In the present work, chemical compositions of essential oil and methanol extract of endemic Cota fulvida (Grierson) Holub were investigated as well as their antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiinflammatory and antimelanogenesis potent. The phytochemical analyses have been performed with GC-MS/FID and LC-MS/MS techniques. The essential oil was characterized with hexadecanoic acid (25.6 %), camphor (6.1 %), caryophyllene oxide (5.3 %), 1,8-cineole (4.9 %) and humulene epoxide (3.9 %). In the extract, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoid dimer and flavonoids were detected. The major constituents of the extracts were found to be 5-feruloylquinic acid, caftaric acid, 3,5-O-dicafeoylquinic acid and quercetin rutinoside. The antioxidant activities of the oil and extract were evaluated through scavenging of free radicals, inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and superoxide anion radical (O2-) generated by xanthine - xanthine oxidase (XO) system. The extract showed free radical scavenging activity (IC50 0.131 mg/mL), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (1.33 mM) and inhibited (Inh. 36.3 %) peroxidation of lipids. The oil and extract demonstrated significant hypoglycemic activity via inhibition of porcine pancreatic a-amylase. The antiinflammatory effects of the oil and extract via inhibition of 5-LOX enzyme were found as 53.7 % and 23.9 %, respectively. The extract demonstrated moderate inhibitory effect (23.3 %) on oxidation of L-DOPA via inhibition of tyrosinase enzyme.

The Mediterranean region is a center of species and genetic diversity of many plant groups, which served as a source of recolonization of temperate regions of Eurasia in Holocene. We investigate the evolutionary history of species currently classified in Lotus sect. Bonjeanea in the context of the evolution of the genus Lotus as a whole, using phylogenetic, phylogeographic and dating analyses. Of three species of the section, L. rectus and L. hirsutus have wide Mediterranean distribution while L. strictus has a disjunctive range in Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia, Eastern Kazakhstan, and adjacent parts of Russia and China. We used entire nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region (nrITS) and a plastid dataset (rps16 and trnL-F) to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within Lotus with an extended representation of Bonjeanea group. We analyzed the phylogeographic patterns within each species based on the plastid dataset. For divergence time estimation, the nrITS dataset was analyzed. Our results confirmed the non-monophyletic nature of the section Bonjeanea. They indicate that Lotus is likely to have diverged about 15.87 (9.99–19.81) million years ago (Ma), which is much older than an earlier estimate of ca. 5.54 Ma. Estimated divergence ages within L. strictus, L. rectus, and L. hisrutus (6.1, 4.94, and 4.16 Ma, respectively) well predate the onset of the current type of Mediterranean climate. Our data suggest that relatively ancient geological events and/or climatic changes apparently played roles in early diversification of Lotus and its major clades, as well as in formation of phylogeographic patterns, in at least some species.

Pollen morphology of 22 Cota taxa naturally distributed in Turkey was investigated to describe their pollen features and to evaluate the diagnostic value of pollen characters for systematic purposes using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Pollen grains of Cota are radially symmetrical and isopolar. Their shape is oblate-spheroidal with the polar axes 21.6–34.56 μm and the equatorial axes 23.04–33.6 μm. The pollens are trizonocolporate. The outline is elliptic in equatorial view and triangular in polar view; amb intersemiangular. Exine sculpturing is echinate. Inter-spinal region exhibits perforate and microreticulate–perforate ornamentations. Numerical analysis revealed that dimensions of the pollen grains and surface ornamentation are the most reliable characters for delimiting the taxa within the genus.