Foeniculum

About: Foeniculum is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1361 publications have been published within this topic receiving 25030 citations.

Determination of in vitro antioxidant activity of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed extracts

Abstract: In this study, the antioxidant activity of water and ethanol extracts of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed (FS) was evaluated by various antioxidant assay, including total antioxidant, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, metal chelating activities and reducing power. Those various antioxidant activities were compared to standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and α-tocopherol. The water and ethanol extracts of FS seeds showed strong antioxidant activity. 100 μg of water and ethanol extracts exhibited 99.1% and 77.5% inhibition of peroxidation in linoleic acid system, respectively, and greater than the same dose of α-tocopherol (36.1%). The both extracts of FS have effective reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and metal chelating activities. This antioxidant property depends on concentration and increasing with increased amount of sample. In addition, total phenolic compounds in the water and ethanol extracts of fennel seeds were determined as gallic acid equivalents. The results obtained in the present study indicated that the fennel (F. vulgare) seed is a potential source of natural antioxidant. Although, the tests presented here show the usefulness of FS extracts as in vitro antioxidants it still needs to be that this extracts show their activity in emulsions, biological systems, health implications or dry foods.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Foeniculum vulgare and Crithmum maritimum essential oils.

Abstract: The essential oils obtained from Crithmum maritimum L. (marine fennel) and two samples of Foeniculum vulgare Miller (common fennel) were analysed by GC and GC-MS and assayed for their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The antioxidant activity of the oils was evaluated by two lipid model systems: a modified thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) assay and a spectrophotometric detection of hydroperoxydienes from linoleic acid in a micellar system. The oils demonstrated antioxidant capacities, comparable in some cases to that of alpha-tocopherol and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), used as reference antioxidants. Concerning the antimicrobial tests the essential oils were assayed against twenty-five genera of bacteria, including animal and plant pathogens, food poisoning and spoilage bacteria. Oils from the two samples of F. vulgare showed a higher and broader degree of inhibition than that of C. maritimum.

Nematicidal Activity of Essential Oils and Their Components Against the Root-Knot Nematode

Abstract: Nematicidal activity of essential oils extracted from 27 spices and aromatic plants were evaluated in vitro and in pot experiments. Twelve of the twenty-seven essential oils immobilized more than 80% of juveniles of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica at a concentration of 1,000 μl/liter. At this concentration, most of these oils also inhibited nematode hatching. Essential oils of Carum carvi, Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha rotundifolia, and Mentha spicata showed the highest nematicidal activity among the in vitro tested oils. These oils and those from Origanum vulgare, O. syriacum, and Coridothymus capitatus mixed in sandy soil at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg/kg reduced the root galling of cucumber seedlings in pot experiments. The main components of these essential oils were tested for their nematicidal activity. Carvacrol, t-anethole, thymol, and (+)-carvone immobilized the juveniles and inhibited hatching at >125 μl/liter in vitro. Most of these components mixed in sandy soil at conce...