrations of molasses [1-5 % w/v concentration (1-5 g molasses/100 ml water)] by Pseudomonas spp.; was compared, no significant difference in amount of production was seen. These studies show that the waste product from sugar industry may be suggested for important biotechnological processes such as rhamnolipid production.

Enhanced crude oil biodegradation and rhamnolipid production by Pseudomonas stutzeri strain G11 in the presence of Tween-80 and Triton X-100.

In this study, the growth of sixty-one bacterial strains in crude oil were determined spectrophotometrically at 620 nm. Pseudomonas aeruginosa G1, Pseudomonas fluorescens G6, Pseudomonas stutzeri G11 and Pseudomonas putida G15 were chosen for the study based on the efficiency of crude oil utilisation. At 1% (v/v) crude oil concentration, P. stutzeri G11 strain degraded a maximum of 69%. The percentage of degradation by the P. stutzeri G11 strain decreased from 69% to 59% as the concentration of crude oil was increased from 1% (v/v) to 2.5% (v/v). Strain G11 was selected to determine the effects of surfactants (Tween-80 and TritonX-100) on the biodegradation of crude oil. While strain G11 showed 76% degradation at mineral salts medium (MSM) containing 1% (v/v) crude oil + 1% (v/v) TritonX-100, it showed 61% degradation at MSM containing 2.5% (v/v) crude oil + 2.5% (v/v) TritonX-100. Also, degradation rate of this strain was 96% in the presence of 1% (v/v) crude oil + 1% (v/v) Tween-80, while degradation rate was 48% in the presence of 25% (v/v) crude oil+ 2.5% (v/v) Tween-80. Additionally, we investigated the rhamnolipid production of P. stutzeri G11 strain both in crude oil and in crude oil + two different surfactants (TritonX-100 and Tween-80, separately). These results suggest that surfactants have improved both crude oil degradation and rhamnolipid production and the degradation rates have depended very much on the chemical structure of surfactants.

Influence of different carbon sources on exopolysaccharide production by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (B3, G12) and Streptococcus thermophilus (W22)

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) production was studied by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (B3, G12) and Streptococcus thermophilus (W22) in the medium containing various carbon sources (glucose, fructose, sucrose or lactose). For all the strains, glucose was the most efficient carbon source and B3, G12 and W22 strains produced 211, 175 and 120 EPS mg/L respectively. Also, the influence of different concentrations of glucose (5,10,15,20,25,30 g/L) on EPS production and growth was studied. The results indicated that EPS production and growth were stimulated by the high glucose concentration (30 g/L).