Chemical composition,antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil of Santolina chamaecyparissus L.of Algeria

Objective:To investigate the chemical composition,antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil of Santolina chamaecyparissus L.cultivated in Algeria.Methods:The chemical composition of hydrodistilled essential oil from flowering aerial parts has been analyzed by gas chromatograph and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer techniques.The antioxidant activities conducted by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging test andβ-carotene bleaching test.The antimicrobial activity was realised by agar disc diffusion method and cornell medical index was determined by agar dilution method in solid medium.Results:About 36 components accounting more than 82%of the total oil were identified.Oxygenated monoterpenes was the main fraction(54.66%)and was represented by artemisia ketone(40.33%)as major component of this oil.The other major constituents were(Z)-thujone(9.82%),(2Z,6E)-farnesol(7.30%)and limonene(6.87%)and concerning antiradical scavenging test(2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl)had demonstrated a weak activity obtained with an EC_(50) of(43.01±8.04)and moderate activity for β-carotene bleaching test(47.00±3.13)at 120 min.In the other hand,this oil was found effective against all tested strains except Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus species.This activity was ranging from 10 mm to 24 mm with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration value between under 0.070μg/mL to upper 9μg/mL.Conclusions:The results provided evidence that the studied plant might indeed be potential sources of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents.