Abstract : Micropropagation and callus culture of Daucus capillifolius Gilli (Apiaceae) were
successfully established in Murashige and Skoog(MS) solid medium enriched with different
plant growth regulators. The combination of NAA (1mg/L) + BAP (0.1mg/L) was found to be
the optimum for both organogenesis and embryogenesis. The compositions of essential oils
obtained from wild fruits, cultivated fruits and callus culture were analyzed by GC–MS. The
major identified constituents of the essential oils of wild and cultivated fruits were geranyl
acetate (31.84%, 32.49%), α-azarone (21.69%), β-azarone (20.63 %), trans methyl isoeugenol
(11.0%, 7.48%), α-humulene (7.25%, 4.35%), juniper camphor (4.71%, 4.26%) and α-pinene
(3.26%, 3.63%), respectively. When screened, the essential oil of the wild fruits exhibited
potent cytotoxic effect against Hep-G2 with IC5014.9 μg/mL and moderate activity against
MCF-7 and HCT-116 cells with IC50 (29.1and 59.8 μg/mL), respectively. Meanwhile, the
essential oil of the cultivated fruitsexhibited moderate activity against Hep-G2, MCF-7 and
HCT-116 with IC50(36.7, 53.7 and 48.0 μg/mL), respectively.