Effect of photo-oxygenation on biological activities of some commercial egyptian essential oils

the components of five common commercial egyptian essential oils; caraway, cumin, basil, thyme, and rose oils, were identified using gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (gc/ms) and kovats retention index. for each oil the main components were reported. their biological activities, including deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) damage, protein cleavage, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-diabetic effect were tested. the effect of photo-oxygenation reaction on their biological activities, using uv-irradiation in the presence of singlet oxygen sensitizer was investigated.