Chemical Composition and Bioactivity of Essential Oil of Ten <i>Labiatae</i> Species

Abstract

Using antibiotics as feed additives have been successively banned worldwide from 1986; therefore, it is an urgent task to finding safe and effective alternatives. As natural products of plant origin, essential oils (EOs) are an outstanding option due to their reported bioactivity. In this research, ten EOs of Labiatae species were extracted by steam distillation and its chemical constituents were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 123 chemical compounds, including alkenes, phenols, aldehydes and ketones, were identified. The results of antioxidant activity carried out through DPPH free radical scavenging (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), showing that EOs of Ocimum basilicum Linn. (ObEO), Thymus mongolicus Ronn. (TmEO), Origanum vulgare Linn. (OvEO) and Mosla chinensis Maxim. (McEO) have strong antioxidant activities. Their 50%-inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and their minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) value was 1 μL/mL, 2 μL/mL, and 2 μL/mL, respectively. In conclusion, the results in this work demonstrate the possibility for development and application of EOs as potential feed additives.

Keywords

• <i>Labiatae</i> species
• essential oil
• antioxidant
• antibacterial
• feed additive