Chemical composition, antioxidant, and antifungal activity of essential oil extracted from cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum L.) planted in Morocco

This work aimed to investigate the chemical composition, antioxidant, and antifungal activities of cumin essential oil (EO) grown under two climatic vegetation stages in Morocco namely Subhumid and Saharan. EO components were identified by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and assessed for their antifungal and antioxidant activities. Results showed that major components of local cumin EO are cumin aldehyde (CA) (29.90 ± 1.90%) γ-terpinene-7-al (10.63 ± 2.18%), α-terpinene-7- al (11.85±0.68%), γ-terpinene-7-al (19.50±4.25%), p-menthatriene (8.28±4.14%), p-cymene (4.65±0.35%), limonene (2.78±1.03%), p-menth-2-en-7-ol trans (3.08 ± 3.01%), β-pinene (0.58 ± 0.58%), and β-phelandrene (1.30 ± 0.25%), while 2-ethylidene-6-methyl3,5heptadienal (6.80 ± ± 1.60%), α-proyl-benzenemethanol (3.07 ± 0.76%), 1,4-p-menthadien-7-ol (2.87 ± 0.82%), cumin alcohol (0.63 ± 0.84%), and β-caryophyllene (0.47 ± 0.62%) are specific to EO of imported cumin. Principal component analysis showed that the EO of local cumin is strongly correlated with CA and γ-terpinene, while imported cumin EO is strongly correlated with 2- Eth-6-methyl-3,5-heptadienal. The percentage of antioxidant activity of local cumin EO, as determined by the β-carotene bleaching test, revealed higher strength than that of EO extracted from imported cumin. The EO extracted from local cumin varieties proved more inhibitory to fungal growth than EO extracted from imported cumin.