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Article

Chemical Profiling and Discrimination of Essential Oils from Six Ferula Species Using GC Analyses Coupled with Chemometrics and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibitory Potential

by
Fadia S. Youssef
1,
Munira A. Mamatkhanova
2,
Nilufar Z. Mamadalieva
2,3,
Gokhan Zengin
4,
Salima F. Aripova
2,
Elham Alshammari
5 and
Mohamed L. Ashour
1,*
1
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
2
Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences of RUz, Mirzo Ulugbek str. 77, Tashkent 100170, Uzbekistan
3
Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, D-06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
4
Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk University, 42130 Konya, Turkey
5
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Antibiotics 2020, 9(8), 518; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080518
Submission received: 22 July 2020 / Revised: 11 August 2020 / Accepted: 12 August 2020 / Published: 14 August 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils)

Abstract

:
The differences in the composition of essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of six Ferula species viz., F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv) were detected both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively using GC-MS and GC-FID analyses. One hundred and six metabolites were identified that account for 92.1, 96.43, 87.43, 95.95, 92.90 and 89.48% of Fc, Fk, Fp, Fs, Ft and Fv whole essential oils, respectively. The data from the GC-MS analyses were subjected to unsupervised pattern recognition chemometric analysis utilizing principal component analysis (PCA) to improve the visualization of such differences among the six species. Fk and Ft are very closely related to each other and were gathered together in one cluster. The antioxidant potential was assessed in vitro using different assays including 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), ferric reducing power (FRAP) and phosphomolybdenum (PM) assays. Ft and Fp exhibited the most notable antioxidant properties as evidenced by their pronounced activities in most of the antioxidant assays performed, followed by Fc. Fk showed the most effective tyrosinase inhibitory potential, which was estimated as 119.67 mgKAE/g oil, while Fp exhibited the most potent α-amylase inhibitory potential, which was equivalent to 2.61 mmol ACAE/g oil. Thus, it was concluded that Ferula species could serve as a promising natural antioxidant drug that could be included in different products and spices to alleviate hyperglycemia and used as a natural ingredient in pharmaceutical cosmetics to counteract hyperpigmentation.

Graphical Abstract

1. Introduction

Essential oils comprise a mixture of secondary metabolites, which are biosynthesized by aromatic plants as natural protectants [1]. The role of essential oils is not restricted to protection as they also offer many therapeutic benefits to humans that can exceed the benefits provided by the dried herbs on their own [2]. Recently, they have become well known as a part of traditional medicine for the treatment of a plethora of human ailments, in aromatherapy, as well as in spices with high nutritive value [3]. In addition, many essential oils as well as plant extracts have shown significant antioxidant potential [4,5,6]. New sources of medicinal agents that are effective and safe as well as selective has recently become the main target in drug discovery. Medicinal plants in general, and their volatile constituents in particular, act as a very important sources for the production of a huge number of biologically active agents, which are attractive chemical leads that are promising therapeutic agents for the alleviation of many ailments [7,8]. Many biological activities have been ascribed to the volatile constituents obtained from a variety of plants such as antinociceptive, anticancer, antiphlogistic, antiviral, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antimycotic, antiparasitic and insecticidal activities [9]. Moreover, the volatile constituents of plants are highly popular in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries because of their broad acceptance by consumers, relative safety, and their potential multipurpose effect [10,11].
The Apiaceae family is well-known for its rich aromatic plants, which are categorized under approximately 112 genera and nearly 316 species. Anise, chervil, celery, coriander, cumin, caraway, dill, fennel, ferula and galabanum are significant members of this family and they are characterized by their notable odor owing to the presence of considerable amounts of essential oils or the oleoresin predominant in their different organs [3]. These plants are widely used for culinary purposes either for their aroma or as nutrients [12].
Ferula constitutes the third largest genus in the Apiaceae family with nearly 180 species. The members of this genus are very popular for their essential oils, which are recognized as having many biological activities including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antispasmodic, anticonvulsant, and antioxidant activity as well as having high nutritive value [13,14].
This study aimed to investigate the contents of the essential oil from six Ferula species growing in Uzbekistan, namely, F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv) using GC analyses. Discrimination of these species was carried by coupling the data obtained from GC-analyses with chemometrics employing unsupervised pattern recognition techniques represented by principal component analysis (PCA). Furthermore, the antioxidant potential of the different essential oil samples using different assays, namely, 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), ferric reducing power (FRAP), and the phosphomolybdenum (PM) assay were evaluated in vitro. In addition, an evaluation of the possible enzymatic inhibitory activities of essential oils against tyrosinase and α-amylase was done using standard in vitro bioassays.

