Isa Telci

Yield, Essential Oil Content and Composition of Coriandrum sativum Varieties (var. vulgare Alef and var. microcarpum DC.) Grown in Two Different Locations

Abstract Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) has two varieties (var. vulgare Alef. and var. microcarpum DC.) in the populations of Turkey. Field experiments were conducted during 2000 and 2001 in two different locations (Tokat and Diyarbakir) in order to investigate yield, oil content and composition of the varieties. The oil composition of the varieties was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Ecological variation had a significant effect on biomass and seed yields. Variation in the oil content between varieties was significant, i.e. microcarpum had a higher oil content. The compositions of two varieties were qualitatively similar, although the linalool content was higher in microcarpum (63.5–71.0%) than vulgare (42.1–52.7%).

Agronomical and Chemical Characterization of Spearmint (Mentha Spicata L.) Originating in Turkey

The essential oil properties of spearmint (Mentha spicataL.), one of the most important spice plants, were studied and the essential oil components determined using gas chromatography. The essential oil content of wild-grown spearmint in the region was found to range from 1.00% to 2.00%, and two chemotypes were identified, one high in carvone (49.53-80.65%) and the other in pulegone (44.9-49.23%). Agronomic and essential oil properties of cultivated landraces ofM. spicata were also investigated under field conditions during the 1999 vegetation period. The examined spearmint landraces showed a great variability for each character studied, including yield and essential oil components. The crop was harvested twice during the vegetation period, and the essential oil content of the landraces varied from 0.90 to 2.70% in the first harvest and from 1.00 to 3.00% in the second one. Carvone was constantly present as the predominant essential oil in landraces, except for one sample, which was high in linalool (82.80%). Superior landraces with carvone contents were discovered; their maximum content reached 79.70% in the first cutting and 82.97% at the second cutting. The superior landraces were assayed for future improvement studies.

Chemical and genetic variability of selected Turkish oregano (Origanum onites L.) clones

Turkish oregano (Origanum onites L.) is a major aromatic plant that belongs to Labiatae family. In this work fourteen Turkish oregano clones have been characterized chemically and genetically. Essential oil obtained by hydro-distillation was characterized by gas chromatography. Genetic variation was determined by use of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Variation of essential oils in the selected clones was subjected to cluster analysis, and two chemotypes, carvacrol and thymol, were identified. Carvacrol was found to be the main component in all clones except clone-661, the main component of which was thymol. The oregano clones were divided into three main groups by clustering on the basis of RAPD markers. Genetic similarity values among the oregano clones ranged between 0.49 and 0.73 which was indicative of a low level of genetic variation. Clones originating from locations close to each other had similar RAPD markers. Correlation analysis of the genetic distance matrix and the Euclidian distance matrix revealed no significant correlation between them. The results also indicated that there is no relationship between genetic structure of the selected clones and essential oil composition.

Peppermint Drying Performance of Contact Dryer in Terms of Product Quality, Energy Consumption, and Drying Duration

Drying is a commonly used postharvest operation for medicinal and aromatic plants. Their high initial moisture contents, requirement of moderate drying temperatures, and quick deterioration of their quality attributes make their drying processes energy intensive and time consuming. These properties may also cause the dried product to be of heterogeneous quality. A contact dryer that transferred energy to drying plants mainly by heat conduction was developed and tested by mixing or not mixing batches of 15 kg of chopped peppermint plants. The contact dryer had three main operational units: a drying table, a mobile mixing/aeration car, and a control panel. The contact dryer was operated with one of four drying programs. All programs affected the completion duration of drying, essential oil content, and dried product color differently. The shortest drying time (15 h) was obtained using the drying program of gradually increased water temperature from 55–60 to 75–80°C in 6 h and mixing/aeration. However, mixing and aeration changed the product color slightly more and partially increased essential oil loss. These drawbacks can be alleviated by selecting the appropriate duration of mixing and aeration. The menthol and menthone percentages of fresh peppermint essential oil ranged from 31.02 to 34.02% (average value: 32.52%) and 23.23 to 26.47% (average value: 24.85%), respectively. The menthol and menthone percentages of dried peppermint essential oil ranged from 22.74 to 42.07% and from 8.95 to 21.76%, respectively. The significant variations in the essential oil composition of dried peppermint leaves within replications were possibly caused by the variations associated with the age and cutting order of fresh peppermint plants at harvest.

