We have previously studied the chemical composition of essential oil (EO) from seeds of Anethum graveolens from Xinjiang Autonomous District in the PRC [1]. The component composition of essential oils is known to depend on the habitat. It seemed interesting to compare the composition and biological activity of EO from dill seeds growing in China and Uzbekistan. We used GC-MS to establish the structures of the isolated compounds.EO from seeds of A. graveolens (2007 harvest) that were collected in Tashkent Oblast was isolated by steam distillation in 4.2% yield. The chemical composition of the EO was studied using a Perkin-Elmer Turbo GC-MS. The component content of the oil was calculated using areas of GC peaks of total ion current without correlation coefficients. EO components were identified by comparing retention times and mass spectra of the component obtained in mass scanning mode and by using mass-spectral library data for standard oil components and pure compounds. A total of 22 chemical compounds was identified in EO of A. graveolens seeds growing in Uzbekistan. Table 1 lists the chemical composition of the EO.The principal EO components from dill seed growing in Uzbekistan were carvone (73.61%), limonene (14.69), cis-dihydrocarvone (5.87), diplaniol (1-allyl-2,5-dimethoxy-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene) (2.16), and 1,2-diethoxyethane (1.43%), which together made up 99.2% of the total EO component composition. The principal components of EO from dill seed growing in China were n-pentacosane (27.96%), dioctylester of 1,2-phenyldicarboxylic acid (25.10), octacosane (13.81), tricosane (9.14), and n-nonacosane (6.85%) [1]. A comparison of our data with that obtained earlier indicated that both the qualitative and quantitative composition of the principal EO components of A. graveolens growing in different geographic zones differed considerably. The high content in the studied EO of carvone, which is widely used as a growth inhibitor of bacteria [2-4] and certain fungi [5] and as a repellent [6] is noteworthy. Both S-(+)-carvone and R-(-)-carvone are used in the food industry to produce flavors [4] and in agriculture. For example, S-(+)-carvone is used in the Netherlands to prevent premature sprouting of potato tubers and tulip bulbs during storage [7,8]. Carvone is an available and inexpensive reagent for organic synthesis in both enantiomeric forms. This makes it attractive for asymmetric synthesis of natural compounds [9].Antimicrobial activity of EO fractions toward Candida albican and Staphylococcus aureus was estimated using the Barry method to determine the minimal inhibiting concentration (MIC) [10]. Growth of microorganisms decreased markedly upon addition of EO to nutrient medium. The experimental results are given below:Complicated mixtures of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes from A. graveolens EO possessed pronounced antimicrobial and fungicidal activities and were a strong barrier against penetration of bacterial and fungal infection in plant seeds during their storage and sprouting. Furthermore, a comp...

A novel lipid-transporting protein (Ns-LTP1) has been isolated from seeds of the garden fennel flower Nigella sativa. The molecular mass, N-terminal amino acid sequence, and amino acid composition of the protein have been determined. Ns-LTP1 has a molecular mass of 9602 Da and contains eight cysteine residues which form four disulfide bridges. The protein is capable of suppressing the development of some phytopathogenic fungi and oomycetes.

The chemical composition of bufadienolides isolated from the venom of Bufo viridis green toad occurring in Central Asia was determined and their biological properties were studied. Six individual bufadienolides were isolated by reverse-phase chromatography on a Lichrosorb RP-8 (10 m) column in amounts sufficient for qualitative analysis. Two of these were previously identified as arenobufagin and gamabufotalin by NMR spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction methods. The chemical structures of four other bufadienolides are now established by NMR spectroscopy and HPLC. These compounds have been identified as telocinobufagin (3b,5b,14b-trihydroxybufa-20,22-dienolide), marinobufagin (3b,5b-hydroxy-14,15b-epoxybufa-20,22-dienolide), bufarenogin (3b,12b,14b-hydroxybufa-20,22-dienolide), and bufalin (3b,14b-hydroxybufa-20,22-dienolide).