2. Results and Discussion

2.1. Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Determinations by GC-MS and GC-FID

The differences in the composition of the essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of Fc, Fk, Fp, Fs, Ft and Fv were detected both qualitatively and quantitatively using GC-MS and GC-FID analyses, respectively. All of the essential oils are yellow in color and possess a characteristic odor. Characterization of the essential oils using GC analyses revealed the presence of 106 metabolites (Table 1, Figure 1 and Figure 2) that account for 92.10, 96.43, 87.43, 95.95, 92.90 and 89.48% of Fc, Fk, Fp, Fs, Ft and Fv whole essential oils, respectively. Twenty-nine compounds were detected in Fc with α-pinene (21.17%), 10,13 docosadienoic acid methyl ester (15.20%), β-caryophyllene oxide (13.23%) and caryophyllene (10.88%) representing the predominant compounds. Meanwhile, thirty-nine compounds were identified in Fk essential oil with α-pinene (36.79%) and verbenol (8.49%) being the major compounds. In Fp, forty-five compounds were characterized with 4-terpineol (16.28%), α-pinene (10.99%), β-myrcene (6.04%), β-caryophyllene oxide (5.69%), p-cymen-8-ol (5.36%) and spathulenol (5.34%) as the main metabolites in the oil. Furthermore, 15 compounds were determined in Fs oil with the main compounds, palmitic acid, β-myrecene, heptacosane, octacosane, hexacosane and pentcosane accounting for 39.09, 10.75, 10.27, 9.60, 8.99 and 6.29%, respectively. For Ft, 62 compounds were detected of which α-pinene (42.0%), camphene (8.34%) and α-cadinol (8.14%) exist in high percentages in the oil. Finally, 25 compounds were identified in the Fv oil with 10,13 docosadienoic acid methyl ester (69.61%) constituting the major component (Figure 3). From the data shown in Table 1, it was concluded that monoterpenes are the predominate class of essential oil metabolites in Fc, Fk and Ft, where they represents 24.90, 42.91 and 61.95%, respectively, while oxygenated monoterpenes are the dominant class of metabolites in Fp (35.60%), and they also exist in a high percentage in Fk (34.82%). On the contrary, fatty acids are highly predominate in Fs and Fv and account for 82.55 and 79.84%, respectively.

2.2. Chemometric Analysis

It is extremely difficult to identify the qualitative and quantitative differences between the Ferula species under evaluation with the naked eye. So, the data obtained from GC analyses were subjected to unsupervised pattern recognition chemometric analysis utilizing PCA to improve the visualization of these differences. The results of the PCA, as represented by the obtained score plot shown in Figure 4A effectively discriminated the six Ferula species into five clusters along the first component (PC1) and the second component (PC2) that account for 57% and 30%, respectively, or 87% of the total variance. From the obtained results, it is obvious that both Fk and Ft are very closely related to each other as they are gathered together in one cluster in the lower left quadrant. However, PC1 successfully discriminated between Fk and Ft with negative values of PC1 as they are located in the lower left quadrant and Fc and Fv, which show positive values of PC1 are located in the lower right quadrant. Meanwhile, PC2 significantly discriminated between Fk and Ft, which show negative values of PC2 as they are located in the lower left quadrant and between Fs and Fp, which show positive values of PC2 and are located in the upper left quadrant. Furthermore, both PC1 and PC2 significantly discriminated between Fc and Fv, which show positive values for PC1 and negative values for PC2 as they are located in the lower right quadrant and between Fs and Fp, displaying negative values for PC1 and positive values for PC2 as they are located in the upper left quadrant. The major discriminatory signals are α-pinene, 10,13-docosadienoic acid methyl ester and palmitic acid as revealed in the loading plot shown in Figure 4B.
The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the essential oil contents of different studied samples indicated that Fc had a highly significant positive correlation with Ft (r = 0.71), Fk (r = 0.58), Fv (r = 0.47) and Fp (r = 0.35), while a non-significant negative correlation was observed between Fc and Fs (the highest correlations were observed between Ft and Fk (r = 0.89, p < 0.001), between Fc and Ft (r = 0.71, p < 0.001), and between Fc and Fk (r = 0.58, p < 0.001) as seen in Table 2. These data indicate that three samples, Ft, Fk, and Fc have highly similar essential oil content.

