Phytochemical composition and bioactivities of essential oils from six Lamiaceae species

Abstract

Essential oils isolated from the Lamiaceae species are attracting increasing interest because of their applications in natural food preservation and pharmaceutics. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the composition and biological effects of six Lamiaceae essential oils. Approximately 106 components were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the predominant compounds were linalool (0.05–46.55%), α-pinene (0.12–45.35%), o-cymene (0.91–41.20%), patchouli alcohol (28.27%), dl-menthol (21.12%), isobornyl acetate (22.52%), d-limonene (0.01–18.42%), α-terpineol (0.07–4.88%), and β-pinene (0.08–2.03%). Most of these essential oils were found to have effective antioxidant activities (IC50; 1.07–18.77%), as estimated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assays. The essential oils not only had antibacterial activities (6.5–12.3 mm diameter inhibition zones), but also had antifungal activities (6.5–19.0 mm diameter inhibition zones). The essential oils exhibited strong anti-inflammatory activities and markedly decreased the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). The most abundant compounds in the essential oils isolated from the six Lamiaceae species have potential applications in the scavenging of free radicals, inhibition of bacterial and fungal growth, and relief from inflammation.