Anti-Inflammatory, Antioxidant, Antibiotic, and Cytotoxic Activities of Tanacetum vulgare L. Essential Oil and Its Constituents.

L. (Asteraceae) is a perennial herb that has been used to treat multiple ailments. Regional variability of the chemical composition of essential oils is well-known. Despite these regional chemotypes, most relevant studies did not analyze the complete chemical composition of the essential oil and its constituents in relation to their biological activities. Here, we assess the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activities of collected from northern Quebec (Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean), Canada. Essential oil was extracted from plants by steam distillation and analyzed using GC-FID. Biological activities of essential oil and its main constituents were evaluated in vitro. We identified the major compounds as camphor, borneol, and 1,8-cineole. The oil possesses anti-inflammatory activity inhibiting NO production. It also inhibits intracellular DCFH oxidation induced by tert-butylhydroperoxide. Anti-inflammatory activity of essential oil appears driven mainly by α-humulene while antioxidant activity is provided by α-pinene and caryophyllene oxide. Essential oil from was active against both and with camphor and caryophyllene oxide responsible for antibacterial activity. Finally, essential oil was slightly cytotoxic against the human healthy cell line WS1 while α-humulene and caryophyllene oxide were moderately cytotoxic against A-549, DLD-1, and WS1. We report, for the first time, links between the specific compounds found in essential oil and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activities. essential oil possesses interesting biological properties.