Antimicrobial and Anti-oxidative Effects of Methanolic Extract of Dorema aucheri Boiss

Dorema aucheri Boiss. (Apiaceae) is an endemic plant growing in Iran. This plant is used as food and its extracts are recommended for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. To conduct this study, leaf, stem, and flower of D. aucheri were collected from near Yasouje, Iran. Antioxidant and antimicrobialeffects of methanol extracts were measured. Further, total phenolic,flavonoid, anthocyanin, carotenoid, soluble sugar, gallicacid,chlorogenic acid,caffeicacid, andp-coumaric acid contentsof plant methanol extracts were also determined. The results showed that total phenolic, anthocyanin, and soluble sugar in the stem of D. aucheri were 22.72 mg GAE g-1 dW, 19.33 mg g-1 dW, and 6.45 mg g-1 dW respectively, greater than those of the other samples tested. Also, phenolic acids were identified by RP-HPLCand chlorogenic acid was the predominant phenolic compound in the samples. The highest amount of flavonoid (1.95 mg QE g-1 dW) was observed in the flower. All of the different extracts exhibited a good antioxidant activity based on inhibition of fatty acid oxidation assay. Themaximal inhibition was observed in the leaf (48.52%) and flower (54.24%) of D. aucheri. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was also high in the stem and flower. In addition, the results showed that leaf, stem, and flower extracts had inhibitory activity against four bacteria tested. The highest antimicrobial activity was obtained with flower extract. These results suggest that the methanolic extracts from different parts of D. aucheri are a valuable source of effective compounds. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of extracts was correlated with p-coumaric and caffeic acid content.