Origanum compactum, Melaleuca alternifolia, and Cinnamomum camphora essential oils are recognized for their therapeutic potential, including their selective cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines. Our research focused on examining the cytotoxic effects of these essential oils on three human carcinoma cell lines: lung carcinoma (H460), cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa), and colorectal carcinoma (HCT116). The MTT-based cell viability assay was used to assess the cytotoxicity of essential oils. The results demonstrated that all three essential oils exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxic potential, with varying levels of growth inhibition across the cell lines. Notably, the highest sensitivity was observed in H460 cells, and the lowest sensitivity was found in HCT116 cells. Origanum compactum demonstrated the strongest cytotoxicity across all cell lines (GI50 73 - 154 nL/mL), making it the most promising candidate for further investigation, particularly for lung and cervical cancer treatment.

Two highly invasive plant species, Lysimachia vulgaris and Lythrum salicaria are well-known for its anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, and antidiaroic activity. These plants are most widespread on the territory of Euroasia, where their traditional medicinal use has been reported. Due to their invasiveness, they are undesirable plants in  other parts of the world. Till this day, many studies were conducted regarding the biological and pharmacological activity of L. salicaria. In this study, the polyphenol content of plant extracts was examined using the Folin-Ciocalteou method. Antioxidant activity of selected plant species was also determined, using DPPH and FRAP methods. Extracts of different polarities were prepared using methanol, water, and acetone. Extraction was performed by maceration and ultrasonic extraction. The results of the study show that both plant species possess antioxidant activity. Lythrum salicaria extracts show a significant polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, with results notably higher than the results of studies conducted so far. The different antioxidant activity of the prepared extracts confirms the influence of solvents and extraction methods on the utilization of the antioxidant potential of plants. Additionally, for the aqueous extracts prepared by ultrasonic extraction method, an in vitro study of antibacterial activity was conducted. Both plant species show antibacterial activity, with an emphasis on the very strong antibacterial activity of L. salicaria extracts against selected bacterial strains.

The chemical composition of Pulicaria dysenterica(L.) Bernh. aerial parts essential oil (EO), growing wildin Bosnia and Herzegovina, was presented in the study. In addition to the EO composition, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities were also tested. The aerial parts of P. dysentericacontained 0.3% of yellow, liquid, fragrant EO. The 51 components identified accounted for 81.09% of the oil. The EO was characterized by the presence of a high concentration of oxygenated sesquiterpenes 51.83% while oxygenated monoterpenes constituted 15.57%, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons 9.32% and non-terpene compounds presented 4.37% of the EO. The dominant compounds were the sesquiterpenes caryophyllene oxide, (E)-nerolidol, β-caryophyllene and monoterpene nerol. The antimicrobial activity of EO was tested against selected ATCC strains of microorganisms, the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosaand Escherichia coli, and the fungus Candida albicans. The results showed that the investigated EO inhibited the growth of all selected ATCC strains of microorganisms. The best result was obtained against Escherichia colibacteria with MIC value of 1 mgmL-1. The cytotoxicity of EO was measured against the HeLa cell line using the MTT method with IC50of 188.52 μgmL-1.This study has provided scientific baseline data on the therapeutic properties of P. dysenterica. KEYWORDS:Pulicaria dysenterica, essential oil,antimicrobial activity,citotoxicity

Vaginal inflammation represents a heterogeneous group of disorders caused by infection, inflammation, or disruption of vaginal microflora. The most common causes of vaginal infection are Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Escherichia coliand Candida albicans. Antibiotic resistance is a major global problem, which can be mitigated by using natural antimicrobial substances such as essential oils. Each essential oil has an extremely complex composition (some essential oilshave over 200 components), which prevents microorganisms from developing resistance. Therefore, essential oils retain their effects.The aim of our study was to investigate antibacterial activity Melaleuca alternifolia, Achillea millefoliumand Cinnamomumcamphoravaginal suppositories, and see which essential oil has the strongest potential to be used as active ingredient for vaginal infections.The antimicrobial activity of the vaginal suppositories was examined using the disk diffusion method. Standard bacterial strains were used for the ATCC collection: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) ATCC 25923, Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis)ATCC 51299, Escherichia coli (E. coli)ATCC 25922, Candida albicans (C. albicans)ATCC 10231.The results showed that Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil has an antimicrobial effect on all tested strains, with the strongest effect on Candida albicans(ZI 22.7 mm). Achillea millefoliumessential oil had no effect on Enterococcus faecalis, whereas Cinnamomum camphoraessential oil did not show zones of inhibition of Candida albicans.KEYWORDS:vaginal suppository, Melaleuca alternifolia, Achillea millefolium, Cinnamomum camphora,antimicrobial activity

Tussilago farfara L., also known as coltsfoot, is a plant that has been used since ancient times to relieve coughs. Subsequently, the effectiveness of coltsfoot in the treatment of bronchial asthma, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases was established. In this research, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of different coltsfoot extracts was analyzed. The antioxidant activity was monitored through the DPPH radical inhibition efficiency and the extract's reducing ability. Antibacterial activity was tested using the diffusion technique. Tussilago farfara L. extracts showed extremely high antioxidant activity in in vitro conditions. The highest antioxidant capacity was found in extracts prepared by mixing water and organic solvents. High antibacterial activity was found for ethanolic, acetone and aqueous-ethanolic extracts of coltsfoot.

Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. (known as shepherd's purse) is a plant whose parts are used as medicine in herbal medicine. It is applicable as a medicine in the treatment of all forms of internal bleeding, for the treatment of hemorrhoids, excessive menstruation, but also for the usual stopping of nosebleeds. Through this research, the influence of organic solvents and their aqueous mixtures on the efficiency of polyphenol extraction and antioxidant activity was compared. The inhibition of free radicals was tested by the DPPH method, while the FRAP method was used to test the reduction potential. Analyzes have shown that water is the most effective solvent in the isolation of polyphenols from the aerial parts of shepherd's purse. Mixtures of organic solvents with water also showed high efficiency in the extraction of bioactive components, while the weakest results were obtained for extracts prepared in pure organic solvents.

Essential oils are mixtures of potent compounds with biological effects, such as those with antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor and/or anti-inflammatory effects. In this paper, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of essential oils of different types of commercial pepper was tested. Essential oils are prepared by hydrodistillation. Polyphenol content, reduction potential and DPPH radical inhibition were analyzed. Antimicrobial activity was tested on reference strains using the diffusion technique. The analysis showed that the essential oil of black pepper has a significantly higher antioxidant potential compared to the essential oils of green and white pepper. High antimicrobial activity was also found for the black pepper essential oil sample, except in the case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.