Mecit Vural

Two new taxa from Central Anatolia, Turkey

A new species of Verbascum L., V. cicekdagensis Karavel. & Vural sp. nov. (sect. Bothrosperma Murb.), is described from Central Anatolia in Turkey. It is related to V. wiedemannianum Fisch. & C.A. Mey., from which it differs mainly by its leaves, bracts, and anthers. Additionaly, a new subspecies Reseda germanicopolitiana Hub.- Mor. subsp. glabra Karavel. & Vural subsp. nov. is also recognized. Two taxa are confined to Cicekdag in Kirsehir. Distribution maps and illustrations of these taxa are given. In addition, the pollen characteristics and seed coat surface of Verbascum cicekdagensis and V. wiedemannianum are examined by SEM.

ESSENTIAL OIL OF SALVIA AYTACHII M. VURAL ET N. ADIGUZEL

Abstract Water-distilled essential oil of Salvia aytachii, a recently described Turkish endemic, was analyzed by GC/MS. Fifty-eight compounds were characterized representing 98.41% of the oil, with camphor (30.78%) and 1,8-cineole (27.28%) as major constitutents.

A New Species of Centaurea Sect. Acrocentron (Asteraceae) from Turkey

ABSTRACT A new species of Centaurea L. (Asteraceae), Centaurea elazigensis Kaya & Vural, from section Acrocentron (Cassini) DC. is described and illustrated from Elazığ Province, Turkey. It is closely related to C. carduiformis DC. A key comparing diagnostic morphological characters of the new species and C. carduiformis is provided. The habitat and conservation status of the species are presented, and the geographical distribution of the new species and other related species is described.

The Evaluation of Plants from Turkey for in Vitro. Antimycobacterial Activity

Abstract In this research, extracts prepared from plant materials were tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. H37Rv (ATCC 27294). Of the 107 plants tested, five exhibited more than 90% inhibition of growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis., at concentrations lower than 100 µg/ml. Jervin from Veratrum album. L., usnic acid from Usnea barbata. (L.) Mott, and alantolactone from Inula helenium. L. subsp. turcoracemosa. were isolated and their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined as 25, 12.5, and 3.125 µg/ml, respectively.

Composition of the Essential Oil of Ferulago trachycarpa (Fenzl) Boiss.

Abstract A water-distilled essential oil from the crushed fresh fruits of Ferulago trachycarpa, endemic in Turkey, was analyzed by GC/MS. Forty-six components were characterized representing 99–3% of the total components detected. (Z)-β-Ocimene (30.7%) and myrcene (27.7%) were the major constituents of the oil obtained in 7.3% yield.

Fatty Acid and Tocochromanol Patterns of Some Salvia L. species

In the course of our investigations of new sources of higher plant lipids, seed fatty acid compositions and the tocochromanol contents of Salvia bracteata, S. euphratica var. euphratica, S. aucherii var. canascens, S. cryptantha, S. staminea, S. limbata, S. virgata, S. hypargeia, S. halophylla, S. syriaca and S. cilicica were investigated using GLC and HPLC systems. Some of the species are endemic to Turkey. All the Salvia sp. showed the same pattern of fatty acids. Linoleic, linolenic and oleic acid were found as the abundant components. Tocochromanol derivatives of the seed oil showed differences between Salvia species. γ-Tocopherol was the abundant component in most of the seed oils except of S. cilicica. The total tocopherol contents of the seed oils were determined to be more than the total of tocotrienols.

Antimicrobial activity against periodontopathogenic bacteria, antioxidant and cytotoxic effects of various extracts from endemic Thermopsis turcica

