Browsing by Author "Tufekci E.F."

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Anticancer and biological properties of leaf and flower extracts of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench
(2021-06-01) Mohamed Sharif K.O.; Tufekci E.F.; Ustaoglu B.; Altunoglu Y.C.; Zengin G.; Llorent-Martínez E.J.; Guney K.; Baloglu M.C.
Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench is an important medicinal herb; its roots, leaves and, flowers have been used by the food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, DNA protection, antimicrobial, antioxidant-enzyme inhibition, and antiproliferative activities of water, methanol (MeOH), and ethyl acetate (EA) extracts of leaves and flowers of E. purpurea were evaluated. In addition, total phenolics and flavonoids, as well as individual compounds, were identified using colorimetric assays and HPLC-ion trap mass spectrometry, respectively. Chicoric acid and its isomer were the most abundant natural compounds, with concentrations similar to previous studies of E. purpurea. All extracts had antimicrobial activity against a broad range of bacteria, particularly Enterococcus faecalis. The antiproliferative activity of the extracts on the HeLa cells was shown. The lowest value of IC50 (73 μg/ml) came from the 24 h MeOH extract of flowers. The water extract of leaves showed strong antioxidant activity with the DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, and FRAP assays. EA and MeOH extracts of leaves showed a significant inhibition ability of cholinesterase and tyrosinase, respectively. The presented study suggested that E. purpurea extracts had promising therapeutic properties. Further investigation at the cellular level could be done to highlight the mechanism behind these biological activities.
Chemical characterization, computational analysis and biological views on Daphne gnidioides Jaub. & Spach extracts: Can a new raw material be provided for biopharmaceutical applications?
(2020-08-01) Can T.H.; Tufekci E.F.; Altunoglu Y.C.; Baloglu M.C.; Llorent-Martínez E.J.; Stefanucci A.; Mollica A.; Cichelli A.; Zengin G.
The scientific world tends to turn to natural products such as medicinal and aromatic plants because of the inadequacy of commercially available synthetic drugs as antibiotics or anticancer, and their adverse effects on healthy tissues. One of these plants is Daphne gnidioides Jaub. & Spach, which belongs to the Thymelaeaceae family, and there is no data in the literature on its biological activity. This study is aimed to elucidate the chemical profiles and in vitro anticancer, antibacterial and DNA protection and enzyme inhibitory properties of methanol extracts of root, stem, and leaf of D. gnidioides Jaub. & Spach. Polyphenolic components of the extracts were characterized by HPLC-MS/MS. The highest phenolic content was detected in the leaf extract (TIPC = 43.5 ± 0.5 mg/g DE), followed by stem (TIPC = 27.3 ± 0.7 mg/g DE) and root (TIPC = 18.3 ± 0.2 mg/g DE) extracts. Vicenin-2 and 3-O-p-coumaroyl-5-O-caffeoylquinic acid were the main identified compounds in leaf and both root and stem extracts, respectively. The extracts did not show any protective effect on DNA against experimental Fenton's reagent. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration values for the root and leaf extracts against tested bacterial strains ranged from 31.25 to 500 μg/mL. After 48 h interaction of the cancer cell lines with the extracts, only the stem extract had significant cytotoxicity on HeLa cells (IC50 = 86.16 μg/mL). No remarkable activity of the extracts, which was tested against MDA-MB-231, was detected (IC50 > 1000 μg/mL). These data showed that D. gnidioides Jaub. & Spach stem extract inhibited the survival of HeLa cells in a time-dependent manner. After the treatment of IC50 concentration of stem extract with HeLa cells, an increase in LC3-II autophagic gene expression was detected. Also, the extracts exhibited significant tyrosinase inhibitory effects which were confirmed by molecular docking. To sum up, the tested extracts could be used as a starting point for the development of new multifunctional drugs.
Comprehensive approaches on chemical composition and biological properties of Daphne pontica L. extracts
(2022-01-01) Celik Altunoglu Y.; Can T.H.; Tufekci E.F.; Altunoglu B.D.; Baloglu M.C.; Llorent-Martínez E.J.; Zengin G.
