Antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the essential oil and various extracts of Nepeta ispahanica from Iran

The essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of Nepela ispahallica was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Thirty-three constituents accounting for 97.1% of the total oil were identified with 1,8-cineole (78.2%), alpha-terpineol (2.3%) and 4-terpineol,(1.9%) as the main components. Antibacterial activity of the oil and various extracts of the plant was studied against four Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria. The oil inhibited the growth of all of the tested bacteria except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Also the antioxidant activity of the samples were tested by using 2, 2-diplienyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The free radical scavenging activity of n-BuOH subfraction of the methanol extract (IC50 = 37 mu g/ml) was superior to all other extracts, while the oil was the least effective.