GC-MS Analysis, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Subsp. and Essential Oils and Their Potential Use as Food Preservatives.

In order to discover new natural resources with biological properties, the chemical composition, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, and the potential use as food preservative of essential oils of Moroccan subsp. (AOEO) and (RMEO) were studied. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed the presence of 21 and 25 compounds in AOEO and RMEO, respectively. The results showed that the major compounds of AOEO are camphor (45.01%), bornyl acetate (15.07%), borneol (11.33%), -eudesmol (4.74%), camphene (3.58%), and 1.8-cineole (eucalyptol) (2.96%), whereas 2-undecanone (63.97%), camphor (3.82%) and cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (3.66%) were the main components of RMEO. The antioxidant activities were evaluated by diphenylpicrylhydraziyl radical (DPPH) and reducing power assays. The antimicrobial activities of essential oils were tested against bacterial strains and food contaminant yeast using agar disc diffusion and microdilution methods. A significant antimicrobial activity of AOEO was observed against , and , compared to RMEO. The efficacy of AOEO was also evaluated in model food systems (cabbage and barley) artificially inoculated during storage. The results found that the adding of a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 4× MIC were potent in decreasing the growth in food model systems. Our findings suggested that AOEO may be potentially used as an alternative food preservative.