Chemical Variability and Biological Activities of Essential Oils of Micromeria inodora (Desf.) Benth. from Algeria

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oils isolated from the aerial parts of Micromeria inodora (Desf.) Benth. collected in 24 Algerian localities was investigated from the first time using GC-FID, GC/MS and C-NMR. Altogether, 83 components which accounted for 94.7% of the total oil composition were identified. The main compounds were trans-sesquisabinene hydrate (1; 20.9%), α-terpinyl acetate (2; 19.8%), globulol (3; 4.9%), caryophyllene oxide (4; 4.3%), β-bisabolol (5; 2.9%) and trans-7-epi-sesquisabinene hydrate (6; 2.6%). Comparison with the literature highlighted the originality of the Algerian M. inodora oil and indicated that 1 might be used as taxonomical marker. The study of the chemical variability allowed the discrimination of two main clusters confirming that there is a relation between the essential-oil compositions and the soil nature of the harvest locations. Biological activity of M. inodora essential oil was assessed against fourteen species of microorganisms involved in nosocomial infections using paper disc diffusion and dilution agar assays. The in vitro study demonstrated a good activity against Gram-positive strains such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, and Enterococcus faecalis, and moderate activity against Candida albicans. These results might be useful for the future commercial valorization of M. inodora essential oil as a promising source of natural products with potential against various nosocomial community and toxinic infections.

Antitussive, antispasmodic, bronchodilating and cardiac inotropic effects of the essential oil from Blepharocalyx salicifolius leaves

“…Uruguay and Brazil) however, differ from our results (Dellacassa et al 1997;Limberger et al 2001;Furlán et al 2002;Garneau et al 2013;da Costa et al 2014;Godinho et al 2014). The differences in composition could be attributed to geographic and climatic factors prevailing in the places where the plant materials were obtained (Benomari et al 2016). For these reasons, the chemical composition of the volatile fraction used in the pharmacological studies has always to be specified (Bandoni et al 2009).…”

“…Compounds listed in order of elution in the non polar column. a : LRI in similar non polar column from bibliography (*:Babushok et al, 2011;**: Wiley/NIST, 2008;***: Benomari et al, 2016). b : LRI in similar polar column from bibliography (the same references) as above).…”

Anti-Candida Activity of Essential Oils from Lamiaceae Plants from the Mediterranean Area and the Middle East

“…Benth. with a MIC of 1000 µg/mL is regarded as a moderate inhibitor by Benomari and coworkers [ 38 ]. In many papers, the anti- Candida inhibitory potential is evaluated with reference to antifungal commercial drugs, e.g., fluconazole and amphotericin B; however, the activity of pure compounds cannot be compared with complex and structurally diverse natural mixtures, and their MIC values have to be considered as positive controls.…”

Phenolic profile and biological activities ofMicromeria graeca(L.) Benth. ex Rchb.

“…[5] The genus Micromeria grows naturally in Algeria, where its leaf decoction has been generally used in folk medicine as a substitute for mint, notably in the treatment of wounds, stomach ache, colds, and fevers and as condiment. [6] As for many Lamiaceae, the studies on Micromeria sp., including Micromeria graeca, [7,8] have mostly concerned their essential oils; nevertheless, previous researches have established the genus Micromeria to be a rich source of polyphenolic compounds. [4,9] Polyphenols are bioactive molecules attracting high scientific attention.…”