This study investigated the chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of essential oil extracted from Artemisia aragonensis Lam. (EOA). Hydrodistillation was employed to extract EOA. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses (GC-MS) were used to determine the phytochemical composition of EOA. Antioxidant potential was examined in vitro by use of three tests: 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrilhidrazil (DPPH), ferric reducing activity power (FRAP) and total antioxidant capacity assay (TAC). Agar diffusion and microdilution bioassays were used to assess antimicrobial activity. GC/MS and GC-FID detected 34 constituents in the studied EOA. The major component was Camphor (24.97%) followed by Borneol (13.20%), 1,8 Cineol (10.88%), and Artemisia alcohol (10.20%). EOA exhibited significant antioxidant activity as measured by DPPH and FRAP assays, with IC50 and EC50 values of 0.034 ± 0.004 and 0.118 ± 0.008 mg/mL, respectively. EOA exhibited total antioxidant capacity of 7.299 ± 1.774 mg EAA/g. EOA exhibited potent antibacterial activity as judged by the low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against selected clinically-important pathogenic bacteria. MIC values of 6.568 ± 1.033, 5.971 ± 1.033, 7.164 ± 0.0 and 5.375 ± 0.0 μg/mL were observed against S. aureus, B. subtills, E. coli 97 and E. coli 57, respectively. EOA displayed significant antifungal activity against four strains of fungi: F. oxysporum, C. albicans, A. flavus and A. niger with values of 21.50 ± 0.43, 5.31 ± 0.10, 21.50 ± 0.46 and 5.30 ± 0.036 μg/mL, respectively. The results of the current study highlight the importance of EOA as an alternative source of natural antioxidant and antibacterial drugs to combat antibiotic-resistant microbes and free radicals implicated in the inflammatory responses accompanying microbial infection.

This work was conducted to study the chemical composition, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities of essential oil and hydrolat from Withania frutescens. The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation. The chemical characterization was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The antioxidant activity was studied using four different assays (DPPH, TAC, FRAP, and β-carotene bleaching). The antibacterial activity test was carried out on multidrug-resistant bacteria including Gram-negative and Gram-positive strains. Antifungal activity was tested on Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yield of essential oil (EO) obtained by hydrodistillation of W. frutescens was 0.31% majorly composed of camphor, α-thujone, carvacrol, and thymol. Regarding the antioxidant activities, the concentration of the sample required to inhibit 50% of radicals (IC50) of EO and hydrolat were 14.031 ± 0.012 and 232.081 ± 3.047 µg/mL (DPPH), 4.618 ± 0.045 and 8.997 ± 0.147 µg/mL (FRAP), 0.091 ± 0.007 and 0.131 ± 0.004 mg AAE/mg (TAC), 74.141 ± 1.040% and 40.850 ± 0.083% (β-carotene), respectively. Concerning the antibacterial activity of essential oil and hydrolat, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values found were 0.006 ± 0.001 and 6.125 ± 0.541 µg/mL (Escherichia coli 57), 0.003 ± 0.001 and 6.125 ± 0.068 µg/mL (Klebsiella pneumoniae), 0.001 ± 0.0 and 6.125 ± 0.046 µg/mL (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and 0.012 ± 0.003 and 6.125 ± 0.571 µg/mL (Staphylococcus aureus), respectively. MIC values of essential oil and hydrolat vs. both C. albicans and S. cerevisiae were lower than 1/20,480 µg/mL. Based on the findings obtained, essential oils of Withania frutescens can be used as promising natural agents to fight free radical damage and nosocomial antibiotic-resistant microbes.

Resistance to drugs is reaching alarming levels and is placing human health at risk. With the lack of new antimicrobials drugs, infectious diseases are becoming harder to treat. Hence, there is an increasing awareness of active phytochemicals with therapeutic functions. The tremendous research interest on the Cistus L. genus includes numerous plants used in traditional medicine by people living around the Mediterranean Sea, also resulted in some interesting discoveries and written literature. This review aimed at gathering scientific literature about Cistus species, describing phytochemical profiles and the various pharmacological activities. We also extensively reviewed the antimicrobial activities, including antiviral, antiparasitic, antifungal, and antibacterial potentials of Essential Oils (EO), raw extracts as well as isolated compounds. Mechanisms of action along with methods used are also investigated in this review. Considering the findings of the Cistus species extracts, this genus offers an adequate reserve of active phytochemicals since many have been used to create drugs. Therefore, this review work can serve society by providing a global view on Cistus L. sp. regarding pharmacological potentials and their chemical profiles.

No abstract

Background: Rosin (Colophony) is a natural resin derived from species of the pine family Pinaceae. It has wide industrial applications including printing inks, photocopying paper, adhesives and varnishes, soap and soda. Rosin and its derivatives are employed as ingredients in various pharmaceutical products such as ointments and plasters. Rosin-based products contain allergens that may exert some occupational health problems such as asthma and contact dermatitis. Objective: Our knowledge on the pharmaceutical and medicinal properties of rosin is limited. The current study aims at investigating the cytotoxic potential of rosin-derived crude methanolic extract (RDCME) and elucidation of its mode-of-action against breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDAMB231). Methods: Crude methanol extract was prepared from rosin. Its phenolic contents were analyzed by reversed-phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). Antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH radical-scavenging assay. Antiproliferation activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cancerous cells was investigated by MTT assay; its potency compared with doxorubicin as positive control and specificity was assessed compared to two non-cancerous cell lines (BJ-1 and MCF-12F). Selected apoptosis protein markers were assayed by western blotting. Cell cycle analysis was performed by Annexin V-FITC/PI FACS assay. Results: RD-CME exhibited significant and selective cytotoxicity against the two tested breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB231) compared to normal cells as revealed by MTT assay. ELISA and western blotting indicated that the observed antiproliferative activity of RD-CME is mediated via the engagement of an intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathway, as judged by enhanced expression of key pro-apoptotic protein markers (p53, Bax and Casp 3) relative to vehicle solvent-treated MCF-7 control cells. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this the first report to investigate the medicinal anticancer and antioxidant potential of crude methanolic extract derived from colophony rosin. We provided evidence that RD-CME exhibits a strong antioxidant and anticancer effects. The observed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 is proposed to take place via G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Colophony resin has a great potential to join the arsenal of plant-derived natural anticancer drugs. Further thorough investigation of the potential cytotoxicity of RD-CME against various cancerous cell lines is required to assess the spectrum and potency of its novel activity.

