Recording insect death and essential oil composition of Ferula communis L. flowers in Al Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Natural bioactive compounds, which occur in aromatic plants, are now more widely recognized. The aromatic plant family Apiaceae, which has various bioactivities and chemical compositions, includes Ferula communis L. The authors planned frequent field expeditions to two locations where Ferula communis L. grows, Hassat Al-Dab and Almotadal, which are close to the Al Ula Government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The flowers of Ferula communis L. were cut and dried for hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. During the flowering season of Ferula communis L., some insects were found dead on the flowers; Simosyrphus aegyptius, Colletes latreille, and Apis mellifera. GC-MS techniques were used to analyze the essential oils (Eos) of the Ferula communis L. flower obtained by hydrodistillation. Forty-two compounds were identified in the total essential oils. Oxygenated and hydrocarbon sesquiterpenes were the most dominant class of compounds in the flower oils. The main representatives of these groups were dihydrodehydrocostus lactone (15.0%), α-acorenol (8.4%), α-eudesmol (7.1%), eudesma-4, 11-dien-2-ol (5.3%), elemol (4.9%), aristolene (4%), γ-elemene (3.8%), epi-cedrol (3.5), and β-eudesmol (3.4%), respectively, as the most abundant components. Besides the sesquiterpene derivatives, an active constituent oxygenated monoterpene was obtained from the essential oil and identified as 4-(3,3-dimethyl-but-1-ynyl)-4-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-enone (4.6%). The study concluded that the flowers of Ferula communis L. and its essential oil would be good candidates as biopesticides.