Günes, Ferhat; Çeçen, Omer; Özer, Elif Beyza; Yuca, Hafize; Aydin, Bilge; Demirci, Betul; Karakaya, Songul

This study comparatively evaluated the phytochemical and biological profiles of Origanum leptocladum and O. vulgare subsp. hirtum (Lamiaceae). Aqueous extracts yielded more material than methanolic ones, with O. leptocladum showing superior extractability. GC-MS analysis revealed distinct chemotypes: O. leptocladum was rich in cis-sabinene hydrate and p-cymene, whereas O. vulgare was dominated by carvacrol. Methanol extracts of O. leptocladum exhibited the highest alpha-glucosidase inhibition (90.10%) and antioxidant capacity, correlating with elevated phenolic content. Molecular docking indicated strong binding affinities of carvacrol, cis-sabinene hydrate, and p-cymene to alpha-glucosidase, alpha-amylase, AChE, and BChE, implying multitarget inhibitory potential. ADME predictions confirmed favourable pharmacokinetic properties and BBB permeability, especially for carvacrol and cis-sabinene hydrate. This first report on alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase inhibition by O. leptocladum underscores its promising antidiabetic and neuroprotective potential, supporting its value for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical development.

Civas, Ayse; Günes, Ferhat; Özer, Elif Beyza; Imad Abdulqader, Amenah; Akyüz, Beyzanur; Yuca, Hafize; Aydin, Bilge; Karakaya, Songul

Myriophyllum spicatum L. methanolic extract was examined through integrated biochemical, phytochemical, computational analyses. The extract exhibited strong alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 198.54 & micro;g/mL, demonstrating markedly higher potency than reference inhibitor acarbose (IC50= 4738.12 & micro;g/mL), while no inhibitory activity was detected against alpha-amylase under tested conditions. In anticholinesterase assays, extract showed acetylcholinesterase inhibition with an IC50 value of 9.70 & micro;g/mL, whereas standard inhibitor donepezil exhibited a significantly stronger activity (IC50= 0.30 & micro;g/mL). No inhibitory effect was observed against butyrylcholinesterase for the extract, while donepezil displayed potent inhibition (IC50= 15.40 & micro;g/mL). Extract showed strong ABTS center dot+ scavenging activity (85.7% at 40 & micro;g/mL) but weak DPPH center dot activity (25.6% at 25 & micro;g/mL), suggesting higher affinity for hydrophilic radicals. High total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents correlated with antioxidant potential. LC-MS/MS revealed thirteen phenolics, mainly vanillic acid, gallic acid and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Docking studies supported selective alpha-glucosidase binding of vanillic acid.

Nobarirezaeyeh, Mohaddeseh; Yuca, Hafize; Aydın, Bilge; Civaş, Ayşe; Karakaya, Songül; Karadayı, Mehmet; Demir, Abdussamed Yasin; Bona, Mehmet; Yılmaz, Bilal; Göger, Gamze

The study investigated the antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and genotoxic activities of extracts from Centaurea amanicola and C. antitauri (Asteraceae). Methanol extracts were analysed for phenolic and fatty oil contents. Major components of fatty oils were identified, including methyl hexadecanoate (48.30%) and heptacosane (22.13%) in C. antitauri, and methyl hexadecanoate (16.29%) and methyl linoleate (13.55%) in C. amanicola. The highest α-amylase inhibition was observed in hexane extracts of both species with 55.53% and 41.57% inhibition values, respectively. Antioxidant activity, measured by ABTS•+ and DPPH• scavenging, varied among extracts, with notable efficacy in C. antitauri dichloromethane extract and C. amanicola ethyl acetate extract. The dichloromethane extract of C. antitauri demonstrated effectiveness against Candida albicans with MIC= 156.25 µg/mL. Importantly, all extracts were found to be genotoxicity-safe. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of these extracts for various medicinal applications, particularly in managing diabetes and combating microbial infections.

Ayaz, Hatice Beyza; Günes, Ferhat; Yuca, Hafize; Aydin, Bilge; Karakaya, Songul

This study compared the methanolic extracts obtained from the branches, leaves, and fruits of Juniperus oxycedrus-a plant traditionally used for antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antiasthmatic, and digestive purposes-and its parasitic species Arceuthobium oxycedri. Total phenolic content ranged from 87.32 to 142.45 mg GAE/g extract, and total flavonoid content ranged from 34.12 to 76.84 mg QE/g extract. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in J. oxycedrus fruit extract, with DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities of 89.56% and 91.24%, respectively, at 1 mg/mL. In contrast, A. oxycedri extracts showed moderate activity (DPPH: 54.67%; ABTS: 63.88%). All extracts demonstrated strong antidiabetic potential, with alpha-glucosidase inhibition reaching up to 89.73% and alpha-amylase inhibition up to 85.15%, exceeding the standard acarbose in several cases. LC-MS/MS analysis of A. oxycedri revealed quinic acid (21,832.28 ng/mL), caffeic acid (2,346.00 ng/mL), and quercetin (2,168.17 ng/mL) as the dominant compounds. Molecular docking and in silico ADME profiling confirmed favourable interactions with key metabolic and neurological enzymes. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of both species and suggest their value for future product development.

