Pharmacognostical studies on origanum minutiflorum O. Schwarz et P.H. Davis

In this thesis, it is aimed to prepare a monograph of Origanum minutiflorum O. Schwarz et P.H. Davis, an endemic species with commercial importance in Turkey, in the format of European Pharmacopoeia and investigate in vitro inhibition of lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase and matrix metalloproteinase-9 enzymes of extracts and essential oil prepared from aerial parts using activity guided assay. Extracts were prepared 70 % ethanol and fractionated by liquid-liquid extraction. Since etyl acetate extract showed higher inhibition compared to other extracts on cyclooxygenase enzymes, it was fractionated by column chromatography. Fractions with large amonut showed higher inhibition % than ethyl acetate extract. Some chemical composition of the extracts and the fractions that show high inhibition on enzymes were determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry. Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation method was analyzed by Gas Chromatography and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. The essential oil showed low inhibition on lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase and matrix metalloproteinase-9 enzymes. Keywords: Origanum minutiflorum, Monograph, Lipoxygenase, Cyclooxygenase, Matrix metalloproteinase-9