This research presents a comparative description of the chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil (EO) of two species of Lamiacea (Labiateae) that belong to Lavandula genus namely Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula hybrida. They were cultivated in Egypt for their essential oils. Analyses by GC/MS of the main constituents showed camphor as the main component (28.45%) in L. angustifolia followed by eucalyptol (19.08%) and endo-borneol (17.47%), β-Cymene (7.20%), α-pinene (4.16%) and β-pinene (3.79%). L. hybrida essential oil contained eucalyptol as the major component (51.08%) followed by camphor (24.60%) and α-pinene (5.58%) and β-pinene (4.00%). Both oils showed antioxidant activity with the three used methods. Increasing EOs concentrations increased the antioxidant ability up to 32μg/ml compared to ascorbic acid.

The essential oil of both Lavandula species inhibited all screened bacteria with changeable efficacy except Salmonella enterica which did not show any inhibition zones with L. hybrida EO. The results displayed that the EO of L. angustifolia showed moderate antifungal activities against all the strains. At the same time, the EO of L. hybrida showed moderate activity against only two candida strains.

Both essential oils showed a good anti-inflammatory effect with a promising effect concerning L. angustifolia. L. angustifolia represented the best choice since they have low cytotoxicity on RAW cells (mouse macrophage normal cell line). For the cytotoxicity, the most potent essential oil was L. hybrida, but L. angustifolia did not show any activity. L. hybrida oil was effective against HCT116 (Colon Cancer Cell Line) and PACA2 (Pancreas Cancer Cell Line) then against A431 (Skin Cancer Cell Line) and MCF7 (Breast Cancer Cell Line). The study explored that both oils have low cytotoxicity on normal cell BJ1 (Normal Skin Fibroblast). Regarding the selectivity index, the study concluded that L. hybrida exhibited the most potential effect against A431 cell line and the same pattern was shown in PACA2, MCF7 and HCT116 lines.