2.3. Biological Evaluation

2.3.1. Antioxidant Potential of Different Ferula Species

The antioxidant potential of the different essential oil samples was performed in vitro using the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), the cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the phosphomolybdenum method (PM) assays. The results displayed in Table 3 reveal that most of the samples showed considerable antioxidant potential in the performed assays. Fc (41.36 mgTE/g oil) exhibited the most antioxidant activity in ABTS assays, followed by Fk (29.12 mgTE/g oil) and Ft (28.03 mgTE/g oil). However, in CUPRAC assay, Fp (289.45 mgTE/g oil) showed the most superior antioxidant potential followed by Ft (278.87 mgTE/g oil) and Fk (120.43 mgTE/g oil). Furthermore, Ft exhibited the most significant antioxidant power in both FRAP and PM assays with antioxidant activity equivalent to 136.81 mgTE/g oil and 78.66 mmolTE/g oil, respectively, followed by Fp, which showed antioxidant potential of 121.64 mgTE/g oil and 50.86 mmolTE/g oil in FRAP and PM assays, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that the essential oil from both Ft and Fp exhibited the most notable antioxidant properties as evidenced by their pronounced activities in most of the performed antioxidant assays, followed by Fc. α-Pinene, the predominant compound in Ft and Fp has previously been shown to possess notable antioxidant activity [15]. Additionally, the significant antioxidant activity found in this study, which can be interpreted as a result of the synergistic action between the different components that exist in the oils, was in accordance with that previously reported for many other Ferula species such as F. microcolea, F. orantalis and F. communis. Various mechanisms can be used to interpret antioxidant potential including the prohibition of chain initiation, peroxide decomposition, obstruction of continual hydrogen removal as well as the scavenging of free radical and uniting transition metal ion catalysts [3,16,17]. Additionally, α-pinene, the main constituent in both Ft and Fp, has previously been shown to be a potent antioxidant in both DPPH and FRAP assays, displaying EC50 values equal to 310 and 238 μg/mL, respectively [18].

