La musculature peaucière de la tête chez un jeune Lamantin du Sénégal (Trichechus senegalensis Link 1795; Mammifère, Sirénien)

The cutaneous musculature of a young Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis Link, 1795; Mammals, Sirenia) Adaptation of the manatee to marine life and to a plant diet has markedly changed the cutaneous musculature of the head. Like whales the manatee lacks pelvic limbs and has an extensive cutaneous muscle of the trunk (m. panniculus carnosus) which also covers part of the head corresponding here to the m. platysma myoides of the other mammals. The muscle extends into the lateral parts of the overhanging upper lip, is very thick here and represents the m. zygomaticolabialis. As in whales whose skull is covered with thick skin, the occipitofrontal musculature has disappeared. The same is true for the musculature of the ear; only a connection between the m. platysma and the external acoustic meatus (pars auricularis) remains. The large upper lip with its pendulous lateral parts is thickened in addition by all the derivatives of the deep cervical sphincter (m. nasolabialis, m. maxillolabialis) and its very thick oral part. The oral part froms a ventral sling rostral to the fibrous plate situated under the chin, which, in conjunction with the mentalis and the mental part of the buccinatorius, seems to play a role in the prehension of plants in that it facilitates the grasp of the lateral part of the upper lip, The m. dilatator nasi together with the m. nasolabialis controls the opening and closing of the nostril similarly to what has been described for the hippopotamus.     

Chemical compositions and insecticidal effects of essential oils isolated from Achillea gypsicola, Satureja hortensis, Origanum acutidens and Hypericum scabrum against broadbean weevil (Bruchus dentipes)

The essential oils of aerial parts of Achillea gypsicola Hub.-Mor., Hypericum scabrum L., Satureja hortensis L., and Origanum acutidens (Hand.-Mazz.) Letswaart were analyzed in this study by GC and GC–MS and their oils were tested for toxicity against broadbean weevil (Bruchus dentipes). A. gypsicola oil contained camphor (40.17%), 1,8-cineole (22.01%), piperitone (11.29%), borneol (9.50%) and α-terpineol (1.56%) as major components. A total of 74 components were identified by GC–MS in H. scabrum oil, including α-pinene (9.26%), terpinen-4-ol (5.12%), camphor (5.94%), δ-cadinene (4.52%), pulegone (4.45%), γ-muurolene (4.12%), pinocarvone (3.97%) and β-caryophyllene (3.42%) as predominant components. The essential oils of O. acutidens and S. hortensis were characterized by high contents of carvacrol (86.99% and 55.74%), γ-terpinene (0.71% and 20.94%), p-cymene (1.95% and 12.30%), α-terpinene (0.13% and 2.04%) and β-caryophyllene (1.30% and 1.08%). All of the essential oils were toxic to adults of B. dentipes and insect mortality increased with increasing concentration of each oil. The oils (20 μl dose) brought about 100% mortality in 36 h. Although desirable insecticidal activities against the pest were achieved with the oils from all four plant species, S. hortensis and O. acutidens oils were more effective, particularly after 6 h of treatment. The current results concluded that the essential oils, in particular O. acutidens and S. hortensis oils, may be used as potential botanical insecticides against B. dentipes.     

Macro and Micro Mineral Content of Some Wild Edible Leaves Consumed in Eastern Anatolia

Wild plants play an important role in the diet of inhabitants in different parts of the world. These plants tend to be drought-resistant and are gathered both in times of abundance and times of need. Used in everyday cooking, these foods may be an important source of nutrients. The purpose of this study was to assess the mineral content of some edible wild leaves. Plants species ( Beta lomatogena Fisch.et Mey., Capparis spinosa L., Chenopodium album L., Eryngium billardieri Delar., Falcaria vulgaris Bernh., Ferula communis L., Gundelia tournefortii L., Lathyrus tuberosus L., Malva neglecta Wallr., Mentha arvensis L., Nepeta concolor Boiss. and Heldr., Ocimum basilicum L., Papaver dubium L., Polygonum bistorta L., Polygonum cognatum Meissn., Portulaca oleracea L., Rheum ribes L . , Rubus sp., Rumex crispus L., Rumex scutatus L ., Scorzonera cana (C.A.Mey.) Hoffm., Scorzonera latifolia (Fish. and Mey.) DC., Scorzonera sp., Sempervivum armenum Boiss et Huet, Tragopogon spp., Urtica urens L.) were collected in late winter and spring, and their taxonomic identifications were made according to Flora of Turkey and analyzed for their mineral content. Moisture content, ash content and pH were found reasonable as compared to some vegetables. However, protein content, N, K, Ca and Mg content of wild plants were higher, while P, S and Na content were lower, and Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu content were equal to, or higher than those of some commonly used vegetables such as spinach, pepper, lettuce, cabbage species.     

