Antimicrobial activity of Foeniculum vulgare Miller essential oil

Abstract

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ssp. vulgare is a spontaneous plant of Mediterranean region that belongs to the Apiaceae family. Its essential oil is used as additives in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and perfume industries mainly that one obtained from dried seeds.

The main goal of this work were to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of essential oils obtained from fresh leaves and unripe seeds of sweet fennel, collected in Évora-Alentejo, in face of their chemical composition.

The extraction of the essentials oils was made by hydrodistillation. Chemical analyses were carried out by GC-FID and GCMS. Phenylpropanoides anethole, fenchone, estragole and the monoterpene aphellandrene were the most abundant compounds of leaves essential oil. Seeds essential oil showed as main components anethole and fenchone.

Antimicrobial activities were tested against the strains Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces spp., Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium sp..

Seed and leaves essential oils showed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus Saccharomyces spp. and Fusarium oxysporum.