Biological Activities and the Essential Oil Analysis of Cousinia harazensis and C. calocephala

This research aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and heme polymerization inhibition activities, as well as the detection of the chemical composition of essential oils and measurement of the amount of total phenol and flavonoids of Cousinia harazensis and C. calocephala. In-vitro growth inhibitory effects of methanol extracts on A2780, T-47D, A549 and Hep-G2 cells were evaluated by MTT assay. MIC and MBC/MFC were determined by the agar dilution method. The anti-malarial activity of herbs was assessed with an inhibition test of heme detoxification (ITHD). Total phenol and flavonoids content measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method. The essential oils from two herbs were extracted by hydro-distillation, and GC/MS analyzed their compositions. Cell studies against selected cell lines growth in MTT assay were related to C. harazensis on Hep-G2 with IC50 of 4.521 μg/mL. The MIC of anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects is related to C. harazensis extract on Staphylococcus epidermidis and Aspergillus fumigatus with 15.62 and 62.5 mg/mL, respectively. Both extracts do not have anti-malarial activity. C. harzensis content was richer in total phenol and flavonoids rather than the other herb. m-benzyl benzyl alcohol (46.7%) and butyl phthalate (14.7%) are the major compounds of C. harazensis; main components of C. calocephala are 3-methyl-tetrahydrofuran (24.6%) and oleic acid (15.4%). In conclusion, C. harazensis with more phenol and flavonoids content showed better results in terms of biological activities.