Volatiles of the Balkan endemic Daucus guttatus ssp. zahariadii and cultivated and wild-growing D. carota – A comparison study

The hydrodistilled essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of Daucus guttatus Sibth. & Sm. ssp. zahariadii Heywood, an endemic plant species of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as solvent extracts and essential oils from different parts of Daucus carota L. have been analysed by GC and GC–MS and screened for antimicrobial activity against 12 bacterial and two fungal strains. The volatiles of the two plant taxa differed significantly in both their chemical identity and antimicrobial effect. The dominant constituent of D. guttatus oil was apiol (43.3%), which was absent from all samples of D. carota. The diethyl ether extract of D. carota inhibited the growth of the yeast Candida albicans while the oil of D. guttatus at 25 mg/ml had no effect on the growth of the fungal organisms tested. Additionally, the oil of D. guttatus showed prominent antibacterial activity against a pathogenic Corynebacterium pyogenes.