Abstract
The essential oil of
(Konig ex Roxb.) Benth. (Synonym:
, Lamiaceae) collected from Saudi Arabia was studied utilizing GC and GC/MS. Forty four constituents were identified, representing 96.8% of the total oil. The
essential oil (MDEO) was characterized by a high content of oxygenated monoterpenes (76.2%). Camphor (54.3%) was the major compound in MDEO followed by 1,8-cineole (12.2%) and camphene (10.4%). Moreover, MDEO was assessed for its cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. MDEO demonstrated an interesting cytotoxic activity against all cancer cell lines with IC
values of 83.6 to 91.2 μg/mL, especially against MCF-7 cancer cells. Using labeling with annexin VFITC and/or propidium iodide (PI) dyes and flow cytometer analysis, the apoptosis induction was quantitatively confirmed for MCF-7 cells. The MDEO exhibited a considerable antimicrobial activity against all bacterial and fungal strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)-values of 0.07 to 1.25 mg/mL. The most sensitive microbial strain was
(MIC: 0.07 mg/mL). Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) or minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values were determined one time higher than that of MIC's. Additionally, the MDEO revealed a strong activity for reducing β-carotene bleaching with a total antioxidant value of 72.6% and significant DPPH free radical scavenging activity (78.4%) at the concentration 1000 μg/mL.