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 discdiffusion 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 Gramnegative 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 (IC 50 ) in the range of 588 § 0.86 mg/mL to 2190 § 1.73 mg/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.

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This paper covers studies on the molecular and ecological aspects of G. glabra var. glandulifera, G. flavescens ssp. flavescens and G. echinata collected from Hatay (Turkey); with the aim to better understand their genetic variation and ecological requirements for possible conservation programs. The material including total genomic DNA was extracted by the CTAB, and for PCR reaction, a total of 14 SSR primers developed for Medicago truncatula were used. PCR amplifications were performed in a Multigen Thermal Cycler. Soil samples were analysed for their texture, pH, total soluble salts, calcium carbonate, total N content, total phosphorus and organic matter content. In order to see the association between genetic, ecological and geographical data, a similarity matrix was generated. Genetic similarity distances between genotypes were correlated with those of Eucledian distances obtained from ecological and geographical data. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was performed using GenAlEx 6.5 software to determine variation among and within genetic variations. The genetic analysis showed that the highest expected heterozygosity values were obtained from G. glabra while the lowest were obtained from G. echinata. In general heterozygosity values were low, especially for G. echinata. Therefore, variation appears to be lower within each species than among three species. The physical and chemical analysis of soil and plant samples indicates that mineral accumulation in plants is substantially affected by the soil characteristics. There is a need for identification of better strategies for the improvement of varieties, especially for small farmers managing marginal soils. More studies should be conducted in order to safeguard these taxa, especially G. glabra var. glandulifera which is collected intensively due to its economic value, the same is true for endemic taxon G. flavescens ssp. flavescens.

Heavy metal accumulation in medicinal plants has increased dramatically in recent years due to agricultural and industrial activities leading to pollution of natural sources. This study is focused on the concentration of trace elements and heavy metals in aboveground parts of 33 medicinal plants from the Eastern Mediterranean of Turkey. Results showed that the Al concentrations varied between 4.368 and 1104.627, the B level varied between 47.850 and 271.479, Ca values ranged between 1971.213 and 22,642.895, Cd concentrations ranged between 0.011 and 0.651, Cr contents varied between 1.371 and 41.692, Cu values varied between 13.278 and 42.586, Fe concentrations varied between 20.705 and 1276.783, K levels ranged between 652.143 and 14,440.946, Mg concentrations varied from 336.871 to 1869.486, Mn contents varied between 46.383 and 849.492, Na concentrations varied between 167.144 and 3401.252, Ni values varied between 0.065 and 9.968, Pb levels ranged between 1.311 and 16.238, and Zn concentrations ranged between 67.250 and 281.954 mg kg −1 , respectively. Furthermore, Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) values for trace elements and estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI) for heavy metals were calculated. The concentrations of heavy metals in some studied plants distributed in industrial and mining regions were found as slightly higher than the acceptable limits determined by WHO. Consequently, in order to prevent this heavy metal accumulation, when collecting medicinal aromatic plants, rural areas, close to clean rivers, or mountainous areas should be preferred, away from highway, mining, and industrial areas.

The genus Adonis L. is a member of Ranunculaceae and consists of perennial and annual herbaceous plants included in the tribe Adonideae under the subfamily Ranunculoideae. Botanically, Ranunculaceae comprises vital medicinal plants. Molecular markers are one of the most effective tools for exploring genetic variation that can enhance breeding efficiency. To identify the genetic diversity of 62 Adonis ecotypes collected from different regions in Turkey, the interprimer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposon system was used. Of the 83 iPBS primers used, 10 provided sufficient polymorphic data, generating a total of 204 alleles. The number of iPBS bands per individual was 3.29, and the number of alleles per polymorphic locus ranged from 8 to 35, with an average of 20.30. The average polymorphism percentage was 99.50%, and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.16 to 0.39. The highest average number of alleles, Nei's genetic diversity (h), and Shannon's information index (I) were obtained from A. volgensis species (1.64, 0.39, and 0.58, respectively), whereas the lowest values (1.41, 0.29, and 0.46, respectively) were found in A. flammea species. The analysis of molecular variance revealed significant variance within the population (71%), whereas no significant genetic variation was observed among the different species (29%). Cluster analysis according to unweighted pair-group mean average (UPGMA) divided 62 Adonis ecotypes into four major clusters. According to the principal coordinate analysis, the first three principal coordinates accounted for 81.51% of total variation. Genetic structure analysis of the studied germplasm using the Bayesian method revealed four subpopulations with an average of 0.2634 for expected heterozygosity and 0.2154 for population differentiation measurements. The results of this study suggested that iPBS markers could be used in the identification of genetic diversity among the Adonis species.