Determination of essential oil contents and biological activities of some Mentha longifolia ssp. species

Aim: In this thesis, it was aimed to determine the composition of essential oils of Mentha longifolia (L.) HUDSON subsp. typhoides (BRIQ.) HARLEY var. typhoides (L.) HUDSON samples collected from different localities and to evaluate the antioxidant, enzymatic inhibition and other biological activities of these samples. Materials and Methods: Essential oils of N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N6, N7, N8, N9 and N10 samples of Mentha longifolia subsp. typhoides var. typhoides collected from different localities were obtained by hydrodistillation method. The composition of the essential oils was determined by GC-MS/FID. DPPH, CUPRAC and ABTS methods were used for antioxidant activities and anticholinesterase (AChE and BChE inhibitors), tyrosinase, urease, elastase and collagenase enzyme activities were evaluated. Results: According to the results of GC-MS analysis of the samples, it was determined that the essential oil contents of the samples collected from different localities of the same species were partially different. The major components of the collected samples were eucalyptol (28.43-0.61%), l-menthone (25.19-0.62%) and pulegone (31.76- 1.06%). The antioxidant capacities of all samples collected from different localities of the species were found to be moderate and the enzyme activities of AChE, urease, tyrosinase and elastase were low. Collagenase and α-glucosidase enzyme activities of all samples studied were found to be quite high. N10 sample was highly active in collagenase (%inhibition: 99.61 ± 1.35) and α-glucosidase (%inhibition: 96.70 ± 1.78) enzyme activities. 4 Conclusion: In this study, the essential oil contents and biological activities of Mentha longifolia subsp. typhoides var. typhoides samples collected from different localities were determined. It was determined that the samples collected from different localities showed differences in terms of both chemical content and biological activity. The collagenase and α-glucosidase enzyme potentials of the samples were revealed to be an interesting research area in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Key words: M. longifolia subsp. typhoides var. typhoides, volatile oil, GC-MS, pulegone, biological activity, antioxidant activity