Xanthene intermediates 4a and 4b were obtained from the reduction of nitro xanthene derivatives 3a and 3b which were synthesized via condensation of dimedone with m-nitrobenzaldehyde and p-nitrobenzaldehyde, respectively. Then xanthene sulfonamide 6a-n, and xanthene carboxamide derivatives 8a-h were synthesized by reaction of amino xanthene 4a, 4b with sulfonyl chlorides 5a-g and acyl chlorides 7a-d. Structures of the novel amino xanthene compounds and xanthene sulfonamide/carboxamide derivatives were established by their spectral data and elemental analyses. Furthermore, all the synthesized compounds were tested in vitro for their antimicrobial activity. The results were compared with reference standard antibiotics, erythromycin and nystatin. 6c, 6f, 6m and 8b Compounds were found to display most effective antimicrobial activity against a series of bacteria and fungi.

There are only a few scientifically robust mechanistic studies with Lycium fruits, also known as Goji berry, that have addressed preventive or therapeutic intervention of breast cancer. In the present study, we aim to investigate the antiproliferative effects of both Lycium barbarum fruit (Goji berry red fruit) and Lycium ruthenicum (Goji berry black fruit) extracts against triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cells and explore the possible mechanisms of their anticancer effects. IC₅₀ values were 87.0 and 79.4 μg/mL for goji berry black fruit extract and goji berry red fruit extract, respectively. Pretreatment with both extracts inhibited phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/extracellular signal–regulated kinases (ERK) in epidermal growth factor-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. The present study also examined whether the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway was involved in the regulation of Goji berry extract-induced cell death. Furthermore, treatment with Goji berry fruit extracts inhibited the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, but enhanced pro-apoptotic Bax expression at transcriptional levels and induced cancer cell apoptosis by activation of pro-apoptotic caspase-9 and caspase 3. Goji berry fruit extracts caused death of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by inhibiting EGFR/ERK-mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. This study suggests that Goji berry fruit extracts might be beneficial for treating triple-negative breast cancer.

Bioactivity-guided fractionation and purification of Cistus parviflorus led to the isolation of two flavan-3-ol derivatives; gallocatechin (1) and epigallocatechin (2) and two flavonoid glycosides; avicularin (3) trans-tiliroside (4). The structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of NMR and ESIMS data. All compounds were isolated from C. parviflorus for the first time. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited anti-inflammatory activity through decreasing the NOS2 and COX2 levels on LPS+IFN-γ treated RAW 264.7 cells. Molecular docking studies of avicularin, the most potent compound, were carried out in the active sites of NOS2 and COX2 to predict the most plausible binding modes and support the experimental data.

This study was conducted to collect local Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) genotypes belonging to Malvaceae (Mallow) family in the Northern Cyprus and morphological characterization of this collected material. On the other hand, due to the limited studies on collection and morphological characterization, which are the first step of breeding; the genetic potential of the local okra genotypes of Northern Cyprus has not been determined before. This research was carried out in two stages as the collection and morphological characterization of genotypes. In the first stage of the study, it was aimed to collect local okra genotypes and a total of 58 different locations were reached in line with this target and 24 samples of okra genotypes were collected from these areas. In the second year of the study, morphological characterization studies of 24 okra genotypes from the collected genetic material were carried out according to UPOV and IPGR criteria. As a result of morphological characterization showed that 24 okra genotypes can be categorized under 6 different groups. The regenerated seeds of these 6 different genotypes were preserved. In conclusion, although morphological characterization analyses performed in this study are the methods used to differentiate new species from each other, but it will be insufficient alone. Therefore, it is concluded that this method will be used in coordination with molecular characterization studies to provide more reliable results.