2.3.2. Tyrosinase and α-Amylase Inhibitory Potential

Tyrosinase enzyme is an oxidase enzyme containing copper that assists in the completion of the first two steps of mammalian melanogenesis, which leads to undesirable hyperpigmentation. Thus, the search for effective tyrosinase inhibitors has recently become vital so that they can be incorporated in cosmetics for effective skin whitening and to counteract hyperpigmentation [19]. Fk showed the most effective tyrosinase inhibitory potential, which was estimated as 119.67 mgKAE/g oil followed by Fv, which showed an inhibitory potential equivalent to 118.42 mgKAE/g oil, where KAE is a Kojic acid equivalent, a potent tyrosinase inhibitory drug. Fv oil is rich in 10,13 docosadienoic acid methyl ester, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, which greatly accounts for its promise as a tyrosinase inhibitor [20]. The underlying tyrosinase inhibitory mechanism mainly relies on the essential oils being rich in components that possess a hydrophobic portion that competitively inhibits the active sites of tyrosinase enzyme with subsequent interference of melanin synthesis. This inhibition may be achieved via interaction with Cu+2 that exists in the active sites of tyrosinase in addition to the prohibition of tautomerization to dopachrome triggered by the oil, which behaves as a reducing agent and blocks of the oxidation reaction during the formation of melanin intermediates during the conversion of tyrosinase/DOPA into melanin, thus reducing skin pigmentation [21].
The α-amylase enzyme is critical in assisting in the catalysis of the first steps in the conversion of starch into maltose, and subsequently to glucose [22,23]. Nowadays, α-amylase inhibitors are used in therapeutic approaches to counteract hyperglycemia. Fp and Fv exhibited the most potent α-amylase inhibitory potential as evidenced by their pronounced inhibitory activity, which was equivalent to 2.61 and 1.40 mmol ACAE/g oil, respectively, in which ACAE is the acarbose equivalent, a potent α-amylase inhibitor (Figure 5). 4-Terpineol as well as α-pinene, which predominate the essential oil of Fp, were previously reported to possess considerable α-amylase inhibitory activity [24]. Similarly, the potent α-amylase inhibitory potential is mainly due to the synergistic action between the different components, which is in accordance to different previously reported studies that confirmed the α-amylase inhibitory effect of different terpenes and different Ferula species such as F. gummosa essential oil [24,25].

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Plant Material

Aerial parts (flowers, leaves and stems) of F. caratavica Regel & Schmalh (N2004), F. pseudoreoselinum (Regel & Schmalh.) Koso-Pol., p.p. (N1489), F. tenuisecta Korovin (N1488) were collected from the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan. F. varia (Schrenk ex Fisch., C.A.Mey. & Avé-Lall.) Trautv. (N1407) was collected from the Bukhara region (Uzbekistan), while F. kuchistanica Korovin (N1425) and F. samarcandica Korovin (N1919) were collected from the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan. The plants were collected during the flowering stage in June–July 2018. Their taxonomic authentication was accomplished by Dr. A. Nigmatullaev at the Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances (Tashkent, Uzbekistan).

3.2. Preparation of Essential Oil Samples

All the plant materials were air-dried in the shade for 7 days at room temperature and powdered using a mortar and pestle to get particles of a uniform, reduced size. Preparation of the essential oil samples was achieved by hydrodistillation of the air-dried aerial parts of the different Ferula species, F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv) for 2 h by Clevenger-type apparatus. Anhydrous Na2SO4 was used to dehydrate the prepared essential oils, yielding 0.4, 0.7, 0.3, 0.3, 0.8 and 0.5 % v/w of dry weight for Fc, Fk, Fp, Fs, Ft and Fv, respectively. Then the various oil samples were maintained at −30 °C in dark-colored stoppered glasses until their analyses [26,27].

3.3. GC-FID and GC-MS Analyses

A Shimadzu GC-17A gas chromatograph (Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan) with an FID detector and DB-5 fused-bonded cap column (Phenomenex; 29 m × 0.25 mm i.d., film thickness 0.25 µm; Torrance, California, USA) was utilized for the semi-quantitative determination of the different components of the essential oils using the normalization method to get the relative percentage of each component and applying GC-FID data that is highly sensitive using GC solution® software ver. 2.4 (Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan). The areas under the peaks (AUP) were determined using three independent runs where the total area is considered as 100%. Meanwhile, the Shimadzu GC-2010 plus gas chromatograph (Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan) supplied with Rtx-5MS (Restek, Bellefonte, PA, USA) in addition to a quadrupole mass spectrometer was used for the identification of the essential oil different metabolites. Instrument settings were adjusted according to what was previously reported [28,29]. The Wiley Registry of Mass Spectral Data 8th edition, NIST MassSpectral Library (December 2011), and previously reported data were employed to confirm the identity of the compounds and the retention indexes were calculated to corroborate the identification of the volatile compounds [30,31].

3.4. Chemometric and ANOVA Analysis

To examine the differences between the essential oils’ components prepared from different Ferula species, the data collected from the different GC-MS spectra were subjected to chemometric analysis of unsupervised pattern recognition represented by PCA, which was processed by employing Unscrambler 9.7 (CAMO SA, Oslo, Norway) [28,32]. Meanwhile, other statistical analyses used for biological assessment were performed using ANOVA assay (with Tukey’s test, significant value: p < 0.05) and Xlstat 2017 software.

