Hexane Extract of Echinops spinosissimus TURRA subsp spinosus from Tunisia: A Potential Source of Acetylated Sterols - Investigation of its Biological Activities

The hexane extract of Echinops spinosissimus TURRA subsp. spinosus flower heads was analyzed for its fatty acid and sterol composition. Its physicochemical characteristics were also studied. The saponification, iodine and peroxide values were determined as 255 mg KOH/g, 42.57 g I-2/100 g and 110 m equiv. O-2/kg of oil, respectively. The oleic (C18:1; 61.14%), palmitic (C16:0; 21.36%) and linoleic (C18:2; 10.45%) acids were the dominant fatty acids. This extract was also found to contain high levels of beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol (44.97% and 34.95% of total sterols, respectively). On the other hand, the identification of terpenoid compounds was investigated by using GC/MS, which revealed fourteen major terpenoids mainly taraxasterol, lupeol, pseudotaraxasterol, lup-22(29)-en-3-yl acetate, taraxasteryl acetate, alpha-amyrin, beta-amyrin, pseudotaraxasteryl acetate, hop-20(29)-en3-beta-ol, alpha-amirenone, along with beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol. Moreover, we have evaluated the in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of the unsaponifiable matter and a fraction isolated from this extract. These activities were conducted using the diffusion disc methods and broth microdilution assay. The resulted fraction from this extract showed the highest antibacterial activity with significant minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values 125.0 mu g/ml against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus. However, it did exhibit no substantial antifungal activity.