Biological Screening of Traditional Medicinal Plants from Villages of Akkuş (Ordu) in Turkey on the Effects of Tyrosinase
Merve Badem
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Nuriye Korkmaz *
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Sıla Ozlem Sener
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Seyda Kanbolat
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Ufuk Ozgen
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Serhat Sevgi
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Rezzan Aliyazicioglu
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
Maksut Coskun
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In the present study, ethnomedicinal uses of the plants naturally growing in 35 villages of Akkuş District have been determined. Informations about the uses of the plants have been obtained from villagers using a questionnaire. At the end of the identification of the plants collected from villages, 58 taxa belong to 32 families have been determined. Furthermore, tyrosinase enzyme activity studies of methanolic extracts of all the species carried out spectroscopicallly. Eventually, the plants has been demonstrated to be used as folk medicine, food animal feed, ornamental, stuff, dyeing, odour, insecticide and fishing. According to the biological screening studies, some species have been indicated to have inhibitory effect, but the others have activator effect on tyrosinase enzyme.
Keywords: Akkuş, biological screning, ethnomedicinal, folk medicine, tyrosinase enzyme