Chemical composition, pharmaceutical potential and toxicity of the essential oils extracted from the leaves, fruits and barks of Pistacia atlantica

In the framework of the contribution to the valorization of medicinal and aromatic plants, we have performed a chemical and pharmacological study of the EO of different organs of P. atlantica. Then, we have studied their toxicity towards crop pests. The extraction of the EO performed by the hydrodistillation gives EO yields of the order of 0.52 +/- 0.36%, 0.46 +/- 0.24% and 0.31 +/- 0.15% for the leaves, fruits and barks, respectively. The chemical composition of the EO of this plant is diverse. The EO of the leaves and fruits of P. atlantica are dominated by terpinen-4-ol with percentages of 24.88% and 29.07%, respectively. While, the EO of bark is dominated by alpha-pinene 14.61%. The evaluation in vitro of the antioxidant activity performed by DPPH and FRAP methods show that the EO of the leaves has a significant antioxidant power than those of the fruits and barks. The antimicrobial activity of the EO shows that all the tested microbial strains are sensitive to the EO of the leaves. While, the EO of the fruit exhibits an activity against the fungal strains. For the study of the toxicity of the EO of the organs of P. atlantica towards the C. capitata and the T. absoluta, we have noticed that the tested EO proved a clear insecticidal action on the larvae of T. absoluta and on adults of C. capitata. It is worth wile to mention that the studied plant can be considered as a promising source of antimicrobial agents, antioxidants and biopesticides.