Planta Med 2008; 74 - PI7
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1084915

Pastinaca hirsuta essential oils: composition and antimicrobial activity

S Petrović 1, M Pavlović 1, M Milenković 2, D Vučićević 2, M Couladis 3, O Tzakou 3, M Niketić 4
  • 1Institute of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, V. Stepe 450, 11221 Belgrade, Serbia
  • 2Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, V. Stepe 450, 11221 Belgrade, Serbia
  • 3Department of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, Panepistimiopolis, 15771 Athens, Greece
  • 4Natural History Museum, Njegoševa 51, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Pastinaca hirsuta Pančić (Hirsute parsnip), Umbelliferae is a biennial or perennial aromatic plant with a range that includes the central part of the Balkan Peninsula (east Serbia, FYROM and south and west Bulgaria) [1]. The plant material used in this study was collected in south-eastern Serbia (close to the banks of Vlasina Lake). The essential oils were isolated from the air-dried and pulverized root (sample 1) and the mature fruits (sample 2), by hydrodistillation [2]. The essential oil yields were 0.10% and 2.71% (w/w), respectively. Twenty-nine compounds were identified in root oil and thirteen compounds in fruits oil (92.8% and 90.8% of the total oils, respectively) using GC-FID and GC-MS. The principal components of the root oil were apiole (56.0%) and myristicin (21.0%), followed by β-bisabolene (7.2%). The main compounds in the fruits oil were hexyl hexanoate (59.8%) and hexyl butanoate (21.4%). The microbial growth inhibitory activity of the oils was tested against Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, S. aureus ATCC 25923, Micrococcus luteus ATCC 9341, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella pneumoniae NCIMB 9111 and Candida albicans (ATCC 10259 and 24433) [3,4]. The root oil was active against all tested microorganisms and exhibited the best activity against B. subtilis (MIC 6.25µg/ml), S. aureus, M. luteus and C. albicans ATCC 10259 (MIC 12.5µg/ml). The oil from the fruits was active only against E. coli and C. albicans (at the most against C. albicans ATCC 10259: MIC 12.5µg/ml).

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