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.

North Sinai governorate is one of the largest desert areas in terms of intensity of agricultural extension work, In spite of efforts by state agencies to bring about agricultural development in the governorate, agriculture is still somewhat characterized by primitive traditional methods, making agricultural development rates almost indistinguishable, And with the scarcity of extension research carried out in North Sinai in the field of environmental SWOT analysis, It was necessary to conduct the study that is trying to analyze the current situation of agricultural extension in North Sinai governorate through identifying the strengths; weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). A participatory SWOT analysis study using open-ended qualitative-type instrument was conducted; Research data were collected through personal interviewing questionnaire with 90 respondents representing 75% of the total extension workers in North Sinai Governorate, during the period from May till October 2018. The results showed that the most important strengths of these were that a large proportion of the extension workers are specialized in agricultural extension, more than half of the guides were from rural areas and the high job satisfaction degree among of the majority of the extension workers while the most important weaknesses were Weak budget and inadequate funding for extension work, Absence of job description for the extension workers, and Lack of financial and material resources. On the other hand the most important opportunities were Availability of research institutes in the governorate, NGO-Public Sector Collaboration. While the most important threats were Decreased investments targeting the agricultural sector in general and the extension system in particular, Poor Farmer Organization, Security instability in the governorate. Depending upon SWOT outputs, some relevant strategies were discussed to develop agricultural extension system in the governorate through some dimensions that uses strengths and opportunities to overcome weaknesses and to avoid threats or minimize their effects.

The use of dried cheese in food production and food preparation sectors is becoming increasingly widespread. Dried cheese is preferred because of their longer shelf life at room temperatures, smaller packaging sizes, practical use, and their ease of homogenization in food products. Various technologies are currently being used for the drying of cheese and efforts are still being made to develop new methods. Freeze drying is a highly preferred technique for the production of dried cheese due to high quality of the final product. Instant removal of water and low process temperatures ensure an effective prevention of chemical and microbial deterioration. In this study, White, Kashar and Tulum cheeses were dried by freeze-drying method. Physicochemical analyses were carried out on the first day in order to determine the initial quality of cheese samples. The moisture and salt content were highest in White cheese, titratable acidity and fat content were highest in Tulum Cheese. Freze dried cheese samples were stored in room conditions for 6 months and changes in microbial populations such as mesophilic aerobic bacteria, yeast and moulds, lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococci spp. and coliform group bacteria were determined. The results showed that Tulum Cheese contained highest microbial counts in general. The number of bacteria was 7.71±0.10 log cfu/g in Tulum Cheese, 5.70±0.07 log cfu/g in White cheese. Total counts of yeasts and molds were 7.37±0.06 log cfu/g for Tulum cheese and 4.92±0.07 log cfu/g for Kashar Cheese. Statistical analysis was performedby using Minitab Statistical Package Program to evaluate the results of microbiological analysis on dried cheese samples.

Türkiye; coğrafik, topoğrafik ve ekolojik farklılığının sonucu olarak oldukça zengin bir biyolojik çeşitliliğe sahiptir. Türkiye biyolojik zenginliği nedeni ile bir biyolojik çekim merkezi ve zengin bir biyolojik materyal deposu olma özelliği arz etmektedir. Biyolojik çeşitliliğin yetkili kurumların izni olmadan toplanması ve yurt dışına çıkarılması, biyo-kaçakçılık olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Maalesef, alınan bütün tedbirlere rağmen, birçok sektör tarafından kullanım alanı olan biyolojik çeşitliliğimiz, biyolojik kaçakçılığa maruz kalmış ve kalmaya devam etmektedirler. Biyolojik çeşitliliğimizi gelecek nesillere, güvenli bir biçimde teslim etme konusunda içimizin rahat ve gönlümüzün ferah olması gerekir. Bu amaçla; i) toplumsal duyarlılığın oluşturulması, ii) uzman personellerin yetiştirilmesi, iii) yasal düzenlemelerin en üst düzeyde yapılması, iv) ulusal ve uluslararası koordinasyon ve işbirliğinin sağlanması ve canlı tutulması, v) biyolojik çeşitliliğin korunması ve sürdürülebilir kullanılmasına hizmet etme potansiyeli olan çalışmalara yeteri kadar destek verilmelidir. Bu makalenin amacı Türkiye’nin biyolojik çeşitliliğinin önemini ortaya koymak, biyolojik çeşitliliğin azalmasına neden olan biyo-kaçakçılığa Türkiye odaklı dikkat çekerek, Türkiye’de biyo-kaçakçılığın önlenmesine katkıda bulunmaktır. Dolayısıyla bu makalede biyo-kaçakçılık konusu Türkiye ölçeğinde değerlendirmiş, son yıllarda Türkiye’de kayıtlara geçen biyo-kaçakçılık olaylarını güncel örnekleri ile sunulmuş ve biyo-kaçakçılığı daha etkin bir biçimde önlemek için alınması gereken önlemler değerlendirilmiştir.

Azot ve kükürt uygulaması, ekmek yapım sürecini etkileyen buğdayın depo proteinlerinin kalitesi ve niceliği üzerinde önemli etkiye sahiptir. Bu çalışmada tarla koşullarında, vejetatif ve generatif dönemlerde, yapraktan üre, potasyum sülfat (K2SO4) ve çinko sülfat heptahidrat (ZnSO4.7H2O) uygulamalarının ekmeklik buğdayın protein kalitesi (SDS Sedimantasyon ve STK-Laktik Asit değerleri), GlutoPik parametreleri [PMT (s), BM (BE), BEM (BE) ve PM (BE)] ve hamur reolojik özellikleri [stabilite (dak), yumuşama derecesi (BU)] üzerine etkileri araştırılmıştır. Denemeler iki grup halinde yürütülmüştür. İlk denemede, yapraktan yapılan uygulamalar %0 (Kontrol); %0,5 Üre; %1 Üre; %0,5 ZnSO4.7H2O; %0,5 Üre+0,5% ZnSO4.7H2O; %1 Üre+%0,5 ZnSO4.7H2O; %0,5 K2SO4 ve %1 K2SO4 şeklinde; ikinci denemede, %0; %0,5 Üre+%0,5 K2SO4; %0,5 Üre+%1 K2SO4; %1 Üre +%0,5 K2SO4; %1 Üre+%1 K2SO4 şeklinde olmuştur.Uygulamalar arasında birinci denemede; %0,5 Üre, %1 Üre+%0,5 ZnSO4 ve %0,5 K2SO4, ikinci denemede ise %1 Üre+%0,5 K2SO4 konuları tüm özellikler bir arada değerlendirildiğinde öne çıkan uygulamalar olmuştur. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre; üre, potasyum sülfat ve çinko sülfat uygulamalarının protein kalitesi, gluten reolojisi ve hamur reolojisi üzerini etkisinin oldukça önemli olduğu belirlenmiştir.