Chemical analysis,antimicrobial and anti-oxidative properties of Daucus gracilis essential oil and its mechanism of action

Objective:To evaluate the essential oils(EO) composition,antimicrobial and antioxidant power of a local plant,Daucus gracilis(D.gracilis).Methods:The aerial parts of D.gracilis were subjected to hydro distillation by a Clevenger apparatus type to obtain the EO which had been analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry,and screened for antimicrobial activity against five bacteria and three fungi by agar diffusion method.The mechanism of action of the EO was determined on the susceptible strains by both of time kill assay and lysis experience.The minimal inhibitory concentrations were determined by agar macrodilution and micro-dilution methods.Anti-oxidative properties of the EO were also studied by free diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and reducing power techniques.Results:The EO yielded 0.68(v/w).The chemical analysis presented two dominant constituents which were the elemicin(35.3%) and the geranyl acetate(26.8%).D.gracilis EO inhibited the growth of Bacillus cereus and Proteus mirabilis significantly with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 17.15 μg/mL by the agar dilution method and57.05 μg/mL and 114.1 μg/mL,respectively by liquid micro-dilution.A remarkable decrease in a survival rate as well as in the absorbance in 260 nm was recorded,which suggested that the cytoplasm membrane was one of the targets of the EO.The EO showed,also,important anti-oxidative effects with an IC50 of 0.002 mg/mL and a dosedependent reducing power.Conclusions:D.gracilis EO showed potent antimicrobial and anti-oxidative activities and had acted on the cytoplasm membrane.These activities could be exploited in the food industry for food preservation.

Chemical constituents, cytotoxic, antifungal and antimicrobial properties of Centaurea diluta Ait. subsp. algeriensis(Coss. & Dur.) Maire

Objective:To investigate the chemical composition of a moderately polar extract(CHC1_3 soluble part of the MeOH-H_2O extract) obtained from the aerial parts(leaves and flowers) of Centaurea diluta Ait.subsp.algeriensis(Coss.& Dur.) Maire,a species endemic to Algeria and Morocco on which no reports are available to date.To evaluate in vitro the cytotoxic,antifungal and antimicrobial activities of this extract and the cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of its isolated secondary metabolites.Methods:The cytotoxic effects of the extract were investigated on 3 human cancer cell lines i.e.the A549 non-small-cell lung carcinoma(NSCLC),the MCF7 breast adenocarcinoma and the U373 glioblastoma using a MTT colorimetric assay.Biological data allowed to guide the fractionation of the extract by separation and purification on silica gel 60(CC and TLC).The isolated compounds which were characterized by spectral analysis,mainly HR-ESIMS,HR-EIMS,UV and NMR experiments(~1H,^(13)C,COSY,ROESY,HSQC and HMBC) and comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported in the literature,were evaluated for cytotoxic activities on six cancer cell lines(A549,MCF7,U373,Hs683 human glioma,PC3 human prostate and B16-F10 murine melanoma).The direct and indirect antibacterial and antifungal activities were determined using microdilution methods for the raw extract and TLC-bioautography and microdilution methods against standard and clinical strains for the isolated compounds.Results:The raw extract reduced cell viability with IC_(50)s of 27,25 and 21 μg/mL on A549,MCF7 and U373,respectively.Five secondary metabolites:two phenolic compounds(vanillin 1,paridol 3),a lignan[(-)-arctigenin 2]and two flavonoid aglycones(eupatilin 4 and jaceosidin 5),were then isolated from this extract.Moderate cytotoxic effects were observed for(-)-arctigenin 2(IC_(50)s:28 and 33μM on Hs683 and B16-F10,respectively),eupatilin 4(IC_(50)s:33 and 47 μM on B16-F10 and PC3,respectively) and jaceosidin 5(IC_(50)s:32 and 40 μM on PC3 and B16-F10,respectively).Conclusions:All the isolated compounds were described for the first time from this species.Although inactive against 7 tested microorganisms(fungi,bacteria and yeast,human or plant pathogens),the raw extract was able to potentiate the effect of beta-lactam antibiotics on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA),reducing the minimal inhibitory concentrations(MICs) by a factor of 2-32-fold.No synergy was found between the extract and streptomycin.From the five isolated compounds only jaseosidin 5 showed a moderate antimicrobial activity.

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil of Launaea lanifera Pau grown in Algerian arid steppes

Objective: To evaluate the essential oil composition and the antibacterial activity of an Algerian endemic plant, Launaea lanifera Pau(L. lanifera), grown in arid steppe regions.Methods: L. lanifera essential oil was isolated from aerial parts by steam distillation and its chemical composition was evaluated by gas chromatographyflame ionization detector and gas chromatography with electron impact mass spectrometry. Furthermore, its in vitro antibacterial activity against four bacterial strains was tested following the agar disk diffusion method.Results: This species had a very low essential oil yield(0.005%). Twenty-four(92.6%)individual components were identified. The main constituents were hexahydrofarnesyl acetone(31.6%),(E)-b-ionone(8.5%),(E)-b-damascenone(7.0%), 2-methyltetradecane(3.8%), n-heptadecane(3.8%), limonene(2.8%) and b-caryophyllene(2.8%). No noteworthy antimicrobial activity was observed on the tested bacteria, neither Gram negative nor Gram positive.Conclusions: This is the first report on the volatile constituents and antibacterial activity of L. lanifera. The studied essential oil does not possess significant activity against the tested microorganisms.