148 Khosravi et al. Int. J. Biosci. 2014 RESEARCH PAPER OPEN ACCESS Investigation of antioxidant and antifungal activity of fennel essence Matin Khosravi 1* , Seyed Ali Mortazavi 2 , Mehdi Karimi 3 , Parvin Sharayei 3 , Mohammad Armin 4 1 Food Science and Technology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Sabzevar, Iran 2 Food Science and Technology Department, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad , Iran 3 The Research Center and Natural Sources of Khorasan Razavi, Iran 4 Agriculture Department, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Sabzevar, Iran Key words: Essential oil, antioxidant, fennel, antifungal. http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/4.2.148-153 Article published on January 18, 2014 Abstract Essentiol oils and herbal extracts from medicinal plants have attracted a great deal of interesting applications in fresh and processed food preservation, pharmaceuticals, alternative medicine and natural-based therapies. In the present study, phytochemical composition, antioxidant and antifungal properties of fennel essential oil have been evaluated.Antifungal properties were evaluated by paper diffusion method. Antioxidant activity was evaluated through DPPH and Frap assay. The chemical analysis of the essential oil by Gas chromatography/ mass spectroohotometer (GC/MS) showed that Anisole,p-allyl (31/34%) was the major compound. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the essential oil were 2/8 mg/ml. This essential oil was able to reduce the stable free radical DPPH with an IC50 of 186/68 mg/ml and reduction Fe3+ (FRAP) of 400/528 μmol Fe II/ L. These results indicate that this essential oil has a high potential of antioxidant and antifungal properties . Therefore, it can be suggested to combine this essential oil with other agents for the preservation of foods against pathogenic and Toxigenic microorganisms. * Corresponding Author: Matin Khosravi  mat_khosravy@yahoo.com International Journal of Biosciences | IJB | ISSN: 2220-6655 (Print) 2222-5234 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 4, No. 2, p. 148-153, 2014