3.5. Biological Evaluation

3.5.1. Determination of the Antioxidant Potential

The antioxidant activity of the different essential oil samples from different Ferula species was evaluated using ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP and PM assays. These assays were performed following the methods described by Mamadalieva et al. [33]. The antioxidant activities were reported as Trolox equivalents and the samples were analyzed in triplicate.

3.5.2. Determination of Enzyme Inhibitory Effects

The possible inhibitory potential of the essential oil samples was investigated against tyrosinase and α-amylase enzymes using standard in vitro bioassays as previously reported by Mamadalieva et al. [33] in which all the samples were analyzed in triplicate. Results are expressed in mgKAE/g oil for tyrosinase inhibitory activity and in mmol ACAE/g oil for α-amylase inhibition.

4. Conclusions

The essential oils obtained from different Ferula species, F. caratavica, F. kuchistanica, F. pseudoreoselinum, F. samarcandica, F. tenuisecta and F. varia showed significant variation as revealed by GC analyses. Furthermore, this variation became more clearly observable when coupled with a chemometric approach as represented by PCA used as an unsupervised pattern recognition technique. Additionally, the obtained essential oils showed notable antioxidant as well as tyrosinase and α-amylase inhibitory activities with variable degrees, which is mainly related to the differences in the secondary metabolites that predominate in the oils. Thus, it was concluded that the different Ferula species could serve as a promising natural antioxidant drug that could be included in different products and used as spices to alleviate hyperglycemia and as a natural ingredient in pharmaceutical cosmetics to counteract hyperpigmentation. Chemometric study based on gathering the different biological activities of many additional Ferula species will be considered. It is recommended that further in vivo studies such as animal and bioavailability studies be carried out to confirm the obtained results.

