Biological activities of Pituranthos scoparius essential oil from Algeria

The essential oil from aerial parts of Pituranthos scoparius obtained by hydrodistillation was analyzed by GC, GC/MS and 13C NMR and evaluated for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The yields were showed a very high variability ranging from 0.16 to 0.99%. Sixty two components were identified and the results indicated that the essential oil was rich in hydrocarbons monoterpenes and phenylpropanoid compounds. 6-Methoxyelemicine (0.1- 47.0%), sabinene (1.4-35.5%), limonene (0.6-24.0%), myristicine (0.2-18.9%), α-pinene (3.1- 14.7%) and dill apiole (0.0-10.6%) were the major compounds. The essential oils were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus and the minimum inhibitory concentration was determined. The tested oils have been shown to possess inhibitory action in the range from 2 to 3 µL/mL against Aspergillus fumigatus, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil from P. Scoparius well be due probably to the presence of synergy between myristicine and terpinen-4-ol. The antioxidant activity was evaluated through DPPH assay. All samples exhibited weak scavenging activity against DPPH, compared to standard antioxidant tested. Essential oil with IC50 of the order of 23.65±0.77 and 25.95±2.13 mg/mL could be attributed probably to the presence of limonene and germacrene D in larger amounts.