Composition and antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil

Abstract

Rosemary is a culinary herb that is widely used in traditional medicine for its nutritional value and pharma-cological properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the composition, in vitro anticancer, antioxi-dant, and antibacterial activities of rosemary essential oil. Rosemary essential oil components were simultaneously analysed by GC/MS and GC/FID techniques. Different concentrations of rosemary essential oil were incubated for 24 and 48 h with HepG2 and EV304 cells. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Anti-cancer activities of rosemary essential oil were investigated by immunocytochemistry using antibodies directed against Ki-67, b-catenin, c-myc, Oct-3/4, and IL-8. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity were evaluated with protein denaturation and DPPH assays, respectively. The anti-bacterial effect of rosemary essential oil was analysed by Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae with the broth microdilution and agar zone diffusion methods. Camphor (15.1%), verbenone (14.3%), a-pinene (13.6%), 1,8-cineole (11.8%), and borneol (7.9%) were determined as the major compounds of rosemary essential oil. The activities of the oil were found to be 508.7 mg/ml and 525.7 mg/ml against HepG2 and ECV304 cells, respec-tively. Ki-67, b-catenin, c-myc, Oct-3/4, and IL-8 immunoreactivities were significantly reduced in rosemary essential oil-treated HepG2 cells. Ki-67 and b-catenin immunoreactivities were significantly decreased only in rosemary essential oil-treated ECV304 cells. Also, the essential oil showed antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities. Rosemary essential oil showed effective antibacterial activity on E. coli and K. pneumo-niae. Thus, rosemary essential oil could be a potential candidate as a therapeutic agent in cancer treatment.& COPY; 2023 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.