Comparative Studies on Essential Oil and Phenolic Content with In Vitro Antioxidant, Anticholinesterase, Antimicrobial Activities of Achillea biebersteinii Afan. and A. millefolium subsp. millefolium Afan. L. Growing in Eastern Turkey.

The potential applications of Achillea species in various industries have encouraged the examination of their phytochemical components along with their biological potential. In the present study, phenolic contents and essential oil compositions together with the in vitro biological activities of the aerial parts from Achillea biebersteinii Afan. and Achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium Afan. collected from Turkey were evaluated. Different solvent extracts (n-hexane, chloroform, methanol, water) were prepared and their antimicrobial, anticholinesterase, and antioxidant activities were studied. The LC-MS/MS results revealed the presence of 16 different phenolic compounds, including chlorogenic acid, rutin, quercetin, and luteolin glycosides, in methanolic extracts. According to GC-FID and GC/MS results, the primary components of the oils were identified as 1,8-cineole (32.5%), piperitone (14.4%), and camphor (13.7%) in A. biebersteinii and 1,8-cineole (12.3%) and ß-eudesmol (8.9%) in A. millefolium subsp. millefolium. The infusion and methanolic extracts of both species were found to be rich in their total phenolic content as well as their antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity. In contrast, the n-hexane and chloroform extracts of both species showed strong antimicrobial activity with MIC values ranging from 15 to 2000 µg/mL. Our findings suggest that the investigated Achillea species could be evaluated as potent natural agents, and further studies into the promising extracts are needed.

Phytochemical composition and pharmacological activities of Teucrium polium L. collected from eastern Turkey.

Teucrium species that belong to the family Lamiaceae have been traditionally used for their medicinal properties. T. polium is one the most widespread members of the genus for its use in the treatment of several diseases. In this study, the essential oil and phenolic composition of the aerial parts from T. polium were assessed by GC-FID, GC/MS, and LC-MS/MS as well as for its total phenolic content. Several extracts such as n-hexane, chloroform, methanol, and infusion were prepared and their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and also acetylcholinesterase activities were studied. According to GC/MS results, ß -caryophyllene (8.8%), t-cadinol (6.2%), (E)-nerolidol (5%), α -cadinol (5.4%), and α-pinene (4.7%) were identified as main constituents of the essential oil. LC MS/MS analysis of the infusion and the methanol extract showed the presence of 15 phenolic compounds. Moreover, the total phenolic content of each sample was also determined and the infusion had the highest percentage of phenolics. To evaluate the antioxidant properties, the samples were tested by using DPPH" free radical scavenging, FRAP, and CUPRAC activity methods. The infusion showed the strongest radical scavenging activity, whereas n-hexane and chloroform extracts exhibited considerable reducing power effects. The MIC values for all of the examined microorganisms ranged from 15 to 2000 µg/mL with respect to antimicrobial activities.

Chemical composition and antioxidant, cytotoxic, and insecticidal potential of Valeriana alliariifolia in Turkey.

Valeriana is a common plant species used for various healing purposes in folk medicine since antiquity. This study investigates the phytochemical profile, antioxidant, cytotoxic, and insecticidal activity of Valeriana alliariifolia Adams, a species that has traditionally been used in Turkey. For the analyses we prepared four root extracts of V. alliariifolia Adams using hexane (HM1), chloroform (CM1), ethanol (EM1), and water (WM1) for maceration. Additionally, two extracts were also prepared from its roots by maceration separately with ethanol (EM2) and water (WM2). One sample was prepared as a water infusion (WI), according to the procedure used in Turkish traditional medicine. The 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical cation scavenging activity tests showed that ethanol extracts had the strongest antioxidant activity: EM1 (IC50 - DPPH: 17.694 µg/mL; ABTS: 23.8 µg/mL) and EM2 (IC50 - DPPH: 20 µg/mL; ABTS: 21.5 µg/mL). The hexane extract, HM1, was the most cytotoxic (IC50<10 µg/mL against HepG2 and HUVEC) and EM2 strongly cytotoxic (IC50<10 µg/mL against HepG2 and IC50: 11.96 µg/mL against HUVEC). The extracts with demonstrated cytotoxic activities were further examined to check their insecticidal activity against adult female mosquito Aedes aegypti and first instar Ae. aegypti larvae. HM1 was the most effective (90±10 %), which was consistent with its cytotoxic activity. Because of the high antioxidant, cytotoxic, and insecticidal activities, we ran phytochemical analyses of the HM1, EM1, and EM2 extracts with GC-MS (for HM1) and LC-MS/MS (for EM1 and EM2). We also analysed the composition of the essential oil obtained from V. alliariifolia roots by micro-distillation in order to compare its content with HM1, which contains volatile compounds. Phytochemical analyses revealed that the major compound in HM1 was isovaleric acid (16 %) and in the essential oil 1,8-cineole (2.9 %). EM1 and EM2 contained 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid), verbascoside (acteoside), and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid as major components. In the light of our findings and available literature, we can conclude that V. alliariifolia has a good bioactive potential that could be used for different purposes, including the development of new agents for the treatment of various diseases. The difference in the content between the essential oil and HM1 was remarkable. It suggests that the variability observed in the activity of the samples was a result of composition and that, therefore, the aim of treatment should dictate which type of preparation is to be selected. An added value of our study is that it determined verbascoside and methylquercetin rutinoside for the first time in the Valeriana extracts.