OBJECTIVE To investigate the in vitro antimicrobial potential of Thermopsis turcica Kit Tan, Vural & Küçüködük against periodontopathogenic bacteria, its antioxidant activity and cytotoxic effect on various cancer cell lines. METHODS In vitro antimicrobial activities of ethanol, methanol, ethyl acetate (EtAc), n-hexane and water extracts of Thermopsis turcica herb against periodontopathogenic bacteria, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 29523 and Porphyromonas gingivalis ATCC 33277 were tested by agar well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC). Antioxidant properties of the extracts were evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical scavenging activity and β-carotene bleaching methods. Amounts of phenolic contents of the extracts were also analysed by using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Additionally, cytotoxic activity of the extracts on androgen-insensitive prostate cancer, androgen-sensitive prostate cancer, chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute promyelocytic leukemia human cancer cell lines were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Human gingival fibroblast cells were used as a control. RESULTS Our data showed that EtAc extract had the highest antimicrobial effect on Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (MIC: 1.562 mg/mL, MBC: 3.124 mg/mL) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (MIC: 0.781 mg/mL, MBC: 1.562 mg/mL). In antioxidant assays, EtAc extract exhibited also the highest radical scavenging activity [IC50=(30.0±0.3) µg/mL] and the highest inhibition [(74.35±0.30)%] against lineloic acide oxidation. The amount of phenolic content of it was also the highest [(162.5±1.2) µg/mg gallic acid]. In cytotoxic assay, only ethanol [IC50=(80.00±1.21) µg/mL] and EtAc extract [IC50=(70.0±0.9) µg/mL] were toxic on acute promyelocytic leukemia cells at 20-100 µg/mL (P<0.05). However, no toxic effect was observed on human gingival fibroblast cells. CONCLUSIONS According to our findings, owing to its antioxidant and cytotoxic potential, EtAc extract might include anticancer agents for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

A remarkable new Salsola and some new records of Chenopodiaceae from Central Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract Freitag, H., Vural, M. & Adigüzel, N.: A remarkable new Salsola and some new records of Chenopodiaceae from Central Anatolia, Turkey. — Willdenowia 29: 123–139. 1999. — ISSN 0511-9618. The chenopod flora of a badland area 120 km WNW of Ankara was studied with the following results: Salsola grandis is described as a species new to science and illustrated, the presence of two species, viz. Anabasis aphylla and Atriplex aucheri, not listed in ‘Flora of Turkey’ but earlier reported from E Anatolia by Russian authors, is confirmed, and four species, viz. Atriplex laevis, Halanthium kulpianum, Petrosimonia nigdeensis and Salsola nitraria, are newly recorded from NW Central Anatolia. Salsola grandis belongs to S. sect. Salsola s.str. and is distantly related to S. soda. From the number and frequency of halophytic and semi-desert chenopod species, particularly from the presence of both the rather isolated endemic Salsola grandis and the strongly disjunct Anabasis aphylla, the conclusion is drawn that the area SE of Nallıhan has a much drier climate than its surroundings. Very likely, the evolution of S. grandis has taken place there from Tertiary times onwards, and the other disjunct species might have invaded later during drier climatic phases of the Pleistocene or early Holocene.

Antimycobacterial Activity of Some Turkish Plants

In this study, 70% ethanol extracts from 98 different plant species distributed among 21 families were evaluated for antimycobacterial activity. Sempervirine was isolated from Buxus sempervirens with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 6.25 µg/ml.

Composition of the essential oil of Pastinaca sativa L. subsp. urens (Req. ex Godron) Celak

The genus Pastinaca (Umbelliferae) is represented in Turkey by five species and altogether seven taxa: Pastinaca sativa L. subsp. urens (Req. ex Godron) Celak, Pastinaca armena Fisch. & Mey, Pastinaca armena Fisch. & Mey. subsp. armena, Pastinaca armena Fisch. & Mey. subsp. dentata (Freyn & Sint.) Chamberlain, Pastinaca pimpinellifolia Bieb., Pastinaca zozimioides Fenzl (endemic), Pastinaca glandulosa Boiss. & Hausskn. [1]. The root of Pastinaca sativa L. (Parsnip in English, Karakok, Yabani havuc in Turkish) is a commercial crop traded and used in Europe [2]. The root essential oil has previously been reported to contain terpinolene (40–70%) and myristicin (17–40%) as the main constituents [3–5]. The occurrences of hydrocarbons and coumarins in the seeds were also reported [6, 7]. Here, we report on the composition of the essential oil of crushed seeds of Pastinaca sativa L. subsp. urens (Req. ex Godron) Celak. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous study on the fruits of Pastinaca sativa subsp. urens. In the present study, in the oil of crushed seeds of Pastinaca sativa subsp. urens, 18 components were characterized representing 95% of the oil with octyl butyrate (79.5%) and octyl hexanoate (5.3%) as the major constituents. The compounds identified in the oils are listed in Table 1.