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- MakaleYalnız künye2026Honeybee Silk: A Promising Value-Added Biomaterial with Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Antihyaluronidase, and Microstructural Characteristics
Yildiz, Oktay; Değirmenci, Atiye; Boyraci, Gulsum Merve; Aksoy, Canan
Bee products with their huge potential are becoming more valuable beyond food industry. Honeybee silk is non-utilized biomaterial in any commercial applications and even burned during the processing of beeswax. Although studies concerning insects silks are commonly on spider and silkworm silks, honeybee silk remains unexplored. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) were used to identify chemical composition via elemental mapping of the native form of honeybee silk. Honeybee silk, in the form of thin layer inside the honeycomb cells, was processed through a series of steps to separate it from beeswax. Protein content was evaluated and revealed a composition of approximately 11.69%, indicating its strong biopolymeric origin. Amino acid analysis of honeybee silk performed by RP-HPLC revealed the presence of both polar and nonpolar amino acids, indicating a well-balanced amino acid profile. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-hyaluronidase properties of processed honeybee silk were presented. The methanolic extracts of honeybee silk were found to have higher total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity as assessed by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) assays than the aqueous extracts. While no antimicrobial activity was found for aqueous extracts, methanolic honeybee silk extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacilluscereus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Candida albicans. The hyaluronidase inhibition values (IC50) were found as 0.0094 and 0.0079 g/mL for aqueous and methanolic honeybee silk extracts, respectively. The aforementioned findings indicate that honeybee silk as a promosing value-added product is worthy of attention from pharmaceutical industries and future studies.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2025Research of Peganum harmala: Phytochemical Content, Mineral Profile, Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, Anticholinergic Properties, and Molecular Docking
İzol, Ebubekir; Turhan, Münire; Yapıcı, İsmail; Necip, Adem; Abdullah Yılmaz, Mustafa; Zengin, Gökhan
Peganum harmala is a significant medicinal, aromatic plant used in traditional medicine and the subject of many studies. In this study, the phytochemical compound and mineral profile of the plant's ethanol extract were identified quantitatively. Antioxidant properties were determined by total phenolic and flavonoid content, FRAP, DPPH, CUPRAC, ABTS, metal chelating, and phosphomolybdenum assays. Antidiabetic, anticholinergic, and skin care properties were specified by the inhibition of tyrosinase, α-glucosidase, α-amylase, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzymes, respectively. In addition, binding interactions of major phytochemicals with all enzymes were investigated by molecular docking studies. The phytochemical compound of the extract contained significant bioactive components such as acacetin, gentisic acid, p-coumaric acid, quinic acid, rutin, apigenin, and chrysin, while the mineral profile was rich in salt elements. AChE, BChE, tyrosinase, α-amylase, and α-glycosidase enzyme inhibitor results were determined as 2.99 mg GALAE/g, 4.14 mg GALAE/g, 35.8 mg KAE/g, 2.76 mmol ACAE/g, and 1.20 mmol ACAE/g, respectively. As a result, it was identified that it had antioxidant properties and strongly inhibited all enzymes except tyrosinase. The docking scores of major bioactive phytochemicals were found to be high. The best binding pose was obtained by docking acacetin into the active site of AChE (PDB: 4EY7), BChE (PDB: 4BDS), α-glucosidase (PDB: 3WY1), α-amylase (PDB: 6GXV) and tyrosinase (PDB: 2Y9X) receptors. Docking score values were calculated as −10.4, −9.2, −8.8, −7.8, and −7.4 kcal/mol, respectively. Thus, it was revealed that P. harmala has an important potential in drug research and treatment of some diseases.
- MakaleYalnız künye2026Utilizing Pollutant Waste Cheese Whey into Low-cost Broth for Bacterial Growth and Protein Production
Alkowlani, Amir Towfiq Hasan; Beldüz, Ali Osman; Çanakçi, Sabriye; Bektaş, Kadriye İnan; Ay, Fulya; Özyurt, Taner; Yıldız, Oktay
Cheese whey (CW), an abundant and nutrient-rich byproduct of cheese production, accounts for approximately 85% of milk volume and is generated globally in quantities reaching 145–200 million tons annually. Despite its biochemical complexity and high organic load, CW remains underutilized in microbial biotechnology. Its pollutant potential is up to 100 times higher than domestic sewage due to extreme biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), high nutrient content, and acidity. Untreated discharge causes severe oxygen depletion, damages aquatic ecosystems, degrades soil, and contributes to climate change. This study evaluates CW as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to synthetic bacterial growth media. Ten bacterial strains were cultured for 17 h in different forms of CW fresh, aged (up to two years), and dried and compared with standard Luria Bertani (LB) medium. Bacterial growth was assessed using optical density at 600 nm (OD₆₀₀), and protein yields were measured in µg/µL. CW supported growth ranged from OD₆₀₀ 2.36–4.46, comparable to 2.53–4.16 in LB, with protein yields between 0.19 and 0.43 µg/µL versus 0.18–0.44 µg/µL in LB. These findings demonstrate that CW can effectively support bacterial proliferation and protein production, offering a novel valorization route for a major agro-industrial pollutant while reducing environmental harm and fermentation costs.
