Abstract
The present study was conducted to examine the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil, methanol and ethanol extracts of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seeds native to Pakistan. The seed essential oil and extract yields from fennel seeds were found to be 2.81 and 6.21β15.63% w/w, respectively. GC and GCβMS analysis of the fennel essential oil revealed the presence of 23 compounds, with transβanethol (69.87%), fenchone (10.23%), estragole (5.45%) and limonene (5.10%) as the major components. The fennel seed extracts contained appreciable levels of total phenolic contents (627.21β967.50 GAE, mg/100Β g) and total flavonoid contents (374.88β681.96 CE, mg/100Β g). Fennel essential oil and extracts also exhibited good DPPH radical scavenging activity, showing IC~50~ 32.32 and 23.61β26.75Β Β΅g/ml, and inhibition of peroxidation 45.05 and 48.80β70.35%, respectively. Of the fennel essential oil and solvent extracts tested, 80% ethanol extract exhibited the maximum antioxidant activity, whereas the essential oil showed appreciable antimicrobial activity against selected strains of bacteria and pathogenic fungi. The results of the present investigation demonstrated significant (p<Β 0.05) variations in the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of fennel essential oil and extracts. Copyright Β© 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.