Chemometric Comparison and Classification of Some Essential Oils Extracted from Plants Belonging to Apiaceae and Lamiaceae Families Based on Their Chemical Composition and Biological Activities.

Cristina Anamaria Semeniuc,Ancuţa Mihaela Rotar,Maria-Ioana Socaciu,Melinda Fogarasi,Sonia Ancuţa Socaci,Vlad Mureșan

doi:10.3390/molecules23092261

Cristina Anamaria Semeniuc, Ancuţa Mihaela Rotar + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23092261

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Abstract

This study is focused on the comparison and classification of parsley, lovage, basil, and thyme essential oils (EOs) based on their chemical composition, total phenolic content, antioxidant and antibacterial activities by using appropriate chemometric methods: Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The results showed that parsley, lovage, and thyme EOs are rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons, but basil EO is rich in oxygenated monoterpenes and phenylpropanoids, and that both PCA and HCA separated essential oils into two main groups of which one contains two sub-groups. β-Phellandrene was the major component identified in parsley and lovage EOs, estragole was the major component in basil EO, and p-cymene was the major component in thyme EO. Thyme EO showed the highest level of total phenolics, the highest antioxidant capacity, and exhibited the stronger antibacterial activity, results that were emphasized by both chemometric methods used. Among tested essential oils, the one of parsley was distinguished by a low total TPC, weak antioxidant activity, and weak antibacterial activity against S. enteritidis (ATCC 13076); lovage EO by low TPC, weak antioxidant activity, but moderate antibacterial activity; and basil EO by low TPC, moderate antioxidant activity, and weak antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes (ATCC 19114).

Highlights

The results show that thyme essential oils (EOs) was the most bacteriostatic/bactericidal against S. enteritidis, followed by lovage and basil EOs, and by parsley EO
Comparison and Classification of Essential Oils Based on Their Chemical Composition, Total Phenolic Content, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities
The current study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of four essential oils extracted from herbs belonging to the families Apiaceae and Lamiaceae, their total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (TEAC), as well as minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC/minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs)) against two of the most common bacteria responsible for food poisoning (Salmonella enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes)

Summary

Introduction

Numerous studies have shown that essential oils possess antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and nematicidal activities, with their chemical compounds being responsible for these properties [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Plant essential oils constituents are mainly grouped in two distinct chemical classes: Terpenoids (monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, and their oxygenated derivatives) and phenylpropanoids (phenols and phenol ethers) [14]. Both terpenoid and phenylpropanoid families comprise phenolic compounds which are considered to be mainly responsible for the antioxidant. Due to negative perceptions of synthetic preservatives among consumers, the interest in essential oils focusing on their application in food preservation has grown considerably in the last few years [1]

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