Evaluation of volatile and phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity of different parts of Ferulago angulata (schlecht.) Boiss

Abstract

Different parts of the medicinal plants have different capacities for the production of natural compounds, and knowledge of which part of plant has high natural compounds content is necessary. So, the phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of various parts of Ferulago angulata, collected from Sepidan in Fars Province, Iran, were investigated. The results indicated the highest yield of essential oil was related to the unripe seed (4.95%), while and the leaf had the lowest yield of essential oil (0.4%). The analysis of compounds of the essential oil revealed that the main components included α-pinene (23.30–45.63%), limonene (7–34%), linalool (3.40%–19.30%), and sabinene (4.35–13.70%). Limonene was the main compound in the essential oil of leaf, unripe and ripe seed, and α-pinene was the main component in the stem and flower parts. The results showed that the highest amount of total phenolic and flavonoid was obtained in the unripe seed (146.31 mg GAE/g and 18.46 mg QE /g of extract), and the leaf had the lowest phenolic and flavonoid contents (63.66 mg GAE/g and 5.49 mg QE/g of extract). The investigation of antioxidant activity revealed that the highest and lowest activities were achieved in the unripe seed and leaf as IC50=162 and 999 μg/mL, respectively. The analysis of phenolic acids by HPLC-PDA demonstrated that the main phenolic acids included vanillic acid, ferulic acid, cichoric acid, and gallic acid as (18.64% in the leaves and 17.25% in the unripe seed), (7.11% in the flowers), (16.80% in the leaves), and (4.82% in the stems), respectively. Generally, the unripe seed of F. angulata was the best parts in terms of essential oil yield, antioxidant capacity, and phenolic compounds. Therefore, F. angulata can be harvested in the seeding stage to be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.