The present study assessed the metabolites and bioactivities of Micromeria fruticosa plant
parts extracted with various solvents (ethanol, n-hexane, and water) through the steeping extraction
method. Thereafter, the extracts were analyzed using GC-MS. Moreover, the extracts were tested
for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities. The quali-quantitative analysis of
Micromeria fruticosa crude extracts revealed the occurrence of 27 secondary metabolites. Some major
bioactives identified were menthone, oleamide, pulegone, and menthol. Numerous antioxidant
minerals, viz., Fe, Zn, and Mn, were present. The water extract of leaves exhibited the highest DPPH
scavenging activity (89.73%), followed by the water extract of flowers (80.07%) at 100 g/mL. The
stems’ water extract demonstrated greater antimicrobial activity against all the bacteria species tested.
The ethanolic leaf and aqueous stem extracts exhibited strong activity against C. albicans and E. coli.
Flowers’ aqueous extract demonstrated the highest cytostatic effect on the colon cell line by reducing
viability, followed by the leaves’ ethanol extract. The extraction solvents influenced the recovery
of phytocompounds, and the highest pharmacological activities of the different extracts could be
correlated to the presence of additional bioactives. Our results suggest that the Micromeria fruticosa
plant is a favorable source of natural products with promising properties for potential nutraceutical
and functional food applications.

Title

Processes MDPI

Publisher

Basel, Switzerland : MDPI AG

Publisher Country

Switzerland

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

2.847

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

10

Year

2022

Pages

14