Ecological and morphological variation of wild ruscus aculeatus from mediterranean region of southern turkey

In this study the ecological and morphological variation of Ruscus wild species from different altitude of the Mediterranean region were surveyed and identified. Ecological and morphological variations of R. aculeatus L. collected from six different regions were determined. The lowest plant height (26.4 cm), stem number (1.0) leaves number (9.3), fresh weight (2.8 g), fresh and dried rhizome (5.2 g, 2.2 g respectively) were obtained from Zorkun region (Altitude 750 m) which is deforested area, recovered by low trees population; Pinus spp. and rocky screes. No significant correlations between different regions were observed in terms of leaflet number in deep, middle and top unit and dried herb yield. Also highest fresh and dried rhizome weight (59.3 g, 30.6 g respectively) were obtained from Duzici region (Altitude 500 m) which is covered with Quercus sp., Pinus sp., Myrtus sp., Cistus sp., Erica sp. In general, morphological characters of R. aculeatus showed large scale variation in different habitat and altitudes

Essential oil composition of Ocimum basilicum L. at different phenological stages in semi-arid environmental conditions

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is known locally as "feslegen or reyhan", belonging to the Lamiaceae family and is widely grown as an ornamental, medicinal and spice crops in the Mediterranean countries, including Turkey. Basil is cultivated in small areas like gardens. However this plant must be produced in the shape of field farming for a new crop. Cultivar, cropping season, plant ontogeny and plant part had significant effects on the yield and quality of the essential oil of O. basilicum as with other essential oil plants. The present work was undertaken with the main objective to investigate the essential oil rate and constitutents of essential oil isolated from the aerial parts of O. basilicum cultivated in Diyarbakir as affected by different development stage. The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed by gas -chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC -MS) The yield of essential oil from different development stages varied between 1.2-1.6%, and the major components identified in essential oils are linalool, eugenol and terpinen-4-ol. The highest linalool content was obtained from flowering stage and it was observed that linalool percentages decreased in the post-flowering period, which showed an increase towards the flowering period, eugenol was rich in pre-flowering stage and the maximum amounts of terpinolen-4-ol were observed in post-flowering stage. © by PSP

Variation in ruscogenin contents in Ruscus aculeatus L. growing wild in southern Turkey

The ruscogenin contents of the underground and aerial parts of Ruscus aculeatus (Liliaceae) collected from 6 different locations in southern Turkey were investigated by HPLC. The highest ruscogenin content (0.12 %) was recorded from the underground parts of R. aculeatus collected from Incebel/Osmaniye area of Turkey. Ruscogenin contents in aerial and underground parts of R. aculeatus varied the contents did not vary greatly in aerial parts

Determination of some agronomical characteristics and essential oil variation in different local Ocimum basilicum L. ecotypes under semi-arid climatic conditions

The study aimed to determine agronomic characteristics and essential oil components of different basil ecotypes in semi-arid climatic conditions of South Eastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir, Turkey. Two-year harvest data about fresh and dry herb yield, dry leaf yield, essential oil content and its components from the plants of year 2015 and 2016 was analyzed in this study. Essential oil components were detected by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The resulting outcomes demonstrated that both ecotypes and harvests had important effects on fresh and dry herb, dry leaf yield and essential oil contents of sweet basil. The highest dry leaf yield was noted from green leafy ecotypes and from second harvest stage. Twenty-three constituents were detected in the essential oil of O. basilicum ecotypes. The main components of basil essential oil were linalool, methyl chavicol, neral, geranial and methyl cinnamate that differed according to ecotypes and harvests during experimental years 2015 and 2016. Purple leafy basil ecotypes were determined as linalool rich, while greenish leaf ecotypes were abundant in methyl chavicol. Silbe – green ecotype contains higher neral and geranial levels than the other ecotypes. It was concluded that basil plant could be grown successfully and harvested two or more times to prefer for maximum dry leaf yield and essential oil contents under semi-arid climatic conditions

Effects of different harvest periods on essential oil components of Lippia citriodora Kunth under semi-arid climatic conditions and biological activities of its essential oil

Lemon verbena is cultivated mainly due to the lemon-like aroma emitted from its leaves that are utilized for most purposes. The chemical composition of the essential oil of lemon verbena was analyzed by GC/MS in July at pre flowering, in September at full flowering and in end of October at post flowering period. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil, extracted from Lippia citriodora was tested against laboratory control strains belonging to the American Type Culture Collection (Maryland, USA) four Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria using the disc diffusion test. Antioxidant activity of the sample was determined by 1,1-diphenil-2- -picrly-hydrazil (DPPH) assay. Well-known antioxidant compounds such as ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol were used as standard. Results showed, among different harvest periods high fresh and dry herbage and dry leaf yields per plant were obtained from full flowering stage. Harvest periods were found to have a significant effect on the content of essential oil and the highest amounts of limonene, neral and geranial and measured as 31.15, 11.92 and 15.53%, respectively at full flowering stage. In all samples, the main constituents were limonene, neral and geranial constituting 46.03%–58.59% of the total essential oil yield depend on development stages. Lemon verbena essential oil was found to have antibacterial activity especially against Gram (+) microorganisms. In DPPH system, the moderate radical scavenging activity was exhibited. Therefore, L. citriodora has potential to be used as a natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent in food processing