In this study, the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of root methanolic extracts of Glycyrrhiza glabra var. glandulifera (Waldst. & Kit.) Boiss. (Fabaceae) were investigated. Plant samples were collected from different habitats in the East Mediterranean part of Turkey. The plant extracts were evaluated for antimicrobial activities against nine bacterial and two yeast strains using disc-diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration methods. The antioxidant activity was determined by using the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method. The antimicrobial assays indicated that the plant root extracts were more effective against Gram-positive bacteria than against Gram-negative ones. In addition, the extracts had higher antimicrobial effect against Candida species than against bacteria. The extracts showed good antioxidant activity, with a median inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) in the range of 588 ± 0.86 µg/mL to 2190 ± 1.73 µg/mL. Results indicated that different environmental conditions in each habitat might affect the contents of chemical compounds and biological activity in the natural licorice populations of. This study also supported the traditional use of licorice and as well as suggested that it may also be its beneficial role in the treatment of other infections. The obtained results indicated that different environmental conditions in each habitat might affect the contents of chemical compounds and the biological activity in the natural licorice populations.

The growth and quality of licorice depend on various environmental factors, including the local climate and soil properties; therefore, its cultivation is often unsuccessful. The current study investigated the key factors that affect the contents of bioactive compounds of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. root and estimated suitable growth zones from collection sites in the Hatay region of Turkey. The contents of three bioactive compounds (glycyrrhizic acid, glabridin, and liquiritin), soil factors (pH, soil bearing capacity, and moisture content), and geographical information (slope, aspect, curvature, elevation, and hillshade) were measured. Meteorological data (temperature and precipitation) were also obtained. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were performed on the data. The soil bearing capacity, moisture content, slope, aspect, curvature, and elevation of the study area showed statistically significant effects on the glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritin contents. A habitat suitability zone map was generated using a GIS-based frequency ratio (FR) model with spatial correlations to the soil, topographical, and meteorological data. The final map categorized the study area into four zones: very high (15.14%), high (31.50%), moderate (40.25%), and low suitability (13.11%). High suitability zones are recommended for further investigation and future cultivation of G. glabra.

Medicinal plants have been used throughout history in the treatment of many diseases in traditional Anatolian folk medicine as well as all over the world. The rapid increase in agricultural and industrial activities due to the increasing population around the world causes air, water and soil pollution, and accumulation of potentially toxic elements in medicinal plants. In this study, plant mineral nutrients and potentially toxic elements analyzes were carried out in 38 plant species belonging to the medicinally important families Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae. The percentage of macroelements (in %) varies between 0.20 and 1.46 for calcium, 0.08 and 1.35 for potassium, 0.04 and 0.24 for magnesium, 0.01 and 0.34 for sodium, while concentrations of microelements and potentially toxic elements (in mg kg⁻¹) vary between 3.21 and 721.28 for aluminum, 41.33 and 231.01 for boron, 0.01 and 0.61 for cadmium, 1.09 and 47.79 for chromium, 12.90 and 43.13 for copper, 17.75 and 1109.39 for iron, 51.50 and 715.48 for manganese, 0.12 and 9.42 for nickel, 1.58 and 22.11 for lead and finally 80.82 and 260.08 for zinc. In addition, estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI) for potentially toxic elements, and Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) values for mineral nutrients were calculated. In some samples in industrial and mining areas, accumulation of some potentially toxic elements was slightly above the permissible limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Summary, the importance of collecting medicinal plants from protected areas such as mountainous rural areas, far from mining, close to clean rivers, and regular control of values with potentially toxic elements analyzes for human health has been understood once again.