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A comprehensive ethnobotanical study has been conducted in Bayramic in the western part of Turkey. This paper includes folk medicinal plants and ethnopharmacological information obtained during this ethnobotanical study. The aim of this study is to collect and identify the plants used by the local people for therapeutic purposes and to reveal information about traditional herbal medicine. The materials of this study are the plant specimens collected during the fieldwork. The information was obtained through open and semi-structured interviews from the local people. In addition, cultural importance index (CI), medicinal importance index (MI) and use report (UR) were calculated. Eighty-nine folk medicinal plants belonging to 39 families were identified in this study. Among them, 71 species are wild, and 18 species are cultivated plants. The most common families are Lamiaceae (25%), Rosaceae (9.1%) and Asteraceae (9.1%). Consequently, 192 medicinal uses (remedies) belonging to 89 taxa were recorded. According to the use reports (UR), the most important medicinal plants were Allium sativum (92 UR), Lavandula stoechas subsp. stoechas (89 UR), Vitex agnus-castus (89 UR), Pinus brutia (87 UR), Olea europaea subsp. europaea (83 UR), Sideritis trojana (83 UR) and Cydonia oblonga (80 UR). Infusion (53.4%) is the most common preparation method in the research area. Traditional folk remedies are still important and used in therapy, especially in the villages in mountainous areas.

Tragopogon dubius and Tussilago farfara are consumed as vegetables and used in folk medicine to manage common diseases. Herein, the chemical compositions and biological activities of different leaf extracts (ethyl acetate, methanol, and water) of T. dubius and T. farfara were evaluated. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant abilities of the extracts were tested using different assays including free radical scavenging, reducing power, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelating assays. Enzyme inhibitory potentials were evaluated against cholinesterases, tyrosinase, α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Complexes of bioactive compounds (chlorogenic and rosmarinic acid) were docked into the enzymatic cavity of α-glucosidase and subjected to molecular dynamic calculation, enzyme conformational stability, and flexibility analysis. T. dubius and T. farfara extracts showed remarkable antioxidant potentials. Ethyl acetate extracts of T. dubius and T. farfara were the most potent inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. T. dubius ethyl acetate extract and T. farfara methanolic extract showed noteworthy activity against α-glucosidase. High performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the abundance of some phenolic compounds including chlorogenic and rosmarinic acids. Ethyl acetate extract of T. dubius showed notable antifungal activity against all strains. Docking studies showed best pose for chlorogenic acid was stabilized by a network of hydrogen bonds with residues Asp1157, Asp1279, whereas rosmarinic acid showed several hydrogen bonds with Asp1157, Asp1420, Asp1526, Lys1460 and Trp1369. This study further validates the use of T. dubius and T. farfara in traditional medicine, as well as act as a stimulus for further studies for future biomedicine development. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Medicinal and wild food plants have always played an important role in people's lives especially in rural areas. Similar situation can be said for islands due to the reason of them being isolated from mainland. This paper reports an ethnobotanical investigations performed in 2009 and 2014 to determine medicinal and wild food plants of Marmara Island. A total of 30 individuals were interviewed (19 men, 11 women). Totally, 22 plants are recorded as used as traditional folk medicine for the region, and nine of these are also used as a source of wild food. Furthermore, 18 taxa are wild sources of nutrition for the area. The plants most commonly used in the region as medicinal remedies were Salvia fruticosa, Hypericum perforatum, Ficus carica, and Mentha spicata. Plants are mostly used for the treatment of abdominal pain, the common cold, and haemorrhoids. The species most commonly used for food are: Salvia fruticosa, Arbutus unedo, Rhus coriaria, and Rubus sanctus. This ethnobotanical study conducted in this island will enable the traditional use of wild plants both as food sources and herbal remedies to be passed on to future generations.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ethanol extract from leaves of Myrtus communis subsp. communis (MC) on acetic acid (AA)‐induced ulcerative colitis in rats. On the fourth day of colitis induction, all rats were decapitated. Colitis was assessed by macroscopic and microscopic scores and by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, luminol, lucigenin, nitric oxid and peroxynitrite chemiluminescence (CL). Colitis caused significant increases in the colonic MDA levels, MPO activity, CL values, macroscopic and microscopic damage scores along with significant decrease in tissue GSH level. However, treatment with MC extract reversed all these biochemical indices, as well as histopathological alterations induced by AA with the protective effects being similar to that of sulphasalazine treatment. The study showed that MC extract could alleviate colitis in rats and can be considered an alternative therapeutic approach for management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Practical Applications Myrtus communis subsp. communis leaves are used as antihypertensive, antitussive, antiemetic, diuretic, antidiarrheic, cardiotonic, antidiabetic and anti‐inflammatory agents in folk medicine. This study revealed that the ethanol extract of the plant possesses significant anti‐inflammatory activity, confirming its traditional use.

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