Phytochemical analysis and biological activities of two oil-bearing extracts from fresh Pistacia lentiscus

ABSTRACT. This study aims to investigate the anti-cancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Pistacia lentiscus L. (P. lentiscus) extracts, as well as their phyto-chemical profile. The GC-MS crude chemical profile provided new chemotypes of fixed oil (FO) and essential oil (EO) extracts. Secondary metabolites screened high levels of polyphenols and condensed tannins in EO, while FO had the highest flavonoids content. A potent anti-proliferative activity of both extracts was shown on two human breast cancer cells (EO-IC50 = 5.2 mg/mL MDA-MB-231 cells). The antimicrobial activity showed that only EO was active against six multidrug resistant bacteria (inhibition zone 20-8 mm) and two fungi strains (inhibition zone 3-4 mm). Also, the highest in vitro antioxidant free-radical scavenging ability was in the case of EO (125.5 μg/mL). In vivo P. lentiscus EO provided corrective effect vs the tamoxifen (Txf) induced oxidative damage in liver and kidney in C57BL/6 in female mouse. These findings confirm that EO inhibits cell proliferation, induces bacterial death and has a potential antioxidant activity. KEY WORDS: Phytotherapy, Pistacia lentiscus, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial activity, Breast cancer Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2023, 37(6), 1487-1501. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v37i6.15