Teucrium

A new species of Teucrium L., Teucrium aladagense Vural & H.Duman, is described from Aladağ mountain, located in Adana,
Kayseri, and Niğde provinces in Turkey. The species belongs to Teucrium L. sect. Stachyobotrys Benth. A description, distribution
map, habitat, information on trichome morphology, and the threatened category of the species are provided. The differences between
the new species and its allies T. lamiifolium d’Urv s.l. and T. hircanicum L. are discussed, and an identification key is provided for the
identification of similar taxa.

A new species of Teucrium L. from Southeast Anatolia (Turkey), Teucrium sirnakense Özcan & Dirmenci, is described and
illustrated. The new species belongs to the sect. Scordium Boiss. and is closely related to Teucrium melissoides Boiss. & Hausskn. and
Teucrium scordium L. s.l. The differences between the new species and its allies are discussed. A description, distribution map, ITS
nrDNA phylogeny, and taxonomic comments on the new species are provided.

Teucrium L. is one of the well-known genus for botanists and it belongs to Section Scordium Boiss. of Lamiaceae which is represented by a single species, T. scordium L. in Turkey. An interesting Teucrium specimen has been collected from south-east Turkey, Şırnak. The specimen was identified as Teucrium melissoides Boiss. & Hausskn. ex Boiss. The species is a new record for the Flora of Turkey and it is closely allied to T. scordium L. The type specimen of the taxon has been examined at G herbarium alongside other specimens of the taxon and photographed. The descriptions of the species given in both Boissier and Rechinger have been revised and it is enlarged by giving the measurements of various characters here. A photograph of the type specimen and the Turkish material taken from field has been supplied with a map.

Leaf indumentum and nutlet surface micromorphology of 13 taxa belonging to the Teucrium sect. Teucrium was studied with
a scanning electron microscope. We observed 5 trichome types on the nutlets and 8 trichome types on the leaves. Branched trichomes
were not found on the nutlets. Nutlet shapes of the taxa were elliptic, obovate, oblong, or rotund, and their surfaces were generally
alveolate with different ornamentations. Some nutlets had longitudinal ridges. The indumentum varied among unrelated species and
showed some significant similarities within related species. In Flora of Turkey sect. Teucrium was divided into 2 groups according to leaf
fragmentation and other morphological characters. The current study supports this grouping. The indumentum types on nutlets and
leaves have a high taxonomical value for the species of the genus.

The synopsis of the genus Teucrium L. in the fl ora of the Caucasus is given. Two new species — T. caucasigenum Melnikov sp. nova, and T. novorossicum Melnikov sp. nova — and two new varieties — T. krymense Juz. var. tamanicum Melnikov var. nova, and T. multinodum (Bordz.) Juz. var. aragvense Melnikov var. nova — are described. The lectotype of T. orientale L. var. glabrescens Hausskn. ex Bornm. is designated.

This study presents investigations on the morphological, anatomical, karyological and ecological features a perennial shrubby species Teucrium microphyllum Desf., belonging to Sect. Chamaedrys (Mill.) Schreb., endemic to Central and South Aegean Islands and Southwest Anatolia. Description of T. microphyllum was expanded. The morphological features indumentum of stem, leaf, calyx and corolla were determined using stereo-microscope and scanning electron microscope. Cross-sections of stem and leaf was taken using razor by manually. Stem is rectangular and has 4-5-layered collenchyma in the corners. Leaf is bifacial. There are 2(-3)-layered palisade parenchyma and spongy parenchyma has 2-4 layers. Chromosome number was determined with using squash preparation method and the somatic chromosome number was found as 2n = 30. The basic chromosome number of the species was x = 15. The karyotype formula of this species consists of fifteen median chromosome pairs. The soil samples were collecte...

Teucrium polium is an analgesic, antidiabetic and antilipeidemic herbal medicament. The aim of this survey was to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract T. polium on liver enzymes linked to liver dysfunction, serum lipids and glucose, in diabetic male rats. A total of 20 Sprague-Dawly male rats became diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). the animals were divided randomly into two groups. Experimental group was fed Teucrium polium (50 mg/kg) for a month but control group was received the same volume of distilled water. Liver enzymes, biochemical parameters (cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein, alanine transaminase, aspartae transaminase) and glucose were measured by kinetic (Enzymatic) and colorimetric methods. Data obtained were analyzed and mean values were compared by paired student's t-test. The results were expressed as mean +/- SD. Significant differences were set at P < 0.05. Our results showed that in test group, serum gluc...

The aim of the study was to explore the traditional antispasmodic use of Teucrium stocksianum on scientific grounds, and preliminary screen the specie for phytochemical constituents. Crude methanolic extract of aerial parts of Teucrium stocksianum (Ts.Cr) was studied for possible relaxant effects on spontaneous rabbits' jejunum preparations at concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/ml. Effects of Ts.Cr was also studied on 80 mM KCl-induced contractions to find out possible mechanism as antispasmodic. Calcium chloride curves were constructed in the presence and absence of Ts.Cr at different concentrations in decalcified rabbits' jejunum preparations and were compared with curves of verapamil. Plant was also screened for different classes of phytochemicals. The plant gave positive tests for the presence of different classes of phytochemicals like carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and sterols. It gave negative tests for...

This work deals with the evaluation of in vitro antioxidant, DNA preventing and antiamoebic activities of the water extracts of Teucrium polium and Stachys iberica. In all systems, T. polium extract exhibited excellent activity potential than that of S. iberica. The amount of total phenolics and flavonoids were high in this extract. In the presence of 40 mg/ml T. polium extract, a significant protection was observed for native super coiled DNA of pBR322 plasmid DNA. In the presence of 32 mg/ml of T. polium extract, no trophozoite was after the 24th hour.The addition of 40 mg/ml Teucrium polium extract to the reaction mixture conferred the significant protection to the damage of native supercoiled DNA (lane 7).

