Evaluation of the chemical composition and biological activities of medicinal plants Alkanna tinctoria and Teucrium polium from Turkey

Abstract

Since ancient times, natural products from various plants have been used for the treatment of different diseases. Alkanna and Teucrium species have been considered medicinal plants and are used popularly around the world. So, investigating the pharmaceutical properties of these plants has been the subject of interest for many researchers. In this work, total phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxydant, antimicrobial activity and in vitro enzyme inhibition properties of Alkanna tinctoria and Teucrium polium ethanol and methanol extracts were investigated. Additionally, GC-MS analyses of oil composition of the plant extracts were performed and 21 different fatty acids were identified in A. tinctoria and 18 in T. polium. Palmitic acid was the major component in A. tinctoria and saturated fatty acids constitutes a large part of the oil composistion. On the other hand, linoleic acid was the major fatty acid in T. polium and unsaturated fatty acids constitutes a large part of the oil composition. According to the results, methanol was more effective than the ethanol for the extraction of bioactive components. Both of the extracts showed a good antioxidant activity and the inhibition of bacteria and yeasts. Slight inhibitory activity of A. tinctoria and protective action of T. polium on enzyme with other results indicate that these plant extracts have potential to control microorganisms which can be promising for food industry.

Keywords

• antimicrobial activity
• antioxidant activity
• alkanna tinctorial
• teucrium polium
• fatty acid