Comparative chemical profiling and antioxidant properties of essential oils extracted from: Foeniculum vulgare subsp. piperitum (Ucria) Bég and Deverra scoparia Coss. & Durieu

The current research investigates for the first time, the antioxidant activity and chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) extracted from several samples dried stems for Foeniculum vulgare subsp. piperitum (Ucria) Bég (F. vulgare) and Deverra scoparia Coss. & Durieu (D. scoparia). Twenty-seven volatile compounds were detected in F. vulgare. The main compounds were α-pinene (0.53–19.17%), myrcene (2.06–46.49%), δ-3-carene (0–12.56%), α-terpinene (0–12.79%), limonene (1.35–41.86%), cis-β-ocimene (0.32–8.35%), estragol (0.15–45.51%) and anethol (0.03–10.78%), while thirty-seven compounds were identified in D. scoparia, the major components were: α-pinene (0–33%), sabinene (1.93–19.99%) β-pinene (2.59–9.13%) δ-3-carene (0.04–10.39%) p-cymene (0.7–9.41%) limonene (1.9–14.33%), and α-terpinene (0.2–10.46%). The amount of monoterpene compounds in F. vulgare samples was more significant than in D. scoparia samples. However, the amount of sesquiterpenes was higher in D. scoparia samples compared to F. vulgare species. All samples exhibited antioxidant activity that was comparatively lower than that of vitamin E. Furthermore, the F. vulgare species revealed higher antioxidant activity than the D. scoparia species in both tested experiments. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that fenchone, n-hexyl iso-valerate, copaene, anethol, palmitic acid, α-terpineol, and estragol could be the main components contributing to the antioxidant capacity. These results demonstrate that these EOs could be alternative therapeutic agents for preventing oxidative stress-related pathologies. •First report on interspecific effect of D. scoparia and F. vulgare essential oils.•More than 30 compounds were identified in the D. scoparia and F. vulgare stems.•All samples showed interesting antioxidant capacities.•Chemical profiles and antioxidant capacity are affected by agroclimatic region.•Fenchone and α-terpineol are the main contributors in the antioxidant capacity.