Chemical Composition of Essential Oils from Nepeta transcaucasica Grossh. and Nepeta cataria L. Cultivated in Bulgaria and Their Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity

Abstract

The genus Nepeta, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, includes about 300 species, most of which are used in folk medicine due to their pronounced biological properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the agrobiological characteristics of Nepeta transcaucasica (N. transcaucasica) Grossh. and Nepeta cataria (N. cataria) L., cultivated in Bulgaria, and obtain their essential oils and determine their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The agrobiological characteristics of the two species growing in Kazanlak were analyzed; therefore, high variability in the population of N. transcaucasica and comparative homogeneity in N. cataria was shown. The species N. transcaucasica contained 0.28% essential oil with main components β-citronellol (52.05%), eucalyptol (7.34%), β-citronellal (6.06%), germacrene D (5.45%), (Z)-β-ocimene (5.14%), and β-caryophyllene (3.06%). The species N. cataria consisted of 0.19% essential oil with main components β-citronellol (26.31%), geraniol (15.92%), neral (11.45%), nerol (9.56%), carvacrol (6.04%), and β-citronellal (5.35%). The antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Abony was determined. The essential oils showed antimicrobial activity only against E. coli. The diameters of the inhibition zones were found to be 26 mm for the species N. transcaucasica and 10 mm for the species N. cataria. The antioxidant activity of the two essential oils was also determined by four different methods, DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC, with the highest values for the ABTS radical, for the species N. transcaucasica (48.72 μM TE/mL), and the species N. cataria (310 μM TE/mL).

Cinnamon Oil Alleviates Acetaminophen-Induced Uterine Toxicity in Rats by Abrogation of Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis, and Inflammation

“…This observation can be attributed to the strong antioxidative property of CO, as reported earlier in the liver [ 32 ], kidney [ 33 ], and brain [ 34 ]. Our results are consistent with those of other studies that made comparable observations on natural oils that had antioxidant properties [ 35 , 36 ].…”

Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Antibiofilm, and Antiquorum Sensing Potential of Methanol Extract and Essential Oil from Acanthus polystachyus Delile (Acanthaceae)

“…The activity of ME and EO was found to be comparable with the standard ascorbic acid at higher concentrations. This may be attributed to the presence of compounds found in this study possessing antioxidation properties such as neophytadiene, β-sitosterol (ME) and diisooctyl phthalate (EO). ,, Several studies have reported the antioxidant property of natural products of plants . The antioxidation property is beneficial in scavenging free radicals involved in several diseases and metabolic pathways and imparts immunoprotective, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective effects …”

“…These results are similar to ME and emphasizes the importance of EO as an effective antimicrobial. The major compounds detected by GC-MS in EO summarized in Table indicate the presence of bioactive compounds such as stearyl alcohol, cis -9-tetradecenoic acid, isobutyl ester, butyl 9-tetradecenoate, 11,13-dimethyl-12-tetradecen-1-ol acetate, and diisooctyl phthalate that demonstrated antibacterial activity and may be responsible for the achieved inhibition by EO. ,− C . albicans exhibited an inhibition range of 33–53.7%.…”

Contributions to the Study of Some Aromatic Species of the Genus Nepeta L.

“…It can be propagated only vegetatively, by cuttings or by division. The essential oil contains nepetalactone, germacrene, citral, citronellol, geraniol, nerol, mucilage, saponins, etc., and it exhibited antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli microorganisms [ MOLLOVA & al. 2023].…”