DPPH, superoxide and nitric oxide radical scavenging activities and total phenolic content (TPC) of some less known plants, distributed in Burdur-Antalya provinces and consumed both as food and for the medicine, Asplenium ceterach L. (golden herb), Valeriana dioscoridis Sm. (valerian), Doronicum orientale Hoffm. (tiger herb), Cota pestalozzae (Boiss.) Boiss. (camomile), Eremurus spectabilis M. Bieb. (foxtail lily), Asphodeline lutea (L.) Rchb. (asphodel) and Smyrnium connatum Boiss. and Kotschy (hemlock) were investigated. As a result, the highest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picril hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity was determined in C. pestalozzae extract (IC₅₀ = 18.66 μg mL^− 1), the highest superoxide and nitric oxide radical scavenging activity was determined in A. ceterach extract (IC₅₀ = 145.17 and 372.03 μg mL^− 1). The highest TPC was determined in A. ceterach extract (59,26 μg mL^− 1) as gallic acid equivalent. Further bioactivity and phytochemistry studies on these plants may enlighten new drug discovery researches.

In this study, the mutagenic and recombinogenic effects of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a plant growth regulator naturally synthesized in plants but produced synthetically, and β-naphthoxyacetic acid (BNOA), a synthetic plant growth regulator widely used in agricultural regions, were investigated using the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in Drosophila wings. The effect of the same plant growth regulators against the proliferation and viability of a human immortalized embryonic kidney HEK293 cells which is at the early stage of carcinogenesis were also examined with MTT and trypan-blue exclusion assays. For the SMART assay, two different crosses were used: a standard and a high-bioactivation (HB) cross, involving the flare-3 and the multiple wing hairs markers. The HB cross involved flies characterized by an increased cytochrome P-450-dependent bioactivation capacity, which permits the more efficient biotransformation of promutagens and procarcinogens. In both crosses, the wings of the two types of progeny, inversion-free marker heterozygotes and balancer heterozygotes, were analyzed. The results show that IAA and BNOA are not mutagenic or recombinogenic in the wing cells of Drosophila. Furthermore, neither plant growth regulator affected the proliferation rate of HEK293 cells; however, both of them induced cell death at high concentrations.

Recently, the importance of medicinal plants such as Salvia species has been increasing both in medicine and in industrial branches, which includes food, feed, and cosmetic raw materials. On the other hand, chia seed is a functional food that has recently increased industrial importance due to its superior nutritional value, phytochemical components, and therapeutic effects. In our study, the antioxidant activity of methanol extracts from the seeds of endemic Salvia cadmica Boiss var. cadmica, and Salvia caespitosa Montbret & Aucher ex Benth., Salvia pisidica Boiss. & Heldr. ex Benth., and Salvia potentillifolia Boiss. & Heldr. ex Benth. collected from Burdur-Antalya/Turkey were determined via 1,1-diphenyl,2-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging activity, cupric (II) reducing antioxidant capacity, b-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching and total phenolic, and total flavonoid content tests and compared with that of chia seed. Antimicrobial activity was determined according to minimum inhibitory concentration values, on S. aureus, E. coli, S. enterica, L. monocytogenes, C. albicans strains, but it was found negligible. Phenolic and fatty acid contents of the seed extracts were also determined by HPLC and GC–MS, respectively. S. pisidica and S. potentillifolia were found to be highly active. The major fatty acid composition of the chia seed was linolenic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid while the others were linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Despite fatty acid ratios of chia seed being more favorable; 1,1-diphenyl,2-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging activity, cupric (II) reducing antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, and antimicrobial activity of S. pisidica seed extracts and total flavonoid content and inhibition of β-carotene bleaching of S. potentillifolia seed extracts was higher than that of chia seed. These findings suggest seed extracts of these Salvia species are richer in phytochemicals and they are more active as antioxidants when compared to chia seed.

