Essential oils proved their efficiency as natural insecticides to fight many pests of stored products and crops whereas the hydrosols have not been evaluated yet. The objective of this work is to assess the insecticidal effect of hydrosols extracted from Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. and Mentha pulegium L. toward an insect pest of citrus, Toxoptera aurantii (Homoptera, Aphididae). The extraction of hydrosols was carried out by hydro-distillation using Clevenger apparatus and then the chemical composition was identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The chemical composition of two hydrosols revealed the abundance of hydrophilic and oxygenated compounds as piperitenone oxide and carvacrol. Different concentrations of each hydrosol were separately diluted in distilled water and applied topically to aphids. The results of this investigation have shown a high insecticidal effect, and the M. suaveolens hydrosol is more effective against citrus pests than that of M. pulegium L. Consequently, these natural compounds can be used in the management of aphids on citrus.

In this work, the chemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils (EOs) of six species—Laurus nobilis, Chamaemelum nobile, Citrus aurantium, Pistacia lentiscus, Cedrus atlantica, and Rosa damascena—have been studied. Phytochemical screening of these plants revealed the presence of primary metabolites, namely, lipids, proteins, reducing sugars, and polysaccharides, and also secondary metabolites such as tannins, flavonoids, and mucilages. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The yields are between 0.06 and 4.78% (mL/100 g). The analysis of the chemical composition carried out by GC-MS showed the presence of 30 to 35 compounds and represent between 99.97% and 100% of the total composition of EOs, with a variation in the chemical composition detected at the level of the majority compounds between these species. Indeed, in the EO of Laurus nobilis, 1,8-cineole (36.58%) is the major component. In Chamaemelum nobile EO, the most abundant compound is angelylangelate (41.79%). The EO of Citrus aurantium is rich in linalool (29.01%). The EO of Pistacia lentiscus is dominated by 3-methylpentylangelate (27.83%). The main compound of Cedrus atlantica is β-himachalene (40.19%), while the EO of Rosa damascenaa flowers is rich in n-nonadecane (44.89%). The analysis of the similarity between the EOs of the plants studied by ACH and ACP showed that the chemical composition of the EOs makes it possible to separate these plants into three groups: the first represented by Chamaemelum nobile, because it is rich in oxygenated monoterpenes, the second defined Cedrus atlantica and Rosa damascena, which are rich in sesquiterpenes, and the third gathers Pistacia lentiscus, Laurus nobilis and Citrus aurantium, which are composed of oxygenated sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes (these three species are very close). The study of the antioxidant activity showed that all the EOs tested have a high capacity for scavenging free radicals from DPPH. The EOs of Laurus nobilis and Pistacia lentiscus showed the highest activity, 76.84% and 71.53%, respectively, followed by Cedrus atlantica EO (62.38%) and Chamaemelum nobile (47.98%) then Citrus aurantium EO (14.70%). Antimicrobial activity EO was tested against eight bacterial strains and eight fungal strains; the results showed that EOs exhibit significant bactericidal and fungicidal activities against all the microorganisms tested, of which the MICs of the bacterial strains start with 5 mg/mL, while the MICs of the fungal strains are between 0.60 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL. Thus, these EOs rich in antimicrobial and antioxidant components can serve as a natural alternative; this confirms their use as additives in cosmetics.

