Artemisia jordanica (AJ) is one of the folkloric medicinal plants and grows in the arid
condition used by Palestinian Bedouins in the Al-Naqab desert for the treatment of diabetes and
gastrointestinal infections. The current investigation aimed, for the first time, to characterize the
(AJ) essential oil (EO) components and evaluate EO’s antioxidant, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antimicrobial,
anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometer
(GC-MS) technique was utilized to characterize the chemical ingredients of (AJ) EO, while validated
biochemical approaches were utilized to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-obesity and antidiabetic. The
microbicidal efficacy of (AJ) EO was measured utilizing the broth microdilution assay. Besides, the
cytotoxic activity was estimated utilizing the (MTS) procedure. Finally, the anti-inflammatory activity
was measured utilizing a COX inhibitory screening test kit. The analytical investigation revealed the
presence of 19 molecules in the (AJ) EO. Oxygenated terpenoids, including bornyl acetate (63.40%)
and endo-borneol (17.75%) presented as major components of the (AJ) EO. The EO exhibited potent
antioxidant activity compared with Trolox, while it showed a weak anti-lipase effect compared
with orlistat. In addition, the tested EO displayed a potent -amylase suppressing effect compared
with the positive control acarbose. Notably, the (AJ) EO exhibited strong -glucosidase inhibitory
potential compared with the positive control acarbose. The EO had has a cytotoxic effect against all
the screened tumor cells. In fact, (AJ) EO showed potent antimicrobial properties. Besides, the EO
inhibited the enzymes COX-1 and COX-2, compared with the anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen.
The (AJ) EO has strong antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti--amylase, anti--glucosidase, and
COX inhibitory effects which could be a favorite candidate for the treatment of various neurodegenerative
diseases caused by harmful free radicals, microbial resistance, diabetes, and inflammations.
Further in-depth investigations are urgently crucial to explore the importance of such medicinal
plants in pharmaceutical production.

Title

Molecules

Publisher

MDPI

Publisher Country

Switzerland

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

3.26

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

26

Year

2021

Pages

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