Purpose: To determine the chemical composition as well as in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant
activities of the Pituranthos scoparius essential oil.
Methods: The chemical composition of a hydro-distilled essential oil of P.scoparius was analyzed by
GC and GC/MS systems. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays while antimicrobial activity was screened using the disk diffusion
method against a panel of six bacterial (
Bacillus subtilis
,
Staphylococcus aureus
,
Escherichia coli
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, Klebseilla pneumonia,
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
) and four fungal strains
(
Candida albicans
,
Mucor
sp,
Aspergillus flavus
,
Penicilium expansum
).
Results: A total of 46 constituents were identified, representing 85.6 % of the oil; limonene (46.9 %)
and 1,8-cineole (7.6 %) were the main components. The free radical scavenging activity of the oil was
moderate with IC
50 of 11.21 mg/mL. The oil showed weak to strong antimicrobial activity against all the
microorganisms strains tested with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 2.000 to 0.019
mg/mL.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that the essential oil of P.scoparius has a potential for use as a
preservative and flavorant in processed foods.
