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Purpose: To investigate the antibacterial and antitumor activities of the aerial parts of 8 different Turkish endemic plants (Phlomis russeliana, Phlomis armeniaca, Astragalus brachypterus, Astrantia maxima, Ptilostemon afer, Senecio castagneanus, Echium orientale and Arum euxinum). Methods: Two different bioassays were performed to evaluate the antibacterial and antitumor activities of the endemic plants. For each plant, 3 types of extracts (aqueous, methanol and ethanol) were prepared, giving a total of 24 extracts tested. The disc diffusion assay was used to screen for antibacterial activity against 10 bacteria including Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escheria coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, Serratia marcescens, Proteus vulgaris, Enterobacter cloacea, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Five different antibiotics (ampicillin, carbenicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin and tetracycline) were used as positive controls. Antitumor activity was evaluated using potato disc diffusion bioassay with camptothecin as positive control. Results: The highest antibacterial activity was observed for all extracts of A. brachypterus against S. pyogenes (15.0 - 16.3 mm inhibition zone). The aqueous extract of S. castagneanus showed the strongest antibacterial activity against S. pyogenes (14.3 mm). Furthermore, alcohol extracts (ethanol and methanol) of P. russeliana exhibited moderate activity against S. epidermidis (9 and 8.5 mm, respectively) and S. pyogenes (9.5 mm). High antitumor activity was observed for all extracts of A. brachypterus (91.7 - 100 % tumor inhibition). In addition, ethanol extract of P. russeliana (75 % inhibition) exhibited strong antitumor activity. Conclusion: The present study reveals the strong antibacterial and antitumor activities of A. brachypterus. However, the active components of the plant extracts needs to be identified in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populational variations of Echium italicum were analysed based on RAPD, fatty acid and micromorphological patterns of the nutlets. Some minor differences in nutlet morphology and the surface sculpturing were detected. Total oil concentrations ranged from 19.3 [A2(E)] to 23.5 % (A1) among the populations. Significant variations between accessions were detected for fatty acid concentrations. Major unsaturated fatty acids were alpha-linolenic, linoleic, oleic, stearidonic and gamma-linolenic acids respectively. The highest values for stearidonic (15.48 %) and gamma-linolenic acid (7.66 %) were obtained from A2(E) population. The total amplified products of 15 RAPD primers was 220 (average of 14.6 bands per primer), of which 156 bands were polymorphic, corresponding to nearly 70.9 % genetic diversity. The number of bands for each RAPD primer varied from 7 (OPD14) to 30 (OPC6). Percent of polymorphic bands ranged from 0.7 % (OPC19) to 100 % (OPC4 and OPD19). Examined traits showing high polymorphism seems to be useful for the taxonomical circumscription, infraspecific delineations and segregation of the populations of E. italicum. Based on the dendrograms of RAPD and fatty acid data, investigated accessions may be separated into subgroups A1, C2, and Irano-Turanian and Mediterranean. Obtained results may be also evaluated for characterization of E. italicum germplasm in selection of high yield genotypes for the production of long chain omega-3 PUFAs including SDA and GLA, and improvement of oil crops in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]