Essential oil composition and antimicrobial, antioxidant activities of some Mongolian endemic plants from species Apiaceae

Abstract

Essential oil plants have been used for a long time in traditional medicine. The Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a cosmopolitan family. The family has about 35 species, 73 kibds in Mongolian region. The chemical composition of essential oil from Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Coriandrum sativum L., Anethum graveolens L., Cicuta virosa L. were determined by GC/MS-analysis. Among the 31 components obtained from Foeniculum vulgare Mill, α-phellandrene (9.56%), limonene (13.42%), anethol (51.32%) were found as major components. Fifteen components from the oil of Coriandrum sativum L. were identified and of those components, linalool, γ-terpinene and α-pinene as major constituents were obtained in yields of 60.70%, 14.50% and 10.39%, respectively. The oil from Anethum graveolens L. was characterized by its richness and it contains carvone (40.60%), α-phellandrene (21.03%) and limonene (10.39%) among the 13 components comprising of the total oil. β-Pinene (15.71%), geranyl acetate (15.48%), (Z)-β-ocimene (9.20%) among the 30 constituents found in the oil of Cicuta virosa L. were found to be the main components. Essential oils were investigated for activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtitilis by using an agar dilution method. Interestingly, Coriandrum sativum L. oil even showed more high antimicrobial activity against methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA4) strains. Antioxidative activities (IC50) of ethanol extracts from four Umbelliferae species have been studied by the DPPH (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging test. All the studied extracts showed antioxidant capability and Anethum graveolens L. extract exhibited the strongest activity. The scavenging activity of the extracts in decreasing order was: Anethum graveolens L. >Foeniculum vulgare Mill >Coriandrum sativum L. >Cicuta virosa L.