Composition, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of Essential Oils from Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholense (Umbelliferae) from China

The essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation from the roots and rhizomes of two umbelliferous species Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholense. They were analyzed for their chemical composition by GC and GC-MS. 5-Oxo-δ-4-decahydrobenzindene (50.1%), ligustilide (16.4%), β-phellandrene (7.8%), myristicine (5.5%), and spathulenol (3.3%) were the major compounds of the 25 identified components which accounted for 96.6% of the total oil of L. sinense. m-Diaminobenzene (68.2%), ligustilide (10.1%), and pvinylguaiacol (3.5%) were the major compounds of the 29 identified components which accounted for 92.7% of the total oil of L. jeholense. The essential oils were assayed to exhibit antibacterial activity with the MBC values ranged from 150 μg/mL to 350 μg/mL, MIC values from 62.5 μg/mL to 300 μg/mL, and IC50 values from 43.53 μg/mL to 197.49 μg/mL. Two oils inhibited both the DPPH radical scavenging and β-carotene-linoleic acid oxidation in a dose dependent manner. The antibacterial activity of L. sinense oil was stronger than that of L. jeholense oil. Contrarily, the antioxidant activity of L. jeholense oil was stronger than that of L. sinense oil. The results showed that the isolated essential oils have potential for development as natural antimicrobial or antioxidant agents.