Effects of garlic extract consumption on blood lipid and oxidant/antioxidant parameters in humans with high blood cholesterol

Effects of garlic extract supplementation on blood lipid profile and oxidant/antioxidant status were investigated in volunteer subjects with high blood cholesterol. A total of 23 volunteer subjects with high blood cholesterol (>5.98 mmol/L) participated in the study. Of them, 13 patients were evaluated as a hypertensive group and the others a normotensive group. Before (first sample) and after (second sample) garlic extract consumption for 4 months, routine blood analyses including lipid parameters and liver and kidney function tests were performed. Additionally, blood oxidant (malondialdehyde [MDA], oxidation resistance [OR]), and antioxidant (antioxidant potential [AOP], nonenzymatic superoxide radical scavenger activity [NSSA]) parameters were measured. Serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterols, and triglyceride levels were found to be significantly lowered, but HDL high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased after the extract use. The total:HDL cholesterol ratio was also found to be significantly decreased after the extract use. There were no meaningful differences with regard to other routine biochemical parameters. Additionally, blood AOP, OR, and NSSA values were found increased and MDA level decreased in the second samples relative to the first ones. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were also found to be significantly lowered after extract supplementation in the hypertensive group, but no similar changes were observed in the normotensive group. We conclude that garlic extract supplementation improves blood lipid profile, strengthens blood antioxidant potential, and causes significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressures. It also leads to a decrease in the level of oxidation product (MDA) in the blood samples, which demonstrates reduced oxidation reactions in the body.     

Seed coat morphology of some Turkish Campanula (Campanulaceae) species and its systematic implications

The seed coat morphology of 10 Campanula species from Turkey, 3 of which are endemic, was studied using scanning electron microscopy. Characteristics of the seeds and their surface morphology were described and compared. Two different types were described based on seed surface features. The Type 1 seed surface was characterized by a reticulate pattern; only C. Olympica belonged to this type. The Type 2 seed surface had a striate testa and was the most common type. It included C. Lyrata subsp. lyrata, C. rapunculoides L. subsp. rapunculoides, C. glomerata L. subsp. hispida, C. involucrata, C. saxonorum, C. persicifolia, C. latiloba subsp. latiloba, C. lactiflora and C. Rapunculus L. var. lambertiana. However, some differences among these species were determined on the basis of their seed surface features at the microstructural level. These features were evaluated as possibly consistent parameters in the delimination of the Campanula taxa studied.     

Chromosome number, karyotype and pollen morphology of the rare endemic Centaurea goeksunensis

In this paper, chromosome number, karyotype and pollen morphology of Centaurea goeksunensis Aytaç & H. Duman, described in 2005, are studied for the first time. Centaurea goeksunensis is found to be tetraploid (2n=4x=60). This is the second record of polyploidy in Centaurea sect. Psephelloideae (Boiss.) Sons. The basic chromosome number of C. goeksunensis was found to be x=15 and the haploid karyotype formula is 18 m+10 sm+2 st. The pollen grains of C. goeksunensis were found to be radially symmetric, isopolar and tricolporate. They are intersemiangular in polar view and prolate–sphaeroidal in equatorial view. The exine is thickened at the poles.