Objective: To evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oil isolated from Elaeoselinum asclepium (L.) Bertol. (E. asclepium), and test the efficiency of the essential oil as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent.
Methods: Essential oil was obtained from the aerial parts of E. asclepium by hydro distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. We study for the first time the chemical composition of the essential oil of E. asclepium, followed by the in vitro antimicrobial activities, which were eval-uated by agar diffusion method against six Gram-positive bacteria, five Gram-negative bacteria, and two fungi. In addition, The antioxidant activities were also investigated using assays of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and ferric-reducing capacity.
Results: The analyzed essential oil of the aerial parts of E. asclepium was rich in a-pinene (43.9%), other compounds detected in appreciable amounts were sabinene (27.9%) and b-pinene (16.0%). The essential oil yields 1.2%, the IC50 values of essential oil in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay in the reducing power assay were 48.26 mg/mL and at 1 mg/mL, respectively. The absorbance value of essential oil at 700 nm was 0.956. The antimicrobial effect was higher on Candida albicans ATCC 1024 strain with the inhibition zone 14.5 mm than bacteria and molds.
Conclusions: The essential oil of E. asclepium has antimicrobial and antioxidant ac-tivities. These species may be used as an important source of natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.