Mohammad Sanad Abu-Darwish, Célia Cabral, Zulfigar Ali, Mei Wang, Shabana I. Khan, Melissa R. Jacob, Surendra K. Jain, Babu L. Tekwani, Fazila Zulfiqar, Ikhlas A. Khan, Hatem Taifour, Lígia Salgueiro, Thomas Efferth
In Jordan, Salvia ceratophylla L. is traditionally used in the treatment of cancer, microbial infections, and urinary disorders. This study aimed:(1) to chemically characterize S. ceratophylla essential oil (EO) from South Jordan, by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS); and (2) to evaluate in vitro the cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and antiprotozoal activities of the EO, it's predominant components, and the hexane (A), ethyl acetate (B), methanol (C) and crude-methanol extracts (D). The analysis revealed that the EO has 71 compounds, with linalool (54.8%) as main constituent. Only the hexane extract (A) showed some cytotoxic activity against SK-MEL, KB, BT-549, SK-OV-3, LLC-PK1 and VERO cells lines with IC 50 between 60 and > 100 μg/mL. The EO inhibited NO production (IC50 90 μg/mL) and NF-κB activity (IC50 38 μg/mL). The extracts A, B, and D inhibited NO production and NF-κB activity with IC50 between 32 and 150 μg/mL. Linalool considerably inhibited NO production (IC50 18 μg/mL). The extracts tested did not exhibit antileishmanial activity. Regarding antitrypanosomal activity, the EO exhibited significant results with IC50 2.65 μg/mL. In conclusion, Jordan S. ceratophylla EO represents a rich source of linalool and bears a promising therapeutic potential for further antitrypanosomal drug development.