The chemical composition and antibacterial, insecticidal, and antioxidant properties of the essential oil from Mentha pulegium L. (M. pulegium) growing in Morocco were investigated in this work. To achieve this goal, the oils were obtained by using hydrodistillation before being characterized by GC-MS. The antibacterial and antifungal activities were conducted against pathogenic strains using the disc diffusion and MICS bioassays. The insecticidal activity was carried out versus C. maculatus using contact and inhalation tests. The antioxidant activity was performed by using DPPH and total antioxidant capacity bioassays. The chemical analysis of the oil showed that 20 compounds were identified, which represented 98.91% of the total oil. In the oil, the main components detected were R-(+)-pulegone (76.35%), carvone (5.84%), dihydrocarvone (5.09%), and octanol-3 (2.25%). The essential oil has moderate-to-strong broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal properties; the results showed that B. subtilis was the most sensitive strain to M. pulegium oil, with the largest inhibition diameter (25 ± 0.33). For the antifungal activity, the results obtained indicated that Aspergillus niger was the most sensitive fungal strain to M. pulegium oil with an inhibition percentage up to 100%. Regarding the insecticidal activity, the inhalation test showed a high efficacy (100% mortality), and a lethal concentration of LC50 = 1.41 + 0.48 μL/L air was obtained after 24 hours of exposure. Moreover, the contact test showed that a total reduction in fertility and emergence was obtained with a dose of 20 μL/mL of acetone. Regarding the antioxidant activity, the sample concentration necessary to inhibit 50% of HE radicals (IC50) was 7.659 mg/mL (DPPH) and 583.066 57.05 mg EAA/g EO (TAC).

The antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal properties of essential oils (EOs) of Juniperus thurifera L., a plant utilized in traditional, herbal medicine, were investigated. The EOs were extracted by use of a Clevenger apparatus and phytochemicals identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS). The antioxidant capacity of EOs of J. thurifera was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Antimicrobial activity of EOs of J. thurifera was determined against four fungal strains, Candida albicans; ATCC 10231, Aspergillus niger; MTCC 282, Aspergillus flavus; MTCC 9606 and Fusarium oxysporum; MTCC 9913 and four bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus; ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli; K12, Bacillus subtilis; DSM 6333, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; CIP A22, by use of the disk diffusion method, and microdilution method used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). EOs of J. thurifera consisted of 31 compounds and were dominated by α-thujene (25%), elemol (12%) and muurolol (12%). Antioxidant activity recorded an IC50 of 24 ± 0.71 µg/mL (DPPF), EC50 of 0.19 ± 0.01 mg/mL (FRAP), and 9.3 × 102 ± 38 mg EAA/g (TAC). The EOs of J. thurifera exhibited significant antibacterial activity against all bacterial strains under investigation, especially P. aeruginosa; CIP A22 with an inhibition diameter of 28 ± 1.5 mm and MIC of 4.8 × 10 −2 ± 0. 001 µg/mL. EOs of J. thurifera also exhibited significant antifungal activity against C. albicans; ATCC 10231 and F. oxysporum; MTCC 9913 with an activity of 21 ± 2.1 mm, 32 ± 2.3%, and MIC of 9.5 × 10 −2 ± 0.001 Bioactive molecules found in EOs of J. thurifera could be used as an alternative solution to antibiotics available on the market to combat microbial resistance.

Plants possessing various bioactive compounds and antioxidant components have gained enormous attention because of their efficacy in enhancing human health and nutrition. Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), because of their color, flavor, and nutritional value, are considered as one of the most popular vegetables around the world. In the present investigation, the effect of different solvents extractions (methanol, ethanol, and water) and oven drying on the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties was studied of red, yellow, and green peppers. The green pepper water extract showed the highest total polyphenol content (30.15 mg GAE/g DW) followed by red pepper water extract (28.73 mg GAE/g DW) and yellow pepper water extract (27.68 mg GAE/g DW), respectively. The methanol extracts of all the pepper samples showed higher TPC as compared to the ethanol extract. A similar trend was observed with the total flavonoid content (TFC). The antioxidant assays (DPPH scavenging and reducing power) echoed the findings of TPC and TFC. In both antioxidant assays, the highest antioxidant activity was shown by the water extract of green pepper, which was followed by the water extract of red pepper and yellow pepper. Furthermore, all extracts were assessed for their potential antimicrobial activity against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Aqueous extracts of all three pepper samples exhibited slightly higher inhibition zones as compared to their corresponding ethanolic and methanolic extract. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 0.5 to 8.0 mg/ml. The lowest MIC values ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/ml concentration were recorded for aqueous extracts of green pepper. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed tannic acid as the major phenolic compound in all three pepper samples. Thus, it is envisaged that the microwave drying/heating technique can improve the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the pepper.