Author Contributions

F.S.Y., identification of the essential oil compounds, chemometric analysis, writing the whole manuscript; M.A.M., N.Z.M., S.F.A., collection of the plants, isolation of the essential oil samples and revising the manuscript; G.Z., performing the biological studies; E.A. and M.L.A., supervising the study and revising the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University through the Fast-Track Research Funding Program.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. GC-MS chromatograms of F. caratavica (A), F. kuchistanica (B) and F. pseudoreoselinum (C).
Figure 1. GC-MS chromatograms of F. caratavica (A), F. kuchistanica (B) and F. pseudoreoselinum (C).
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Figure 2. GC-MS chromatograms of F. samarcandica (A), F. tenuisecta (B) and F. varia (C).
Figure 2. GC-MS chromatograms of F. samarcandica (A), F. tenuisecta (B) and F. varia (C).
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Figure 3. Main secondary metabolites in the Ferula species.
Figure 3. Main secondary metabolites in the Ferula species.
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Figure 4. Score plot (A) and loading plot (B) of GC data obtained from F. caratavica, F. kuchistanica, F. pseudoreoselinum, F. samarcandica, F. tenuisecta and F. varia essential oil analyses using principal component analysis (PCA). In the loading plot, compounds are given numbers as in Table 1 where the major discriminatory signals are α-pinene (4), palmitic acid (95) and 10,13-docosadienoic acid methyl ester (102).
Figure 4. Score plot (A) and loading plot (B) of GC data obtained from F. caratavica, F. kuchistanica, F. pseudoreoselinum, F. samarcandica, F. tenuisecta and F. varia essential oil analyses using principal component analysis (PCA). In the loading plot, compounds are given numbers as in Table 1 where the major discriminatory signals are α-pinene (4), palmitic acid (95) and 10,13-docosadienoic acid methyl ester (102).
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Figure 5. In vitro tyrosinase inhibition (A) and α-amylase inhibition (B) of the essential oil of different Ferula species, F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv). Different letters (a–f) indicate significant differences in the tested Ferula species (p < 0.05).
Figure 5. In vitro tyrosinase inhibition (A) and α-amylase inhibition (B) of the essential oil of different Ferula species, F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv). Different letters (a–f) indicate significant differences in the tested Ferula species (p < 0.05).
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Table 1. Composition of volatile oil in the aerial parts of F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv).
Table 1. Composition of volatile oil in the aerial parts of F. caratavica (Fc), F. kuchistanica (Fk), F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp), F. samarcandica (Fs), F. tenuisecta (Ft) and F. varia (Fv).
Compound RI Content, (%) Identification Methods
Cal. Rep. FcFkFpFsFtFv
1.n-Nonane 8899000.37-0.16---MS, RI,
2.Tricyclene 913913----0.37-MS, RI,
3.3-Thujene 919919--0.50-0.36-MS, RI, AU
4.α-Pinene 92592521.1736.7910.991.542.0-MS, RI, AU
5.Camphene 9419412.910.47--8.34-MS, RI,
6.Sabinene 970970--0.94-0.35-MS, RI,
7.β-Pinene 9739730.821.883.11-3.59-MS, RI, AU
8.6-Methyl-5-heptene-2-one 986986-0.35----MS, RI, AU
9.β-Myrcene989989-0.196.0410.751.90-MS, RI,
10.n-Decane 99810001.000.160.472.440.060.62MS, RI,
11.α-Phellandrene 10031003-1.81tr---MS, RI, AU
12.(3E)-3-Hexenyl acetate 10071006-----1.40MS, RI,
13.3-Carene 10091009-tr0.97-0.07-MS, RI,
14.2-Carene 10161018--tr- -MS, RI,
15.β-Cymene 10241025-tr2.59-0.39-MS, RI,
16.Limonene 10281028-1.770.831.154.80-MS, RI, AU
17.τ-Terpinene 10591059--0.30---MS, RI, AU
18.Linalool oxide 10741074-0.25----MS, RI,
