Abstract
This is the first original study on chemical, thermal, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activity of the leaf and gum hydroethanolic (20:80 v/v) extracts of Ferula asafoetida endemic for Iran. The ratio of solvent to the dried matters was 3:1 (w/w) and after filtering, the solvent was evaporated under vacuum (at 40 °C). Leaf extract contained greater phenolic and flavonoid compounds and thus higher DPPH scavenging and ferric reducing power. Leaf extract constituted high levels of carvacrol (15.40%) and α-bisabolol (9.75%) while in gum extract contained high levels of (Z)-b-ocimene (20.91%) and (E)-1-propenyl-sec-butyl-disulfide (17.62%). Umbelliprenin and ferulic acid were the major phenolic compounds in both extracts. Results of TGA and DSC revealed temperatures below and upper 100 °C and 160 °C as dominant regions of weight loss for gum and leaf extracts, respectively. Minimal inhibitory concentration for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth were 62.5, 62.5, 125, 125 mg/l and 400, 300, 50, 300 mg/l of leaf and gum extracts, respectively. Ferula asafoetida extracts can have particular applications in the food industry due to beneficial biological activity.