Chemical diversity in essential oil composition of Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley var. typhoides from Turkey

The essential oil obtained by hydro-distillation of leaf and flower in Mentha longifolia (L.) Hudson subsp. typhoides (Briq.) Harley var. typhoides (Lamiaceae) collected on the flora of Tokat (Black Sea region of Turkey) has been investigated by gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). As a result of cluster analysis of oil components, four chemotypes – piperitone oxide (PO), piperitone oxide/piperitenone oxide (PO/PNO), p-menthone/piperitone oxide (MN/PO) and trans-dihydrocarvone (DC) – were characterized in both leaf and flower oils. Piperitenone oxide/piperitone oxide (PNO/PO), piperitone oxide/p-menthone/pulegone (PO/MN/PL) and linalool (LI) are distinguished in flower oil, while piperitone oxide/carvacrol/thymol (PO/CR/TH), linalool/isomenthone (LI/IMN) and linalool/piperitone oxide (LI/PO) are distinguished in leaf oil. Samples of the chemotypes have been conserved in botanical garden of Agricultural Research and Application Center in Gaziosmanpasa University for biological activity studies in future.

Antioxidant activity and chemical composition of Sideritis libanotica Labill. ssp. linearis (Bentham) Borm. (Lamiaceae)

Sideritis libanotica ssp. linearis was screened for the isolation of new natural antioxidant compounds. The antioxidant activity of flavones obtained from the methanol extract of the plant was evaluated in vitro using total antioxidant, reduction power and free radical scavenging activity. Results were compared with the positive controls of antioxidant standards (α-tocopherol and butylated hydroxytoluene). The results indicate that the flavones possess a higher antioxidant activity when compared to the other components in the plant. The lowest antioxidant activity was observed in fatty acids (FAs) and hydrocarbons. The FAs were methylated with MeOH and KOH and analysed by GC–MS. The structures of the isolated compounds were established based on spectroscopic evidence (NMR, GC–MS, HPLC, IR and UV). In this work, the isolated pure flavone (3′-O-methylhypolaetin 7-O-[6″′-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-(1 → 2)]-6″-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside) was found to possess the highest antioxidant activity.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Ocimum minimum essential oils

The taxonomy of the genus is complex due to hybridization within the genus and large morphological variation. In early records, Ocimum minimum is classified as varieties of O. bacilicum (Ocimum basilicum var. minimum) [1]. The essential oil extracted from Ocimum (Basil) species is one of the most widespread oils and is used as an aromatic agent in foods and beverages and as fragrances in pharmaceutical and industrial products. The essential oil from plants has been known to possess biological activity, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal. This popular herb is used as both a fresh and a dried food spice and in traditional medicine. In addition, basil is valued for its pharmaceutical properties, for example, the aromatic oils produced in their leaves [2]. Spices used in different types of food to improve flavour, since ancient times, are well known for their antioxidant properties. It was reported that extracts obtained from spices had antioxidant activities [3]. However, there is no information on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity, superoxide anion radical scavenging activity, total antioxidant activity using the ferric thiocyanate method, and the reducing power of essential oils. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of essential oils. The composition and relative percentages of the essential oil of two O. minimum landraces were elucidated by the aid of GC/MS analysis. The percentage composition of the essential oils is given in Table 1. In total, 47 components were identified in the landraces, accounting for 82.29 and 83.22% in the essential oil of landraces I and II, respectively. Oils of both samples were characterized by high percentages of oxygenated monoterpenes (37.9 and 48.2%, respectively). The main component was linalool in both landraces, although the oils present some differences in the percentages of linalool, with 20.22 and 27.91, respectively. While there is chemical diversity in the essential oil of Ocimum species [3], linalool was one of the most common compounds in the oils [4]. The chemical composition of the essential oil of O. minimum has been studied. Linalool was the major component in the oil of O. minimum, similar to our study. But there are quantitative differences in linalool content between the literature and our studies. According to previous studies [2, 5], linalool varied between 52 and 54% in brush basil essential oil. Contrary to our results, Ozcan and Chalchat [4] stated that geranyl acetate was the major components in the essential oil of O. minimum from Turkey. The researcher explained that the differences were due to environmental and genetic factors. 1,8-Cineole was the other important component in both samples (13.38 and 14.65%). 1,8-Cineol is one of the key components used in the classification of the different chemotypes of basil reaching 60% in the literature [4]. The essential oil of O. minimum was also characterized by the presence of eugenol (8.37%), germacrene D (3.94–6.04%), γ-cadinene (3.51–5.47%), and δ-cadinene (2.39–4.48%). The components were characterized by previous studies on the essential oil of sweet basil [2, 5, 6]. Antioxidant capacity is widely used as a parameter to characterize food or medicinal plants and their bioactive components. In this study, the antioxidant activity of the essential oils, BHA, BHT, and α-tocopherol has been evaluated in a series of in vitro test: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging, ferric thiocyanate method, reducing power, and scavenging of superoxide anion radical-generated non-enzymatic systems.

ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOSITION OF Micromeria fruticosa DRUCE FROM TURKEY

1) Department of Field Crops (Medicinal and Aromatic Plants), Agricultural Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University,60245, Tokat, Turkey, fax: +90 356 252 1488, e-mail: itelci@gop.edu.tr; 2) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts andSciences, Gaziosmanpasa University, 60245, Tokat, Turkey. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 519-520,September-October, 2007. Original article submitted July 13, 2006. 0009-3130/07/4305-0629

Comparison of total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacities in mint genotypes used as spices / Baharat olarak kullanılan nane genotiplerinin toplam fenolik içerikleri ve antioksidan kapasitelerinin karşılaştırılması

Abstract Objective: Mint (Mentha spp.) genotypes used as spices are cultivated in Turkey and used for different purposes including herbal tea, spices, the cosmetics industry, and are used in folk medicine. While mint species have been used in traditional practices during humanity’s long history, there is limited research on the comparison of their antioxidant capacity and phenolic contents. This aim of the research is to compare antioxidant capacity and phenolic contents in mint clones to determine superior genotypes for herbal and spice usage and cultivation. Methods: Antioxidant capacity was evaluated by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). Total phenolic content in clones were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method. Results: Maximum total phenolic content [28.27±3.95 μg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW)] and FRAP activity 577.09±46.02 μmol Trolox equiv/g DW were obtained from Clone 13 (M. spicata), while M. piperita clones were higher for TEAC activity (800.02±1.10 μmol Trolox equiv/g DW). The results were first records for M. villoso nervata. FRAP and TEAC activities selected clones were correlated with total phenolic content (r=0.77; 0.73 respectively). Conclusion: According to the results, it can be suggested that Clone 13, Clone 5, (M. spicata) Clone 3 and Clone 8 (M. piperita) are more suitable for use as spice, herbal tea, and antioxidant agents. The clones must be selected for commercial cultivation by the grower and they can be used as spices and herbal teas. Özet Amaç: Baharat olarak kullanılan nane (Mentha spp) genotipleri, Türkiye’de kültürü yapılmakta ve biyolojik aktivitelerinden dolayı halk arasında bitki çayı, baharat, kozmetik ve tıbbi amaçlar için kullanılmaktadır. Uzun insanlık tarihi boyunca nane türleri geleneksel olarak kullanılmasına rağmen, bu türlerin antioksidan kapasite ve fenolik bileşikler üzerindeki çalışmalar sınırlıdır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, nane genotiplerinin antioksidan kapasitelerini ve fenolik bileşik miktarlarını karşılaştırarak baharat ve bitkisel çay olarak kullanıma daha uygun ticari genotipleri belirlemektir. Metod: Antioksidan kapasite; indirme gücü aktivite (FRAP) ve troloxa eşdeğer antioksidan kapasite (TEAC) testleri ile değerlendirildi. Klonlardaki toplam fenolik içeriği Folin-Ciocaltue metodu ile belirlendi. Bulgular: En yüksek fenolik bileşik miktarı [28.27±3.95 μg gallik aside eşdeğer /g kuru ağırlık (DW)]ve FRAP aktivitesi (577.09±46.02 μmol Trolox eşdeğer/g DW) klon 13’de (M. spicata) bulunurken en yüksek TEAC aktivitesi (800.02±1.10 μmol Trolox equiv/g DW) M. piperita klonlarında bulunmuştur. M. villoso nervata ile ilgili sonuçlar ilk olarak bu çalışmada yapılmıştır. Seçilen klonlardaki FRAP ve TEAC aktiviteleri toplam fenolik bileşikler ile pozitif bir korelasyona sahiptir (sırasıyla, r=0,77; 0,73). Sonuç: Bu çalışmada elde edilen sonuçlara göre, klon 3, 5, 8 ve 13’ün daha uygun bir antioksidan ajanı, bitki çayı ve baharat olarak kullanımı uygundur. Bu klonlar baharat ve bitki çayı olarak kullanılabilir ve üreticiler tarafından ticari üretim için seçilmelidir.

Bazı Tıbbi Bitkilerin Patates Böceği {Leptinotarsa Decemlineata Say) İle Mücadelede Kullanılabilmesi Üzerinde Bir Araştırma

This research was conducted to determine effects of some medical plants on potato beetle. Therefore, potatoes plots were surrounded with datura, black cumin, coriander, fennel, anise, and fenugreek. This study was carried out accoding to randomized block design whit three replication. Potato beetles were counted from 1 June to 28 July, nine times. These plants affected and reduced potato beetle at potato plots. The best result was found out at plots surrounded with coriander.