Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activity of Extracts of Ferula heuffelii Griseb . ex Heuff . and Its Metabolites

The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of isolates (CHCl 3 and MeOH extracts and selected metabolites) obtained from the underground parts of the Balkan endemic plant Ferula heuffelii Griseb . ex Heuff . were assessed. The CHCl 3 and MeOH extracts exhibited moderate antimicrobial activity, being more pronounced against Gram ‐positive than Gram ‐negative bacteria, especially against Staphylococcus aureus ( MIC =12.5 μg/ml for both extracts) and Micrococcus luteus ( MIC =50 and 12.5 μg/ml, resp.). Among the tested metabolites, (6 E )‐1‐(2,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)‐3,7,11‐trimethyl‐3‐vinyldodeca‐6,10‐dien‐1‐one ( 2 ) and (2 S *,3 R *)‐2‐[(3 E )‐4,8‐dimethylnona‐3,7‐dien‐1‐yl]‐2,3‐dihydro‐7‐hydroxy‐2,3‐dimethylfuro[3,2‐ c ]coumarin ( 4 ) demonstrated the best antimicrobial activity. Compounds 2 and 4 both strongly inhibited the growth of M. luteus ( MIC =11.2 and 5.2 μ M , resp.) and Staphylococcus epidermidis ( MIC =22.5 and 10.5 μ M , resp.) and compound 2 additionally also the growth of Bacillus subtilis ( MIC =11.2 μ M ). The cytotoxic activity of the isolates was tested against three human cancer cell lines, viz. , cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa), chronic myelogenous leukemia (K562), and breast cancer (MCF‐7) cells. The CHCl 3 extract exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against all cell lines ( IC 50 <11.0 μg/ml). All compounds strongly inhibited the growth of the K562 and HeLa cell lines. Compound 4 exhibited also a strong activity against the MCF‐7 cell line, comparable to that of cisplatin ( IC 50 =22.32±1.32 vs. 18.67±0.75μ M ).