Radical scavenging activity of the extracts of Lathyrus aphaca L. var. pseudoaphaca (Boiss.) Davis, L. aureus (Stev.) Brandza, L. cicera L., L. sphaericus Retz., L. digitatus (Bieb.) Fiori in Fiori & Paol. and L. setifolius L. taxa distributed in Burdur-Isparta regio was determined. Methanol extracts of air dried aerial parts and the seeds of the plants were dissolved in water and chlorophylls and lipophilic compounds were removed from the aqueous extracts. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl, superoxide and nitric oxide radical scavenging activity of aqueous and methanol extracts of the plants were tested. Gallic acid equivalent total phenolic contents of the plant extracts were also detected using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. According to the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging activity test, the highest antioxidant activity was found in aerial parts of L. aphaca var. pseudoaphaca and highest total phenolic content was found as gallic acid equivalent in L. sphaericus seed extracts.

Tür çeşitliliği bakımından çiçekli bitkilerin en zengin familyası olan Asteraceae çoğu sebze olarak tüketilen ve biyoaktif bileşiklerce zengin olan birçok yabani tür içerir. Calendula arvensis, Cichorium intybus subsp. intybus, Glebionis coronaria, Scolymus hispanicus ve Tragopogon porrifolius subsp. longirostris türlerinin radikal süpürücü, antibakteriyel ve fitotoksik aktivitesi ile fenolik içerikleri araştırıldı. C. intybus, G. coronaria ve S. hispanicus ekstraktları diğerlerinden daha yüksek 2,2-difenil-1-pikril-hidrazil radikali süpürücü aktivite gösterdi (p<0.05). En yüksek süperoksit radikali süpürücü aktivite ve gallik aside eşdeğer toplam fenolik madde G. coronaria ekstraktında gözlendi. En yüksek kateşine eşdeğer toplam flavonoid miktarı sırasıyla C. intybus ve S. hispanicus ekstraktlarında gözlendi. Yüksek Basınçlı Sıvı Kromatografi analizleri ekstraktların farklı düzeylerde fenolik asitler ve kersetin içerdiğini gösterdi. C. intybus, S. hispanicus ve T. porrifolius ekstraktları hem gram-pozitif (Listeria monocytogenes ve Staphylococcus aureus) hem de gram-negatif (Salmonella enterica subp. enterica ve Escherichia coli) bakterilerin büyümesini inhibe etti (Minimal İnhibitör Konsantrasyon = 4 mg mL1). Gallik asidin (pozitif kontrol farzedilen) bütün konsantrasyonları ile C. arvensis, S. hispanicus ve T. porrifolius’un 4 g L1 konsantrasyonları tere (Lepidium sativum L.) fideleri üzerinde şiddetli inhibisyon gösterdi. Çalışılan bitkiler fitotoksik aktivite potansiyeli taşımalarının yanısıra antibakteriyel ajanlar oldukları için dikkate alınmalıdırlar. Asteraceae, the most species-rich family of flowering plants, includes numerous wild species most of which are consumed as vegetables and are rich in bioactive compounds. Radical scavenging, antibacterial, and phytotoxic activity and phenolic content of some Mediterranean Asteraceae species, Calendula arvensis, Cichorium intybus subsp. intybus, Glebionis coronaria, Scolymus hispanicus, and Tragopogon porrifolius subsp. longirostris, were investigated. C. intybus, G. coronaria, and S. hispanicus extracts have higher 2,2-diphenyl-1-picril-hydrazyl radical scavenging activity, than that of the others (p<0.05). The highest superoxide radical scavenging activity and the highest gallic acid equivalent total phenolic content were detected in G. coronaria extract. The highest catechin equivalent total flavonoid content was found in C. intybus and S. hispanicus extracts, respectively. High performance liquid chromatography analyses showed that the extracts contained different levels of phenolic acids and quercetin. C. intybus, S. hispanicus, and T. porrifolius extracts inhibited the growth of both gram-positive bacteria: Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative bacteria: Salmonella enterica subp. enterica and Escherichia coli. (Minimal inhibitory concentration = 4 4 mg mL1). All the concentrations of gallic acid (as a positive control presumably) and 4 g L1 concentrations of C. arvensis, S. hispanicus and T. porrifolius extracts showed severe inhibition on garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.) seedlings. The plants aforementioned should be taken into account since they not only bear the potential of phytotoxic activity but also are antibacterial agents.