Identification of Essential Oil Components of Ferula badrakema Fruits by GC-MS and 13C-NMR Methods and Evaluation of its Antimicrobial Activity

The essential oil of the fruits of Ferula badrakema was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC, GC-MS and C-13-NMR spectroscopy. Seventy-four components, representing 98.2% of the oil were characterized. The major components of the fruits oil were beta-pinene (45.8%), alpha-pinene (10.9%), cis-isolongifolanone (4.1%), beta-phellandrene (2.7%), myrcene (2.4%), and carvacrol methyl ether (2.4%). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the essential oil and alpha-pinene, beta-pinene as authentic compounds were determined using broth dilution method against four bacteria and one fungus. The essential oil of the fruits was moderately active against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus as gram positive bacteria, and Candida albicans as fungal strain with 3.125 mg/ml, 12.5 mg/ml and 6.25 mg/ml MICs, respectively. The gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) appeared not to be susceptible to inhibitory effects of this essential oil.