Oral Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Origanum Vulgare Essential Oil

Oregano(Origanumvulgare) essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with Mass spectrometry(GC/MS),the major components were Terpinen-4-ol (24.90%), gamma-Terpinen (10.57%), o-Cymene (8.90%), cis-beta-Terpineol(8.73%), alpha-Terpinen (6.67%), beta-Phellandrene (4.84%),alpha-Terpieol (4.18%) and Carvacrol (3.90%) they constituted72.69% of total oil Oil exhibited antioxidant activity as shown by the consistent values of DPPH free radical-scavenging inhibition(59.09%) at 1000 ppm oil concentration. Antimicrobial activity of essential oil from oregano was also evaluated, among testedmicroorganisms P.aeruginosa demonstrated the highest resistance, while B. cereus was the most sensitive to the oreganooil.Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC ) ranging from 1.56 to 50 μl/ml. Results obtained indicated that oreganoessential oilcould be used as a potential source of natural antioxidant with possible applications in food systems