Investigation of antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of chestnut honey obtained from Bursa

Beekeeping products such as honey, propolis, bee pollen, bee bread, royal jelly and bee venom, which are used in apitherapy, are among the leading natural resources known for their rich content. Honey, whose content varies according to the topographic characteristics of the region where it is collected, comes to the fore with its bioactive properties. It is known that honey is rich in antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitherapeutic, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic properties. In this thesis, the antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic properties of chestnut honey obtained from Bursa province were investigated at different concentrations. According to the TPC method used to determine the antioxidant activity of chestnut honey, the total amount of phenolic substances was determined to be at the level of 105,6137 mg GAE/100 g honey. According to the FRAP and ABTS methods used to determine antioxidant activity, results of 791,3415 μM TE/100 g honey and 109,8696 μM TE/100 g honey were obtained, respectively. In the determination of antimicrobial activity, chestnut honey was tested on Gram (+), Gram (-) bacteria, yeast and mold by liquid microdilution method and agar well diffusion method. While the bacteria with the lowest MIC and MBK values were Staphylococcus epidermis, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes were found to be the most sensitive bacteria to chestnut honey in the agar well method. MIC and MFK values were found to be equal in the tested yeast species, while the lowest MIC and MFK values were found in Aspergillus flavus in mold species, and A. flavus was the most sensitive mold to chestnut honey. The cytotoxic effect was determined by MTT and NKA tests in healthy lung cell line (BEAS-2B) and cancerous lung cell line (A549). While no cytotoxic effect was observed for BEAS-2B at the tested concentrations of chestnut honey, a cytotoxic effect was observed for A549 at 50% concentration of chestnut honey. Genotoxic and antigenotoxic activity determination was tested by Comet method on BEAS-2B and A549 cell lines. While it was determined that DNA damage induced by H2O2 was decreased at 1%, 5% and 25% concentrations in BEAS-2B cell line, a decrease in DNA damage was determined in all chestnut honey concentrations tested in A549 cell line.