Melissa officinalis L. Essential Oil: Chemical Composition, Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities- in vitro Study

The present investigated chemical composition of Melissa officinalis L. essential oil (MOEO) extracted by hydrodistillation. The MOEO was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), revealing the presence of thirty compounds, representing 98.46% of the oil constituents. The predominant components were 1,8-cineole (39.80%) followed by citronellol (16.66%), geraniol (12.25%), myrcene (5.85%) and geranial (5.45%). The antioxidant potential of MOEO has been summarized using DPPH test (IC50), superoxide anion (O2−·) scavenging activity (IC50), β-carotene (IC50) and reducing power (FRAP) (EC50). Results demonstrate strong scavenging superoxide anion capacity and moderate to weaker activity against the other assays. Potent inhibitory effect has been observed towards Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus as well as the Candida albicans ATCC 90028, C. tropicalis (Strain 1) and C. albicans (Strain 8). Our work provides a view for the further studies on the antioxidant and antimicrobial of the MOEO and its main components.