Turkish Journal of Biology 

About: Turkish Journal of Biology is an academic journal published by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Gene & Biology. It has an ISSN identifier of 1300-0152. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 1536 publications have been published receiving 26204 citations. The journal is also known as: Türk biyoloji dergisi.

In vitro Antimicrobial Activity and Phytochemical Analysis of Some Indian Medicinal Plants

Abstract: The antibacterial effect of some selected Indian medicinal plants was evaluated on bacterial strains like Bacillus cereus ATCC11778, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC13048, Escherichia coli ATCC25922 and Klebsiella pneumoniae NCIM2719. The solvents used for the extraction of plants were water and methanol. The in vitro antibacterial activity was performed by agar disc diffusion and agar well diffusion method. The most susceptible Gram-positive bacteria was B. cereus, while the most susceptible Gram-negative bacteria was K. pneumoniae. The extracts of Abrus precatorius, Cardiospermum halicacabum and Gmelina asiatica could not inhibit any of the bacterial strains investigated. The most active antibacterial plant was Caesalpinia pulcherrima. The significant antibacterial activity of active extracts was compared with the standard antimicrobics, piperacillin (100 µg/disc) and gentamicin (10 µg/disc). The results obtained in the present study suggest that Caesalpinia pulcherrima can be used in treating diseases caused by the test organisms.

Antibacterial Activity of Some Selected Indian Medicinal Flora

Abstract: Nine plants were screened for potential antibacterial activity. In evaluating antibacterial activity both aqueous and organic solvents were used. The plants screened were Sapindus emarginatus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Mirabilis jalapa, Rheo discolor, Nyctanthes arbortristis, Colocasia esculenta, Gracilaria corticata, Dictyota spps., and Pulicaria wightiana. Antibacterial activity was tested against 6 bacterial strains, Pseudomonas testosteroni, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Proteus morganii, and Micrococcus flavus. Two methods, Agar disk diffusion and Agar ditch diffusion, were used to study the antibacterial activity of all these plants. Ps. testosteroni and K. pneumoniae were the most resistant bacterial strains. S. emarginatus showed strong activity against the tested bacterial strains. Therefore, this can be selected for further investigation to determine its therapeutic potential. Its leaf extract can also be used as a lead molecule in combating the diseases caused by the bacterial strains studied.

Efficacy of Aqueous and Methanol Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants for Potential Antibacterial Activity

Abstract: Twelve medicinal plants were screened, namely Abrus precatorius L., Caesalpinia pulcherrima Swartz., Cardiospermum halicacabum L., Casuarina equisetifolia L., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Delonix regia L., Euphorbia hirta L., Euphorbia tirucalli L., Ficus benghalensis L., Gmelina asiatica L., Santalum album L., and Tecomella undulata (Sm.) Seem, for potential antibacterial activity against 5 medically important bacterial strains, namely Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC12228, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes ATCC17440, Proteus vulgaris NCTC8313 and Salmonella typhimurium ATCC23564. The antibacterial activity of aqueous and methanol extracts was determined by agar disk diffusion and agar well diffusion method. The methanol extracts were more active than the aqueous extracts for all 12 plants studied. The plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than against Gram-negative bacteria. The most susceptible bacteria were B. subtilis, followed by S. epidermidis, while the most resistant bacteria were P. vulgaris, followed by S. typhimurium. From the screening experiment, Caesalpinia pulcherrima Swartz. showed the best antibacterial activity; hence this plant can be further subjected to isolation of the therapeutic antimicrobials and further pharmacological evaluation.

Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Properties of Twelve Traditionally Used Indian Medicinal Plants

Abstract: The methanolic crude extracts of 12 traditionally used Indian medicinal plants were screened for their antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties using a-tocopherol and butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) as standard antioxidants. Antioxidant activity was measured by ferric thiocyanate (FTC) assay and compared with the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method. Free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. The overall antioxidant activity of Lawsonia inermis was the strongest, followed in descending order by Ocimum sanctum, Cichorium intybus, Piper cubeba, Punica granatum, Allium sativum, Delonix regia, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica, Mangifera indica, Camellia sinensis, and Trigonella foenum-graecum. Seven plants, namely Terminalia chebula, Mangifera indica, Terminalia bellerica, Punica granatum, Ocimum sanctum, Cichorium intybus, and Camellia sinensis, showed strong free radical scavenging activity with the DPPH method. Phytochemical analysis of plant extracts indicated the presence of major phytocompounds, including phenolics, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, and tannins. The phenolic concentrations in the above plants ranged from 28.66 to 169.67 mg/g of dry plant extract. A fair correlation between antioxidant/free radical scavenging activity and phenolic content was observed among 9 plants; however, in 3 plants (Piper cubeba, Lawsonia inermis and Trigonella foenum-graecum), no such relationship was observed. The tested plant extracts showed promising antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity, thus justifying their traditional use.

Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Markers

Abstract: Due to advances in molecular biology techniques, large numbers of highly informative DNA markers have been developed for the identification of genetic polymorphism. In the last decade, the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been one of the most commonly used molecular techniques to develop DNA markers. RAPD markers are amplification products of anonymous DNA sequences using single, short and arbitrary oligonucleotide primers, and thus do not require prior knowledge of a DNA sequence. Low expense, efficiency in developinga large number of DNA markers in a short time and requirement for less sophisticated equipment has made the RAPD technique valuable although reproducibility of the RAPD profile is still the centre of debate.