title: Chemical composition and biological activities of Iranian Achillea wilhelmsii L. essential oil: a high effectiveness against Candida spp. and Escherichia strains.
abstract: In the case of Achillea wilhelmsii, 30 compounds were identified representing 94.48% of the total oil with a yield of 0.82% w/w. The major constituents of the oil were described as α-thujene (6.11%), α-pinene (5.11%), sabinene (5.23%), p-cymene (7%), 1,8-cineole (6%), linalool (10%), camphor (8.43%), thymol (18.98%) and carvacrol (20.13%). A. wilhelmsii oil exhibited higher antibacterial and antifungal activities with a high effectiveness against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration/minimum fungicidal concentration value (2 ± 0.0-2 ± 0.0 g/mL, 1 ± 0.5-1 ± 0.5 g/mL), respectively. Results showed that A. wilhelmsii oil exhibits a higher activity in each antioxidant system with a special attention for β-carotene bleaching test (IC50: 19 μg/mL) and reducing power (EC50: 10 μg/mL). Antioxidant activity-guided fractionation of the oil was carried out by TLC-bioautography screening and fractionation resulted in the separation of main antioxidant compounds which were identified as thymol (65%) and carvacrol (19%). In conclusion, these results support the use of the essential oil and its main compounds for their antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Horticultural Science , Faculty of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.forename: Hajar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rostami
mesh_terms: D031162:Achillea / Q000737:chemistry*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D007492:Iran; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: Achillea wilhelmsii; antimicrobial activity; antioxidant activity; essential oil