Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils of seven Cultivated Apiaceae species

The Apiaceae family contains many species used as food, spice and medicinal purposes. Different parts of plants including seeds could be used to obtain essential (EO) oils from members of the Apiaceae family. In the present study, EOs were components obtained through hydrodistillation from the seeds of anise ( Pimpinella anisum ), carrot ( Daucus carota ), celery ( Apium graveolens ), dill ( Anethum graveolens ), coriander ( Coriandrum sativum ), fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare ), and cumin ( Cuminum cyminum ). EO constituents were determined with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and Gas Chromatography/Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) and their antioxidant capacities were determined with the cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) methods. The antimicrobial activity of EOs were tested against four pathogenic bacteria. Phenylpropanoids in anise (94.87%) and fennel (92.52%), oxygenated monoterpenes in dill (67.59%) and coriander (98.96%), monoterpene hydrocarbons in celery (75.42%), mono- (45.42%) and sesquiterpene- (43.25%) hydrocarbons in carrots, monoterpene hydrocarbon (34.30%) and aromatic hydrocarbons (32.92%) in cumin were the major compounds in the EOs. Anethole in anise and fennel, carotol in carrot, limonene in celery, carvone in dill, linalool in coriander, and cumin aldehyde in cumin were predominant compounds in these EOs. The high hydrocarbon content in cumin EO gave high CUPRAC activity (89.07 µmol Trolox g −1 ), and the moderate monoterpene hydrocarbon and oxygenated monoterpene content in dill EO resulted in higher DPPH activity (9.86 µmol Trolox g −1 ). The in vitro antibacterial activity of EOs against Bacillus cereus , Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli was evaluated using the agar diffusion method and the minimum bactericidal concentration was determined. Coriander, cumin and dill EOs showed inhibitory effect against all tested strains except P. aeruginosa . While fennel and celery EOs were effective against E. coli and B. cereus strains, respectively, anise and carrot EOs did not show any antibacterial effect against the tested bacteria. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) produced four groups based on EO constituents of seven species. The potential adoption of the cultivated Apiaceae species for EO extraction could be beneficial for the wild species that are endangered by over collection and consumption.