Ferulago is a naitive and pharmaceutical herb originated in Iran and belongs to Apiaceae family. The main species are F. angulata , F. subvelutina and F. carduchorum wich are grown in wide areas of Zagros Mountains in centre of Iran. These species are traditionally consumed as a granish and addition to that as a sedative, tonic, digestive, aphrodisiac drug. Also they are used for treatment of intestinal worms, hemorrhoids, ulcers, snake bite, headache and spleen. In particular, F . campestris was mentioned in the so-called Corpus Hippocraticum by Hippocrates as an ingredient of medicine used for treatment of gynaecological afflictions. Since there are no reports, so far, about the antioxidant properties of these plants, this research was carried out to investigate, the antioxidant activity of the methanolic extracts of above species, using in vitro models. In order to evaluate this activity, radical scavenging ?, ?- Diphenyl - ? -picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and potencial of reducing power was compared to those of BHT (Butylated hydroxyl toluene), ascorbic acid and ?-tocopherol. Also, chelating properties of the extracts were compared with ascorbic acid and EDTA. In addition, the antioxidant effect of the extracts were measured in the samples of soy bean oil contained no antioxidant in compare with the samples contained 200 ppm of BHT, under the same conditions as time and temperature. In DPPH models generally the antioxidant activity of the plant extracts was less effective than ascorbic acid and ?-tocopherol, but it was comparable and significantly greater than BHT. In aspect of reducing power, the plant extracts were less effective than the ascorbic acid, synthetic antioxidant (BHT), and ?-tocopherol. Although, in chelating assay the antioxidant activity of the plant extracts was less effective than EDTA, but it was significantly greater than ascorbic acid. Methanolic extracts inhibited more efficiently the oxidation of soy bean oil at 60±3 ? C than BHT after 14 days. The antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract of three species was also evaluated using two methods Disc diffusion and Well diffusion in case of four bacteria, Bacillus cereus , Listeria monocytogenes , E.coli and Staphylococus aureus .The results showed that the methanolic extracts from the plant, had moderate to poor effectiveness on the microorganisms. In order to introduce an application of this plant (traditionaly it is added to one of the dairy products named KASHK), nano powders (the particle size between 100 nm and 1000 nm) of the samples of these species were added to a popular dairy drink named Doogh (ie. diluted yoghurt and salt) with different concentrations. Sensory evalution of these samples showed that the best concentration was 2 grams per litre. Since, the remaining yoghurt bacteria as the culture Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus in the drink could gradually deteriorate the taste, the activity of these bacteriea should be inhibited. Thus, the antibacterial activity of the methanolic extracts of the species on these bacteria was also investigated, but no significant effect was abserved. Key Words: Ferulago, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Chavil, Nano-Powder, Doogh.
