These results demonstrated significant antidiabetic effects and showed that serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides levels were decreased, significantly, consequently this plant might be of value in diabetes treatment.

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The essential oils from the aerial parts ofDaucus crinitusDesf. were analyzed at three developmental stages (early vegetative, early flowering, and full flowering). Oil yield was found to vary depending on the stage of development, and the highest content of oil (0.15% w/w) was obtained at full flowering. The chemical composition of essential oils studied by GC and GC-MS showed a total of 71 compounds: 27 aliphatic compounds, 18 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, 9 hydrocarbons monoterpene, 5 oxygenated monoterpenes, 5 phenolic compounds, 4 oxygenated sesquiterpenes, 2 oxygenated diterpenes, and 01 diterpene hydrocarbons. Whatever the analyzed stage, phenolic compounds were the most abundant group. Their level significantly increased during ripening and varied from 36.4 to 82.1%. Antimicrobial activities of oils were tested on four different microorganisms. The oils of various phenological stages showed high activity againstCandida albicans(30 mm) andStaphylococcus aureus(11–28 mm) bacteria strains which are deemed very dangerous and very difficult to eliminate. Thus, they represent an inexpensive source of natural antibacterial substances that may potentially be used in pathogenic systems.

The volatile components of Algerian Daucus aureus Desf. were investigated using a combination of analytical techniques. Analyses of essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts and roots of the plant were performed using capillary GC/RI and GC/MS analysis. Seventy-one compounds were identified, constituting 90.2-96.0% of the total essential oils,. The main components from the aerial parts of the plants were germacrene D (11.3-67.2%), followed by caryophyllene oxide (0.9-9.5%), spathulenol (0.6-8.4%), (Z)--santalol (1.4-6.5%), viridiflorol (0.9-5.8%), cadin-4-en-7-ol (1.5-5.6%), and -cadinol (1.2-5.2%). The main components of the essential oils obtained from the roots of the plant were (Z)--santalol (14.1%), caryophyllene oxide (10.6%), spathulenol (9.8%), nonadecane (6.8%), and tetradecanoic acid (5.2%). The intraspecies variations of the chemical compositions of the essential oils from the aerial parts of D. aureus from 14 Algerian sample locations were investigated using statistical analysis. Essential oil samples were clustered into two groups according to their chemical compositions. This chemical variability could be attributed to growing conditions and environmental factors. The essential oils exhibited an interesting antimicrobial effect against the microorganisms tested, with MIC values in the range of 0.125-4.6 mg/mL. It is suggested that the essential oils from D. aureus may be a new potential source of natural antimicrobial compounds that could be applied in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

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