This study was conducted to compare the effect of different cover crop treatments on DTPA-extractable micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) and soil pH in an apricot orchard with clay texture located in Malatya province of Turkey. For this purpose, 5 different experimental groups (Vicia villosa Roth (VV), Vicia pannonica Crantz (VP), Vicia pannonica Crantz and Tritikale mixture (70% + 30%, respectively) (VPT), Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth (PT), Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (FE)) and 3 control groups (mechanically cultivated (MC), herbicide treatment (HC) and bare control plot (BC)) were used in the apricot orchards. The soils were sampled from 0–20 cm and 20-40 cm depths in each plot for soil analyses. According to the obtained results, while cover crop treatments reduced pH values of soils according to the bare control, the cover crops increased the Fe, Mn and Zn contents of soils in the 0-20 cm soil depth. The highest Ext-Fe, Mn and Zn contents were obtained in the VV (14.83mg kg-1, 8.42 mg kg-1, 1.03 mg kg-1, respectively) at the 0-20 cm soil depth. As compared to bare control, highest percent increases in Fe, Mn and Zn contents were determined in the VV 27.73%, 31.69% and 37.54%, respectively. The greatest significant negative correlations in the VV treatment were observed between pH and Fe (-0.985**), between pH and Mn (-0.945**) and between pH and Zn (-0.764*). The greatest significant negative correlations in the VP treatment were observed between pH and Fe (-0.948**), between pH and Mn (-0.928**) and between pH and Zn (-0.722*). It was concluded based on current findings that cover crops, especially Vicia villosa Roth and Vicia pannonica Crantz could be incorporated into cropping systems to improve micronutrients and to provide a sustainable soil management.

Var olduğu günden beri doğa ile etkileşim halinde olan insanoğlu doğadan farklı amaçlar için yararlanmaktadır. Eğlenmek, çeşitli aktivitelerde bulunmak, kendini iyi hissetmek için her zaman doğanın bir parçası olan yeşil alanlara ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Ancak insanlar; hızlı ve çarpık şehirleşme, sanayileşme ve teknoloji gibi faaliyetler sebebiyle azalan yeşil alanlarla artan kapalı mekanlarda yaşamlarını devam ettirmektedir. Kırsal alanlarda yaşayan insanların da artan kaygıları, onları şehirlere çekmeye başlamış, kentler giderek yoğunlaşmış, birçok kentte ihtiyacı karşılamak adına betonlar yükselmiş, yaşam kalitesi azalmış, doğa hiç bozulmayacakmış gibi tahrip edilmiş ve bugün birçok konut yeşil alansız, bahçesi olmadan inşa edilmiştir. Yeşile özlem duyan, doğadan uzaklaşan günümüz insanında depresyon ve buna bağlı olarak gelişen psikolojik bozukluklar görülmeye başlanmıştır. Doğa ve doğal alanların insanlar üzerindeki olumlu etkileri birçok bilim insanı tarafından da tespit edilmiştir. Son yıllarda, insan sağlığı üzerinde yapısal çevrenin etkileri dikkat çekmiş ve “iyileştirici bahçe” kavramı ortaya çıkmıştır. İyileştirici bahçeler peyzaj mimarlığı çalışmalarında da yeni bir hareket etkisi oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmada; iyileştirici bahçelerin çeşitli sağlık problemleri olan hastalar üzerindeki etkilerinden bahsedilerek, tasarım ilkelerine göre değerlendirmesi yapılmıştır.

Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst., known as “Lingzhi” in China or “Reishi” in Japan, is a well-known medicinal mushroom and traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for the prevention and treatment of bronchitis, allergies, hepatitis, immunological disorders and cancer. G. lucidum is rarely collected from nature and mostly cultivated on wood logs and sawdust in plastic bags or bottles to meet the demands of international markets. Diverse groups of chemical compounds with pharmacological activities, isolated from the mycelia and fruiting bodies of G. lucidum are triterpenoids, polysaccharides (β-D-glucans), proteins, amino acids, nucleosides, alkaloids, steroids, lactones, lectins, fatty acids, and enzymes. The biologically active compounds as primarily triterpenoids and polysaccharides of G. lucidum have been reported to possess hepatoprotective, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolemic, antihistaminic effects and antioxidant, antitumor, immunomodulatory, and antiangiogenic activities. Several formulations have been developed, patented and used as nutraceuticals, nutriceuticals and pharmaceuticals from G. lucidum’s water or ethanol extracts and rarely purified active compounds. As the result of clinical trials, various products have commercially become available as syrup, injection, tablet, tincture or bolus of powdered medicine and an ingredient or additive in dark chocolate bars and organic fermented medicinal mushroom drink mixes such as green teas, coffees, and hot cacaos. This review has intended to give and discuss recent knowledge on phytochemical and pharmacological compositions, therapeutic and side effects, clinical trials, and commercial products of G. lucidum.

Vegetables supply various minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers along with important phytochemicals that plays a major contribution in our balance diets and nutrition. Each vegetable contain a unique amount of various nutrients that are strongly linked with the protection of different health diseases. Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a nonwoody annual plant with purple to white flowers along with enlarged lobed leaves with bushy foliage that grows with maximum height of 120cm. Eggplant is mainly grown for vegetables and medicinal purposes. The phytochemical analysis of eggplant shows that it is the rich source of various essential compounds aspartic acid, tropane, flavonoids, lanosterol, gramisterol, steroid alkaloids, glycoalkaloids, histidine, nasunin, oxalic acid, solasodine, ascorbic acid and tryptophan that are present in fruits and leaves. It also contains low calories and high moisture contents. These compounds were found helpful in the cure of various diseases like cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic, anti-platelet hypo-lipidemic, and hypotensive etc. Today most modern scientific techniques are available to cure different various health problems but still majority of population across the globe depends upon the traditional herbal medicines and practices. This review mainly explains nutritional content, medicinal and health benefits of S. melongena

