Chemical composition of the essential oils and antioxidant capacity evaluation of Echinophora platyloba DC. and Falcaria vulgaris Bernh. growing in Hamadan province of Iran

Falcaria vulgaris and Echinophora platyloba, two members of Apiaceae family, are native flora of Iran and have numerous ethnobotanical applications.

The present study focuses on the chemical composition of the essential oils and the evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of F. vulgaris and E. platyloba growing in Hamadan province.

Hydrodistillated essential oil from aerial parts of F. vulgaris and E. platyloba were obtained using clevenger apparatus. The chemical composition of the essential oils was determined using GC-MS analysis. Methanol extracts from aerial parts and seeds of F. vulgaris and E. platyloba were obtained by Soxhlet extractor. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were determined through use of several antioxidant assays (DPPH, FRAP, β-carotene-linoleic acid and iron-chelating test).

GC-MS analysis revealed that the major components of F. vulgaris essential oil were spathulenol, and palmitic acid. The main components of E. platyloba were γ-decalactone and (E)-sesquilavandulol. The extract from aerial parts of F. vulgaris consistently exhibited more antioxidative power than the rest of the extracts, followed by the extracts from aerial parts of E. platyloba. The results of DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene-linoleic tests were well correlated with each other, but they were somewhat different from the results of the iron-chelating test.

The results of this research showed that F. vulgaris and E. platyloba contain significant antioxidant properties; therefore, their use in food and pharmaceutical industries as preservatives will be fruitful.