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Abstract
Aromatic plants are broadly used in popular medicine. Essential oils are receiving increasing attention in the pharmaceutical industry as they contain antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer substances. The brine shrimp (Artemia salina.) assay is a convenient preliminary toxicity test, because brine shrimp is highly sensitive to a variety of chemical substances. The essential oils of 12 vegetable species were obtained by a hydrodistillation process. Essential oils of all plants were screened for their toxicity in the brine shrimp assay with larvae of Artemia salina.. The 50% lethal concentration (LC50) values of essential oils were determined by Finney's Probit analysis. Nontoxic essential oils for Artemia salina. were Aloysia polystachia. (LC50 6459 µg/mL), Minthostachys verticillata. (Griseb.) Epl (LC50 1848 µg/mL), Aloysia triphylla. (L'Herit.) Briton (LC50 1279 µg/mL), and Schinus poligamus. (Cav.) Cabrera (LC50 1179 µg/mL). The most toxic essential oils were Psila spartoides. (H. et A) J.Rimy (LC50 14 µg/mL) and Hyptis mutabilis. (Rich.) Briq (LC50 30 µg/mL). Previous studies with the essential oils of these vegetables have shown antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and yeast.