In Morocco, many applications in ethnomedicine on Ajuga iva (L.) have been recognized as able to treat various pathologies such as diabetes, stress, and microbial infections. The objective of this work is to carry out phytochemical, biological, and pharmacological investigations on the extracts of Ajuga iva leaves in order to confirm its therapeutic effects. The phytochemical screening carried out on the different extracts of Ajuga iva showed its richness in primary (lipids and proteins) and secondary metabolites (flavonoids, tannins, reducing compounds, oses, and holoside. The best contents of polyphenols, flavonoids, and tannins evaluated by spectrophotometric methods were found in the hydroethanolic extract (69.850 ± 2.783 mg EAG/g DE, 17.127 ± 0.474 mg EQ/g DE, 5.566 ± 0.000 mg EQC/g DE), respectively. Analysis of the chemical composition of the aqueous extract by LC/UV/MS revealed 32 polyphenolic compounds including ferulic acid (19.06%), quercetin (10.19%), coumaric acid (9.63%), and apigenin-7-(2-O-apiosylglucoside) (6.8%). The antioxidant activity of Ajuga iva extracts was evaluated by three methods (DPPH*, FRAP, CAT). The hydroethanolic extract recorded the strongest reducing power: DPPH* (IC50 = 59.92 ± 0.7 µg/mL), FRAP (EC50 = 196.85 ± 1.54 (µg/mL), and CAT (199.21 ± 0.37 mg EAG/gE). A strong correlation between phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities was confirmed by the determination of Pearson’s coefficient. The antimicrobial activity of Ajuga iva studied by the microtiter method revealed potent antifungal and antibacterial qualities against Candida parapsilosis and Staphylococcus aureus BLACT. An in vivo oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) using normal rats revealed that the antihyperglycemic action of the aqueous extract significantly reduced postprandial hyperglycaemia at (30 min, p < 0.01) and area under the curve (AUC glucose), p < 0.01. Similarly, the aqueous extract, tested on pancreatic α-amylase enzyme activity in vitro and in vivo significantly inhibited pancreatic α-amylase activity with IC50 = 1.52 ± 0.03 mg/mL. In conclusion, the extract from Ajuga iva could be a good source of bioactive molecules, which exhibit potent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, as well as strong antidiabetic activity, for applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

In order to valorize the species Crocus sativus from Morocco and to prepare new products with high added value that can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industry, our interest was focused on the phytochemical characterization and the biological and pharmacological properties of the stigmas of this plant. For this purpose, the essential oil of this species, extracted by hydrodistillation and then analyzed by GC-MS, revealed a predominance of phorone (12.90%); (R)-(-)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol (11.65%); isopropyl palmitate (9.68%); dihydro-β-ionone (8.62%); safranal (6.39%); trans-β-ionone (4.81%); 4-keto-isophorone (4.72%); and 1-eicosanol (4.55%) as the major compounds. The extraction of phenolic compounds was performed by decoction and Soxhlet extraction. The results of the determination of flavonoids, total polyphenols, condensed tannins, and hydrolyzable tannins determined by spectrophotometric methods on aqueous and organic extracts have proved the richness of Crocus sativus in phenolic compounds. Chromatographic analysis by HPLC/UV-ESI-MS of Crocus sativus extracts revealed the presence of crocin, picrocrocin, crocetin, and safranal molecules specific to this species. The study of antioxidant activity by three methods (DPPH, FRAP, and total antioxidant capacity) has proved that C. sativus is a potential source of natural antioxidants. Antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract (E0) was investigated by microdilution on a microplate. The results have revealed the efficacy of the aqueous extract against Acinetobacter baumannii and Shigella sp. with MIC ≤ 600 µg/mL and against Aspergillus niger, Candida kyfer, and Candida parapsilosis with MIC = 2500 µg/mL. Measurements of pro-thrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) in citrated plasma obtained from routine healthy blood donors were used to determine the anticoagulant activity of aqueous extract (E0). The anticoagulant activity of the extract (E0) studied showed that this extract can significantly prolong the partial thromboplastin time (p < 0.001) with a 359 µg/mL concentration. The antihyperglycemic effect of aqueous extract was studied in albino Wistar rats. The aqueous extract (E0) showed strong in vitro inhibitory activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase compared with acarbose. Thus, it very significantly inhibited postprandial hyperglycemia in albino Wistar rats. According to the demonstrated results, we can affirm the richness of Crocus sativus stigmas in bioactive molecules and its use in traditional medicine.