Polyphenols are plant-sourced compounds that exhibit important dietary features on human health. They have been defined and used either as a food source or as a raw material in the food industry to enhance functional properties and nutritional quality. They have significant positive bioactivities as; antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, cardiovascular health protection, immune supporter, and also benefits on digestion and brain functioning. The effects and bioactivity ranges were studied in the literature which has been discussed in the review to emphasize the importance of these natural compounds to provide insight into health and well-being.

The increase in the volume of foreign trade between Türkiye and MERCOSUR countries in recent years has an important potential. The fact that these countries are economically similar further increases the mutual foreign trade potential. These trade relations are important in terms of economic cooperation and are expected to strengthen the economic interests of countries over time. Both Türkiye and MERCOSUR countries have a high potential in terms of production and foreign trade in agricultural and livestock products. Of course, the fact that countries are members of the World Trade Organization has increased free foreign trade in these sectors. Therefore, in this study, the level of foreign trade specialization in the agriculture and livestock sector after Türkiye and MERCOSUR countries became a member of the World Trade Organization was analysed. In this study covering the years 1995-2022; Net Trade, Export-Import Ratio, Lafay and Michaely indices were used. The findings show that the highest specialization is in Argentina and the lowest in Paraguay. In addition, Türkiye and Brazil have an advantage in numerically similar product groups. Türkiye needs to increase productivity in agriculture to increase the level of specialization in foreign trade.

The study was carried out to develop chicken patties by incorporating acorn flour as a meat replacer at 3%, 6%, and 9% levels in the formulation. For this purpose, the chemical (moisture, protein, fat, ash), pH, thiobarbituric acid (TBA), and color analyses in the raw and cooked chicken patties were analyzed. In addition, the cooking properties (cooking yield, diameter reduction, thickness reduction), functional properties (moisture and fat retention) and sensory properties were examined on cooked chicken patties. There were significant changes in the chemical, cooking, functional, and color properties of chicken patties with acorn flour. The moisture and protein values decreased, in both raw and cooked samples incorporated with acorn flour but fat level increased only in raw acorn flour added samples. Lightness (L*) and redness (a*) values decreased significantly. The addition of acorn flour caused an increase in b* values of raw samples and a decrease in cooked samples.  Acorn flour was not effective in preventing lipid oxidation. The addition of acorn flour contents in chicken patties improved functional and cooking properties, decreased cooking loss, and increased moisture and fat retention. The use of acorn flour improved the quality parameters of patties, but the addition of acorn flour resulted in a darker color in patties.  The use of acorn flour in chicken meatballs did not negatively affect sensory properties except color. In conclusion, acorn flour can be used as a filler and binder in chicken patties.

In table olive production it is necessary to remove oleuropein by brine or dry salting method because it gives bitterness. However, some olive varieties such as Throuba Thassos-Greece, Djemali-Tunisia can be consumed without any de-bittering process. Some olives in Türkiye are also consumed without any pre-treatment and these are Kilis Yağlık, Butko, Hurma (Erkence cv.), and Nizip Yağlık olives. These naturally de-bittered olives were aimed to be characterized in this research. The lowest moisture content was determined for Kilis Yağlık (6.84%) and the highest moisture content was determined for Butko (50.01%). The oil and protein content of the samples was between, 16.66-68.46% and 0.19-18.13%, respectively. Total phenolic content (mg GAE/100g) of Kilis Yağlık, Butko, Hurma and Nizip Yağlık olive varieties were determined as 458.87, 152.09, 109.73, 234.33, respectively. The lowest antioxidant capacity was determined for Butko and the highest value was determined for Kilis Yağlık. The hardness values of the olives were found between 677.44-3688.06 (g). The L*, a*, b* values of olive samples were found between 26.14-32.05, 2.02-4.78, 2.37- 7.18, respectively. Highest oleic was determined for Hurma, highest linoleic acid was determined for Butko whereas the highest linolenic acid was determined for Nizip Yağlık. Volatile component analysis results of olives showed that 24, 23, 16 and 17 volatile components were detected in Kilis Yağlık, Butko, Hurma and Nizip Yağlık olives, respectively.

