Abstract
The essential oils (EOs) of Ammodaucus leucotrichus fruits collected from four regions in Algerian Sahara were investigated for their chemical components, oil yield diversity and antibacterial property. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity and the acute toxicity of these oils are herein reported for the first time. The hydrodistillated oils yielded (2.82-3.87 %) (w/w). GC and GC-MS analyses allowed us to identify twenty components representing (95.6-99.4 %). The main components were perillaldehyde (63.6-87.7 %), limonene (7.3-19.4 %) and α-pinene (1.2-7.9 %). The determination of the acute toxicity effect in mice showed the slight toxic nature of the EOs (LD50: 520-570 mg/kg). The oils exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effect; the inhibitions at a dose of 100 mg/kg were (18.7-24.5 %). Based on the determination of inhibition diameters, a high antibacterial activity against yeasts and gram-positive bacteria strains and a moderate activity against gram-negative bacteria strains were observed. These results indicated that A. leucotrichus EOs have promising anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and might be used as natural drug against inflammatory diseases or as bioactive pharmaceutical molecules.