Chemical composition, in vitro anti-microbial, antifungal and antioxidant activities of the essential oil and methanolic extract of Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth., of Iran.

In this study we identified the chemical composition, anti-microbial and antioxidant effects of essential oil and methanolic extract of Hymenocrater longiflorus Benth. Totally 87 volatile compounds from the essential oil in H. longiflorus, were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These compounds are mainly monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenoids compounds. The anti-microbial and antifungal activity of plants extracts against several pathogenic microorganisms was studied by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration procedures. The results revealed that the essential oil and polar sub-fraction are effective mostly against Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. The antioxidant activity was also determined by 1,1'-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, beta-carotene linoleic acid assay and reducing power. In addition the total phenol of essential oil (54.6+/-1.2), polar sub-fraction (50.0+/-1.4) and non-polar sub-fraction (64.7+/-2.0) were determined. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.