Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Endemic Heracleum platytaenium Boiss. from Turkey

The compositions of the essential oil of Heracleum platytaenium Boiss. aerial parts, grown in Turkey were determined by GC-MS. Twenty-two compounds (95.24 %) were determined. The major compounds in the oil were found to be octyl acetate (85.53 %), octyl hexanoate (3.06 %), (Z)-4-octenyl acetate (1.60 %) and octyl octanoate (1.24 %). The antimicrobial activity of essential oil extracted from H. platytaenium against various yeast and bacteria species using the disc diffusion method was investigated during the present study. The extract exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Candida glabrata with inhibition zones varying between 12-32 mm. In contrast, the growth of all the tested bacteria were not affected by the extract. In conclusion, this study confirms that H. platytaenium essential oil could be considered as a natural anticandidal source.