Constituents of essential oil of Origanum minutiflorum and its in vitro antioxidant, scolicidal and anticancer activities

Objective: Origanum minutiflorum essential oil was evaluated for its chemical components, in vitro antioxidant, scolicidal and anticancer activities. Methods: Oil was extracted and its components were identified with spectrometry and flame ionisation gas chromatography. The oil antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging and β-Carotene/linoleic acid bleaching assay. Scolicidal effect of the oil against protoscolices of hydatid cysts was evaluated at different concentrations and exposure times. Also, different oil concentrations were testififed for its anticancer activities on breast cancer cell line (MCF-7), human lung cancer cell line (A-549) and human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) Results: Analyses of the O. minutiflorum oil identified 64 components with carvacrol being the predominant compound. The oil showed a weak free radical scavenging capacity (IC50 at 310 ± 4.2 µg/mL) whilst it was moderately active in term of the suppression of linoleic acid oxidation (64.6%). All the tested oil concentrations, however, revealed a significant scolicidal activity on the protoscoleces of hydatid cysts. The anticancer activity of O. minutiflorum oil was found more in HepG2 cells followed by A-549 and MCF-7 cells and this was evidenced by the LC50 values. Conclusions: The present work strongly suggests that O. minutiflorum could serve as a potential source of scolicidal and anticancer agents.