Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oils of Ferula vesceritensis Coss et Dur. leaves, endemic in Algeria.

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Background: The biological importance of members of genus Ferula promoted us to investigate the leaves of Ferula vesceritensis Coss et Dur. (endemic plant) previously not investigated. This study presents the chemical composition and antibacterial activities of the hydrodistilled oils.

Results: Volatile components of the leaves of F. vesceritensis have been studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to afford 23 compounds. The major components were found to be 5,9-tetradecadiyne (24.72%), germacrene D (24.51%), farnesene (8.57%), and α-bisabolene (8.57%). The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils were evaluated by disk diffusion method and tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The volatile oil showed a strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumonia.

Conclusions: These results reinforce the previous studies showing that the genus Ferula is considered as a good source of essential oils. The results presented here can be considered as the first information on the antimicrobial properties of F. vesceritensis.