Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Pituranthos Cloranthus Coss Et Dur. Essential Oil

Medicinal plants are significant resource for drug discovery. The identification of novel biologically active compounds from plants typically relies on phytochemical analysis and assessment of their biological activity. This study aimed to investigate the phytochemicalcomposition, and evaluate the biological activity vis-à-vis the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Pituranthos chloranthus essential oil. The essential oil (EO) was extracted from the aerial parts of Pituranthos chloranthus by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The chemical composition of the EO was analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antibacterial activity was evaluated against seven laboratory strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using the disc diffussion and microdilution assays. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. GC-MS analysis of P. chloranthus EO resulted in the identification of 44 compounds, with 1R-α-Pinene (18.63%), Paracymene (14.69%), α-Thujene (9.77%), and Aromadendrene dehydro (9.15%) as the majorcompounds. P. chloranthus EO exhibited antibacterial activity against the selected bacterial strains with inhibition zone diameters ranging from 9 to 19 mm, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 3 to 15 μL/mL against certain strains. P. chloranthus EO exhibited low antioxidant activity with EC50 values of 208.53 μg/mL and 81.726 μg/mL for DPPH and FRAP assays, respectively. These findings suggest that P. chloranthus EO may serve as a natural alternative source of bioactive compounds with potential antibacterial and antioxidant activities.