Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil obtained from Ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum-resin: Effect of collection time

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.11.131

Food Chemistry

Volume 138, Issue 4, 15 June 2013, Pages 2180-2187

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.11.131 Get rights and content

Abstract

The properties of essential oils obtained from Ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum-resins (OGRs) collectioned in three collections times in 15 June (OGR1), 30 June (OGR2) and 15 July (OGR3) 2011 was investigated. Essential oil from OGR1 was constituted high levels of (E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (23.9%) and 10-epi-γ-eudesmol (15.1%). Essential oil from OGR2 was constituted high levels of (Z)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (27.7%) and (E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (20.3%). Essential oil from OGR3 was constituted high levels of β-pinene (47.1%) and α-pinene (21.3%). Inhibitory concentration (IC50) for radical scavenging were 0.012–0.035, 0.025–0.047 and 0.035–0.066 mg/ml of essential oil obtained from OGR1, OGR2 and OGR3, respectively. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi grpwth were 0.028–0.111, 0.027–0.107 and 0.018–0.058 mg/ml of essential oil obtained from OGR1, OGR2 and OGR3, respectively. Essential oils obtained from different OGRs have different composition and biological activity thus have different applications in food and health industry.

Highlights

► Essential oil from OGR1 contains high levels of acyclic sulfur-containing compounds. ► Essential oil from OGR1 shows the highest antioxidant and the lowest antimicrobial activities. ► Essential oil from OGR3 was contains high levels of bicyclic monoterpenes. ► Essential oil from OGR3 shows the lowest antioxidant and the highest antimicrobial activities.

Introduction

Essential oil (volatile oils) are aromatic oily liquids obtained from plant materials such flowers, herbs, buds, fruits, twigs, bark, seeds, wood, roots, resin, gum and latex. Essential oil components are chemically derived from terpenes and their oxygenated derivatives, which are aromatic and aliphatic acid, esters and phenolic comounds (Bakkali, Averbeck, Averbeck, & Idaomar, 2008). The percentage of the components of the essential oils varies among species and plants parts which indicated that depending on the species, climate, and altitude, time of collection and growth stage the composition of essential oils might be differed qualitavely and quantitavely (Bakkali et al., 2008, Solorzano-Santos and Miranda-Novales, 2012). Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from commonly consumed herbs, such as Citrus aurantium, C. limon, Lavandula angustifolia, Matricaria chamomilla, Mentha piperita, M. spica, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Salvia officinalis and Zataria multiflora and their main components have been evaluated in many countries (Solorzano-Santos & Miranda-Novales, 2012).

Ferula assa-foetida is a medicinal plant in the Apiaceae family. The plant is an herbaceous perennial with an unpleasant odour and is often considered to be the main source of oleo-gum-resin (OGR, a milky exudates from certain plants that coagulates on exposure to air) which has a characteristic sulfurous odour and bitter taste (Lee et al., 2009, Mahendra and Bisht, 2012). In traditional medicione the plant is used for the treatment of different diseases, such as asthma, epilepsy, stomachache, flatulence, intestinal parasites, weak digestion and influenza (Al-Jafari et al., 2012, Ross, 2005, Zellagui et al., 2012). The main constituent of OGR is essential oil which contains ferulic acid, sesquiterpene, sulfur-containing compounds, monoterpenes and other volatile terpenoids (Iranshahy and Iranshahi, 2011, Nazari and Iranshahi, 2011, Ross, 2005).

Although advances in chemical and pharmacological evaluation of F. assa-foetida have occurred in the recent past however, several useful feature of this plant have been remained unknown. In the present work, the OGRs from F. assa-foetida were collectioned in three times with 15 days intervals. Chemical compositions of the essential oils from OGRs were identified by Gas chromatography - Mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) scavenging activities of the essential oils obtained from different collections were examined using 2, 2′-azino-di (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS), sodium nitrite, H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde (MDA) scavenging effects, respectively. The essential oils from three collections were individually tested against two foodborne Gram-negative bacteria, two foodborne Gram-positive bacteria, and two fungi. In this study, we offered that essential oils obtained from different collections of F. assa-foetida OGRs have different chemical composition, radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities and thus different applications in food and health industry.

Section snippets

Chemicals and reagents

Sodium sulphate, gallic acid, quercetin, aluminium chloride, ascorbic acid, sodium citrate, sodium nitrite, ABTS, potassium persulfate, Griess reagent (naphthylethylenediamine, sulphanilamide, phosphoric acid), dimethysulfoxide (DMSO), malondialdehyde, thiobarbituric acid, H₂O₂ and Luria–Bertani media were purchased from Sigma–Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA) and Fluka (Heidelberg, Germany). All other chemicals and reagents used were of the highest purity commercially available.

Plant materials and essential oil preparation from F. assa-foetida

F. assa-foetida from

Plant materials

The OGRs of the plants that collectioned by incision method from the crown of the plant at three times had different colours. The colours of OGR1, OGR2 and OGR3 were brown, red and blond, respectively (Fig. 1). As shown in Table 1, GC–MS analysis of the F. assa-foetida essential oils indicated that the main components for essential oil obtained from OGR1 were; (E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (23.9%), 10-epi-γ-eudesmol (15.1%), (Z)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (8.0%), (Z)-β-ocimene (5.6%),

Conclusions

Accordingly, essential oils obtained from F. assafoetida OGRs in different collections had different chemical composition, antioxidant, ROS, RNS, H₂O₂ and TBARS scavenging. The essential oil from OGR1 was constituted high levels of acyclic sulfur-containing compounds [(E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide and (Z)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide] and bicyclic sesquiterpenes [10-epi-γ-eudesmol] and showed the highest radical scavenging and the lowest antibacterial and antifungal activities. Essential

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the financial support from Shiraz University (grant No. 88-GR-AGRST-108). The authors thank their colleagues at the Department of Natural Resources, Fars Research center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Shiraz, Iran for assistance with GC-MS analysis.

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Chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil obtained from Ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum-resin: Effect of collection time

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

Chemicals and reagents

Plant materials and essential oil preparation from F. assa-foetida

Plant materials

Conclusions

Conflict of interest

Acknowledgements

Food and Chemical Toxicology

Fitoterapia

Journal Ethnopharmacology

Food Chemistry

Food Chemistry

Current in Opinion Biotechnology

Identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography/mass spectrometery

Fungicidal activity of thymol and carvacrol by disrupting ergosterol biosynthesis and membrane integrity against Candida

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infection Disease

Antifungal compounds from the rhizome and roots of F. hermonis

Phytotherapy Research

Antimicrobial agents from plants: Antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils

Journal of Applied Microbiology

Antioxidant activity of hydroalcholic extracts of F. gummosa Boiss roots

European Review for Medicine and Pharmacological Science

Bactericidal action of binary and ternary mixtures of carvacrol, thymol, and eugenol against Listeria innocua

Journal of Food Science

Antimicrobial, antioxidant daucane sesquiterpenes from F. hermonis Boiss

Phytotherapy Research

The effects of dietary flavonoids on the regulation of redox inflammatory networks

Frontiers in Bioscience