Open Access

ARTICLE

Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Artemisia dracunculus Essential Oil: Estragole as the Major Bioactive Compound

Ammar Attar^*

Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia

* Corresponding Author: Ammar Attar. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Innovative Approaches in Experimental Botany: Essential Oils as Natural Therapeutics)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(4), 1225-1237. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.063207

Received 08 January 2025; Accepted 27 March 2025; Issue published 30 April 2025

Abstract

Artemisia dracunculus L., or tarragon, is a perennial herb from the Asteraceae family that is extensively cultivated for its aromatic leaves, which are valued for its preventative and therapeutic properties in both cookery and traditional medicine. This study aims to investigate the antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of A. dracunculus (tarragon) essential oil (ADEO), with estragole (57.23%) identified as the major compound through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. ADEO exhibited varying degrees of antibacterial activity, with Escherichia coli showing higher resistance (inhibition zone (IZ) = 14.7 ± 0.58 mm, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 2% and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) = 4%), while Bacillus subtilis (IZ = 24.05 ± 2.11 mm and MIC = MBC = 0.125%) and Staphylococcus aureus (IZ = 18.69 ± 1.45 mm, MIC = 0.0612% and MBC = 0.125%) were more sensitive to its actions. Antioxidant ability was assessed using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil (DPPH), 2,2^′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) (ABTS), xanthine oxidase inhibition, and beta-carotene bleaching assays. ADEO showed remarkable antiradical effect on DPPH (IC₅₀ = 127.05 ± 3.47 μg/mL) and ABTS radical (IC₅₀ = 89.60 ± 8.73 μg/mL) as well as significant inhibition of xanthine oxidase (IC₅₀ = 47.9 ± 2.04 μg/mL) and lipid peroxidation (IC₅₀ = 231.63 ± 5.21 μg/mL). ADEO also showed significant anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting the enzymes COX-1 (IC₅₀ = 59.2 ± 2.43 μg/mL), Cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) (IC₅₀ = 74.68 ± 1.34 μg/mL) and 5-lipooxygense (5-LOX) (IC₅₀ = 93.18 ± 1.87 μg/mL), which are involved in the inflammatory pathway. These findings suggest that ADEO, with its high estragole content, holds promising potential as a natural antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory agent for preventive and therapeutic applications. Further research is needed to explore its safety and efficacy in clinical settings.

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Keywords

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