Dill, Anethum graveolens L. (Apiaceae), is an annual plant with a strong spicy odor [1]. Dill has been known since antiquity as an agent for increasing the stomach tonus and has been used for aches in the stomach and intestines, dispepsia, bladder inflammation, liver diseases, headaches, cramps, and insomnia [2]. The essential oil (EO) of dill seeds contains biologically active compounds [3,4].We used EO from dill seeds collected in the Xinjiang-Uigur Autonomous Region of China. EO was extracted from dill seeds (50 g) by steam distillation for 4 h and extracted from the aqueous phase by diethylether. The ether extract was dried with Na 2 SO 4 . Solvent was removed overnight. The yield of EO was 3.8% of the seed mass. EO of dill was an oily light yellow liquid with a unique odor and a density of 0.925 g/cm 3 .The chemical composition of the EO was studied by GC-MS on a Perkin-Elmer Turbo Mass Aid System XL gas chromatograph with a quadrupole mass spectrometer as the detector. We used a 30-m PE-5MS capillary quartz column (copolymer 5% phenylmethylsilicone) with internal diameter 0.25 mm and stationary-phase film thickness 25 µm, flow rate 35 mL/min, He carrier gas with temperature programming. The column was held for 2 min at 75°C, heated to 100°C at 2°C/min, to 160°C at 4°C/min, to 220°C at 2°C/min, and held for 2 min at that temperature. The final isothermal duration was 20 min at 230°C. Samples (0.2 µL) were injected. The evaporator temperature was 180°C; detector, 220°C; ionization potential, 70 eV, m/z, 30-550. The contents of oil components were calculated using the areas of the GC peaks without correction coefficients. Quantitative analysis was based on comparison of retention times and complete mass spectra with those of standard oil components, pure compounds, and mass spectrometric libraries of NBS, NIST, and Wiley.

Essential oils from many plants are known to exhibit antimicrobial activity that can act as a chemical protectant against pathogenic plant diseases [1,2]. Essential oils (EO) from carrot seeds contain biologically active compounds [3,4] and, although their biological activity has been known for a long time, the chemical composition and biological activity of essential oil from seeds of carrots growing in Uzbekistan have not yet been studied.Commercially available carrot seeds (Daucus carota sativa, 100 g) were extracted for 4 h by steam distillation. The amber-colored essential oil was separated from water by ether and dried overnight over anhydrous Na 2 SO 4 to afford essential oil in 2.2% yield.The chemical composition of EO was studied by GC/MS on a Perkin-Elmer Turbo Mass Aid System XL gas chromatograph with a quadrupole mass spectrometer as the detector. We used a quartz capillary column (PE-5MS, 30 m × 0.25 mm) with a deposited stationary phase of copolymer (5% phenylmethylsilicone) 0.25 µm thick. The He carrier gas flow rate was 1 mL/min. The column temperature thermostat was programmed as follows: hold for 2 min at 75°C, heat to 100°C at 2°C/min, to 160°C at 4°C/min; and to 220°C at 2°C/min; hold at this temperature for 2 min. The duration of the final isothermal regime was 20 min at 230°C. Samples (0.2 µL) were injected with vaporizer temperature 180°C, detector 220°C, ionization potential 70 eV, and m/z 30-550.The contents of EO components were calculated using GC peak areas without correlation coefficients. Components were identified based on a comparison of retention times and full mass spectra with those of standard EO components and pure compounds and a search of the NBS, NIST, and Wiley mass spectrometric libraries.A total of 18 chemical components consisting of 99.98% of the EO were identified in seeds of Daucus carota sativa. According to the GC/MS results, the main components of carrot-seed EO were β-bisabolene (80.49%), α-asarone (8.8%), and cis-α-bergamoten (5.51%). The total amount of main components was 95.72% of the total EO content. Table 1 gives the chemical components and their molecular formulas and relative percent contents according to the mass spectrometric analyses.The main components of carrot-seed EO from France and Hungary were α-pinene (13%), β-pinene (18%), carotol (18%), and β-bisabolene [5,6]. However, the main components of EO from Uzbekistan were β-bisabolene (80.49%), asarone (8.8%), and cis-α-bergamoten (5.51%). The variation in the EO component compositions is probably due to growing conditions. The antiicrobial activity of the EO fractions against Candida albican and Staphylococcus aureus was determined by a modified Barry test method [7]. Table 2 gives the results. Table 2 shows that mixtures of terpenes and sesquiterpenes from carrot-seed EO exhibited a high antimicrobial activity and possibly protect seeds from bacterial and fungal infection. Pure α-asarone exhibited sedative and antipyretic properties; α-humulene, anticancer activity against MCF-7, PC-3, A-549, DLD-...