Evaluation of Chemical Composition and In-vitro Biological Activities of Three Endemic Hypericum Species from Anatolia (H. thymbrifolium, H. spectabile and H. pseudolaeve).

In the present work we carried out a phytochemical and biological investigation on three endemic Hypericum species, i.e.Hypericum thymbrifolium (H. thymbrifolium), Hypericum spectabile (H. spectabile) and Hypericum pseudolaeve (H. pseudolaeve) from Anatolia in order to discover new sources of natural compounds for the treatment of inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders. HPLC-DAD analysis indicated that two naphthodianthrones (pseudohypericin and hypericin) together with chlorogenic acid, rutin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, kaempferol, quercitrin, quercetin, amentoflavone, and hyperforin are the main compounds present in the methanol extracts. After chemical characterization, all extracts were in-vitro biologically assayed for antioxidant potential by lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity, DPPH, FRAP assays, and superoxide radical scavenging activity, for AChE inhibitory activity by Ellman's method, for COX inhibitory activity by using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit, for cytotoxic activity on HeLa and NRK-52E cell lines by MTT assay. The superoxide radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of H. spectabile (EC50 = 0.430 mg/mL) were more remarkable than that of H. thymbrifolium and H. pseudolaeve. The extracts showed moderate inhibitory activity on AChE (from 49.37% to 63.41%). The best inhibitory activity against COX-1 (71.77% and 77.04%, respectively) and COX-2 ( 64.14% and 72.23%, respectively) were shown by H. thymbrifolium and H. spectabile, which may be due to their richest chlorogenic acid content (0.29576% and 0.23567%, respectively). Cytotoxicity screening results showed that the extracts did not demonstrate significant cytotoxic activity. It was concluded that the most promising extract with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and AChE inhibition potential is H. spectabile.

In vivo antiinflammatory activity and chemical composition of Hypericum scabroides.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the methanolic extracts of aerial parts of Hypericum scabroides (HSM) (200 mg/kg, p.o.) for in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. METHODS: The anti-inflammatory activity of HSM was tested in mice weighting (25±5) g. Either vehicle (control group), the methanolic extracts (200 mg/kg) or diclofenac (50 mg/kg), was administered (p.o.) for 60 min before an edema was induced in the mice paw by subcutaneous injection of carrageenin. The mouse-paw volume was measured 1 h, 3h and 6 h after injection of carrageenin. RESULTS: The HSM showed significant reduction of edema in carrageenan induced mice paw edema model at 1 h and 3 h for (78.03±15.54)% and (40.44±16.36)%, respectively. The diclofenac 50 mg/kg exhibited % reduction in paw volume (31.00±11.52)%, (0.80±0.09)% and (9.39±1.99)% after 1 h, 3 h and 6 h, respectively compared to control group. The obtained results revealed that HSM has significant anti inflammatory activity. Furethermore, the chemical composition of HSM was analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array dedector. The plant contained pseudohypericin (trace) hypericin (trace), chlorogenic acid (0.014 0±0.000 5)%, rutin (0.005 0±0.000 6)%, hyperoside (0.016±0.005)%, isoquercitrin (0.034 0±0.000 5)% and kaempferol (trace). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results of the present investigation revealed that methanol extract of Hypericum scarbroides has significant anti-inflammatory activity.

[Turkish pharmacopeias written in French]. / Les pharmacopées turques de langue française.

It is necessary to highlight the considerable influence of the French science of pharmacy on the Ottoman pharmacy. The pharmacopeias published in Istanbul during the period of the Ottoman Empire were mostly written in French, in particular the Pharmacoée Militaire Ottomane (1844) by Dr. Charles Ambroise Bernard and the Dustur-ul Edviye (1874), a translation of the Pharmacopée Française (1866) by Prof. Huseyin Sabri. Today some Turkish pharmacists still consult references in French, particularly Dorvault's l'Officine and the Pharmacopée Française.