Antifungal and herbicidal properties of essential oils and n-hexane extracts of Achillea gypsicola Hub-Mor. and Achillea biebersteinii Afan. (Asteraceae)

The chemical composition of essential oils isolated by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Achillea gypsicola Hub-Mor., Achillea biebersteinii Afan. and n-hexane extracts obtained from the flowers of A. gypsicola and A. biebersteinii Afan. was analyzed by GC and GC–MS. Camphor (40.17–23.56%, respectively), 1,8-cineole (22.01–38.09%, respectively), piperitone (11.29–0.37%, respectively), borneol (9.50–5.88%, respectively) and α-terpineol (1.56–5.15%, respectively) were found to be the main constituents in A. gypsicola and A. biebersteinii essential oils. Furthermore, hexane extracts of A. gypsicola and A. biebersteinii consist of mainly camphor (37.78–27.88%, respectively), 1,8-cineole (13.43–24.78%, respectively), piperitone (15.57%-tr, respectively), n-eicosane (1.61–9.68%, respectively), n-heneicosane (2.56–9.55%, respectively), n-tricosane (3.46–10.04%, respectively), linoleic acid (6.19–3.17%, respectively) and borneol (5.66–5.58%, respectively). Although the oils and extracts were characterized relatively by high content of oxygenated monoterpenes, hexane extracts of the plant samples relatively rich in n-alkanes, fatty acids and fatty acid esters as compared with the oil. The oils and hexane extracts were also tested against 12 phytopathogenic fungi and the oils found to be more toxic as compared with hexane extracts of the plant samples. A. gypsicola oil only did not inhibit the growth of Fusarium graminearum. The extracts also strongly increased the growth of Fusarium equiseti and F. graminearum. Therefore, the antifungal activity of the oils can be attributed to their relatively high content of oxygenated monoterpenes. The results of herbicidal assays of the essential oils and hexane extracts of the plant samples against five important weeds in cultivated areas, Amaranthus retroflexus L., Chenopodium album L., Cirsium arvense L. (Scop.), Lactuca serriola L. and Rumex crispus L. showed that, in particular, the oils had inhibitory effects on the seed germination and seedling growth of A. retroflexus, C. arvense and L. serriola. The hexane extracts also showed lower herbicidal effect against the weeds in comparison to that of the oils. The findings of the present study suggest that the essential oils have a potential to be used as herbicide as well as fungicide.     

Antifungal activities of the leaves of three Pistacia species grown in Turkey

The crude extracts obtained from the leaves of Pistacia vera, Pistacia terebinthus and Pistacia lentiscus were tested for antifungal activities against three pathogenic agricultural fungi, Phythium ultimum, Rhizoctania solani and Fusarium sambucinum. The extracts significantly inhibited the growth of P. ultimum and R. solani. However, the antifungal activity was not observed against F. sambucinum.     

Chemical composition and antifungal properties of essential oils of three Pistacia species

The chemical composition of essential oils obtained from the leaves of Pistacia vera, Pistacia terebinthus, Pistacia lentiscus and the resin of Pistacia lentiscus were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. alpha-Pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, terpinen-4-ol and alpha-terpineol were found to be the major components. The antifungal activities of the above oils and P. lentiscus resin (total, acidic and neutral fractions) against the growth of three agricultural pathogens, Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium sambucinum were evaluated. Some doses of P. terebinthus, P. vera and P. lentiscus leaf oils and total and neutral fraction of P. lentiscus resin significantly inhibited the growth of R. solani. However, all samples did not show antifungal activity against P. ultimum and F. sambucinum, but increased the growth of F. sambucinum.     