19.Terpinolene10891089----tr-MS, RI,
20.Dehydro-p-cymene 10901090----0.15-MS, RI,
21.n-Undecane 10981100tr1.60-1.56-0.43MS, RI,
22.β-Linalool 11001100trtr2.03-0.54-MS, RI, AU
23.cis-p-Menth-2,8-dienol 11081104-0.801.78-0.40-MS, RI,
24.Fenchol 11161117----0.04-MS, RI,
25.6-Camphenol 11281131-2.75 -0.05-MS, RI,
26.Limonene oxide 11351133----tr-MS, RI,
27.4-Isopropenyl-1-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol 11371142-0.320.49-0.12-MS, RI,
28.L-pinocarveol 11411141-3.900.74-0.33-MS, RI,
29.Verbenol 11481148-8.49--1.25-MS, RI,
30.trans-2-Nonenal 11601161----0.030.73MS, RI,
31.3-Pinanone 11631160-tr----MS, RI,
32.Verbenone 11651173-1.43----MS, RI,
33.Borneol 11691169----0.11-MS, RI,
34.4-Terpineol 11791179-0.3916.28-0.36-MS, RI,
35.p-Cymen-8-ol 11861186tr2.855.36-0.800.49MS, RI,
36.α-Terpineol 11931193-0.525.00-0.41-MS, RI,
37.Myrtenol 11991199-2.300.65-0.21-MS, RI,
38.cis-Geraniol 12101210--0.35-tr-MS, RI,
39.Verbenone 12141214-3.951.11-0.18-MS, RI,
40.Fenchyl acetate 12221223-4.51----MS, RI,
41.cis-Carveol 12251220-tr--0.46-MS, RI,
42.β-Citronellol 12301230----0.05-MS, RI,
43.trans-Carveol 12341229----0.04-MS, RI,
44.Thymol methyl ether 12371237-0.190.23-0.03-MS, RI,
45.D-Carvone 12491249-1.68--tr-MS, RI,
46.Nerol 12521251-tr--tr-MS, RI,
47.Bornyl acetate 12901290-0.490.39-0.31-MS, RI,
48.(-)-trans-Pinocarvyl acetate 1305297--1.19---MS, RI,
49.Carvacrol 13061306-tr----MS, RI,
50.α-Cubebene 13531353----0.16-MS, RI,
51.D-longifolene 13701370-tr----MS, RI,
52.α-Copaene 13801380-0.380.41-0.180.39MS, RI,
53.β-Gurjunene 13861388-4.81----MS, RI,
54.β-Bourbonene 13901390-----trMS, RI,
55.β-Elemene 13951395----0.24trMS, RI,
56.Jasmone 14031399-tr----MS, RI,
57.β-Caryophyllene 1425142510.88-0.91-0.08trMS, RI, AU
58.τ-Elemene 14381438----0.12-MS, RI,
59.Patchoulene 14401440tr-0.38- -MS, RI,
60.Alloaromadendrene 14471442-----0.63MS, RI,
61.Geranyl acetone 14561455-4.480.58---MS, RI,
62.α-Humulene 146114612.98tr--0.04-MS, RI,
63.τ-Muurolene 14671467-0.27--0.210.87MS, RI,
64.α-Curcumene 14871486-tr-- -MS, RI,
65.Germacrene D 14891489----0.13-MS, RI,
66.β-Eudesmene 14951495----0.20-MS, RI,
67.β-Guaiene 150315000.65-tr-0.38trMS, RI,
68.α-Muurolene 15081508--0.35-0.74-MS, RI,
69.Cuparene 151415133.090.23----MS, RI,
70.α-Selinene 15141517-tr--0.070.34MS, RI,
71.τ-Cadinene 15231521----0.750.50MS, RI,
72.β-Cadinene 15241529tr-----MS, RI,
73.δ-Cadinene 153115311.37--tr3.07-MS, RI,
74.Elemol 15571577----tr-MS, RI,
75.Nerolidol 156615641.70---1.74-MS, RI,
76.Germacrene B 15721569-----1.07MS, RI,
77.Germacrene D-4-ol 15851583----0.75-MS, RI,
78.Spathulenol 15871587--5.34-0.380.65MS, RI,
79.Globulol 15901590-1.063.25-0.18-MS, RI,
80.Caryophyllene oxide 1594159413.23tr5.69- 2.14MS, RI, AU
81.Guaiol 16021602-----0.53MS, RI,
82.Cubenol 16061605-tr--1.13-MS, RI,
83.β-Eudesmol 16121613----0.20-MS, RI,
84.τ-Eudesmol 16311631--0.66- -MS, RI,
85.τ-Muurolol 165216522.03--tr3.491.02MS, RI,
86.δ-Cadinol 16561656tr2.82-tr0.79-MS, RI,
87.τ-Muurolol 166516614.64--- -MS, RI,
88.α-Eudesmol 16661662-2.54-- 1.01MS, RI,
89.α-Cadinol 16691669----8.14-MS, RI,
90.Cedr-8-en-13-ol 168216882.17--- -MS, RI,
91.α-Bisabolol 16921692----0.56-MS, RI,
92.Farnesol 172617250.82---1.13-MS, RI,
93.Hexadecanal 18171819-----1.16MS, RI,
94.Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone 18451845-tr----MS, RI,
95.Palmitic acid19771975---39.03--MS, RI, AU
96.trans-9-Octadecen-1-ol 20682068--1.31---MS, RI,
97.Heptadecanoic acid ethyl ester 208220821.06-----MS, RI,
98.trans-Phytol 212021222.69-0.42---MS, RI,
99.Docosane 22002200--0.601.47--MS, RI,
100.Tricosane 23012300--0.34tr-2.66MS, RI,
101.Tetracosane 23952400--0.514.49--MS, RI,
102.10,13 Docosadienoic acid methyl ester 2449244915.2----69.61MS, RI,
103.Pentacosane 249825000.66-0.956.26--MS, RI,
104.Hexacosane 259826000.63-1.108.99-3.23MS, RI,
105.Heptacosane 269727001.26-1.3510.27--MS, RI,
