Elif Turkdonmez

Bio: Elif Turkdonmez is an academic researcher from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Piper & Piper auritum. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 126 citations.

Piper Species: A Comprehensive Review on Their Phytochemistry, Biological Activities and Applications.

Abstract: Piper species are aromatic plants used as spices in the kitchen, but their secondary metabolites have also shown biological effects on human health. These plants are rich in essential oils, which can be found in their fruits, seeds, leaves, branches, roots and stems. Some Piper species have simple chemical profiles, while others, such as Piper nigrum, Piper betle, and Piper auritum, contain very diverse suites of secondary metabolites. In traditional medicine, Piper species have been used worldwide to treat several diseases such as urological problems, skin, liver and stomach ailments, for wound healing, and as antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, Piper species could be used as natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents in food preservation. The phytochemicals and essential oils of Piper species have shown strong antioxidant activity, in comparison with synthetic antioxidants, and demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal activities against human pathogens. Moreover, Piper species possess therapeutic and preventive potential against several chronic disorders. Among the functional properties of Piper plants/extracts/active components the antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and neuropharmacological activities of the extracts and extract-derived bioactive constituents are thought to be key effects for the protection against chronic conditions, based on preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, besides clinical studies. Habitats and cultivation of Piper species are also covered in this review. In this current work, available literature of chemical constituents of the essential oils Piper plants, their use in traditional medicine, their applications as a food preservative, their antiparasitic activities and other important biological activities are reviewed.

Piperine-A Major Principle of Black Pepper: A Review of Its Bioactivity and Studies

Abstract: Piperine is the main compound present in black pepper, and is the carrier of its specific pungent taste, which is responsible for centuries of human dietary utilization and worldwide popularity as a food ingredient. Along with the application as a food ingredient and food preservative, it is used in traditional medicine for many purposes, which has in most cases been justified by modern scientific studies on its biological effects. It has been confirmed that piperine has many bioactive effects, such as antimicrobial action, as well as many physiological effects that can contribute to general human health, including immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antimetastatic, antitumor, and many other activities. Clinical studies demonstrated remarkable antioxidant, antitumor, and drug availability-enhancing characteristics of this compound, together with immunomodulatory potential. All these facts point to the therapeutic potential of piperine and the need to incorporate this compound into general health-enhancing medical formulations, as well as into those that would be used as adjunctive therapy in order to enhance the bioavailability of various (chemo)therapeutic drugs.

Food as medicine: A possible preventive measure against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Abstract: The recent and ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a huge global challenge. The outbreak, which first occurred in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and then rapidly spread to other provinces and to more than 200 countries abroad, has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Those with compromised immune systems and/or existing respiratory, metabolic or cardiac problems are more susceptible to the infection and are at higher risk of serious illness or even death. The present review was designed to report important functional food plants with immunomodulatory and anti-viral properties. Data on medicinal food plants were retrieved and downloaded from English-language journals using online search engines. The functional food plants herein documented might not only enhance the immune system and cure respiratory tract infections but can also greatly impact the overall health of the general public. As many people in the world are now confined to their homes, inclusion of these easily accessible plants in the daily diet may help to strengthen the immune system and guard against infection by SARS-CoV-2. This might reduce the risk of COVID-19 and initiate a rapid recovery in cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The potential of anti-malarial compounds derived from African medicinal plants: a review of pharmacological evaluations from 2013 to 2019

Abstract: African Traditional Medicine (ATM) is used for the healthcare of about 80% of the rural populations of the continent of Africa. The practices of ATM make use of plant-products, which are known to contain plant-based secondary metabolites or natural products (NPs), likely to play key roles in drug discovery, particularly as lead compounds. For various reasons, including resistance of strains of Plasmodium to known anti-malarial drugs, local African populations often resort to plant-based treatments and/or a combination of this and standard anti-malarial regimens. Emphasis has been laid in this review to present the anti-malarial virtue of the most recently published phytochemicals or natural products, which have been tested by in vitro and in vivo assays. The data was based on the current version of the African Compound Libraries, which are constantly being updated based on inputs from journal articles and student theses (M.Sc/Ph.D) from African University libraries. Emphasis was laid on data published after 2012. In order to carry out the original data collection, currently being included in the African Compounds Database, individual journal websites were queried using the country names in Africa as search terms. Over 40,000 articles “hits” were originally retrieved, then reduced to about 9000 articles. The retained articles/theses was further queried with the search terms “malaria”, “malarial”, “plasmodium”, “plasmodial” and a combination of them, resulting in over 500 articles. Those including compounds with anti-malarial activities for which the measured activities fell within the established cut off values numbered 55, which were all cited in the review as relevant references. Pure compounds derived from African medicinal plants with demonstrated anti-malarial/antiplasmodial properties with activities ranging from “very active” to “weakly active” have been discussed. The majority of the 187 natural products were terpenoids (30%), followed by flavonoids (22%), alkaloids (19%) and quinones (15%), with each of the other compound classes being less than 5% of the entire compound collection. It was also observed that most of the plant species from which the compounds were identified were of the families Rubiaceae, Meliaceae and Asphodelaceae. The review is intended to continue laying the groundwork for an African-based anti-malarial drug discovery project.

Identification of potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease and spike receptor from 10 important spices through structure-based virtual screening and molecular dynamic study.

Abstract: The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 poses a serious threat to human health and world economic activity. There is no specific drug for the treatment of COVID-19...