Tefiani, C., Riazi, A., Youcefi, F., Aazza, S., Gago, C., Faleiro, M.L., Pedro, L.G., Barroso, J.G., Figueiredo, A.C., Megías, C., Cortés-Giraldo, I., Vioque, J., and Miguel, M.G.
The chemical composition, and antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-proliferative activities of the essential oils of Ammoides pusilla(Apiaceae) and Thymus munbyanus(Lamiaceae), collected in Algeria, were studied. Cumin alcohol (44%), p-cymene (18%), limonene (14%), thymol (11%) and γ-terpinene (7%) predominated in A. pusillaessential oil, whereas carvacrol (71%) was dominant in T. munbyanusessential oil. The antibacterial activity of A. pusillaand T. munbyanusessential oils was studied by the agar diffusion method against Escherichia coli, Salmonella entericaserovar Thyphimurium, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusand Listeria monocytogenes. The tested bacteria were more susceptible to T. munbyanusessential oil. Ammoides pusillaessential oil was the most effective for scavenging the free radicals. Ammoides pusillaessential oil also had the best reducing power as well as the highest lipid peroxidation inhibition. Thymus munbyanusessential oil showed the best anti-proliferative activity of human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1).