106.Octacosane 279028000.77-1.139.60-trMS, RI,
Monoterpene hydrocarbons 24.942.9126.2713.4061.95-
Oxygenated monoterpene tr34.8235.60-5.690.49
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons 18.975.692.05tr6.373.80
Oxygenated sesquiterpene 24.5910.915.52tr18.495.35
Others 23.642.117.8782.550.4079.84
Total 92.1096.4387.3195.9592.9089.48
Compounds were identified based on a comparison of the compounds’ mass spectral data and retention indices with those of the NIST Mass Spectral Library (December 2011), the Wiley Registry of Mass Spectral Data, 8th edition and by comparison with the authentic standard (AU). The content (%) was calculated using the normalization method based on the GC-FID data generated from the average of three independent chromatographic runs.
Table 2. The Pearson correlation matrix of the essential oils content of different samples.
Table 2. The Pearson correlation matrix of the essential oils content of different samples.
FcFkFpFsFtFv
Fc-0.58 ***0.35 ***−0.020.71 ***0.47 ***
Fk0.58 ***-0.43 ***−0.020.89 ***−0.03
Fp0.35 ***0.43 ***-0.050.45 ***−0.03
Fs−0.02−0.020.05-−0.002−0.02
Ft0.71 ***0.89 ***0.45 ***−0.002-−0.03
Fv0.47 ***−0.03−0.03−0.02−0.03-
The data is represented as the r value of the correlation coefficient and *** is the level of significance, p < 0.001.
Table 3. Antioxidant activities of the essential oil samples of Ferula species using the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), the cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the phosphomolybdenum method (PM) assays.
Table 3. Antioxidant activities of the essential oil samples of Ferula species using the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), the cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the phosphomolybdenum method (PM) assays.
SamplesABTS (mgTE/g Oil)CUPRAC (mgTE/g Oil)FRAP (mgTE/g Oil)PM (mmolTE/g Oil)
F. caratavica (Fc)41.36 ± 1.27 a83.54 ± 3.13 c47.34 ± 0.65 e5.59 ± 0.01 f
F. kuchistanica (Fk)29.12 ± 0.85 b120.43 ± 9.36 b80.74 ± 0.25 c36.42 ± 0.07 c
F. pseudoreoselinum (Fp)22.68 ± 1.03 c289.45 ± 7.30 a121.64 ± 0.01 b50.86 ± 0.07 b
F. samarcandica (Fs)11.84 ± 1.37 d74.39 ± 4.73 c,d43.21 ± 0.48 f14.37 ± 0.04 e
F. tenuisecta (Ft)28.03 ± 3.89 b278.87 ± 8.51 a136.81 ± 1.98 a78.66 ± 0.15 a
F. varia (Fv)7.04 ± 0.47 e65.90 ± 1.66 d55.00 ± 0.18 d15.33 ± 0.07 d
Values are reported as mean ± S.D of three parallel measurements. TE: Trolox equivalents. Different superscripts (a–f) indicate significant differences in the tested Ferula species (p < 0.05).

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Youssef, F.S.; Mamatkhanova, M.A.; Mamadalieva, N.Z.; Zengin, G.; Aripova, S.F.; Alshammari, E.; Ashour, M.L. Chemical Profiling and Discrimination of Essential Oils from Six Ferula Species Using GC Analyses Coupled with Chemometrics and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibitory Potential. Antibiotics 2020, 9, 518. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080518

AMA Style

Youssef FS, Mamatkhanova MA, Mamadalieva NZ, Zengin G, Aripova SF, Alshammari E, Ashour ML. Chemical Profiling and Discrimination of Essential Oils from Six Ferula Species Using GC Analyses Coupled with Chemometrics and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibitory Potential. Antibiotics. 2020; 9(8):518. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080518

Chicago/Turabian Style

Youssef, Fadia S., Munira A. Mamatkhanova, Nilufar Z. Mamadalieva, Gokhan Zengin, Salima F. Aripova, Elham Alshammari, and Mohamed L. Ashour. 2020. "Chemical Profiling and Discrimination of Essential Oils from Six Ferula Species Using GC Analyses Coupled with Chemometrics and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibitory Potential" Antibiotics 9, no. 8: 518. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080518

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