Two-spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Arac.: Tetranychidae), is an economic pest worldwide including Turkey, causing serious damage to vegetables, flowers, and fruit crops. In recent years, broad-spectrum insecticides/miticides have been used to control this pest in Turkey. Control is difficult mainly due to resistance to conventional pesticides. This study was conducted to determine efficacy of pesticides extracted from five different plants [i.e., Allium sativum L. (Amaryllidaceae), Rhododendron luteum S. (Ericaceae), Helichrysum arenarium L. (Asteraceae), Veratrum album L. (Liliaceae), and Tanacetum parthenium L. (Asteraceae)] against this mite. Bioassays were tested by two different methods to determine the effects of varying concentrations. Experiments were performed using 3 cm diameter leaf disk from unsprayed bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). In addition, the effects of the extracts on reproduction and oviposition were investigated. The extract yielded high mortality. In the lowest-concentration bioassays, the adult mites laid lower numbers of eggs compared to the untreated control. No ovicidal effect was observed.

The genus Ballota L. (Lamiaceae) consists of about 33 species growing mainly in the Mediterranean region. In Turkey the genus Ballota is represented by eleven species, six subspecies, ten of which are endemic (1). Ballota saxatilis subsp. saxatilis Sieber ex J. & C. Presi. is distributed in Central Anatolia and has not been investigated before. The leaves and the tops of the plant are used for colic, asthma, influenza, insomnia, and haemorrhoids (2). The infusions prepared from the leaves are reported to possess antiulcer, antispasmodic, and sedative activities (3). Flowered aerial parts, and their aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts are widely used in European medicine for their neurosedative activities (4, 5).

The flavonoids kumatakenin (1), pachypodol (2), 5-hydroxy-7,3',4'-trimethoxyflavone (3), velutin (4), salvigenin (5), retusin (6) and corymbosin (7) have been isolated from the aerial parts of Ballota glandulosissima Hub.-Mor & Patzak. Among them, 2-4 and 7 have not been reported previously in the genus Ballota. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of 1-4 and 6 were tested against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus faecalis, Echerichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Candida galabrata.

Ethanol extracts from 6 species representing six different families, used in traditional medicine in Turkey were evaluated for their antioxidant activities. The inhibition of superoxide anion formation and lipid peroxidation levels of Ononis spinosa, Centranthus longiflorus, Lythrum salicaria, Plantago major, Juglans regia and Teucrium polium extracts were tested using in vitro standard procedures and IC 50 values were determined. In vitro tests included superoxide anion radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation. All ethanol extracts of plants showed concentration-dependent superoxide anion radical scavenging activity. The results of the superoxide anion formation assay showed that the ethanol extract of Centranthus longiflorus was found to be most potent inhibitor (IC 50 0.77 mg/ml) and followed by Plantago major (IC 50 1.21 mg/ml), Juglans regia (IC 50 1.39 mg/ml), Ononis spinosa (IC 50 1.35 mg/ml), Teucrium polium (IC 50 3.10 mg/ml) and Lythrum salicaria (IC 50 5.00 mg/ml). All the extracts, excluding Ononis spinosa and Teucrium polium, showed concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation. IC 50 values of the effective ethanol extracts of plants on lipid peroxidation were as follows: Juglans regia (IC 50 3.3 mg/ml), Plantago major (IC 50 3.4 mg/ml), Centranthus longiflorus (IC 50 3.9 mg/ml) and Lythrum salicaria (IC50 5.3 mg/ml). The results showed that Centranthus longiflorus, Plantago major and Juglans regia extracts had the highest antioxidant capacities among the six species examined.

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