EVALUATION OF THE GENOTOXICITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL FROM ORIGANUM COMPACTUM BENTH. IN HUMAN LYMPHOCYTES

ABSTRACTObjective: Essential oils with antimicrobial and antioxidant activities have gained importance. This study was conducted to investigate the genotoxicpotential of the essential oil of Origanum compactum.Methods: Micronucleus test and proliferation index (PI) were used to evaluate the genotoxic effect of the essential oil of O. compactum on humanlymphocytes.Results: The results demonstrated that the PI values were influenced by the tested essential oil. An increase in concentration of essential oil alsocaused the appearance of micronuclei.Conclusion: The results of the present work suggest that O. compactum essential oil exhibited genotoxic activity at higher concentration. Furtherstudies are necessary to confirm these findings.Keywords: Origanum compactum, Human lymphocytes, Proliferation index, Micronucleus test