Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng.: a Saharan plant from Ghardaïa region (Algeria)

Abstract

The essential oils (EOs) of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng. collected from Ghardaïa Province were analysed for their chemical composition by GC-MS analysis.The results showed fifty-one identified compounds representing 94.34% of the whole EOs, with β-eudesmol (11.35%) and α-elemol (10.84%) as major compounds. The TAC, DPPH and FRAP antioxidant activities of the EOs were moderate, while an important inhibition of 63.54 ± 2.41% was obtained for the β-carotene bleaching assay. The results of the antibacterial activity show that gentamicin had an inhibition zone of 21.66 ± 0.57 mm while Bacillus cereus was the most sensitive species (inhibition zone of 20.75 ± 0.50 mm). The wound-healing activity results showed contraction percentages on the 20 th day of 99.35 ± 0.12%, which was similar to the positive control 1% allantoin (98.33 ± 0.17%).Our results show that C. schoenanthus is a source of many bioactive compounds with well-known antioxidant, antibacterial and wound-healing properties.