title: Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Phytotoxic Activities of Peganum harmala Seed Essential Oils from Five Different Localities in Northern Africa.
abstract: Peganum harmala L., also known as Syrian rue or Pègano, is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Zygohpyllaceae family, and is widely used in traditional medicine. The chemical composition of essential oils of P. harmala seeds from five different regions of Northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) was studied by GC and GC-MS analyses. A total of 105 compounds were identified, the main components being oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Eugenol is the main component in all oils. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was assayed against some bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus (DSM 25693), Bacillus cereus (DSM 4313), Bacillus cereus (DSM4384), Escherichia coli (DMS 857) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 50071). All the oils showed different inhibitory activity. In the twentieth century this is an important result; we need possible new botanical drugs because the problem of resistance to antimicrobial drugs has become apparent. Moreover, the essential oils were evaluated for their possible in vitro phytotoxic activity against germination and initial radicle growth of Raphanus sativus L., Lepidium sativum L., and Ruta graveolens L. The results showed that both germination and radical elongation were sensitive to the oils.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Salerno), Italy. i.apostolico1@studenti.unisa.it.
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Apostolico
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Salerno), Italy. luigialiberti83@libero.it.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aliberti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Salerno), Italy. lcaputo@unisa.it.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Salerno), Italy. defeo@unisa.it.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Feo
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Scienze dell'Alimentazione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISA-CNR), via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy. florinda.fratianni@isa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Florinda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fratianni
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Scienze dell'Alimentazione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISA-CNR), via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy. mena@isa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nazzaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (Salerno), Italy. luceia.souza@ufrgs.br.|Post-doctoral by National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development, (CNPq/Brazil), 70000-000 Brasília, Brazil. luceia.souza@ufrgs.br.
authors.forename: Lucèia Fàtima
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche de Biochimie des Lipides et Principes Actifs des Plantes, 2092 Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Tunisia. miro0709@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Maroua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khadhr
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development*; D006540:Herbicides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D031220:Lepidium sativum / Q000254:growth & development*; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D032443:Peganum / Q000737:chemistry*; D031224:Raphanus / Q000254:growth & development*; D032105:Ruta / Q000254:growth & development*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006540:Herbicides; D009822:Oils, Volatile
keywords: Peganum harmala; antibacterial activity; essential oil; phytotoxic activity