Biological Activities of the Essential Oil, Fruit and Root Extracts of Ferula Drudeana Korovin

The essential oil of the fruits, methanol and methylene chloride extracts of the fruits and roots of Ferula drudeana were tested for their antibacterial and antifungal activity using micro-broth dilution methods, and showed weak to moderate inhibitory activities against all tested microorganisms. However, the petroleum ether extract of the roots showed remarkable inhibitory effects on Candida krusei and C. utilis at the concentration of 19.5 and 9.75 µg/mL (MIC), respectively. Samarcandin (1) and conferol (2), two major sesquiterpene-coumarins isolated from the petroleum ether extract of the roots, also showed inhibitory effects against C. krusei and C. utilis. Furthermore, all the samples were tested for their antioxidant activities using DPPH· TLC-bioautographic assay. Methanolic extracts of the root and fruit showed strong discoloration on the TLC plate when sprayed DPPH· reagent (2 mg/ml).