Biological activities of Bellis perennis volatiles and extracts.

Different parts of Bellis perennis were subjected to hydrodistillation and the products were subsequently analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Aqueous and methanol extracts were prepared from the aerial parts. Antioxidant [1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, reducing activity, total antioxidant] and antimicrobial activity of the plant materials were studied. The aqueous extracts showed higher DPPH scavenging activity (85.8% at 102.5 microg/mL) than the methanol extract. Reducing power was also observed for both tested extracts, where the formation of linoleic acid peroxides was more for the aqueous extract than the methanol extract. Antimicrobial activities of all plant materials were evaluated at varying concentrations against a panel of pathogens, but without pronounced inhibitory effect.