Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oil and extracts from Ocimum sanctum

Figures & data

Table 1. Chemical composition of O. sanctum essential oil.^a

Components^b	RI^c	Molecular mass	% Composition	Mode of Identification^d
Monoterpene hydrocarbons			(0.82)
α-pinene	939	136	0.17 ± 0.09	RT, RI, MS
Camphene	954	136	0.07 ± 0.08	RI, MS
Sabinene	975	136	0.09 ± 0.07	RI, MS
β-pinene	978	136	0.13 ± 0.08	RT, RI, MS
Limonene	1029	136	0.36 ± 0.12	RT, RI, MS
Oxygenated monoterpenes			(25.8)
1,8-cineol	1031	154	0.31 ± 0.12	RT, RI, MS
cis-sabinenehydrate	1070	154	0.18 ± 0.09	RI, MS
Linalool	1097	154	0.28 ± 0.04	RT, RI, MS
Camphor	1146	152	0.10 ± 0.03	RT, RI, MS
Borneol	1169	154	1.31 ± 0.11	RT, RI, MS
α-terpinenol	1189	154	0.08 ± 0.02	RI, MS
D-carvone	1243	150	0.10 ± 0.01	RI, MS
anethole	1265	148	1.48 ± 0.10	RT, RI, MS
Eugenol	1359	164	22.0 ± 1.20	RT, RI, MS
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons			(58.3)
γ-eleneme	1338	204	2.23 ± 0.12	RI, MS
β-elemene	1391	204	19.2 ± 0.50	RT, RI, MS
α-gurjunene	1407	204	1.05 ± 0.07	RT, RI, MS
β-caryophyllene	1421	204	19.10 ± 1.92	RT, RI, MS
β-cubebene	1423	204	0.17 ± 0.06	RT, RI, MS
β-gurjunene	1434	204	0.29 ± 0.03	RI, MS
Alloaromadendrene	1460	204	2.66 ± 0.19	RT, RI, MS
Germacrene D	1485	204	5.03 ± 0.33	RT, RI, MS
β-selinene	1486	204	2.11 ± 0.01	RI, MS
α-selinene	1498	204	2.99 ± 0.06	RT, RI, MS
β-bisabolene	1506	204	1.29 ±0.05	RT, RI, MS
δ-cadinene	1523	204	1.24 ± 0.16	RT, RI, MS
1-4, cadinadiene	1532	204	0.88 ± 0.04	RI, MS
α-calacorene	1546	200	0.11 ± 0.02	RI, MS
Oxygenated sesquiterpenes			(7.72)
Nerolidol	1561	222	0.46 ± 0.03	RI, MS
Spathulenol	1578	220	0.05 ± 0.02	RI, MS
Caryophyllene oxide	1583	220	4.65 ± 0.23	RT, MS
α-cadinol	1654	222	1.03 ± 0.08	RT, RI, MS
Aromadendrene oxide	1749	220	1.53 ± 0.05	RI, MS
Others compounds			(3.37)
Eicosane	2000	282	1.65 ± 0.07	RI, MS
Tricosane	2300	325	1.72 ± 0.04	RI, MS
Total			96.1
Yield (g/100 g)			0.52 ± 0.2

^aValues are mean ± standard deviation of three different samples of O. sanctum, analyzed individually in triplicate.

^bCompound listed in order of elution from a HP-5MS column.

^cRetention indices relative to C₉-C₂₄ n-alkanes on the HP-5MS column.

^dRT: identification based on comparison of retention time with standard compounds; RI: identification based on retention index; MS: identification based on comparison of mass spectra.

Figure 1. Typical GC-MS chromatogram of Ocimum sanctum essential oil.

Figure 2. Structure and quantity (g/100 g) of some major compounds of O. sanctum essential oil: A: Eugenol (20.9 g/100 g); B: β-elemene (18.7 g/100 g); C: β-caryophyllene (18.5 g/100 g); D: Germacrene D (4.9 g/100 g).

Table 2. Phenolic acids contents identified from different extracts of Ocimum sanctum.

Compounds	Phenolic acids contents (mg/100 g of dry plant material
	Hexane extract	Methanol extract	Ethanol extract
Gallic acid	0.05 ± 0.01^a	5.70 ± 0.21^c	3.50 ± 0.08^b
p-Hydroxy-benzoic acid	0.14 ± 0.01^a	1.99 ± 0.08^b	1.86 ± 0.11^b
Chlorogenic acid	0.24 ± 0.02^a	6.16 ± 0.18^c	5.85 ± 0.17^b
Caffeic acid	—	0.65 ± 0.21^b	0.20 ± 0.01^a
Vanillic acid	—	2.37 ± 0.09^b	1.19 ± 0.09^a
p-Coumaric acid	0.01 ± 0.01^a	1.77 ± 0.08^b	1.90 ± 0.08^c
Sinapic acid	0.01 ± 0.01^a	1.79 ± 0.10^b	1.98 ± 0.09^c
Ferulic acid	—	0.92 ± 0.02^a	0.90 ± 0.07^a

Values are mean ± SD of triplicate determinations.

