GC-MS Analyses and Bioactivity Evaluation of Origanum minutiflorum Essential Oil: Antioxidant, Antibacterial,...

This study aimed to elucidate the chemical composition of Origanum minutiflorum essential oil (OmEO) and evaluate its antioxidant and antibacterial activities, while also investigating, for the first time, the antibacterial potential of its major volatile constituents using in silico approaches, including ADME profiling and molecular docking, together with a genotoxicity assessment. Thirteen constituents, accounting for 99.10% of the total oil composition, were identified, with p-cymene (36.7%), γ-clausenane (31.1%), and borneol (10.6%) as the major components. OmEO exhibited moderate antioxidant activity, with IC₅₀ values of 1.0864 ± 0.0296 mg/mL in the DPPH• assay and 0.0055 ± 0.0002 mg/mL in the ABTS•⁺ assay, as well as a TEAC value of 745.56 ± 1.47 µM. The total phenolic content was 558.57 ± 1.43 µg/mL GAE. OmEO exhibited dose-dependent antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, with a MIC of 50 µg/mL for all tested strains except Enterobacter aerogenes, for which the MIC was 100 µg/mL. In the genotoxicity assessment, the oil inhibited stem elongation more strongly than root growth. In silico analyses identified borneol and γ-clausenane as promising candidates for further investigation of their antibacterial potential.