Using functional foods which are recently a rising value in the food science arouses curiosity in terms of health among people. Honey, as a natural functional food, might play an important role in the increase of this value with a large but conscious use of it in kitchens. Having a prebiotic property with its oligosaccharide components, honey has a characteristic of supporting the increase of probiotic Bifidobacterium and lactobacilli bacteria. In the current study, the culinary status of honey was investigated depending on the views of professional chef trainers. For honey that shows different compositions, chefs point out that, because of the changes of nectars in the flora collected by bees, the qualitative honey bought from local producers could be a more functional food by using it with sauces, milk products like yoghurt and cheese, with such spices as ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and cinnamon at room temperature without an application of heat treatment.

Tıbbi ve aromatik bitkiler, doğadan toplananlar ve yetiştirilenler olmak üzere iki gruba ayrılır. Doğadan toplanan tıbbi ve aromatik bitkiler, orman gibi doğal yerlerde kendiliğinden yetişen bitkilerdir. Akdeniz bölgesinde bulunan bu bitkilerden ikisi Laurus nobilis L. ve Myrtus communis L'dir. Bu çalışma, defne ağaçları ve mersin bitkilerinden elde edilen uçucu yağların oran ve bileşenlerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Türkiye'nin Osmaniye ili florasında yoğun olarak yetişen bu bitkilerden elde edilen yapraklar endüstriyel uygulamalarda büyük damıtma kazanlarında (imbik) su buharı distilasyon yöntemi uygulanarak uçucu yağları elde edilmiştir. İmbik yöntemleriyle elde edilen uçucu yağ oranları defne bitkisinde %0,9-1,4 ve mersin bitkisinde %0,4-0,8 arasında gözlenmiştir. Uçucu yağ bileşenleri incelendiğinde defnenin ana bileşenleri α-pinene (%5,75), sabinen (%8,9), eucalyptol (%44,42) ve α-terpinyl asetat (%17,37) olarak belirlenmiş olup, mersin bitkisinin ana bileşenleri ise, α-pinene (%50,79), limonene (%4,08), eucalyptol (%31,66), α-terpineol (%5,57), α-terpinyl acetate (%2,37) olarak belirlenmiştir.

Moringa oleifera Lam. is one of the most used plants in traditional medicine because of its high antioxidant properties. The antioxidant value, nonetheless, depends on locality where the plant is grown as well as specific parts on the plant. In this study, a phytochemical and antioxidant activity comparison of M. oleifera leaves, seeds and barks were carried out. Fresh leaves, seeds and barks were collected from 2 to 3 years old M. oleifera trees of Bukavu city of South Kivu province in DRC and Masii village of Machackos County in Kenya. A total of 300g of each dried sample powder was mixed with 700 mL of distilled water. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of alkaloids, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids and tannins were performed following standard methods while the antioxidant activity was assessed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Results indicate that only alkaloids were absent in leaves from Kenya and DRC while phenols, flavonoids and tannins were absent in barks. Glycoside in seeds from DRC had the highest concentration (6.17%) followed by alkaloids in seeds from Kenya (5.56%). There was low concentration of terpenoids and flavonoids in all samples compared to other compounds. The highest extract yield was found in leaves from DR Congo (22.5%) and seeds from Kenya (20%). At the highest concentration (10 µg/mL), leaves from Kenya (88.29±1.12 µg/mL) and DRC (80.17±3.59 µg/mL) had the highest percentage inhibition of reactive oxygen-free radicals but lower than the reference standard (92.63±2.76 µg/mL). Leaves from Kenya (23.59 μg/mL) and DRC (28.67 μg/mL) had the highest IC50 compared to mean values of seeds and barks from the two countries. M. oleifera leaves, especially from Kenya, are recommended as a satisfactory antioxidant but can be substituted with seeds and/or barks in order to alleviate the use of leaves which are overused these days.

In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Lepidium spinosum Ard., which is distributed in many regions of the world, were determined. The aerial parts of the plant were dried, powdered and extracted with ethanol. Total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) of the plant extract were determined using Rel Assay Diagnostics kits. Antimicrobial activities of the plant extract were determined against standard bacterial and fungal strains by agar dilution method. As a result of the studies, the TAS value of the plant extract was determined as 4.550±0.132, the TOS value as 12.610±0.221, and the OSI value as 0.277±0.007. In addition, it has been found to be effective at 25-200 µg/mL against standard bacterial strains and 100-200 µg/mL concentrations against fungal strains. As a result, it was determined that L. spinosum used in our study could be a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial source. In this context, it is thought that natural material may be used in pharmacological designs.