Determination of the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil of Artemisia dracunculus and of the antifungal and antibacterial activities of Turkish Artemisia absinthium, A. dracunculus, Artemisia santonicum, and Artemisia spicigera essential oils

The essential oil isolated from Turkish tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) by hydrodistillation was analyzed by GC-MS. Thirty compounds representing 99.5% of total oil were identified. The predominant components in the oil were (Z)-anethole (81.0%), (Z)-beta-ocimene (6.5%), (E)-beta-ocimene (3.1%), limonene (3.1%), and methyleugenol (1.8%). The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the essential oils isolated from A. dracunculus, Artemisia absinthium, Artemisia santonicum, and Artemisia spicigera oils were also evaluated. In general, the oils exhibited potent antifungal activity at a wide spectrum on the growth of agricultural pathogenic fungi. Among the oils, the weakest antifungal activity was shown by the oil of A. dracunculus. In many cases, the oils of A. absinthium, A. santonicum, and A. spicigera completely inhibited the growth of some fungal species. As compared with antibacterial activities of all of tested oils, A. santonicum and A. spicigera oils showed antibacterial activities over a very wide spectrum. However, the essential oils tested showed lower inhibition zones than the inhibition zones of penicillin. In addition, antioxidant and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities of tarragon oil were determined, and weak antioxidant and DPPH radical scavenging activities were found in comparison to butylated hydroxytoluene.     

Comparison of various examination methods used in ovarian diagnostics in cattle

In this study diagnostic certainty of ultrasonography and rectal palpation concerning the detection of follicles and C.I. was compared by evaluation of the findings obtained with ultrasonography in waterbath and dissection of the ovaries after slaughter. Clinical examinations were performed on a total of 30 cows (transrectally and ultrasonographically, 5.0 mhz, linear) in slaughterhouse. In the laboratory ovaries were evaluated after slaughter both macroscopically and by ultrasonography in waterbath. Diagnostic reliabilities of these methods were compared. No difference between the methods was determined concerning the longitudinal measurements of corpora lutea (19.96 +/- 4.83 mm, 20.41 +/- 5.41 mm, 21.45 +/- 5.26 mm by ultrasonography, waterbath and macroscopy respectively). By means of determining the correct identification of corpora lutea, the error rate was 24.1% and 17.2% for rectal palpation and ultrasonography respectively. The comparison of rectal palpation and macroscopy showed that three small corpora lutea and two corpora lutea with small cavity were determined wrongly as small follicles and two corpora lutea were determined whereas they were not present actually. With ultrasonography four small C.I. could not be detected and one C.I. with cavity was wrongly determined as follicle. It was noticed that follicles bigger than 10 mm (F2 = 10-15 mm, F3 = 16-20 mm) could be determined more accurately by means of ultrasonography than by rectal palpation (with ultrasonography: F2 = 90.48%, F3 = 100.0%; with rectal palpation, F2 = 61.9%, F3 = 200.0%). The correlation of the findings of rectal palpation or ultrasonography and blood progesterone levels was 86.2% and 89.7% respectively. This accordance was 96.6% for progesterone levels and waterbath and macroscopic findings.     

Screening of chemical composition and antifungal and antioxidant activities of the essential oils from three Turkish artemisia species

The compositions of essential oils isolated from the aerial parts of Artemisia absinthium, Artemisia santonicum, and Artemisia spicigera by hydrodistillation were analyzed by GC-MS, and a total of 204 components were identified. The major components of these essential oils were camphor (34.9-1.4%), 1,8-cineole (9.5-1.5%), chamazulene (17.8-nd%), nuciferol propionate (5.1-nd%), nuciferol butanoate (8.2-nd%), caryophyllene oxide (4.3-1.7%), borneol (5.1-0.6%), alpha-terpineol (4.1-1.6%), spathulenol (3.7-1.3%), cubenol (4.2-0.1%), beta-eudesmol (7.2-0.6%), and terpinen-4-ol (3.5-1.2%). The antifungal activities of these essential oils were tested against 11 plant fungi and were compared with that of a commercial antifungal reagent, benomyl. The results showed that all of the oils have potent inhibitory effects at very broad spectrum against all of the tested fungi. Pure camphor and 1,8-cineole, which are the major components of the oils, were also tested for antifungal activity against the same fungal species. Unlike essential oils, these pure compounds were able to show antifungal activity against only some of the fungal species. In addition, the antioxidant and DPPH radical scavenging activities of the essential oils, camphor, and 1,8-cineole were determined in vitro. All of the studied essential oils showed antioxidant activity, but camphor and 1,8-cineole did not.