GC/MS Profiling of Becium grandiflorum Essential Oil and Evaluation of Its Antiviral Activity

Abstract

Genus Becium of the Lamiaceae family encounters numerous medicinally and economically valued aromatic plants. The hydrodistilled essential oil of Becium grandiflorum (Lam.) Pic. Serm. aerial part was analyzed using GC/MS. A total of 32 compounds amounting to 99.68% of the essential oil were identified. Oxygenated diterpenes constituted the largest share (43.45%) in the studied oil followed by sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons (34.24%). Pimara-7,15-dien-3-ol (20.58%), 3- α -hydroxymanool (14.07%), caryophyllene (8.17%), sandaracopimaradiene (7.98%), Selina-3,7 (11)-diene (5.61%), and germacrene D (4.95%) are the chief identified compounds in B. grandiflorum essential oil. The essential oil was assessed for its antiviral potential against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) at a non-cytotoxic concentration using a cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition assay on the Vero cell line. B. grandiflorum essential oil exhibited a pronounced in vitro cytotoxicity against Vero cells with 50 % cytotoxic concentration (CC 50 ) of 7.75 ± 0.84 µg/mL and weak anti-HSV-1 potency with percent inhibition of 21.36 ± 2.13 at a maximum non-toxic concentration of 1 µg/mL.