Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Insecticidal Properties of Chemically Characterized Essential Oils Extracted from Mentha longifolia: In Vitro and In Silico Analysis

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the phytochemical profile, and evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and insecticidal properties, of Moroccan Mentha longifolia L. essential oil (ML-EO) using in vitro and in silico assays. Noteworthily, as chromatography (GC-MS/MS) revealed that ML-EO is majorly composed of piperitenone oxide (53.43%), caryophyllene (20.02%), and (−) germacrene D (16.53%). It possesses excellent antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 1.49 ± 0.00 for DPPH and 0.051 ± 0.06 μg/mL for ABTS. Moreover, the RP and TAC activities were 0.80 ± 0.01 μg/mL and 315.532 ± 0.00 mg EAA/g, respectively. ML-EO exhibited a potent antimicrobial effect, specifically against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It also exhibited strong antifungal ability, especially against Candida albicans. Regarding insecticidal activity, for ML-EO, a dose of 20 µL/mL produced a complete reduction in fecundity, fertility, and emergence of adult C. maculatus with mortality rates reaching 100%. In silico results showed that the antioxidant activity is mostly attributed to α-Cadinol, the antibacterial efficiency is attributed to piperitenone oxide, and antifungal capacity is related to cis-Muurola-4(15),5-diene and piperitenone oxide. Accordingly, ML-EO has high potential to be used as an alternative for preserving food and stored grain and protecting them against microbes and insect pests in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.

Comparison of quantity, quality and antibacterial activity of essential oil Mentha longifolia (L.) L. under different traditional and modern extraction methods

“…longifolia , its essential oil was mainly extracted by distillation with water using a Clevenger device, and various yields were reported from different regions. The highest yield of essential oil of this species has been reported from Marvdasht region of Iran (5.5%) [ 45 ].The yield of this essential oil by [ 33 ] for the population of Ifran city, Morocco as 0.76%, by [ 46 ] for the population of Mashhad, Iran as 1.83% and by [ 47 ] for the population of Kamoo, Iran is reported as 1.34%. The difference in the amount of essential oil of a species in different natural habitats can be related to factors such as the place of growth, altitude, method and time of collection and drying method of samples, soil type, climate and seasonal fluctuations and plant organs [ 39 ].…”