E. coli and Salmonella spp. are responsible for causing colibacillosis and salmonellosis in chickens respectively. This research work was undertaken to study the prevalence of colibacillosis and salmonellosis in commercial chickens of Chattogram, and to know the antibiogram profiles of the isolated bacteria. A well-structured questionnaire was used to know the prevalence of colibacillosis and salmonellosis. Previously collected liver and heart samples through postmortem of a total of 100 dead and sick chickens were used. MacConkey agar, EMB agar, and XLD agar were used to isolate, and identify E. coli and Salmonella spp. Finally, Gram’s staining and different biochemical tests were performed to identify these two bacterial isolates. 14 different commercially available antimicrobial discs like ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, streptomycin, colistin sulphate, neomycin, cefoxitin, amoxycillin, tetracycline, gentamicin, norfloxacin, azithromycin, doxycycline, cloxacillin, and erythromycin were used. Data were analyzed with p-value by using Graph Pad Software. 48 samples were recorded as positive for E. coli and 5 for Salmonella spp. The prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella spp. were varied depending on different parameters like age, bird rearing system, farm size, source of water, source of food, medication and vaccination. Form antibiogram study it was revealed that E. coli was highly sensitive to colistin sulphate and ciprofloxacin; intermediate to gentamicin followed by cefoxitin and resistant to other 10 antimicrobials. In case of Salmonella spp., it was recorded as sensitive to colistin sulphate, and cefoxitin; intermediate to ciprofloxacin, and resistant to other 11 antimicrobials. The findings of this research work would certainly help the poultry farmers to select proper antibiotics against colibacillosis and salmonellosis in chickens of Bangladesh and to overcome the multi-drug resistant problem of the bacteria.

After the COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic, nothing has ever been the same for humankind. The lockdown, travel restrictions, closure of borders, and restriction of the movement of people and materials through quarantine measures applied all over the world to combat the COVID-19 pandemic affected agriculture alongside many sectors. The pandemic has made countries reconsider the issue of self-sufficiency in agriculture and it has been understood once again that agriculture is an indispensable element of human life. Agriculture is generally an input-intensive industry. Plant protection products, fertilizers, seeds, fuel, and labor are among the most important of these inputs. Failure to occur in one or more of these means a decrease in the quality and quantity of the product. Countries that do not want to face such a problem have taken some measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, some have been successful, and some have been insufficient. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to labor shortages in plant production, difficulties in accessing plant protection products, and disruptions in plant protection practices due to lack of labor force, financial problems and equipment shortages. The pandemic has also affected education and research activities. With this review, we tried to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on plant production and plant protection in Turkey and in the world.

The main source of seed filling results from the photosynthesis of the green tissue closest to the seed sinks in the capitula. To evaluate the role of different leaf strata and capitula in seed yield and its components of Safflower genotypes, a field study was performed as a factorial experiment based on RCBD in 3 replicates in East Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center in 2008. The used factors in this experiment were: two Safflower genotypes including (Mahalli Esfahan and Goldasht) and defoliation in five levels: defoliation of plants in lower 1/3, middle 1/3, upper 1/3 of the stem, capitulum covered with aluminum paper and control (without defoliation). The results showed that defoliation did not affect plant height and number of pods. But, there was a highly significant difference between strata in terms of number of seeds per pod, number of seeds per plant, 1000 seeds weight, oil percentage and oil yield. The interaction of genotype×strata treatments in seeds yield and harvest index was significant. Among the defoliation treatment levels in both genotypes, the highest decrease in the seed yield compared to the control were observed in the upper 1/3 defoliation levels, whereas the lowest decrease was observed in the lower 1/3 defoliation level. The rate of seed yield reduction in Mahalli Esfahan was higher than Goldasht. The change in Goldasht seed yield was mostly due to changes in the number of seeds per plant and the number of seeds in the head. In addition, net photosynthesis, strata leaf area, and photosynthesis contribution of the upper strata compared to the lower ones were higher, and removal of the upper strata had the highest effect on seed yield through the reduction in the total photosynthesis of the whole plant. Also, covering the capitulum caused a significant decrease in the seed yield. So, head photosynthesis has a major contribution to Safflower seed yield.

