CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIBACTERIAL EVALUATION OF THE ESSENTIAL OILS OF FERULAGO AUCHERI BOISS. FROM DIFFERENT LOCALITIES

Abstract

Air dried and crushed fruits of Ferulago aucheri Boiss. (Apiaceae) from Southern and Western regions of Turkey were subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain essential oils, which were subsequently analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. Seventy seven compounds representing 95.9% and 127 compounds representing 86.5% of the fruit oils have been characterized for samples of F. aucheri from Antalya (oil A) and Manisa (oil B) provinces, respectively. Monoterpenes comprised 83.6% of the oil A with limonene (43.1%), alpha-pinene (18.3%) and myrcene (7.0%) as major constituents. Sesquiterpenes (72.7%) prevailed in the oil B, with germacrene D (25.7%) and (2E,6E)-farnesol (8.0%) as major constituents. Both essential oils were also evaluated for their antibacterial activity against eight Gram (+) and Gram (-) strains by microdilution method. The oils displayed moderate to weak inhibitory activity (MIC 0.25-3 mg/mL). The oils were found to be the most active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa when compared with antimicrobial standards. Antibacterial activity of the oils appeared non-selective when comparing Gram (+) and Gram (-) strains.