The genus Daphne presents great interest as a valuable source of natural agents in traditional medicine of various countries, including Turkey. In the current work, we investigated the phytochemical composition and biological properties of Daphne pontica L. extracts. Methanol extracts of roots, stems and leaves were prepared. The chemical characterization was performed by HPLC-ESI-MSn, observing that flavonoids and phenolic acids were the main compounds. Biological properties were studied in terms of antimicrobial, DNA protection, anticancer, and enzyme inhibitory properties (cholinesterases, tyrosinase, amylase and glucosidase). Methanol extracts of roots, leaves, and stems of D. pontica had antimicrobial effects against a broad range of bacteria. In addition, methanol extract of roots of D. pontica exhibited a promising anticancer activity that was shown to be dose- and time-dependent for HeLa cells with an IC50 value of 203.9 μg/mL. Generally, the leaf extracts exhibited the best enzyme inhibitory properties on the tested enzymes. According to our results, D. pontica might be regarded as a valuable source of natural agents to combat cancer, infectious diseases, and metabolic diseases.
Investigation of metallo-beta-lactamase production in carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated in Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital, Turkey
(2021-01-01) Tufekci E.F.; Alkateeb A.; Kilinc C.; Gurbuz M.; Altunoglu Y.C.; Baloglu M.C.; Kiraz M.; Coplu N.
Aims: The detection of the metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates is crucial for infection control and public health. The present study aimed to investigate the MBL production in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolated from various clinical samples in Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital, Turkey. Methodology and results: Seventy-three carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates were recovered from different patients between April 2018 and November 2020. Identification of the isolates was performed by conventional methods (culture examination, determination of Gram reaction, and oxidase test) and an automated system (Vitek 2). Antibiotic susceptibility patterns were determined using the Vitek 2 and the results were interpreted based on the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) standards. The MBL production was phenotypically investigated using the imipenem-EDTA combined disk test. The presence of beta-lactamase IMP (bla IMP), betalactamase VIM (bla VIM) and beta-lactamase GIM (bla GIM) genes were determined using PCR to confirm the MBL production. Seventy-one isolates (97%, n=71/73) were resistant to imipenem, sixty-four isolates (88%, n=64/73) to meropenem and sixty-two isolates (85%, n=62/73) to both imipenem and meropenem. Sixty-five isolates (89%, n=65/73) were defined as multidrug-resistant. The MBL production was detected in 57 isolates (78%, n=57/73) phenotypically. However, the bla IMP, bla VIM and bla GIM genes were not detected in all the isolates. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: It was determined that there were no imipenemase (IMP), Verona integron-encoded metallo-beta-lactamase (VIM) and German imipenemase (GIM) type MBLs in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolated from Kastamonu Training and Research Hospital. MBL production in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa strains can be investigated phenotypically. However, confirmation of results with molecular tests is especially significant for epidemiological studies.
Isolation and Characterization of Lytic Bacteriophages from Wastewater with Phage Therapy Potentials Against Gram-Negative Bacteria
(2022-06-01) Khorshidtalab M.; Durukan İ.; Tufekci E.F.; Nas S.S.; Abdurrahman M.A.; Kiliç A.O.
Objective: The increase of multidrug resistance in bacteria has increased the efforts in search of alternative methods. The aim of the present study was to isolate and characterize the lytic phages and assess their lytic activity against a number of gram-negative bacteria. Materials and Methods: The phages and their respective hosts were isolated from wastewater collected from the municipal sewer system of Trabzon, Turkey. The lytic activities of phage were determined using the agar spot test. The identification and antibiotic susceptibility of host bacteria were determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Phoenix 100, respectively. The phages were characterized morphologically using transmission electron microscopy. One of the phages, Enteroc21, which has a broad-host-range, was further characterized by genome restriction endonuclease analysis and burst size. Results: Two phages infected strains of four different species, nine phages were able to infect 2-4 strains belonging to one or two species, and three phages showed lytic activity against only the hosts from which they were isolated. All phages belonged to the Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, and Podoviridae family based on transmission electron microscopy morphology. The Enteroc21 had more than 100 kb genome size and a burst size of 180 per infected cell. Most of the host strains were resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, and in particular, Achromobacter xylosoxidans TRAX 13 was multidrug-resistant showing resistance to cefepime, aztreonam, gentamicin, netilmicin, and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: This study showed that the isolated phages have the potential to be used in phage therapy against various bacterial infections, including multidrug-resistant bacteria.