Chemical composition and biological activities of fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) essential oils and ethanolic extracts of conventional and organic seeds

Abstract

Essential oils and ethanolic extracts of seeds of seven organically and conventionally grown accessions (E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, and E7) of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) were examined for their chemical constituents, antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Accession E7 presented the highest essential oil yields of 4.30 ± 0.45 and 3.24 ± 0.46%, respectively, for organic and conventional mode. However, E6 noted the lowest ethanolic extract yield in the two modes of cultivation. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of the essential oils revealed the presence of nine essential components in all plant materials. (E)‐anethole, methyl‐chavicol, fenchone, and limonene were highly abundant. A considerable antioxidant effect was shown for all accessions and a significant difference (p < .05) was reported in the mode of cultivation of essential oils and ethanolic extracts. Concerning antibacterial activity, the essential oils showed generally higher antibacterial activity on gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria than ethanolic extracts for organic and conventional fennel seeds. Practical applications Foeniculum vulgare is an aromatic plant widely used nowadays as flavoring as well as food preservative in foods, such as ice cream, meat, and fish dishes. In this context, the chemical composition and biological activities of essential oil and ethanolic extract from fennel seeds cultivated in organic and conventional modes were studied. Fennel seeds extracts presented a richness in polyphenols and flavonoids. In addition, they showed considerable antioxidant activity, while essential oils had a higher antibacterial activity. There is increase demand, nowadays, for such natural and safe products for future applications in the food industries.

Formulation and Evaluation of Functional Candies Fortified with Carrot Juice and Fennel Seed Extract: Nutritional and Sensory Properties

“…A previous study reported the value of TFC carrot extract (20.48 ±28 mg QE/g) dry weight material (Nadeem et al, 2018). Some recent studies have also shown that the decrease in TFC during thermal processing is particularly associated with the extraction technique, time of processing, and solvent used (Khammassi et al, 2022;Ben Abdesslem et al, 2021). This study was in strong evidence with the study conducted on the basil seeds that determined the effect of boiling temperature (>100 o C) on the TFC and TPC.…”

Investigation of Antimicrobial Activity of Medicinal Plant Extracts on Bacillus cereus Isolated from Soil

“…In the struggle for the development of all human civilizations, there has always been a close and shoulder-to-shoulder relationship between man and plants. Due to the proven antimicrobial effects of various medicinal plants in numerous studies, drug resistance caused by pathogens, and side effects of chemical antimicrobials, the approach of scientific research to natural resources has increased greatly in recent decades (33,34). On the other hand, the results of this study suggest that thyme (T. vulgaris L.) can be used to treat infections caused by B. cereus.…”

Value adding search among a selection of Tunisian fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) cultivars: Nutritional composition, chlorophyll and β-carotene contents of fennel seeds

“…Potentially, several industrial applications,using fennel seed powder or FEO, could be carried out based on present work results in addition to our previous studies. For instance, the cultivar Cv2 was rich in sugars (61%), in transanethole (72.73%) (Ben Abdesslem et al, 2020) and β-carotene (0.647 mg/mg DM) that are considered of high interest in diets nowadays.…”

“…On the other hand, cultivar Cv6 with a considerable nutritional composition, in addition to its richness in chlorophyll (0.584 mg/mg DM) and β-carotene, as well as its essential oil with high content of trans-anethole (66.73%), could be considered for the preparation of a tea using dried seeds (Saber and Eshra, 2019). Moreover, cultivar Cv1 had a high content of phenolic compounds and a very effective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, listeria monocytogenes and Esherichia coli (Ben Abdesslem et al, 2020). Also, essential oil of cultivar Cv1 was shown to have a high content of methyl-chavicol (76.29%) (Ben Abdesslem et al, 2020).…”

“…Moreover, cultivar Cv1 had a high content of phenolic compounds and a very effective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, listeria monocytogenes and Esherichia coli (Ben Abdesslem et al, 2020). Also, essential oil of cultivar Cv1 was shown to have a high content of methyl-chavicol (76.29%) (Ben Abdesslem et al, 2020). Hence, cultivar Cv1 is intended to be used in the pharmaceutical industry.…”