Biological activities and phytochemical content of essential oil and methanol extracts of Ferula lutea (poir.) maire growing in Algeria

Discovery of several natural products, isolated from medicinal plants, contribute to avoid the resistance of patho- genic microorganisms to antibiotics. This work aims to study the chemical composition as well the effects of es- sential oils (EOs), aqueous methanol crude extracts (CrE) and their fractions obtained from Ferula lutea aerial parts from two different regions (Ain Abessa and Amoucha) in Sétif, Eastern Algeria. Cholinesterase (ChE) in- hibitory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of this plant was tested.The results showed that the main com- ponents of F. lutea EOs were δ-3-carene, α-pinene, and limonene and cis-chrysanthenyl acetate. Results showed that total phenolic contents were particularly abundant in butanol (BuE) and CrE extracts of two stations. Con- cerning the antimicrobial activity, obtained inhibition zones varied from 6.00 to 24.66 mm where the wider one was recorded for the EOs of fruits and umbels from Ain Abessa against B. cereus and E. coli. EOs (fruits and um- bels) from Ain Abessa and fruits from Amoucha also showed a strong inhibitory effect against ACh. Unlike, EOs from Amoucha showed lower inhibition abilities. In DPPH assay, ethyl acetate (EAE) and BuE extracts from Ain Abessa and Amoucha exhibited the highest activity. while in CUPRAC assay, the highest effect was recorded for EAE and BuE extracts. Finally, results of reducing power showed that EAE from Ain Abessa and BuE from Amoucha had the highest activity. Unlike, aqueous extracts showed no activity (IC50˃200 μg/ml). Ferula lutea ex- tracts have potential source of natural agent for neurodegenerative disorders.