Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oils from Spain: composition, antioxidant capacity, lipoxygenase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory capacities, and antimicrobial activities

Six Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oils (RoEOs) from Murcia (Spain) were studied using gas chromatography. Analysis of their relative and absolute composition showed 1,8-cineole, camphor, α-pinene and camphene to be the main compounds. Moreover, enantioselective gas chromatographies showed different enantiomeric ratios of camphor, limonene and borneol. The antioxidant and chelating capacities of RoEOs and their individual components were measured in an attempt to ascertain the cause of RoEO activity as a whole. All the essential oils were able to inhibit lipoxygenase activity due to bornyl acetate, camphor, terpinen-4-ol and 1,8-cineole and acetylcholinesterase activity due to 3-carene and 1,8-cineole, mainly. When the antimicrobial activities were tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, the least sensitive microorganism was P. aeruginosa and the most sensitive C. albicans. This study furthers our knowledge of six RoEOs from two chemotypes, all of which show potential for industrial applications.