Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to assess the antimycobacterial, antioxidant and the cytotoxic activities of the essential oil from the gall part of Pistacia atlantica Desf from Algeria.Materials and Methods: The antimycobacterial activity was evaluated by the broth microdilution method against three species of mycobacteria: Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium fortuitum. Antioxidant activity was determined using free-radical scavenging assays. The safety of essential oil was assessed by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on C3A and Vero monkey kidney cells.Results: The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 0.16 to 2.5 mg/mL with minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values ranged from 0.62 to >2.5 mg/mL. The antioxidant activity showed IC50 values ranged between 417.61 - >2000μg/mL and 495.6 - >2000μg/mL for DPPH and ABTS assay respectively. The cytotoxicity assay showed LC50 ranged between 26.47 to 93.64 μg/mL against Vero cells and 74.29 to 225.40 μg/mL against C3A. The results of this study show that the essential oils from the gall of P. atlantica have low toxicity and moderate activity against fast growing M. smegmatis and M. aurum.Conclusion: These results substantiate their potential as used in the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections. This finding is predictive of their activity against M. tuberculosis, therefore, further study might be considered to investigate the activity against pathogenic Mycobacterium strains.Key words: Pistacia atlantica, Essential oil, Antimycobacterial, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity.
Highlights
Pistacia is a genus of Anacardiaceae family
This study describes the antimycobacterial and antioxidant activities, as well as the cytotoxicity of essential oil of gall of Pistacia atlantica Desf from three regions in Algeria
The antimycobacterial activity of plantderived compounds against fast growing Mycobacterium species is well documented by several previous studies (Mossa et al, 2004; Seidel & Taylor, 2004)
Summary
Pistacia is a genus of Anacardiaceae family. Five species of the genus grow naturally in the Mediterranean basin and Middle East: P. lentiscus, P. atlantica, P. palaestina, P. terebinthus and P. khinjuk (Golan-Goldhirsh et al, 2004). Essential oils have been traditionally used for treatment of infections and diseases all over the world for centuries (Rios & Recio, 2005). The aim of this study was to assess the antimycobacterial, antioxidant and the cytotoxic activities of the essential oil from the gall part of Pistacia atlantica Desf from Algeria. The results of this study show that the essential oils from the gall of P. atlantica have low toxicity and moderate activity against fast growing M. smegmatis and M. aurum. Conclusion: These results substantiate their potential as used in the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections. This finding is predictive of their activity against M. tuberculosis, further study might be considered to investigate the activity against pathogenic Mycobacterium strains
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