Determination of antimicrobial, antioxidant effects, aroma profile and some chemicalproperties of important herbs species added to Otlu cheese

In order to provide a specific flavor to the cheeses, wild cultivated herbs are generally used in traditionally manufacturing process of herby cheese around the Van province. In this study, in addition to the flavor composition, antioxidative and antimicrobial properties of the most popular herbs, namely Sirmo (Allium schoenoprasum L.), Mendi (Anthriscus nemorosa (Bieb.), Siyabo (Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke var.), Wild Mint (Mentha spicata L. Subsp. spicata) and Heliz (Ferula orientalis L. (Apiaceae) were investigated.According to the findings, ash and dietary fiber contents of the samples varied between %11,22 (Mendi) - %18,11 (Sirmo) and between %11,89 (Heliz) to %17,02 (Yabani Nane), respectively. The oil content of the herbs was lower than 0.3% which mainly composed of unsaturated fatty acids. It was found that the herbs investigated contain aroma compounds in a wide range. The number of the aroma compounds for Sirmo, Mendi, Siyabo, Wild Mint and Heliz was 66, 114, 105, 104 and 69, respectively.The remainder of the analysis was conducted on lyophilized samples. Total carotenoid content of the five herbs were significantly different (P<0,05). The highest carotenoid content was determined in Wild Mint (294,2 µg ß-caroten/g freze dried herb). The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the extracts which were prepared by different solvents (water, methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate) were determined. The methanol was found as the most powerfull solvent with regard to the extractability of the phenolic constituents. The highest total phenolic content was found in the methanolic extract of Heliz (15,4 µg gallic acid/g freeze dried herb). To determine the antioxidant capacities of the samples, DPPH and ABTS tests were conducted on the extracts prepared by different solvents. The highest radical scavenging capacity was observed with methanolic extracts. According to the results of the DPPH test, antioxidant capacity of the extracts obtained from herbs with different solvents were changed from higher to lower as Heliz, Mendi, Wild Mint, Sirmo and Siyabo. Among the herbs, radical scavenging power of the extracts from Heliz, except water extract, was the highest.Antimicrobial effect of the methanolic extracts of the herbs was determined by using to 11 different microorganism with broth dilution technique. Compared to the antimicrobial activity against to Gram negative bacteria and yeast, more inhibitory effect was observed for Gram positives. When the minimum inhibitory concentration of the extracts from 5 herbs was taken into account, it was determined that Heliz has the powerful effect on Gram positive bacterias followed by Siyabo.KEYWORDS: Herby cheese, wild herb, flavor, antioxidant, antimicrobial