Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity, and Antimicrobial Activities of Origanum majorana Essential Oil cultivated in Eastern Morocco

Volatile components of marjoram (Origanum majorana L.) essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation were investigated. The quantitative composition of the essential oil of Origanum majorana L. grown in eastern Morocco is reported. A total of 34 compounds were identified by GC/FID and GC/MS. The essential oil was found to be rich in Cis sabinene hydrate (38.55%) is the major component, followed by terpinen-4-ol (18.85 %), g-terpinene (5.85%), sabinene (5.60 %), apha terpineol ( 4.88%) , trans-sabinene hydrate (4.67%), and alpha.-terpinene (3.21 %). This work reports on the antimicrobial of marjoram essential oil against some species of bacteria. The in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for 6 selected aerobic heterotrophic bacterial species. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the oil on the cancer cell lines PC-3 (prostate) , V79 (fibroblaste) and normal P388D1(murine macrophage) was examined. We have shown that the oil had negligible cytotoxic effects against all cell lines tested, as his IC50 value was generally higher than 100µg/ml. The oil was also found to possess antioxidant activity as demonstrated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical method. The IC50 value of Origanum majorana L. oil was determined to 20µl/ml.