Composition of the essential oils, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the methanolic extract of Prangos uloptera

Background: Prangos uloptera is a medicinal plant from the Apiaceae family which is native to Iran. Objectives: In the current study, phytochemical constituents of the essential oils, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of methanolic extract of the aerial parts of P. uloptera were investigated. Materials and Methods: To determine the main ingredients of the essential oils and to investigate the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of this plant, the GC-MS (gas chromatography - mass spectrometry) analysis, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay and microdilution method were used. Results: The GC–MS analysis showed that the leading constituents of the essential oils were butyl octanoate (24.88%), 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z) (14.19%) and alpha-pinene (19.28%) in the flowers, fruit and leaves, respectively. The greatest amount of phenolic compound was observed in methanolic extract of the leaves (0.5 ± 0.11 mgGAEs/g). Likewise, the greatest level of flavonoids (0.074 ± 12.4 mg QEs/g) was identified in the leaves. Furthermore, DPPH assay showed the most radical scavenging activity (IC50 201.7 ± 20.39 μg/mL) in the methanolic extract of the leaves. The highest total antioxidant capacity was observed in the fruit (0.004 ± 0.0005 g AAE/ml). The antibacterial activity of the plant extracts against the pathogenic fungal and bacterial species was investigated by broth microdilution method. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) amounts were in the ranges of 312 to 10000 and 1000 to 10000 mg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this research demonstrated that P. uloptera was a potent source of useful bioactive compounds, making it a promising candidate for further studies.