Ethnobotanical field surveys revealed the use of fruits of Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill. for treating diabetes, burns, bronchial asthma, constipation, kidney stones, and rheumatic pains and as a sedative in Turkish folk medicine. This study aimed to verify the efficacy of the fruits of O. ficus indica experimentally and to define components responsible for the activity using bioassay-guided procedures. The crude methanolic extract of the fruits was sequentially fractionated into five subextracts: n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water. Further experiments were carried out on the most active subextract, that is, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) subextract, which was further subjected to fractionation through successive column chromatographic applications on Sephadex LH-20. For activity assessment, each extract or fraction was submitted to bioassay systems; traction test, fireplace test, hole-board test, elevated plus-maze test, and open-field test were used for sedative and anxiolytic effects, and a thiopental-induced sleeping test was used for the hypnotic effect. Among the subextracts obtained from the methanolic extract, the EtOAc subextract showed significant sedative and anxiolytic effects in the bioassay systems. From the EtOAc subextract, major components were isolated, and their structures were determined as isorhamnetin, isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside, and kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside using spectral techniques. In conclusion, this study confirmed the claimed use of the plant against anxiety in Turkish folk medicine.

The aim of the present research is to evaluate the antiurolithiatic effect of the various extracts prepared from the fruits of Viburnum opulus L., in regard to its ethnobotanical record. To induce urolithiasis, 70 mg/kg sodium oxalate was injected to the rats which were housed individually in metabolic cages. The test materials were applied during 7 days. Biochemical (urine and serum parameters), histopathological and antioxidant (TBARs, TSH and GSH) assays were conducted. The urine samples were examined by light microscope for the determination of the calcium oxalate crystals. Lyophilized juice of V. opulus (LJVO) and lyophilized commercial juice of V. opulus (LCJVO) exerted potential antiurolithiatic activity which was attributed to its diuretic effect along with the inhibitory action on the oxalate levels and free radical production. We also determined the chlorogenic acid content of the LJVO by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Chlorogenic acid was determined by using Supelcosil LC‐18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column and acetonitrile: water: 0.2% o‐phosphoric acid as a mobile phase. The chlorogenic acid content of V. opulus was found to be 0.3227 mg/mL in fruit juice. The results obtained in this study have provided a scientific evidence for the traditional usage of V. opulus on passing kidney stones in Turkish folk medicine.