Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Daucus aureus Essential Oils from Algeria

Abstract

The volatile components of Algerian Daucus aureus Desf. were investigated using a combination of analytical techniques. Analyses of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts and roots of the plant were performed using capillary GC/RI and GC/MS analysis. Seventy-one compounds were identified, constituting 90.2–96.0% of the total essential oils,. The main components from the aerial parts of the plants were germacrene D (11.3–67.2%), followed by caryophyllene oxide (0.9–9.5%), spathulenol (0.6–8.4%), (Z)-α-santalol (1.4–6.5%), viridiflorol (0.9–5.8%), cadin-4-en-7-ol (1.5–5.6%), and τ-cadinol (1.2–5.2%). The main components of the essential oils obtained from the roots of the plant were (Z)-α-santalol (14.1%), caryophyllene oxide (10.6%), spathulenol (9.8%), nonadecane (6.8%), and tetradecanoic acid (5.2%). The intraspecies variations of the chemical compositions of the essential oils from the aerial parts of D. aureus from 14 Algerian sample locations were investigated using statistical analysis. Essential oil samples were clustered into two groups according to their chemical compositions. This chemical variability could be attributed to growing conditions and environmental factors. The essential oils exhibited an interesting antimicrobial effect against the microorganisms tested, with MIC values in the range of 0.125–4.6 mg/mL. It is suggested that the essential oils from D. aureus may be a new potential source of natural antimicrobial compounds that could be applied in the pharmaceutical and food industries.