Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Essential Oil from Cotula cinerea (Del.) Growing Wildly in the Middle East: A Short Review

The essential oil extracted from Egyptian xerophytic plant named “Cotulacinerea” is used in broncho-pulmonary diseases due to the expectorant and antiseptic effects of its oil a topical application to relieve pain and to promote healing and also finds use in the fragrance and flavouring industries. The main constituents of the essential oil are Camphor, Camphene, Alpha-pinene, 3-carene, Thujone, 4-terpineol, (Z)-betafarnesene and santolinatriene. The biological activity of C.cinerea essential oil has been investigated. The oil possessed significant antibacterial, antifungal, anticandidal activities. However, the oil showed low antioxidant capacity. Concerning its anti tumour activity, there was a scarce work on examining the oil antitumor activity. Only one study showed that the oil has moderate cytotoxic activity against both colorectal adenocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.