Ocimum gratissimum L. is a perennial herbaceous plant used in the treatment of fungal and bacterial infections. Green synthesis has provided cost effective, environment friendly procedure and raising safe strategies for the synthesis of nanoparticles. This study was aimed at investigating the potential of O. gratissimum for the synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and their antimicrobial activities. Phytochemical screening on aqueous extract was carried out using standard procedures. Selenium nanoparticles was biosynthesized by O. gratissimum and characterized using Visual detection, UV-Visible spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope, Transmission Electron Microscope, Energy dispersive X-ray, Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Antimicrobial activity of the biosynthesized selenium nanoparticles by O. gratissimum was done using agar well diffusion method. Saponins, tannins, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids and phenols were present. The biosynthesized SeNPs had a strong plasmon resonance band at 300 nm, changes in colour from dark brown to ruby red. The SeNPs were spherical and aggregated with varying shapes and size ranged from 20 – 50 nm. Strong signal of selenium element was observed. Hydroxyl, esters, aldehyde, alkane and amine are present and responsible for the efficient stabilization and bioreduction of Selenium nanoparticle. Furthermore, biosynthesized SeNPs by O. gratissimum (OGSeNPs) exhibited higher antimicrobial activity against both Gram ositive and Gram negative bacteria. Green synthesis of nanoparticles is a promising method in the biomedical field, due to its high bioactive components.

Purple basil is widely used medicinally and aromatically due to its essential oil properties, and it is a plant that stands out with its antibacterial, antimutagenic and antioxidant properties. It has been determined that purple basil has positive effects on health such as appetizing, insomnia, sputum, diuretical and antispasmodic. Purple basil contains high concentrations of anthocyanins and with these properties it stands out as a potential new source of stable red pigments for the food industry. In recent years, it has been seen that purple basil has been processed into different products such as tea and sherbet in order to benefit from its functional properties. With the processing of purple basil into different products, it is seen that the consumption of basil and basil products has increased by consumers. In this study, purple basil sherbet samples were concentrated at different voltage gradient values (14, 17 and 20 V/cm) under atmospheric conditions with ohmic heating up to 25% soluble solid content (SSC) and the changes in their rheological properties during the concentration process was investigated. The changes in the rheological properties of the purple basil samples were determined in the range of 1-148 s-1 shear rate values and measurement temperature was 25°C. The compatibility of different rheological models (Newton, Power-Law and Herschel-Bulkley) to the experimental data was statistically evaluated to determine the flow behavior index of the purple basil sherbet samples. It has been determined that the shear stress values increased as the shear rate values increased in all the process conditions. Similarly, at the same shear rate values, it was determined that the shear stress values increased as the SSC values increased. It has been determined that the best suitable rheological model was Herschel-Bulkley Model for all purple basil sherbet concentrates. It is thought that the results obtained will provide important data to the food and machinery industry for the installation of pilot and industrial scale ohmic heating systems.

This study assessed the proximate composition, sensory quality and consumer acceptability of beef sausage fortified with edible meat waste. Lean beef and edible meat waste (EMW) samples were obtained from commercial abattoir and combined in ratio 50:50 and 70:30 and designated as T1 and T2 respectively, while CT contained 90% lean meat and 10% fat. The fresh T1, T2 and CT sausages were thermal processed using microwave and oven-grilling cooking methods. The results showed significant difference in moisture, protein, lipid and ash content of raw and cooked sausages across treatments. Raw sausage fortified with EMW had higher protein and lower lipid contents compared to control treatment (90/10, CT). Cooking of the sausage significantly decreased moisture and increase lipid, protein and lipid content, with microwaved sausage having higher values. The results of sensory quality showed that beef sausage fortified with EMW were all acceptable to consumers, irrespective of the cooking methods used. The distribution of consumers who liked the appearance, colour, texture and flavour of the sausage meat containing EMW were higher than those who dislike the products. Therefore, this study shows that EMW could be successfully used in meat industry to improve quality of sausage during production.