Pharmaceutical Sciences December 2016, 22, 296-301 doi: 10.15171/PS.2016.46 http://journals.tbzmed.ac.ir/PHARM Short Communication *Corresponding Author: Mahnaz Khanavi, E-mail: khanavim@tums.ac.ir ©2016 The Authors. This is an open access article and applies the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. Essential Oil Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Oil and Extracts of Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedtsch.: Wild and Cultivated Fruits Arezoo Rustaie 1,2 , Roya Keshvari 1 , Nasrin Samadi 3 , Farahnaz Khalighi-Sigaroodi 4 , Mohammad Reza Shams Ardekani 1,5 , Mahnaz Khanavi 1,2,6* 1 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2 Persian Medicine and Pharmacy Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 3 Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 4 Medicinal Plants Research Center, Institute of Medicinal Plants, ACECR, Karaj, Iran. 5 Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 6 Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Introduction In recent decades there has been an increasing tendency toward herbal medicine use in prevention, control and treatment of diseases. Anthropogenic interferences with natural habitats and ecosystems, and threats posed by human to comply the market request, make many medicinal plants endangered. Medicinal plants cultivation, provides required resources and makes avoidance of wild resources depletion, furthermore it may control the growing condition, harvesting at the right time, and reducing the possibility of adulteration. 1 There are several studies on the chemotype development in various plants’ cultivars and differences in essential oils composition and biological activities between the cultivated and wild ones. 2-7 The research A B S T R A C T Background: Fruits of Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B. Fedtsch (Apiaceae) has been used as spice, anti-flatulence and antiseptic agent for many years. In recent years the wild resources of the plant have been threatened by extinction. Domestication of such a plant saves its genetic resources from depletion. However, concerns remain about the possible changes due to development of chemotypes and changes in the composition and biological and pharmacological potentials. Methods: Analyses of essential oils from fruits of wild and cultivated types was performed using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy. Antimicrobial assessment was done by agar diffusion method Results: The main compounds of both oils were included γ-terpinene (30.77% and 27.57%), cuminaldehyde (20.49% and 21.1%), ρ-cymene (20.1% and 18.32%) and γ-terpinen-7-al (8.29% and 7.84%) respectively. Analytical results of both tested oils exhibited very close similarities in major compounds, whereas some differences in their percentages were observed. In vitro antimicrobial evaluation of volatile oils, total extract and the resultant fractions against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans demonstrated some similarities and differences. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of wild grown fruits essential oils ranged between 0.375-1.5 mg/ml, while those of cultivated one were 0.75-6.25 mg/ml. All extracts and fractions showed similarly minor antibacterial potential while anti-Candida albicans activity was much remarkable with MICs calculated 2.5-5 mg/ml for cultivated and 5 mg/ml for wild grown extracts and fractions. Conclusion: In conclusion, despite the substantial similarities in composition of both oils, the alteration in antimicrobial results may be caused by variety in concentration of major and minor compounds and their synergism or antagonism in mixture. A r t i c l e I n f o Article History: Received: 28 July 2016 Accepted: 17 October 2016 ePublished: 30 December 2016 Keywords: -Antimicrobial -Apiaceae -Bunium persicum -Essential oil -Extract