Evaluation of phytochemical and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from different organs of Ferula tabasensis Rech. f. in the natural habitats of Yazd

Nowadays, considering the side effects of synthetic antibiotics and the increase in drug resistance, it is a necessity to replace them by natural compounds as safe sources. Thus, studies have been carried out on the medicinal properties of essential oils of different Ferula L. species, but there was no report on Ferula tabasensis Rech. f. as an Iranian endemic species. In this research, the leaves and flowers of Ferula tabasensis were harvested from its main habitat (between Kharanaq and Saghand – elevation 1570 m) at the full-flowering stage in the spring of 2021. The essential oils were extracted by hydro distillation method (Clevenger apparatus and GC and GC/MS were used to analyze chemical constituents. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil was evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination by broth dilution method and the growth inhibitory zone diameter (mm) was also measured. The yields of essential oils from the leaves and flowers of the plant were 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. The results showed that bornyl acetate (34.2% and 35%) and α-pinene (12.2% and 8.4%) were identified as major compounds of essential oil from leaves and flowers, respectively. Also, citronellol (15.5%) was another main constituent found in the essential oil of the flowers of Ferula tabasensis. Both essential oils had good antimicrobial activity against the tested microorganisms, except E. coli. It seems that antibacterial activity can be mostly attributed to the main compounds of essential oils in the leaves and flowers of the plant and, thus, they can be considered as alternatives to synthetic antibiotics.