First report on the aroma profile and biological effects of the essential oils from Ziziphus hajarensis Duling, Ghaz. & Prend.

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0972060X.2024.2443830

For the first time, the chemical components of the leaves, fruits, and stem’s essential oils (EOs) of Ziziphus hajarensis were assessed by GC-MS analysis, and in vitro analyses for antioxidants, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, carbonic anhydrase-II (CA-II), and anti-cancer activities. The essential oil of the leaves was found to contain 48 compounds (99.43% of the total EOs), fruit had 49 compounds (99.07% of the total EOs), while stem contained 51 compounds (99.28% of the total EOs). The highest amount of β-eudesmol was found in stem (49.23 ± 0.80%), followed by leaves (48.93 ± 0.24%) and fruit oils (39.64 ± 0.73%). α-Bergamotene ranged between 8.36-8.75% and was found in almost equal quantity in the EOs of all three parts. Significant antidiabetic potential was observed by leave’s essential oil (IC50, 1.12 ± 0.05 μg/mL), trail by stem (2.02 ± 0.06 μg/mL) and fruits (2.85 ± 0.13 μg/mL) compared to standard acarbose. Similarly, notable carbonic anhydrase-II inhibition was observed in the essential oil of leaves (80.36 ± 1.40 μg/mL) followed by stem (90.15 ± 0.72 μg/mL) in comparison to acetazolamide standard. Only the fruit’s oil was shown to have antifungal suppression against Candida krusei. However, all EOs were active against the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The essential oils also had appreciable activity against breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) and normal (MCF-10A) cell lines. It is presumed that the essential oil did not cause significant harm to the normal cell lines. Further research is needed to identify the bioactive components responsible for these pharmacological activities.