Keten bitkisi ülkemizin hemen hemen her bölgesinde yetişebilmesi, kullanım alanlarının çeşitliliği, hem lifinden, hem de yağından faydalanılması gibi özellikleri ile ön plana çıkan önemli bir endüstri bitkisidir. Çalışmada farklı azot dozlarının keten bitkisinin verim ve verim özelliklerine etkisinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma Tokat-Kazova şartlarında 2020 ve 2021 yılı vejetasyon döneminde kuru şartlarda yürütülmüştür. Çalışma Tesadüf Blokları Deneme Desenine göre üç tekerrürlü olarak yürütülmüştür. Çalışmada yağlık Atalanta çeşidi ve 750 tohum/m2 bitki sıklığı kullanılmıştır. Çalışmada 5 farklı azot (N) dozu (kontrol (0), 7, 10, 13, 16 kg/da) yer almıştır. Çalışmada; bitki boyu, bitki başına dal sayısı, bitkideki kapsül sayısı, kapsüldeki tohum sayısı, bin tohum ağırlığı, tohum verimi, yağ oranı ve yağ verimi parametreleri incelenmiştir. Yıllar ortalamasına göre bitki boyu 49,88-52,11 cm, dal sayısı 2,6-3,2 adet/bitki, bitkideki kapsül sayısı 23,55-34,00 adet/bitki, kapsülde tohum sayısı 5,25-5,66 adet/kapsül, bin tohum ağırlığı 5,17-5,29 g, tohum verimi 54,68-90,30 kg/da, yağ oranı %33,01-35,55 ve yağ verimi 17,98-31,84 kg/da arasında değişmiştir. Tokat-Kazova’da kuru şartlarda ketende azot dozlarının etkisinin araştırıldığı çalışma sonucunda; dekara tohum ve yağ verimi bakımından 10-13 kg/da azot dozları ön plana çıkmıştır. Gübre tasarrufunu düşünerek 10 kg/da azot dozunun kullanılmasının daha uygun olacağı düşünülmektedir.

Bu çalışmada öncelikle endüstriyel boyutta bir damıtma sistemine mikrodalga desteğinin nasıl sağlanacağı noktasında benzetim çalışmaları yapılmış ve endüstriyel boyutta bir MDD sistemi tasarlanmıştır. Damıtma kazanına 4´3 adet magnetron yerleştirilerek mikrodalga desteği sağlanmıştır. Adaçayı bitkisinin testleri hem geleneksel hem de bu MDD sistemi kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ayrıca, adaçayının sap ve yapraklarıyla birlikte damıtılması veya sadece yapraklarının damıtılarak elde edilen uçucu yağ sonuçları karşılaştırılmıştır. Damıtma sonucu elde edilen uçucu yağların kimyasal analizleri GC-MS cihazı ile yapılmış ve önerilen sistemin damıtma süreçlerine etkileri değerlendirilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre, herba kullanılan iki farklı durum için MDD sistemiyle elde edilen yağ verimi geleneksel sisteme göre %10 artmıştır. Herba ve yaprak ayrı ayrı MDD sistemi kullanılarak destile edilmiştir ve sadece yaprakların damıtılması durumunda verim artışı %100 den fazla olmaktadır. Kimyasal bileşenlerdeki değişimler detaylı olarak incelenmiştir.

Mulching, a widely employed agricultural practice, has been recognized for its influence on soil moisture retention, temperature regulation, and weed suppression, thereby improving growth and yield of crops. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of mulching materials on growth and yield attributes of summer squash under water constraint condition during March to May 2023 in Chitwan, Nepal. The experiment was laid in single factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four different mulches (rice straw, wheat straw, rice husk and silver on black plastic mulch 30 microns) and control replicated 4 times. All the Plant growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaves per plant and plant spread, were highest in silver plastic mulch and the poorest in the un-mulched plots. Mulching also significantly influenced floral characters, with plastic mulch demonstrating superiority in traits such as days to flowering, number of flowers per plant, and sex ratio compared to organic mulches and the control. Fruit length, diameter, and weight exhibited the highest values under plastic mulch and the lowest values under the control, while all organic mulches showed similar results. The highest yield of 41.44 Mt ha-1 was achieved with silver plastic mulch, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing crop productivity, while the lowest yield of 11.77 Mt ha-1 was recorded in the control plots. Despite its higher cost, silver pastic mulch exhibited highest net return and benefit-cost ratio. Rice husk mulch, with the second highest benefit-cost ratio and relatively low cost of production, emerged as promising alternative. Although mulching did not notably affect the soil pH, the varying soil organic matter percentages were observed, with the highest on rice straw mulch and the lowest on silver plastic mulch. The study suggests that while plastic mulch can significantly boost productivity during water scarcity, rice husk mulch offers a cost-effective alternative with substantial economic benefit.

