Influence of Hyptis suaveolens growth stage on essential oil composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities

This study highlights the significant enhancement of biological activity in Hyptis suaveolens essential oils (EOs) through growth stage variations, demonstrating optimized antimicrobial and antioxidant potential at specific phases. EOs were obtained via hydro-distillation from the vegetative, reproductive, and post-reproductive stages, with yields of 0.25%, 0.65%, and 0.42%, respectively. GC-MS analyses identified sabinene as the major compound in the vegetative (43.16%) and reproductive (23.46%) stages, while eucalyptol (23.54%) dominated the post-reproductive phase. The vegetative stage EO exhibited the most potent antibacterial and antifungal activity, effectively inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus and the post-harvest fungal pathogen Botrytis californica. Antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, and β-carotene bleaching) revealed the highest antioxidant activity in the post-reproductive stage. These findings demonstrate the significant impact of growth stage variations on the bioactivity of H. suaveolens EOs, highlighting their potential for pharmaceutical and food preservative applications.