Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of the Essential Oils Obtained From Yellow and Red Carrot Fruits Cultivated In Egypt

The chemical composition of the essential oils from the fruits of Daucus carota var. sativus (yellow carrot) and var. boissieri (red carrot) was determined using GC/FID and GC/MS. Altogether; 29 and 32 compounds were identified accounting for 96.58 and 96.72 % of the total detected components in the hydrodistilled yellow and red carrot oils, respectively. Carotol constituted the major component in both oils (~66‒68 %). The antioxidant activity was assessed using both diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2deoxyribose degradation (2-DR) assays. Both oils reduced DPPH and inhibit 2-DR with IC50 values of 12.71, 14.15, mg/ml and 87.15, 88.75 μg/ml for the yellow and red carrot oils, respectively. Inhibition of both 5lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzyme and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production were used to assess the antiinflammatory activity. Yellow carrot oil showed better activity towards inhibition of 5-LOX (IC50 of 37.53 μg/ml). The cytotoxicity of both oils was determined against both MCF-7and HepG-2 cancer cell lines using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The highest cytotoxic activity was observed against HepG-2 cell with IC50 values ranging from 163-172 μg/ml for both oils. These results indicate promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of both oils and provide a rationale for their uses in many skin diseases.