Variability of Chemical Compositions and Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Ruta chalepensis Leaf Essential Oils from Three Palestinian Regions

Abstract

Introduction Interest in essential oils was recently revived with their popularity increasing in medicine, pharmacy, and aromatherapy. This study was performed to identify the chemical compositions of the essential oil of Ruta chalepensis growing wildly in three regions in Palestine and to assess and compare their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methods Identification of the essential oil was performed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antimicrobial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans by using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay, while antioxidant activity was analyzed by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. Results The essential oils of R. chalepensis from Jerusalem and Hebron regions have almost identical components; the major compounds identified were linalyl acetate and β-linalool; these essential oils exerted potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities. On the other hand, the major components of the plant essential oil from Jenin region were 2-undecanone and 2-nonanone, which exhibited potential antifungal activity. Conclusions The phytoconstituents and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of R. chalepensis from different regions in Palestine were established in this study. The obtained results indicate possible applications for R. chalepensis in the treatment of various infectious and noninfectious diseases.

Screening of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia Volatile Oils: A Comparative Study of Plants Collected from Different Regions of West Bank, Palestine

“…The samples were botanically identified and coded by Dr. Nidal Jaradat, the pharmacognosist at the Department of Pharmacy in Pharmacognosy and Herbal Products Laboratory, An-Najah National University, and the voucher specimen code was Pharm-PCT-1575. The extraction of VOs was performed following the procedure in accordance to [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Chemical Composition and Enzymatic Screening of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia Volatile Oils Collected from Three Different Regions of West Bank, Palestine

“…This was repeated three times for each plant sample. The resulting VOs were collected into a separate clean, well closed small glass bottle, chemically dried over calcium chloride, and stored in the refrigerator at 2-8°C until use [ 31 , 32 ].…”

“…The method used was described by Mohammad Al-Hamwi et al . [ 13 ] and Jaradat et al [ 32 ] with some modifications. GC was equipped with column Rtx-5ms (0.25 mm inner diameter, 0.25 μ m thickness, and 30 m length).…”

“…For GC-MS detection, an electron ionization method, with detector volts of 1.7 KV, was utilized. A scan speed 1000 amu/sec and scan rate of 0.5 s were used, covering a mass range from 38 to 450 M/Z [ 13 , 32 ].…”

“…The mass spectrometry data center of the national institute of standards and technology (NIST) was used as a reference to identify the chemical components of the VOs by comparing their MS spectra with data of NIST in addition to using Kovats index in the literature to compare their retention times. The quantitative data were obtained electronically from integrated peaks, area percentages without the use of correction factor [ 32 , 33 ].…”