Günümüzde şehirleşmenin artması ve şehir merkezlerinin genişlemesi, birçok kent merkezinde sanayi alanları, yerleşim alanları ve tarım alanlarının iç içe geçmesine sebep olmuştur. Bu durum tarım topraklarının antropojenik kirlilik kaynaklarından önemli ölçüde etkilenmesine sebep olmaktadır. Bu toprakların kirlenmesi, gıda olarak tüketilen ürünler yetiştirildiğinde insan sağlığı açısından risk oluşturmaktadır. Bundan dolayı bu topraklar kirlilik yönünden kontrol edilmelidir. Bu çalışmada da Ankara İli Yenimahalle İlçesi sınırları içerisinde yer alan tarım topraklarında 20 farklı örnekleme istasyonundan, üç farklı toprak derinliğinden alınan topraklar numunelerinde, insan ve çevre sağlığı açısından en tehlikeli ve zararlı ağır metallerden olan kobalt (Co) konsantrasyonunun değişimi değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda ortalama Co konsantrasyonunun 0-15 cm derinlikteki topraklarda 14556,8 ppb, 15-30 cm derinliklerdeki topraklarda 15273,4 ppb ve 30-45 cm derinlikteki topraklarda 14761,1 ppb düzeyinde olduğu belirlenmiştir. Lokasyon bazında en düşük değer 7348,3 ppb ile L1 lokasyonunda (yerleşim alanında açık alanda) belirlenirken en yüksek değer 23609,1 ppb ile L8 lokasyonunda (yerleşim alanında, sanayi bölgesine yakın açık alanda) elde edilmiştir.

Food waste is a significant problem worldwide. These food wastes, often discarded without any preliminary processing, can be rich in bioactive substances. In this study, the aim was to identify the phenolic compounds in pumpkin, rosehip and pomegranate seeds, which are frequently consumed in winter. For this purpose, ultrasonically assisted methanolic extracts were prepared from seeds separated from other waste parts (such as shells, stems, and leaves). The results indicated that pomegranate seeds had the highest total phenolic content, with 45.6±3.1 mg GAE/g sample (P<0.05). Similarly, pomegranate seeds also showed the highest total antioxidant capacity in both CUPRAC (114.7±2.6 mg torolox/g sample) and DPPH (71.2±3.8 mg torolox/g sample) analyses (P<0.05). In phenolic profiling analysis using HPLC-PDA, syringic acid was the most abundant compound in pumpkin seeds, (-)-catechin in rosehip seeds, and punicalagin derivatives in pomegranate seeds.

Excessive sugar intake can lead to poor health outcomes. The use of sweeteners is considered as a strategy to reduce added sugar consumption. The presence of sweeteners in food products has increased significantly in many countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the added sugars and sweeteners in packaged products. 1550 (57.9%) out of 2676 food products contained at least one added sugar. Confectionery and desserts (35.38±24.82 g/100 g), and snack foods (20.70±16.20 g/100 g) were the main categories containing the highest amount of added sugar. 229 (8.6%) out of 2676 food products contained various types of sweeteners. The most popular added sugar was sucrose (62.9%), while the most popular sweetener was sorbitol (28.2%). This is the most comprehensive study in the city center of Edirne province in Türkiye reporting on the types and frequency of added sugars and sweeteners in packaged products. This study offers monitoring to improve the legislation of Türkiye on added sugars and sweeteners used in the food supply.