Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) and terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus L.) are two important spice plants of south eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Nutrients, physical properties including moisture, ash, dry matter, protein, fatty oil and essential oil content, along with Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn and characteristics of fruit sizes and fatty acid compositions of both plants were determined from ripe fruits. The free fatty acid content was determined in the fruit oil, and the main fatty acids of sumac and terebinth were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. They included oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids in a ratio of 37.7% and 34.8%, 27.4% and 17.3%, 21.1% and 21.7% and, 4.7% and 2.5%, respectively. The fruits of both plants were rich in oil, fatty acids and minerals, suggesting that they are valuable for using in food. The data may also be useful for the evaluation of nutritional information.

This study reports effects of three plant development stages (pre‐flowering, full flowering, and post‐flowering) of Oregano (Origanum onites) on plant height, fresh herbage yield, dry herbage yield, dry leaf yield, essential oil content, and essential oil yield. The results showed that the highest fresh, dry herbage, and dry leaf yield were obtained at the post‐flowering stage. However, dry leaf and essential oil yield showed a variation between 4.45–5.68 t ha ⁻¹ and 119.3–190.1 litre ha ⁻¹ , respectively. Essential oil content was significantly affected by plant development stages and the highest oil content (3.65%) was obtained at the full flowering stage. The major components of essential oil were determined as carvacrol (42.12–57.0%), thymol (13.21–21.88%), and linalool (8.23–20.28%).

The essential oil of hyssop is widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries throughout the world. Therefore, it is very important to know the chemical characteristics of the oil for economic use and enhanced performance of the end products. This study was carried out to determine antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Hyssopus officinalis (L.) (Lamiaceae) collected from wild in the Southeast Anatolian, Turkey. Chemical compositions of hydrodistilled essential oils obtained from hyssop leaves were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For antimicrobial activity, disc diffusion tests were carried out on Escherichia coli line ATCC25922, Pseudomonas aeroginosa line ATCC27853, Staphylococcus aureus line 25923, Staphylococcus pyogenes line ATCC19615 and Candida albicans line ATCC10231, and the antioxidant activity was determined by using the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging method. It was determined that hyssop essential oil contained isopinocamphone (57.27%), (-)-?-pinene (7.23%), (-)-terpinen-4-ol (7.13%), pinocarvone (6.49%), carvacrol (3.02%), p-cymene (2.81%) and myrtenal (2.32%) as major components. As shown by treatments with 5 and 10 ?l of oil; which exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against S. pyogenes, S. aureus, C. albicans and E. coli, but not against P. aeruginosa. The antioxidant activity of H. officinalis essential oil was lower compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid. These results demonstrated that hyssop essential oil has relatively low antioxidant activity and good antimicrobial activity against some test organisms.

Thymus is represented by 39 species (60 taxa) in Turkey and the rate of its endemism is 45% in Turkey. The herb is widely used for several purposes. Its essential oil compositions and biologically active substances are affected by the phenological stages. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the variations in the essential oil composition of Thymus × citriodorus (Pers.) Schreb. growing in Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey at different phenological stages (pre-flowering, full flowering, post flowering). The oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of air-dried samples. The yields of oils (w/w %) at different phenological stages was respectively 2.0% at pre-flowering state, 1.9% at flowering stage, and 1.3% at post-flowering stage. T. × citriodorus was determined mainly by using GC/MS. A total of 21 compounds, representing 93.9% in the pre-flowering stage, 98.8% in the flowering stage and 98.91% in post-flowering of the total oil, were identified. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (terpinolene) and oxygenated monoterpenes (α-terpineol) were observed to have the highest percentage in T. × citriodorus oil. The major compounds of the oil were terpinolene, α- terpineol, linalool, bornyl acetate and borneol. The highest percentage of terpinolene was determined to be 71% in flowering stages.

In the present study, seven thyme species Origanum onites, O. vulgare var. hirtum, O. vulgare var. gracile, O. syriacum, Satureja hortensis, Thymbra spicata, and Thymus vulgaris were used. The essential oils of these plants were obtained by the hydrodistillation method. Antimicrobial activities of the essential oils against microorganisms, including multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria, were investigated using the disc diffusion method. All the essential oils used in this study were very effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, which included multiple resistant strains. All essential oils tested were especially very effective against Streptococcus pyogenes. The maximum antimicrobial activity was observed with the essential oils of S. hortensis. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils varied depending on the species. In fact, the essential oils of some thyme species showed different levels of antimicrobial activities. The antioxidant activity results show that the percentage of inhibition values ranged from 28.32 to 94.55 %. Among essential oils, O. vulgare var. gracile oil showed the lowest antioxidant capacity (28.32 %), while S. hortensis showed the highest one (94.55 %). Generally, the data suggest that different thyme species oil possesses useful antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and may be utilized in the food industry and as a dietary supplement.

There are many folkloric uses of Thymbra spicata var. spicata. Very few thyme species are found in semi-arid climatic conditions. T. spicata is one among these which is not under cultivation anywhere. The essential oil of plant possesses high antibacterial and antioxidant properties due to presence of large amounts of phenolic components. The aim of this study was to verify the variation of essential oil and its composition among 12 different populations harvested every three hours in a day (from 06:00 to 21:00 h) along 24 hours for Thymbra spicata var. spicata on May 30, 2013. The essential oil of samples were analysed by GC-MS/FID. The results, proved that essential oil content of T. spicata var. spicata harvested at different times varied and ranged 2.02 to 5.04% such that the amount of essential oil content increased around noon (reaching its maximum at 12:00 h) followed by a decrease in afternoon hours. The essential oil of T. spicata var. spicata was analysed and a total of 20 components representing 89.57-99.14% of the oils were identified. The highest carvacrol content (70.87%) was obtained from 6.00 h harvest and the lowest one was obtained at 12.00 h harvest as 66.36%. Diurnal variation in p-cymene content was observed with maximum at 21:00 h harvest (6.89%) and minimum at 09:00 h (5.02%) harvest. γ-Terpinene content of essential oil was maximum when the plants were harvested at 12:00 h, while the lowest content was found when harvested at 06:00 h. Carvacrol content was highest in the morning harvest. The results suggest that high oil yield and carvacrol content vary according to the temperature and can be optimised by considering the harvest time of the plant during a day.