Phytochemical studies on essential oils of Pinus pinaster Aiton and evaluation of their biological activities

This study focus on the analysis of the chemical composition of the aerial parts essential oils (Eos) (needles, cones and branches) of Tunisian P. pinaster Aiton, and to evaluate their antioxidant activities, their inhibition toward germination and seedling growth of weeds and to assess their antifungal activities against phytopathogenic fungi. Eos were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS analysis. A total of 27, 25, and 15 compounds were identified respectively in needles, cones and branches. All analyzed oils were rich in hydrocarbonated monoterpenes (32.57-90.48%). α-pinene (25.11-80.95%), β-pinene (1.86-33.12%) and β-caryophyllene (0.28-21.34%) were the dominant compounds in the volatile oils. All tested samples exhibited interesting antioxidant activities. The phytotoxicity of Eos was evaluated against tow weeds: Sinapis arvensis L. and Phalaris canariensis L. and one cultivated specie Triticum tirgidum L. The antifungal activity was investigated in vitro using five targeted fungal strains. Tested samples were differently effective toward tested plants and target fungi depending on the variability of their chemical compositions. All sample oils showed a significant phytotoxic effects and needles oils exhibited the highest herbicidal effects against all tested species. The highest fungitoxic properties were obtained with needles and cones Eos against all fungi.