Ahmet Savran

A multivariate statistical approach to Centaurea classification using essential oil composition data of some species from Turkey

The composition of the essential oils of ten Centaurea species from Turkey, Centaurea aladaghensis, C. antiochia var. prealta, C. antitauri, C. babylonica, C. balsamita, C. cheirolepidoides, C. deflexa, C. iconiensis, C. lanigera, C. ptosimopappoides have been studied. Multivariate statistical analyses (Principal Component Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) applied to GC-MS data, seem to be very useful to investigate and establish the natural taxonomic delimitation of this very difficult genus. The groupings resulted independent from the ecological similarities (i.e. plants that live in the same habitats or share similar morphological characteristics), so it seems that the environment has no influence on the biosynthesis of the volatiles of these plants.

Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil and the Extracts of Kitaibelia balansae Species

Abstract Essential oils and many components from medicinal plant extracts have been long known for their antimicrobial activity. Essential oils are natural products that are synthesized by the plant and stored in their cells. Essential oils or many of their constituents are in fact effective against a large variety of organisms they can be very well used as alternatives to synthetic chemicals. Kitaibelia balansae Boiss is the only Turkish representative of the genus Kitaibelia that is regularly used as cataplasm herb in traditionally Turkish medicine. In this work the essential oil of the flowers, stems and leaves of K.balansae species, collected from Konya (Turkey) were extracted both by hydro-distillation and Soxhlet and were investigated for their anti-microbial activity. The results showed good activity on the pathogenic microorganisms used. All extracts were analyzed by GC-MS. The antibacterial activities of all the extracts were examined against five Gram-negative, one Gram-positive bacteria and one pathogenic yeast by using disc diffusion method. The results showed the presence of manool, 8, 13-epoxy, 15, 16-dinorlab-12-ene, 8a; 13, 13; 17 depoxy-14, 15-bisnorlabdane and tetrahydroactinidiolide, labda-7,13,14-triene, cis and trans-methyldihydrojasmonate as well as other compounds.

Chemical Composition of The Essential Oil of The Flowers and Leaves of Çalba Tea (Dorystoechas hastata Boiss & Helder. ex Bentham)

Abstract The essential oils of flower and leaves of Dorystoechas hastata Boiss & Helder. ex Bentham, grown in Turkey, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC and GS-MS. Fourty components were identified in the flowers oil, which represented about 93.97% of the total composition of the oil. The major constituents of the flower essential oil were myrcene (19.37%), 1,8-cineole (14.30%), β-pinene (9.19%), α-pinene (8.49%) and β-caryophyllene (6.18%). Thirty-seven components were established in the leaves oil, making up 97.16% of the total composition. The main constituents of the essential oil of the leaves were myrcene (20.71%), 1,8-cineole (18.76%), β-pinene (12.51%), α-pinene (8.54%), bornyl acetate (7.28%) and terpinene-4-ol (6.19%). As seen, myrcere, 1,8-cineole and β-pinene for both oils were the main components.