Volatile oil constituents and antibacterial activity of different parts of Falcaria vulgaris Bernh. growing wild in two localities from Iran.

The chemical composition of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the flower, leaf and stem of Falcaria vulgaris Bernh., which is endemic to Iran, were analysed by GC and GC/MS (samples were from two different localities: A from Ardabil and B from Khalkhal). α-Pinene was the major constituent in all the three oils (flower, leaf and stem) from sample A (43.8%, 33.0% and 50.9%, respectively). The oil of F. vulgaris flower was characterised by a higher amount of β-caryophyllene (25.2%) and 1,8-cineole (12.8%) among the eight components comprising 96.2% of the total oil detected. α-Terpinyl acetate (23.2%) and limonene (14.4%) predominated in the leaf oil. In the oils of sample B, α-pinene (16.1% in the flower oil, 31.5% in the leaf oil and 34.5% in the stem oil) was the major compound. Limonene (14.2%) and germacrene D (32.1%) were also the main constituents found in the leaf oil from sample B. α-Terpinyl acetate (21.9% in the leaf oil) and limonene (29.8% in stem oil) were the other major compounds obtained from this sample. Antibacterial activity was determined by the measurement of growth inhibitory zones.