- MakaleYalnız künye2026Phytochemical profiling, biological activities, and molecular docking analysis of Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. haussknechtii
Ayna, Adnan; Hakan, Oguzhan; Yapıcı, İsmail; İzol, Ebubekir; Yılmaz, Mustafa Abdullah; Necip, Adem; Yapar, Yakup
BACKGROUND: In the current study, the biological activity fingerprint of Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. haussknechtii was investigated by an interdisciplinary approach through analysis of its phytochemical content, antioxidant capacity, enzyme inhibitory potential and molecular docking. RESULTS: The analysis of the phytochemical content by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was characterized by the presence of flavan-3-ols, such as epicatechin, epigallocatechin, and catechin, as well as quercetin-derived flavonoids such as isoquercitrin. Analysis of the antioxidant capacity by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), ferric reducing antioxidant power, Fe3+–Fe2+ reducing and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity methods indicated the strong antioxidant capacity of the plant extract. In addition, the plant extract was able to modulate biological enzyme activity effectively, with IC50 values of 111.78 μg mL−1 for acetylcholinesterase, 22.07 μg mL−1 for butyrylcholinesterase, 1.39 μg mL−1 for α-glucosidase, 7.34 μg mL−1 for carbonic anhydrase I, and 17.41 μg mL−1 for carbonic anhydrase II. To have a better understanding of the molecular mechanism for the plant extract's properties, the major phenolic compounds present in the plant extract were investigated for molecular docking with their respective enzymes. As such, the results revealed a strong binding affinity and conformational stability, with strong hydrogen bonding and π–π interactions. CONCLUSION: Generally, the properties revealed by the plant extract indicate that the phenolic content, strong antioxidant properties, and enzyme inhibition activity of D. pentaphyllum subsp. haussknechtii have shown great potential for being a useful natural source for therapeutic lead compounds.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2025Enzyme inhibitory, antioxidant, antimicrobial activities, and phenolic profiles of the methanol extract of Gelasia sericea an endemic species
AYGÜL, İmdat; AKMEŞE, Osman; SEFALI, Abdurrahman; BALTACI, Cemalettin; ÖZ, Mehmet; FIDAN, Muhammed Said
This study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and enzyme inhibitory properties of the methanolic extract of Gelasia sericea (Aucher ex DC.) Zaika, Sukhor. & N.Kilian. The extract demonstrated a moderate yield (6.55 g/100 g dry plant material) and was found to be rich in phenolic acids, particularly ferulic acid (17182.97 μg g-1), followed by caffeic acid, protocatechuic acid, and p-coumaric acid. Antioxidant analyses revealed high total phenolic (388.86 mg GA eq./100 g), total flavonoid (74.03 mg QE eq./100 g), and total antioxidant capacity (503.33 mg AA eq./100 g). The extract exhibited remarkable ABTS radical scavenging activity (95.99%, IC50 = 37.59 mg ml-1) and considerable ferric-ion reducing power (974.78 mg FeSO4 eq./100 g). Antimicrobial assays indicated moderate inhibitory effects, with stronger activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis) and the yeast Candida albicans, whereas Gram-negative bacteria were less susceptible. The extract’s MIC values ranged between 0.20-3.25 mg ml-1, and MLC values between 0.41-6.50 mg ml-1, which were higher than those of standard antibiotics. Enzyme inhibition assays revealed moderate activity against carbonic anhydrase II (IC50 = 0.0136 µg ml-1) and weak inhibition of cholinesterases and α-glucosidase, while α-amylase inhibition was relatively more pronounced (IC50 = 13350.00 µg ml-1). Overall, these findings highlight G. sericea as a valuable natural source of phenolic acids and antioxidants, with promising potential for applications in functional foods, nutraceuticals, and phytopharmaceuticals. However, the relatively limited antimicrobial and enzyme inhibitory activities suggest the need for further studies on bioavailability, in vivo efficacy, and compound isolation to optimize its practical applications.
