The essential oils (EO) of Mentha suaveolens, a wild Labiatae, which grows in several regions in Morocco, were characterized and their antimicrobial activity assessed. The main aromatic constituents of this plant, as characterized by IR, NMR and MS studies, were pulegone, piperitenone oxide (PEO) and piperitone oxide (PO) occurring in different amounts depending on the subspecies. These constituents as well as a series of other aromatic products such as carvone, limonene and menthone, were tested for their antimicrobial activity against 19 bacteria including Gram-positive and Gram-negative and against three fungi, using solid phase and microtitration assays. Pulegone-rich essential oil inhibited efficiently all the micro-organisms tested with MICs ranging between 0.69 and 2.77 ppm. Among the components from Mentha suaveolens EO, pulegone was the most effective against the tested microorganisms, followed by PEO and PO. The structure-activity relationship is discussed on the basis of the activity of the other aromatic derivatives tested such as carvone, limonene, menthone and the profile of the essential oils of Mentha suaveolens was compared with other Mentha species.

The topical anti-inflammatory activity of four extracts from Thymus broussonetii Boiss (Labiatae) leaves, a herbal drug used in Moroccan traditional medicine, has been studied using the croton oil ear test in mice. A bioassay-oriented fractionation revealed that the pharmacological activity is mainly in the chloroform extract. Fractionation and analysis of this extract allowed the identification of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid as the main anti-inflammatory principles. Some flavonoids (luteolin, eriodictyol, thymonin) and glycosides (luteolin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin-3'-O-glucuronide, eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside) were also isolated from the methanol extract.

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The topical anti-inflammatory activity of Thymus willdenowii Boiss (Labiatae) leaves, a herbal drug used in Moroccan folk medicine, has been studied using the croton oil ear test in mice. A bioassay-oriented fractionation procedure showed that the activity concentrates in the chloroform extract, which has a potency similar to that of indometacin, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used as reference (ID50 (dose giving 50% oedema inhibition) = 83 microg cm(-2) and 93 microg cm(-2), respectively). The main compounds responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of T. willdenowii are ursolic acid and oleanolic acid. The flavonoids luteolin-3'-O-glucuronide and eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside were found for the first time in the genus Thymus.

Three new bisdesmosidic triterpene saponins, zygophylosides I (1), L (2) and M (3), and three known quinovic acid glycosides were isolated from Zygophyllum gaetulum. The new compounds were determined to be 3 beta-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl- (1-->2)-beta-d-glucopyranosylurs-20(21)-en-28-oic acid 28-O-[beta-D-2-O-sulfonylglucopyranosyl] ester (1),3 beta-O- [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl- (1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]urs-20(21)-en-28-oic acid 28-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl] ester (2), and 3 beta-O-beta-D-quinovopyranosyl-27-nor-olean-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3) by use of 1D and 2D NMR techniques.

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