Identification of Antifungal Compounds from Ferula persica. var. persica.

In this investigation, the antifungal activities of chloroform and water extracts of Ferula persica. var. persica. Willd. roots were studied using conventional disk diffusion method. The chloroform extract showed antifungal activity at concentrations tested. Bioassay-guided fractionation study of the chloroform extract by preparative thin-layer chromatography (PTLC) detected two antifungal fractions that were effective against some fungi. Using conventional spectroscopy methods, the active fractions were identified as t-butyl 3-[(1-methylpropyl)dithio]-2-propenyl malonate (persicasulfide A) (1) and t.-butyl 3-[(1-methylthiopropyl)dithio]-2-propenyl malonate (persicasulfide B) (2), recently isolated from Ferula persica. var. latisecta.. These compounds showed the most potent antifungal activity with MICs of ≤ 62.5 µg/ml against filamentous fungi.