Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. and Daucus carota L. growing wild in Turkey

The chemical composition of essential oils of aerial parts of Daucus carota (DEO) and Foeniculum vulgare (FEO) was specified by GC/MS. Antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities of oils were tested by alpha-glucosidase inhibitory, 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory, DPPH/ ABTS radical scavenging, and broth microdilution methods, respectively. Thirty components were identified in DEO (87.7%). Carotol (27.7%), elemicin (18.1%), and limonene (16.0%) were determined as the main compounds in DEO. Seventeen constituents were identified in FEO (100.0%). Estragole (34.0%), limonene (27.1%), and alpha-pinene (19.5%) were found as major components in FEO. Both oils displayed weak antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. However, the oils were not effective on Grampositive bacteria. DEO with IC50 values of 1359 and 1579 mu g/mL and FEO with IC50 values of 3106 and 1654 mu g/mL showed weak antioxidant activities against DPPH and ABTS radicals, respectively. DEO and FEO exhibited good antilipoxygenase activities with IC50 values of 87.24 and 58.35 mu g/mL, respectively. DEO presented significantly alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 44.78 mu g/mL while FEO displayed poor activity with an IC50 value of 1%7 mu g/mL. This study is the first report on the 5-lipoxygenase and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities of aerial parts of DEO as well as on the alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity of aerial parts of FEO. These results indicated that DEO, which has a good antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activity, is rich in oxygenated sesquiterpene and monoterpene. Also, it showed that FEO, which has a significant anti-inflammatory activity, is rich in monoterpene and phenylpropanoid.