The chemical composition and antioxidant activity of different extracts (diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) obtained from Teucrium species (T. chamaedrys, T. montanum, T. polium) were investigated in this work. Phytochemical screening of the plant extracts proved the presence of flavonoids luteolin, apigenin and/or diosmetin. The chemical composition of extracts was evaluated by HPLC and spectrophotometry. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated using three complementary in vitro assays: inhibition of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical, inhibition of hydroxyl radicals and protection of beta-carotene-linoleic acid model system. In the first two assays, strong inhibitory activity was shown by T. montanum and T. chamaedrys extracts. In the beta-carotene-linoleic acid model system, extracts from T. polium showed remarkable activity. These findings demonstrated that Teucrium species possess free radical and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity as well as ...

A neo-clerodane type diterpenoid, 12(S)-15,16-epoxy-19-hydroxy-neo-cleroda-13(16),14-dien-18,6alpha:20,12-diolide, and two phenylethanoid glycosides, teucrioside-3(IIII)-O-methylether and teucrioside-3(IIII),4(IIII)-O-dimethylether were isolated from the aerial parts of Teucrium chamaedrys. Their structures were identified on the basis of extensive NMR spectra, LC-ESIMS analysis, and molecular modeling studies.

The chemical composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of Teucrium polium ssp. capitatum collected during the flowering period from rocky places and dry pastures, (Serbia, Nis, Kamenica), and dunes along the sea-side, (Bulgaria, Burgas, Primorsko) has been studied by GC and GC/MS. The identified compounds, 45 for the oil from Serbia and 44 for that from Bulgaria, amounted to 97.3% and 96.4% of the oils, respectively. The dominant constituents of the Serbian oil were sesquiterpenes {59.6%, the most abundant components being germacrene D (31.8%), trans-caryophyllene (8.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.2%)}, while monoterpenes accounted for 37.5% {the most abundant components being linalool (14.0%) and beta-pinene (10.7%)}. The essential oil from Bulgaria was characterized by a high percentage of monoterpenes, amounting to 62.9% {the most abundant components being beta-pinene (26.8%), alpha-pinene (9.3%) and limonene (6.4%)}, while sesquiterpenes accounted for 33.5% (the most ab...

The population structure of the edible Atlanto-Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus is described by analysing sequence variation in a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I in 127 individuals from 12 localities across south-west Europe. The study revealed high levels of genetic diversity but low levels of genetic structure, suggesting a large degree of gene flow between populations and panmixis within each, the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins. However, we found significant genetic differentiation between the two basins probably due to restricted gene flow across the geographical boundary imposed by the area of the Strait of Gibraltar. Populations of P. lividus appeared to have experienced a recent demographic expansion in the late Pleistocene. We provide new evidence on the population structure of this commercial species, predicting a healthy stock of this sea urchin on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.

The chemical composition and antioxidant activity of different extracts (diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) obtained from Teucrium species (T. chamaedrys, T. montanum, T. polium) were investigated in this work. Phytochemical screening of the plant extracts proved the presence of flavonoids luteolin, apigenin and/or diosmetin. The chemical composition of extracts was evaluated by HPLC and spectrophotometry. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated using three complementary in vitro assays: inhibition of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical, inhibition of hydroxyl radicals and protection of beta-carotene-linoleic acid model system. In the first two assays, strong inhibitory activity was shown by T. montanum and T. chamaedrys extracts. In the beta-carotene-linoleic acid model system, extracts from T. polium showed remarkable activity. These findings demonstrated that Teucrium species possess free radical and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity as well as ...

Background Medicinal plants are used for the treatment of different diseases in almost all cultures. Teucrium species grow wildly at different geographical locations around the world. Teucrium stocksianum is used in folk medicine for the treatment of diarrhea, cough, jaundice and abdominal pain. Scientific study on Teucrium stocksianum shows that it possesses anthelmintic, cytotoxic and antispasmodic activity. The aim of our present study is to identify the chemical composition and antinociceptive potential of the essential oil extracted from Teucrium stocksianum bioss. Method Essential oil (EO) from the aerial parts of Teucrium stocksianum were extracted by hydrodistillation process. The qualitative and quantitative composition of essential oil was determined with Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometer. Antinociceptive activity was determined by acetic acid induced writhing method. Percent inhibition of writhes of the test concentration was determined by comparing it with that of con...

The chemical composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of Teucrium polium ssp. capitatum collected during the flowering period from rocky places and dry pastures, (Serbia, Nis, Kamenica), and dunes along the sea-side, (Bulgaria, Burgas, Primorsko) has been studied by GC and GC/MS. The identified compounds, 45 for the oil from Serbia and 44 for that from Bulgaria, amounted to 97.3% and 96.4% of the oils, respectively. The dominant constituents of the Serbian oil were sesquiterpenes {59.6%, the most abundant components being germacrene D (31.8%), trans-caryophyllene (8.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.2%)}, while monoterpenes accounted for 37.5% {the most abundant components being linalool (14.0%) and beta-pinene (10.7%)}. The essential oil from Bulgaria was characterized by a high percentage of monoterpenes, amounting to 62.9% {the most abundant components being beta-pinene (26.8%), alpha-pinene (9.3%) and limonene (6.4%)}, while sesquiterpenes accounted for 33.5% (the most ab...