RESUMO
This study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxicity effects of Satureja hortensis (S. hortensis) essential oil (EO). The GC-MS analysis of S. hortensis EO (SEO) has identified seven compounds, representing 96.84% of the oil. The two main constituents of the oil were; carvacrol (48.51%) and γ-terpinene (36.63%). The total phenolics and flavonoids contents of SEO were 199.1 ± 0.5 µg GAE/mg (GAE-gallic acid equivalent) and 161.5 ± 0.9 µg CE/mg (CE-catechin equivalent), respectively. SEO showed superior antioxidant potential (ABTS, 1038.66 and DPPH, 12.679 mg Trolox/g), and exhibited antibacterial activity against five food born bacterial strains, exerting the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 2 to 4 mg/mL. On the other hand, using of SEO at inhibiting concentrations for pathogenic bacteria can affect the beneficial bacteria negatively. Moreover, SEO showed toxicity on normal cells (WI-38, THLE2, and phoenx-eco) and consequently, it is worthwhile for extensive toxicity studies in normal cells and animal models. As our-knowledge, this is the first study on antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity of Egyptian S. hortensis.