Molecular fingerprint and anti-carcinogenic properties of Turkish immortelle (<i>Helichrysum italicum</i>) essential oil

Immortelle (<i>Helichrysum italicum</i>) essential oil is one of the most valuable essential oils with its commercial importance and favorable characteristic properties in various cosmetic products and food products. Current research performed a comprehensive characterization of Immortelle essential oil using powerful and robust analytical techniques. The relative volatile composition of the Immortelle essential oil from Turkey was determined by GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) technique. Thirty-eight volatile compounds were identified. Average total phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging activities (IC₅₀) were determined as 54.24 mg GAE/mL essential oil and 0.27 mg/ml, respectively. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy fingerprints were determined for chemical characterization. The thermal profile was obtained by DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) analysis. The Immortelle essential oil (12.5 μg/mL) inhibited the growth of Caco 2 adenocarcinoma cells at the ratio of 48% without any deterioration in healthy L929 fibroblast cells according to the cytotoxicity analyses.