Biological activities and chemical constituents of Ferula anatolica Boiss.

Genus Ferula has about 185 species and widely distributed through out Central Asia, China, Afghanistan, India, Syria, Palestine, Israel, North Africa, North America, South-West and Central Europe. Currently, 23 species and 4 subspecies of Ferula are known from Turkey and 12 of them are endemic. Chemical composition of 70 Ferula species were investigated by phytochemical studies so far; glucuronic acid, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, sulphur containing compounds, coumarins, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene coumarins, sesquiterpene lactones and daucane esters (Miski, 1985, Ahmed, 1999) were isolated. In this study, Ferula anatolica Boiss. which is endemic species growing in Turkey, have been investigated for its chemical constituents and cytotoxic and antioxidant activity. The air dried and powdered underground parts of plant extracted with soxhlet apparatus with petroleum ether, dichloromethane and methanol. The petrolerum ether extract of F. anatolica was used for isolation studies. By means of a serial chromatographic studies performed on the extract five sesquiterpene derivatives compounds were isolated. The structures of compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic methods (¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, IR, Mass spectr.) In study of Antioxidant activity, methanol and dichloromethane extracts, DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging, reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II) and inhibiting of lipit peroxidation were determined to have antioxidant activity. In MTT and LDH tests that we have done a comparative cytotoxicity studies, the MTT test, cytotoxic activity was observed, LDH test, only the dichloromethane extract showed very low activity.

References:

[1] Ahmed A.A, Sesquiterpene coumarins and Sesquiterpenes from Ferula sinaica, Phytochemistry, 50, 109 – 12, (1999).

[2] Miski, M. Mabry, T.J., Daucane Esters From Ferula communis subsp. communis, Phytochemistry, 24, 1735 – 41, (1985).