Phytochemical constituents and biological properties of Scutellaria condensata subsp. pycnotricha

Scutellaria is widely used in traditional medicine as a medical plant, in Asian countries, especially in China. It has been applied in treatment because of its sedative, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiviral effects. Scutellaria condensata Rech. f. subsp. pycnotricha (Rech. f.) Rech. f. is a wild perennial plant which  grows in Iran. In this study, GC-FID and GC-MS were used to examine the hydro-distilled volatile oil from the aerial parts of S. condensate. The total phenolic and flavonoids contents were determined by spectrophotometer. Also, the evaluation of antioxidant activity of essential oil and the methanolic extract was carried out using DPPH assay. The antibacterial activity of S. condensate essential oil was examined against four Gram-negative and five Gram-positive bacteria. Additionally, the review evaluation of volatile oil compounds of Scutellaria species was done. The process led to the identification of thirty-two compounds constituting 96.5% of the volatile oil. The major constituents were found to be linalool (25.3%), carvacrol (16.3%), and (E)-caryphyllene (13.4%). As a result, the highest scavenging activity belonged to methanolic extract (IC50= 38.2 µg/ml), followed by essential oil (IC50= 93.2 µg/ml). The total phenolic and flavonoid content were (120.7 mg GAE/g sample) and (78.6 mg QE /g sample), respectively for the methanolic extract. The essential oil showed moderate to high inhibitory activity against the Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus pumilus. The study indicates S. condensate potential for being a prospective antioxidant and antibacterial source in pharmaceutical and food industries.