Gözcü, Sefa; Akşit, Zeynep; Aydın, Ali; Yılmaz, Mustafa Abdullah; Şimşek, Samed

The present investigation focused on the comprehensive analysis of the phenolic profile of Centaurea glastifolia L. (Asteraceae) and the assessment of its diverse biological activities. Utilising LC-MS/MS, the phytochemical composition of the 70% methanol extract of Centaurea glastifolia (CG-ME) was thoroughly elucidated, revealing the presence of 30 distinct phytochemical compounds. Notably, major phenolic constituents identified in the extract included quinic acid, chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, luteolin, and apigenin-7-O-glucoside. The antioxidant, antibacterial, antiproliferative, and cytotoxic activities of CG-ME were investigated. The CG-ME exhibited a moderate capacity for scavenging DPPH radicals (IC50: 50.05 ± 1.58 µg/mL) and FRAP (63.96 ± 0.39 mg TE/g extract), indicating a moderate level of antioxidant activity. Moreover, CG-ME demonstrated significant antiproliferative effects (GI50: 1.10 and 1.30 µg/mL) on cancer cells (C6 and HTC cancer cell lines, respectively) while displaying low cytotoxicity towards normal cells (LC50: >1000 µg/mL). In terms of antibacterial activity, CG-ME was found to be inactive against tested both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains (MIC > 500 µg/mL). The extracts had a promising antiproliferative effect on C6, HeLa, and HT29 cancer cell lines with a less cytotoxic effect (10.5–14.2%) against normal cells.

Yuca, Hafize; Sefalı, Abdurrahman; Aydın, Bilge; Karadayı, Mehmet; Gülşahin, Yusuf; Yazıcı, Ayşenur; Karakaya, Songül; Demirci, Betül; Çoban, Furkan; Özdemir, Erkan

Essential oil content of and phenolic compounds flower-fruit, root, and aerial parts of Heracleum pastinacifolium subsp. incanum were analysed by GC/MS and LC/MS methods, respectively. Antidiabetic, anticholinesterase, and antioxidant activities of flower-fruit, root, aerial parts methanol extracts were evaluated. Apiole (35.0%), myristicine (72.2%), and myristicine (15.1%) were found as major compounds of fruit-flower mixture, root, aerial part essential oils, respectively. Hesperidin was found the highest amount in aerial part and flower-fruit extracts with 8904.2621 ng/mL and 11558.3634 ng/mL values, respectively. Fruit-flower extract showed the highest activity against α-glucosidase (24%). Root extract demonstrating the highest activity (18%) against AChE enzyme. Flowers-fruits mixture methanol extract had a higher % inhibition value on ABTS·+ and DPPH•. Flowers-fruits mixture methanol extract was rich in total phenol, total tannin, and protein content. All the extracts were determined as genetoxically safe according to the results of Ames/Salmonella, Escherichia coli WP2 and Allium cepa assays.

Karakaya, Songul; Suntar, Ipek; Aydin, Bilge; Dursunoglu, Benan; Gözcu, Sefa; Senol, Onur; Bayrak, Burak; Ozbek, Hilal; Koca, Mehmet; Ceribasi, Songul

This article presents the evaluation of anticholinesterase effects of aerial parts of Epilobium angustifolium, E. stevenii and E. hirsutum and isolated flavonoids from E. angustifolium, and quantification of the flavonoids by HPLC. Besides, the highest acetylcholinesterase inhibition was seen in the EtOAc sub-extracts of E. angustifolium and E. stevenii (36.51 ± 1.88 and 39.89 ± 3.09%, respectively), whereas EtOAc sub-extract of E. angustifolium had the best butyrylcholinesterase inhibition (62.09 ± 1.98%). Hyperoside showed strong inhibition activity on both enzymes. The active EtOAc sub-extract of E. angustifolium was quantitatively analyzed for their content of hyperoside (quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside) by HPLC. The content of hyperoside in EtOAc sub-extract of E. angustifolium was detected as 3.312%. The anatomical structures of the stem, leaf, sepal, petal, anther, and filament of E. angustifolium were investigated. The anatomical properties given in this study provide a description of E. angustifolium. (Figure presented.).

Koysu, Perihan; Genc, Nusret; Elmastas, Mahfuz; Aksit, Huseyin; Erenler, Ramazan

Salvia absconditiflora Greuter & Burdet (Synonym Salvia cryptantha Montbret & Aucher ex Benth) has been used extensively for traditional medicine. The aerial of plant material was boiled in water then filtrated. The filtrate was partitioned with ethyl acetate and n-butanol sequentially to yield the ethyl acetate and n-butanol extract. A sample of water was lyophilized to yield the water extract. Ethyl acetate extract revealed the highest antioxidant activity and included the most phenolic compounds among the extracts. Hence, ethyl acetate extract was subjected to chromatographic techniques. Ursolic acid (1), crismaritin (2), luteolin (3), rosmarinic acid methyl ester (4), 3,4-dihydroxyl benzaldehyde (protocatechuic aldehyde) (5), caffeic acid (6), apigenin-7-O-β-glucoside (7), rosmarinic acid (8) and luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside (9) were isolated and the structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 1D, 2D NMR, and LC-TOF/MS. Cirsimaritin (2), luteolin (3), rosmarinic acid methyl ester (4), rosmarinic acid (8), luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside (9) displayed the considerable antioxidant activity.

Avci, Ayşe Betül; Korkmaz, Mustafa; Özçelik, Hasan

The aim of this study was to determine the essential oil content and composition of Cymbocarpum erythraeum (DC.) Boiss., a rare species spread in flora of Turkey. The samples were collected during the fructifying period of the plant from Erzincan, Turkey, at an altitude of 2430 m, in 2010. Essential oils were obtained from different parts of the plant such as fruits and herbal parts with Clevenger apparatus by hydro-distillation. Essential oil contents of the plant material were 0.38 ± 0.015%, 0.23 ± 0.012% and 0.21 ± 0.015% from fruits, herbal parts with fruits and herbal parts without fruits, respectively. Composition of essential oil was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The essential oil of the herbal parts of the plant was dominated by fatty alcohols and aldehydes which accounted for 73.10% and 24.64%, respectively. Myristyl alcohol (1-tetradecanol) was identified as a major component of essential oil with an average content of 73.10%.