Composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil of the root of Ferula hermonis

A. H. Al-Ja'fari; R. Vila; B. Freixa; J. Costa; F. Tomi; S. Cañigueral

doi:10.1055/s-0028-1084930

Planta Medica, Table of Contents

Composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil of the root of Ferula hermonis

AH Al-Ja'fari ¹^,², R Vila ¹, B Freixa ¹, J Costa ², F Tomi ³, S Cañigueral ¹

¹Unitat de Farmacologia i Farmacognòsia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
²Departament de Farmacologia, de Terapèutica i de Toxicologia, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Unitat Docent Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona, Spain
³Équipe Chimie et Biomasse, UMR CNRS 6834, Université de Corse. Ajaccio, France

Abstract

The dried root of Ferula hermonis Boiss. (Umbelliferae), a plant growing in the mountains between Lebanon and Syria, locally known as Zallouh root, is used in folk medicine to treat erectile dysfunction [1]. In the present work, the composition and antifungal activity of its essential oil, obtained by hydrodistillation (yield: 1.5% v/w), are described.

The essential oil was analysed by GC-FID, GC-MS and ¹³C-NMR of the total oil and the fractions obtained by column chromatography. The identification of the constituents was achieved from their GC retention indices (both, relative to alkanes and to fatty acid metyl esthers) in two columns of different stationary phases (methylsilicone and Supelcowax® 10) and by comparison of their MS fragmentation patterns with those stored in our own database and with literature data. The unusual constituent 3,5-nonadiyne was identified by spectroscopic methods (MS and NMR) after isolation by column chromatography. More than sixty compounds were identified in the oil, the major constituents being α-pinene (43.3%), α-bisabolol (11.1%), 3,5-nonadiyne (4.4%), β-farnesene (3.2%) and δ-cadinene (2%).

For the study of the antifungal activity, MIC and MFC of the oil and its main constituent, α-pinene, were determined against Aspergillus niger (CECT2574), A. fumigatus (CECT2071), Penicillium purpurogenum (CECT2314) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (CECT2795) by a dilution method. Nystatin and amphotericin B were used as positive controls. Results showed comparable values for the MIC and MFC of the essential oil (both, 157µg/ml) and α-pinene (142µg/ml) against T. mentagrophytes. MIC and MFC were 2µg/ml for nystatin and 0.5µg/ml for amphotericin B. No activity against the other strains was detected for the oil and α-pinene up to 2.5mg/ml and 2.3mg/ml, respectively.

Acknowledgements: AA Bdwan, JPM (Naor, Jordan) and TS El-Thaher, ARAGEN Biotechnology (Naor, Jordan) for providing plant material.

References: 1. El-Thaher, TS et al. (2001) Int J Impot Res 13: 247–51.