Abstract
Introduction Interest in essential oils was recently revived with their popularity increasing in medicine, pharmacy, and aromatherapy. This study was performed to identify the chemical compositions of the essential oil of Ruta chalepensis growing wildly in three regions in Palestine and to assess and compare their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methods Identification of the essential oil was performed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antimicrobial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans by using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay, while antioxidant activity was analyzed by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. Results The essential oils of R. chalepensis from Jerusalem and Hebron regions have almost identical components; the major compounds identified were linalyl acetate and β-linalool; these essential oils exerted potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities. On the other hand, the major components of the plant essential oil from Jenin region were 2-undecanone and 2-nonanone, which exhibited potential antifungal activity. Conclusions The phytoconstituents and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of R. chalepensis from different regions in Palestine were established in this study. The obtained results indicate possible applications for R. chalepensis in the treatment of various infectious and noninfectious diseases.
Highlights
Interest in essential oils was recently revived with their popularity increasing in medicine, pharmacy, and aromatherapy
14 components were identified from R. chalepensis essential oil which was harvested from the mountains of Hebron
Only 7 components were identified in the essential oil that was extracted from R. chalepensis of Jenin region and two phytochemical classes were absent in this sample
Summary
Interest in essential oils was recently revived with their popularity increasing in medicine, pharmacy, and aromatherapy. This study was performed to identify the chemical compositions of the essential oil of Ruta chalepensis growing wildly in three regions in Palestine and to assess and compare their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The essential oils of R. chalepensis from Jerusalem and Hebron regions have almost identical components; the major compounds identified were linalyl acetate and β-linalool; these essential oils exerted potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The phytoconstituents and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the essential oil of R. chalepensis from different regions in Palestine were established in this study. Essential oils are among the most interesting components of herbals and plants These essential oils are rich in hydrocarbon compounds that have oxygenated, hydrogenated, and dehydrogenated functional groups. Most of these chemicals are monoterpenoid or sesquiterpenoids. They are used as therapeutic agents in ethno, conventional, and complementary alternative medicines as analgesics, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, local anesthetic, anthelmintic, antipruritic, and antiseptic as well as many other therapeutic uses [4,5,6,7]
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