Chemical compounds of essential oil in Pycnocycla flabellifolia Boiss. and P. nodiflora Decne ex. Boiss. In Iran

The genus Pycnocyla belongs to the Apiaceae family and has eight perennial species in Iran. In this study, the essential oil content and chemical compounds of P. nodiflora Decne ex. Boiss. and P. flabellifolia Boiss. were investigated. The aerial parts of plants at seeding stage were collected from two habitats in Hormozgan province through two consecutive years and Kermanshah province in one year, respectively. Stem+leaf [SL] and seed [S] were separated and shade-dried. The essential oil was extracted by Clevenger apparatus and hydrodistillation method for three hours. Percentage and chemical composition of the essential oils were determined by GC and GC/MS. The essential oil content of P. nodiflora was obtained [SL]: 0.23 and 1.21% (two years) and [S]: 0.23% in Tangzagh habitat of Hormozgan and [SL]: 0.02 and 0.06% (two years) and [S]: 0.01% in Abmah habitat. Caryophyllene oxid (7.8-28.1%) and b-eudesmol (15.5-57.2%) were recognized as the main compounds of [SL] and [S] essentials oils of both habitats in this species. In P. flabellifolia, the essential oil content of [SL] and [S] was 0.66 and 0.76%, respectively. The main compounds in [SL] essential oil of this species were cis-β-ocimene (33.8%), trans-β-ocimene (39.6%), and terpinolene (12.9%) and in [S] essential oil were trans-β-ocimene (28%), cis-β-ocimene (31%), and terpinolene (12.6%). According to previous reports on the antimicrobial properties of trans-β-ocimene and cis-β-ocimene compounds on bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis and the predominance of these compounds in the essential oil of P. flabellifolia, studies on antimicrobial properties of this species essential oil is recommended.