Pharmacological characterisation of Seseli gracile Waldst. & Kit. (Apiaceae) essential oil

Abstract

Phytochemical and pharmacological in-vestigations of essential oils isolated from plant species of the genus Seseli have been intensified recently. These plant species have long-term use in nutrition and traditional medicine in the treatment of various disorders. Volatile secondary metabolites of Seseli gracile Waldst. & Kit (Apiaceae) have not been pharma-cologically examined so far. The aim of the conducted research was to assess the antiradical, antimicrobial and spasmolytic ac-tivities of S. gracile essential oil isolated from the aerial parts of the plant. Methods. The antiradical activity was determined us-ing the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scaveng-ing test, antimicrobial activity using broth microdilution meth-od with standard strains of Gram (+), Gram (-) bacteria and yeast, while spasmolytic activity was evaluated on isolated rat il-eum, pre-contracted with a high concentration of potassium. Results. The results showed moderate antiradical (SC50 = 78.60 μg/mL) and good spasmolytic activity (IC50 = 271.4 nL/mL) of S. gracile essential oil. In the range of tested concen-trations, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was deter-mined only for the strain of Escherichia coli (500 μg/mL). Con-clusion. Results obtained in this study justify the need for fur-ther studies to elucidate exact molecular mechanism underlay this spasmolytic effect of S. gracile herb essential oil.

Etarska ulja izolovana iz vrsta roda Seseli su u poslednje vreme intenzivno farmakološki i fitohemijski proučavana. Biljke iz ovog roda se koriste već duži niz godina u ishrani i tradicionalnoj terapiji različitih oboljenja. Farmakološka aktivnost etarskog ulja izolovanog iz Seseli gracile do sada nije ispitivana. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio da se ispita antiradikalska, antimikrobna i spazmolitična aktivnost etarskog ulja izolovanog iz nadzemnih delova biljne vrste S. gracile. Metode. Antiradikalska aktivnost je utvrđena testom neutralizacije 2.2-difenil-1-pikrilhidrazil (DPPH) radikala, antimikrobna, bujon-mikrodilucionom metodom uz upotrebu standardnih sojeva Gram (+), Gram (-) bakterija i gljivica, a spazmolitična na izolovanom ileumu pacova, prethodno kontrahovanom visokom koncentarcijom kalijuma. Rezultati. Rezultati pokazuju umerenu antiradikalsku (SC50 = 78.60 μg/mL) i dobru spazmolitičnu aktivnost (IC50 = 271.4 nL/mL) etarskog ulja S. gracile. U opsegu testiranih koncentracija utvrđena je minimalna inhibitorna koncentracija (MIC) samo za soj Escherichia coli (500 μg/mL). Zaključak. Dobijeni rezultati opravdavaju potrebu za budućim istraživanjima koja bi razjasnila tačne mehanizme kojima se ostvaruje spazmolitički efekat etarskog ulja nadzemnog dela S. gracile.