Globally, 16.9% of milk used by humans is taken from different species other than a cow. These species are sheep, horse, yak, ass, goat, camel and buffalo. The global camel (Camelus dromedarius) population is about 34 million head with sharing of almost 0.4% of world’s non-cattle milk. Within the last 20 years, the curiosity of camel farming is amassed remarkably in different countries of the world including the Netherland, Italy and USA for camel milk production. The camel is considered as a goal animal of the 21st century because it produces high quality milk under extreme temperature, deficiency of pasture and dearth of water. The average milk production of camel fluctuates from 4 to 30 lt with lactation length ranges from 9 to18 months having peak yield in second to the third month of lactation. Camel’s milk is used globally because of its salty taste, high vitamin C concentration and its medicinal properties. Nevertheless, it gives many valuable benefits such as treatment of autism, control diabetes and allergy, prevention from liver cirrhosis and replacer of cow milk to avoid an infant’s allergic reaction. The camel milk is a natural treatment of diabetes as it has a substantial result in a decrease of mean blood glucose and conserves necessary insulin doses. Camel milk constitutes of protein (2.5-4.5%), fat (2.9-5.5%), solid not fat (8.9 -14.3%), ash (0.35-0.95%), lactose (2.9-5.8%) and water (86.3-88.5%) as mean specific gravity is 1.03. Due to its distinct properties, the consumption of camel milk is increasing day by day and a number of industries are working to promote camel milk production and processing. Therefore, the tenacity of this review article is to explicate the beneficial uses and production of camel milk over the globe.

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of enteritis, pneumonia and omphalitis on oxidative/antioxidant balance in the calves. In total, 27 calves with neonatal disease and 10 healthy calves (control) were used. The sick calves were divided into 3 groups according to localization of infection, omphalitis (n = 10), pneumonia (n = 8) and enteritis (n = 9). Blood samples of the calves were taken from jugular vein for analysis. Blood in tubes without anticoagulant was centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 5 min following clotting, and the sera were removed and stored at -80°C until analyzed. Serum malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels of all groups were significantly higher, while glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase levels were significantly lower compared to the control group. As a conclusion, diarrhea, pneumonia and omphalitis are caused by oxidative damage in the calves, and antioxidant treatment may be beneficial in the treatment of these diseases.

In this study, the antioxidant activities and biochemical characteristics of Ulva rigida (Ulvophyceae) and Arthrospira platensis (Cyanophyceae) were determined. The extracts from two seaweed species were evaluated for their free radical scavenging activity, using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) method, their total phenolic, flavonoid, and condensed tannin contents, through Folin–Ciocalteu, Quettier-Deleu, and Price methods, respectively. The extracts of two seaweeds showed a low free radical scavenging capacity in comparison with commercial antioxidant BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), and vitamin C. The extract of U. rigida demonstrated greater antioxidant potential with a low IC50 (3.76±0.02 mg/g Ext.). The total phenolic contents were ranged from 2.21±0.08 (U. rigida) to 8.59±0.62 (A. platensis) mg GAE/g of extract. The highest flavonoid content was found in A. platensis as 22.70±0.65 mg rutin/g of extract. The contents of condensed tannin were measured 3.01±0.11 mg CE/g of extract for A. platensis and 3.76±0.06 mg CE/g of extract for U. rigida. According to results obtained, U. rigida and A. maxima possess antioxidant activity and could be used in for future applications in medicine, functional foods, and agriculture.

Antimikrobiyal duyarlılık testleri, ilaçların keşfedilmesi, epidemiyoloji ve terapötik sonuçların tahmini için kullanılabilmektedir. Günümüzde mikrobiyal yaşamdaki dirençlilik artış göstermekte olduğu için antimikrobiyal bileşikler etkilerini kaybetmekte ve bu durum onları tehlikeye sokmaktadır. Ayrıca, antimikrobiyal ajanların etkileri, çoklu ilaca dirençli bakterilerle ilişkili tedavilerde başarısızlık göstermektedir. Bu durum, halk sağlığı için küresel bir endişe olma durumuna gelmiştir. Bu yüzden, yeni antimikrobiyal ajanların keşfedilmesi ve antimikrobiyal duyarlılık testlerinin yaygın olarak kullanılması ve geliştirilmesi gerekmektedir. Antimiktobiyal aktivitenin belirlenmesi için birçok teknik bulunmaktadır. Duyarlı mikroorganizmaları inhibe etmek amacıyla uygulanan bu tekniklerden çoğu, katı ya da yarı katı üretim ortamındaki difüzyon ile ilişkili metodlara dayalıdır. Bu teknikler arasında Cross-streak ise yeni antibiyotik keşfi için yapılan araştırmalarda kültürlerin nispeten hızlı bir şekilde taranmasını sağlayan kolay bir tekniktir. Fakat Cross-streak testinin en büyük dezavantajı, niceliksel verilerin elde edilmesindeki güçlüktür. Çünkü inhibisyon bölgesinin kenarları genellikle çok bulanık ve belirsizdir. Bazı antimikrobiyal duyarlılık test teknikleri, bu alandaki dikkat çekici adımlar belirlenerek Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) ve European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) tarafından standardizasyona tabi tutulmuştur. Bu test prosedürü, spesifik test koşullarının ve metotlarının kullanımına gereksinim duymaktadır. Ayrıca, besiyeri ve inkübasyon koşulları ile zaman bu gereksinimler arasındadır. Hali hazırda kullanılan aktivite belirleme yöntemlerinden Cross-streak yönteminin iyi anlaşılıp geliştirilmesi önem arz etmektedir.