Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Masters essential oils: chemical composition and biological activities

Two samples of essential oils from the leaves and cones of wild Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl.) Masters from two different sites in Algeria were isolated by hydrodistillation and investigated by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A total of forty compounds were identified representing 98.6-99.8% of the oils. The main components of the volatile oils were -pinene (19.8-24.9%) and bornyl acetate (40.2-59.2%) for the leaves, -pinene (57.5-75%), limonene (10.6-20.9%) and -myrcene (3.6-10.6%) for the cones. The antioxidant efficiency was tested using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging method. In comparison with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which were used as positive controls, all samples showed weak activity. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils were assayed by using the disc diffusion method and agar dilution technique on Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. All tested microorganisms were inhibited by essential oil samples and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged between 0.2 and 1.0g/mL.