Phytochemical Analysis and in vitro Antiviral Activities of the Essential Oils of Seven Lebanon Species

Loizzo, Monica R.; Saab, Antoine M.; Tundis, Rosa; Statti, Giancarlo A.; Menichini, Francesco; Lampronti, Ilaria; Gambari, Roberto; Cinatl, Jindrich; Doerr, Hans Wilhelm

The chemical composition of the essential oils of Laurus nobilis, Juniperus oxycedrus ssp. oxycedrus, Thuja orientalis, Cupressus sempervirens ssp. pyramidalis, Pistacia palaestina, Salvia officinalis, and Satureja thymbra was determined by GC/MS analysis. Essential oils have been evaluated for their inhibitory activity against SARS‐CoV and HSV‐1 replication in vitro by visually scoring of the virus‐induced cytopathogenic effect post‐infection. L. nobilis oil exerted an interesting activity against SARS‐CoV with an IC (50) value of 120 μg/ml and a selectivity index (SI) of 4.16. This oil was characterized by the presence of β‐ocimene, 1,8‐cineole, α‐pinene, and β‐pinene as the main constituents. J. oxycedrus ssp. oxycedrus oil, in which α‐pinene and β‐myrcene were the major constituents, revealed antiviral activity against HSV‐1 with an IC (50) value of 200 μg/ml and a SI of 5.