Partial chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Daucus crinitus Desf. extracts

Abstract

The chemical composition of fatty acids and the unsaponifiable fraction of the roots, leaves and stems from Daucus crinitus Desf. were, determined using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The fatty acid fractions of different organs (leaves, stems and roots) were characterized by lauric acid (17.9, 17.5 and 18.1 % respectively) and other long chain fatty acids (until C22). Qualitative and quantitative differences were reported between the unsaponifiable fractions of different organs from D. crinitus. The unsaponifiable fractions of the leaves, roots and stem showed high amounts of aliphatic components (83.4%, 87.2% and 91.4%, respectively). The monoterpen, diterpen and sesquiterpen components were only present in small percentages. The antimicrobial properties of the D. critinus extracts were tested on four different microorganisms. These extracts were found to be active against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.

Keywords

• antimicrobial activity
• daucus crinitus. desf.
• fatty acid
• gc/ms
• unsaponifiable fraction