Chemical constituents and anticholinesterase activity of the essential oil of Algerian Elaeoselinum thapsioides (Desf.) Maire

Elaeoselinum thapsioides is an Algerian medicinal plant used in traditional medicine to treat different diseases. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Elaeoselinum thapsioides (Desf.) Maire (Apiaceae) growing wild in Algeria, was analyzed by GC-MS for the first time. Forty-five compounds were detected, accounting for 93.8% of the total oil, which was characterized by a high content of hydrocarbons derivatives of monoterpenes (75.9%). Myrcene (61.0%) was the principal constituent of the essential oil, followed by germacrene D (10.3%), α-pinene (6.5%) and β-pinene (2.9%). In vitro anticholinesterase activity of the essential oil was investigated by the Ellman method that evidenced a low acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory effect.