Chemical composition, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of essential oils from <i>Schinus polygamus</i> (Cav.) cabrera leaf and bark grown in Egypt

Abstract

<i>Schinus polygamus</i> (Anacardiaceae) is a shrub cultivated in Egypt for ornamental purpose. The major components of bark oil were <i>dl</i>-limonene (29.74%), followed by myrtenal (14.02%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.34%), while <i>E</i>-caryophyllene (55.86%), <i>dl</i>-limonene (27.71%) and <i>β</i>-pinene (3.54%) were predominant in the leaf oil. These isolated oils were screened for their antimicrobial activity against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> ATCC 33591<i>, Staphylococcus aureus</i> ATCC 29213, <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 25922, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> ATCC 10145, <i>Candida albicans</i> MTCC183 and <i>Aspergillus niger</i> NRRL 595, and two clinical isolates of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>. The leaf oil showed a remarkable inhibitory effect against all tested bacterial strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of 25 to 300 µg/mL, while the bark oil was active against <i>Escherichia coli</i> ATCC 25922 and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> ATCC 10145 only. Furthermore, the bark and leaf oils revealed potent cytotoxic effects on HepG2 and Caco-2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 1.56 to 24.12 µg/mL.