The composition of the hydrodistilled essential oil from the aerial parts of Dracocephalum surmandinum was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Monoterpenoids, including oxygenated compounds and hydrocarbons, comprising 63.4 and 33.9%, respectively, were the principal compound groups of the essential oil. In total, 25 constituents accounting for 97.8% of the oil were identified. Perilla aldehyde (54.3%) and limonene (30.1%) were characterized as the main components. The essential oil of D. surmandinum and its two main constituents showed a marked antioxidant and radical scavenging activity using different model systems, including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and β-carotene-linoleic acid blenching assays. The results of cytotoxicity activity using the MTT assay exhibited that the oil of D. surmandinum has a good effect against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and erythromyeloblastoid leukemia cell lines (K562) with IC₅₀ values of 14 and 16 μg/mL, respectively. The cytotoxic potential of D. surmandinum oil against rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cell line (PC 12) was weak (IC₅₀ of >100 μg/mL). Perilla aldehyde and limonene, the main constituents of D. surmandinum essential oil, inhibited all investigated cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner with IC₅₀ values ranged from 0.25-5.0 mmol/L.

The antibacterial activity and chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial flowering parts of Nepeta menthoides were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-nine compounds representing 97.6% of the total oil were identified. Oxygenated monoterpenes (71.9%) were the principal fraction of the oil with 1,8-cineole (33.8%) and 4aα-7α-7aα-nepetalactone (23.2%) as the main constituents. The antibacterial activity of the oil and its two main constituents were tested against seven bacteria. High activity of the oil and its two main constituents was demonstrated against all the tested bacteria with MIC values in the range of 1.8 - 7.2, 0.9 - 7.2 and 1.8 - 15 mg/mL, respectively.

The biological activity and composition of the essential oil of the aerial flowering parts of D. moldavica have been investigated. The oil analysis was performed by GC and GC-MS. Thirteen compounds were identified, representing 99.8% of the oil. Oxygenated monoterpenes (96.3%) were found to be the principal group of compounds, of which neral, geranial, geranyl acetate and geraniol with 32.1, 21.6, 19.9 and 17.6% of the total oil were the main constituents, respectively. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and its main components, citral, geraniol and geranyl acetate, showed that all of the tested microorganisms were highly inhibited by the essential oil with inhibition zones ranged from 15 – 41 mm for bacteria and 29 – 30 mm for fungi. The most sensitive microorganisms were Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis with the lowest MIC values of 0.9 mg/mL. Considering sensitivity screening, it is conceivable that the activity of the oil from D. moldavica could be attributed mainly to the presence of citral.