Chemical composition of essential oil, FTIR, phytochemical profile of crude extract and biological activity of Pistacia lentiscus from Algeria

Pistacia lentiscus L. (Anacardiacae) has been known in Algeria since ancient times for its medicinal properties. The purpose of the present study was to identify the chemical composition of the essential oil of P. lentiscus leaves growing in Chlef region using GC-MS. The plant organic fractions of the leaf powder were investigated by FTIR, determination of total phenolic and total flavonoids content, evaluation of antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract. The essential oil was rich in thirty-nine compounds . L imonene (17.7%) and α-pinene (15.8%) were the major co m ponents detected. The FTIR results showed a fairly wide and significant characteristic band of the -OH hydroxyl function group. TPC and TFC were determined to be 173.79 µg GAE/mg, and 58.73 µg QE/mg, respectively. The antioxidant a c tivity was found to be IC 50 = 14.90 µg/mL . The antimicrobial results, MIC, MBC, and MFC measurements indicated that P. lentiscus exhibited significant antimicrobial and antifungal activities. Overall, these data indicate that P. lentiscus leaves may be used for pharmaceutical application, nutraceutical and functional food industries.