Comparative Study on the Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of the Essential Oils of and Cultivated in Lebanon.

The phytochemical profile of essential oils is influenced by genetic and paragenetic factors. In this research, we studied the essential oils of and cultivated in Lebanon. The latter is a cross hybrid between and and is also known as lavandin and . Specifically, the chemical composition and biological activities (antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer, and hemolytic) of the essential oils were assessed. GC-MS results showed marked differences in the chemical compositions of the oils. For example, linalool was more abundant in (44.15%) than in (32%), while an opposite trend was observed for the percentages of 1,8-cineole (8.6% in and 4.0% in ). FTIR analysis confirmed the richness of both oils in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. In terms of antioxidant activity, essential oil demonstrated significantly better activity (IC= 5.24 ± 1.20 mg/mL) compared to oil in the DPPH radical scavenging assay. MTT cell viability assays revealed that essential oil was a slightly more potent antiproliferative agent than oil on human colorectal (HCT-116) and human breast (MCF-7) cancer cells. The antibacterial activity of the essential oils was tested against , , , , and . Both oils showed good antibacterial activities with MIC values of 0.174 and 0.169 mg/mL for and oils, respectively. MBC determinations revealed that the antibacterial activity was bactericidal against all bacteria, except . Furthermore, both essential oils did not exhibit notable hemolytic activity on red blood cells. Overall, Lebanese and essential oils have promising industrial and medicinal values.