Evalution of the plant centaurea virgata LAM. in pharmacognostical way

In this study, C. virgata Lam., a plant which grows in East Anatolia in Turkey, has been investigated in four different projects. As the first project, in the botanical research the microscobical and anatomical features which would be useful for the identification of the plant and take place in a possible monograph are investigated. As the second project, the xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of the methanol extract and its subexracts (n-hexane, chloroform and remaining methanol:water) were investigated. Remarkable activity was exerted by the chloroform extract. Therefore constituents of this extract were analysed. VLC, CPC, PLC and crystallization of the compounds were used as purification steps, for isolation. Sesquiterpenes, cnicin, 8α-hydroxy sonchucarpolide and 8α-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methylene-butanoyloxy)-dehydromelitensine and flavones, apigenin, eupatorin, 3'-methyl eupatorin, salvigenin were identified. Flavones, apigenin, eupatorin, 3'- methyl eupatorin, hispidulin, salvigenin and flavonol isokaempheride were identified by LC-MS. Quantitative determination performed by LC-MS for the major compound eupatorin. The xanthine oxidase activity of pure compounds was investigated. Sesquiterpenes are inactive and the flavonoids containing 7-OMe group have no activity. However 7-OH flavones, such apigenin and hispidulin exerted significant XO inhibitory activity. The essential oil of the plant investigated by GC-MS analysis and the major compounds were found as: caryophyllene oxide % 6, pentacosane % 8.6, spathulenol % 9.1, dodecanoic acid % 15.8 ve hekzadecanoic acide % 17.8. As the last project, the chloroform extract and the isolated compound eupatorin used for synthesizing silver nanoparticle by green synthesis. The characterization of silver nanoparticles were done by Particle Size Distrubition, Zeta Potential, TEM, SEM, XRD, TGA, UV and FT-IR. The silver nanoparticles were investigated for their nitric oxide radical scavenging activity. It is found that nanoparticles have much more activity than before synthesis. This situation poses matter for medicine and cosmetic industry.