0�C99.9% of the oils. The major constituent of the oil of the aerial parts was limonene (79.2%). Vandetanib mw Further compounds were mono- and sesquiterpenes in 8.6% and 6.6%, and acetylenes in 3.4%. The main component of the oil obtained from the roots was the acetylene compound, 2Z,8Z-matricaria ester (88.2%; 93.9%), and three other acetylenes (8Z-2,3-dihydromatricaria ester, 2E,8Z-matricaria ester, 4Z,8Z-matricaria lactone) were present in smaller amounts. Additional differences were observed in the minor components of the two different root samples; ��-pinene, limonene, 4E,8Z-matricaria lactone, and 4Z,8Z-matricaria lactone were found only in roots 1. Interestingly the main compound of the root 2Z,8Z-matricaria ester can be detected in herb only in small quantity, and, reversed, the main component of the herb limonene is present in the root oil only in 1%.

Figure 1Total ion chromatogram of the essential oil of Conyza canadensis (a) oil distilled from the herbs, (b) oil distilled from the roots I.Table 1Chemical composition of essential oils from herbs and roots of Coryza canadensis. The antimicrobial activities of oils of the herbs and roots 1 were tested on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, reference fungal strains, and fungal strains isolated from patients. The agar diffusion method furnished semiquantitative data on the bacteriostatic and fungistatic effects of the oils (Table 2). No substantial differences were found between the activities of the studied essential oils; none of them showed any activity against the tested bacterial strains, but exhibited moderate-to-strong activity against all fungi with the only exception of Aspergillus fumigatus.

The highest zone of inhibition was observed against Cryptococcus neoformans and Trichophyton interdigitalis.Table 2Antimicrobial activities of the essential oils of Conyza canadensis using agar disc diffusion method.aIn order to quantitate the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined in case of selected fungal strains. The MIC values varied from 1.25��g/mL to 20.00��g/mL for the tested fungal strains (Table 3). The highest antifungal potency was exhibited by herb and root oils against Cryptococcus neoformans with 1.25��g/mL MIC values. In addition, substantial efficacy (MIC = 2.50��g/mL) was detected against other Candida strains (C.

glabrata, C. GSK-3 tropicalis) and Rhodotorula glutinis.Table 3MIC determination of plant essential oils on selected fungal strains.In summary, the composition of the essential oil of the roots of C. Canadensis is described for the first time, with the C10 acetylene-type compound 2Z,8Z-matricaria ester as the main component, similarly to the closely related species E. acris and E. annuus [17]. In accordance with previous analyses [11�C13], limonene was detected as the predominant component of the essential oil of aerial parts of horseweed.