Chemical and Bioactive Characterization of the Essential Oils Obtained from Three Mediterranean Plants

Cupressus sempervirens L., Juniperus communis L. and Cistus ladanifer L. are Mediterranean arboreal and shrub species that possess essential oils (EO) in their leaves and branches. This study aimed at characterizing the EOs obtained by steam distillation from the three species collected in different locations from Spain (Almazan, Andevalo, Barriomartin, Cerezal, Ermitas and Huescar). For this purpose, volatiles composition was determined by GC-MS, and different bioactivities were evaluated. The highest content in terpenes was observed in C. sempervirens (Huescar origin) followed by J. communis (Almazan origin), corresponding to 92% and 91.9% of total compounds, respectively. With exception of C. ladanifer from Cerezal that presented viridiflorol as the most abundant compound, all the three species presented in common the alpha-pinene as the major compound. The EOs from C. ladanifer showed high antibacterial potential, presenting MIC values from 0.3 to 1.25 mg/mL. Concerning other bioactivities, C. ladanifer EO revealed an oxidation inhibition of 83%, while J. communis showed cytotoxicity in the MCF-7 cell line, and C. sempervirens and C. ladanifer EOs exhibited the highest potential on NCI-H460 cell lines. Nevertheless, some EOs revealed toxicity against non-tumoral cells but generally presented a GI(50) value higher than that of the tumor cell lines.

Automated summary

The study characterized the essential oils obtained from Cupressus sempervirens L., Juniperus communis L., and Cistus ladanifer L. collected from different locations in Spain. The essential oils showed varying levels of terpenes content and bioactivities including antibacterial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic properties. While some essential oils exhibited toxicity against non-tumoral cells, they generally had higher GI(50) values than tumor cell lines.