Antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activities of Cedrus atlantica organic extracts and essential oil

Introduction: Cedrus atlantica is an endemic pine tree species well known for its wood oil. Its traditional medicinal usages are mainly anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. The current study aimed to explore both the essential oil of the tree's cones and the organic extracts of the branches, chemically and biologically. Methods: The essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Phenolic contents of the extracts and fractions were determined following diverse methods described in the literature. The bioactivity was assessed for their antioxidant (FRAP, DPPH• and ABTS•+ radical scavenging activities), antibacterial (Broth microdilution method), and cytotoxic effects (MTT assay). Results: α-pinene (81.49%) was found to be the major constituent of the essential oil. The extracts and fractions were found to be rich in polyphenols. The antioxidant activity was better in the ethyl acetate fraction. Staphylococcus aureus appeared to be the most susceptible strain to C. atlantica's extracts and oil, with a minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values of 62.5 and 125 µg/mL for the ethyl acetate fraction, respectively, and values of 0.25 and 0.5% for the essential oil, respectively. C. atlantica's essential oil exhibited a potent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line with an IC50 value of 143.13±14.6 µg/mL. Conclusion: C. atlantica's essential oil and organic extracts showed antioxidant, antibacterial, and anticancer activities. Thereby, the ethnobotanical use of C. atlantica in traditional preparations is worth investigating as the plant appears to be a potential source of interesting metabolites.