Different letters in superscript represent significant difference (p < 0.05) between different extracts.

Figure 3. Total phenol and total flavonoid contents of n-hexane, methanol, and ethanol extracts of O. sanctum. Total phenolic contents, g/100 g of dry plant material, measured as gallic acid equivalent. Total flavonoid contents, g/100 g of dry plant material, measured as catechin equivalent.

Table 3. Antioxidant and antimalarial activities of essential oil and various extracts of O. sanctum.^a

Materials	Antioxidant activity		Haem biocyrstallisation assay
	DPPH, IC50, (µg mL^−Citation1)	Inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation (%)	Inhibition (%) at 10 mg/mL	(IC50, mg/mL)
Essential oil	11.1 ± 0.4	74.0 ± 3.8	58.9 ± 2.1	>10.0
n-hexane extract	15.5 ± 0.3	46.5 ± 1.9	23.3 ± 1.9	>10.0
Methanol extract	4.0 ± 0.2	84.7 ± 3.7	19.8 ± 1.1	>10.0
Ethanol extract	5.7 ± 0.3	79.3 ± 4.3	20.7 ± 1.2	>10.0
Chloroquine diphosphate	NT	NT	90.0 ± 3.6^b (at 5 μg/mL)	<0.005
BHT	5.4 ± 0.4^a	90.9 ± 2.7^d	NT	NT
Doxorubicin	NT	NT	NT	NT

^aValues are mean ± standard deviation of three samples of O. sanctum material, analyzed individually in triplicate.

NT: not tested.

Table 4. Antimicrobial activity of O. sanctum essential oil and various extracts.

Microorganism^Citation1	Ocimum sanctum
	Essential oil	n-hexane extract	Methanol extract	Ethanol extract	Standard <drugs^Citation2
Diameter of inhibition zone (mm) including disc diameter of 6 mm
S. aureus	25.1 ± 1.0^c	20.0 ± 1.0^b	17.1 ± 0.8^a	21.3 ± 1.2^b	28.3 ± 1.0^d
B. subtilis	27.2 ± 1.4^c	21.3 ± 1.0^b	19.0 ± 0.9^a	20.4 ± 0.9^ab	30.2 ± 1.3^d
B. cereus	26.4 ± 1.5^b	15.6 ± 1.0^a	14.0 ± 1.8^a	16.3 ± 1.1^a	30.0 ± 2.0^c
B. pumilis	27.1 ± 1.3^a	NT	NT	NT	26.3 ± 1.4^a
P. aeruginosa	19.4 ± 1.0^b	5.3 ± 0.5^a	4.9 ± 0.3^a	4.9 ± 0.3^a	28.3 ± 1.6^c
E. coli	20.8 ± 2.0^c	15.1 ± 1.0^a	17.0 ± 0.8^b	21.0 ± 1.2^c	31.4 ± 1.5^d
C. krusei	24.0 ± 1.2^c	5.7 ± 1.0^a	5.1 ± 0.5^a	7.3 ± 0.5^b	33.2 ± 1.0^d
A. flavous	24.2 ± 3.0^b	10.3 ± 0.7^a	10.0 ± 0.8^a	10.0 ± 0.8^a	34.0 ± 1.1^c
MIC, minimum inhibitory concentration (µg mL^−Citation1)
S. aureus	840 ± 20^b	970 ± 27^c	930 ± 29^c	830 ± 26^b	15.2 ± 1.0^a
B. subtilis	776 ± 27^b	900 ± 36^c	1000 ± 49^d	760 ± 29^b	4.2 ± 0.3^a
B. cereus	833 ± 21^b	1500 ± 60^e	1329 ± 48^d	1195 ± 44^c	6.5 ± 0.5^a
B. pumilis	787 ± 18^b	NT	NT	NT	50.0 ± 2.0^a
P. aeruginosa	1449 ± 31^b	NT	NT	NT	35.2 ± 1.5^a
E. coli	1719 ± 51^c	1100 ± 56^b	>2500 ± 89	1900 ± 51^d	2.2 ± 0.2^a
C. krusei	1103 ± 24^b	NT	NT	NT	11.0 ± 0.7^a
A. flavous	911 ± 19^b	>2500^c	>2500^c	>2500^c	8.5 ± 0.6^a

Values are mean ± standard deviation of three different samples of each Ocimum species, analyzed individually in triplicate.

Means followed by different superscript letters in the same rows present significant difference (p < 0.05).

¹S. aureus (NCTC 6571), B. subtilis (NCTC 10400), B. cereus (NCTC 7464), B. pumilis (clinically isolated), P. aeruginosa (NCTC 1662), E. cloi (ATCC 8739), C. krusei (ATCC 6258), A. flavous (QC 6158).

²Ciprofloxacin for bacterial and fluconazole for fungal strains.

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