Volatile Olfactory Profiles of Umbrian Extra Virgin Olive Oils and Their Discrimination through MOX Chemical Sensors

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the best vegetable oil worldwide but, at the same time, is one of the product victims of fraud in the agri-food sector, and the differences about quality within the extra-virgin olive oil category are often missed. Several scientific techniques were applied in order to guarantee the authenticity and quality of this EVOO. In the present study, the volatile compounds (VOCs) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with solid-phase micro-extraction detection (GC-MS SPME), organoleptic analysis by the official Slow Food panel and the detection by a Small Sensor System (S3) were applied. Ten EVOOs from Umbria, a central Italian region, were selected from the 2021 Slow Food Italian extra virgin olive oil official guide, which includes hundreds of high-quality olive oils. The results demonstrated the possibility to discriminate the ten EVOOs, even if they belong to the same Italian region, by all three techniques. The result of GC-MS SPME detection was comparable at the discrimination level to the organoleptic test with few exceptions, while the S3 was able to better separate some EVOOs, which were not discriminated perfectly by the other two methods. The correlation analysis performed among and between the three methodologies allowed us to identify 388 strong associations with a p value less than 0.05. This study has highlighted how much the mix of VOCs was different even among few and localized EVOOs. The correlation with the sensor detection, which is faster and chipper compared to the other two techniques, elucidated the similarities and discrepancies between the applied methods.

Exploring phytochemicals from Himalayan medicinal plants as novel therapeutic agents

Over-prescription of medicines leads to some crucial health issues like resistance, non-specificity, etc. Therefore, a human consumes various natural foods, therapeutics, and nutritional supplements to combat this problem. Various therapeutic properties of secondary metabolites such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties are important in drug discovery and medicinal application. These natural products has replaced synthetic materials, resulting in a great deal of sustainability, rational use and preservation of biodiversity. This review described the potential therapeutic applications of secondary plant metabolites found in Himalayan Indian plants. The database contains 45 plants to treat various diseases such as cancer, inflammation, and microbial infections. Besides authorized ITIS names, it includes Hindi names, family names, and active constituents. The most important information about the molecules can be found in the hyperlinks for the active constituents. It includes structures (two-dimensional and three-dimensional), names and identifiers, chemical and physical properties, spectral information, biochemistry, literature and patents. The review also references various phytochemicals responsible for preventing COVID-19. Despite several challenges in manufacturing natural products, researchers may conduct research to produce successful medicines with few side effects.

In vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil Extracted from Leaves of Leoheo domatiophorus Chaowasku, D.T. Ngo and H.T. Le in Vietnam

:The present study aimed to determine the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of leaves-extracted essential oil of Leoheo domatiophorus Chaowasku, D.T. Ngo and H.T. Le (L. domatiophorus), including antibacterial, antimycotic, antitrichomonas and antiviral effects. The essential oil was obtained using hydrodistillation, with an average yield of 0.34 ± 0.01% (v/w, dry leaves). There were 52 constituents as identified by GC/MS with available authentic standards, representing 96.74% of the entire leaves oil. The essential oil was comprised of three main components, namely viridiflorene (16.47%), (-)-δ-cadinene(15.58%) and γ-muurolene (8.00%). The oil showed good antimicrobial activities against several species: Gram-positive strains: Staphylococcus aureus (two strains) and Enterococcus faecalis, with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Lethal Concentration (MLC) values from 0.25 to 1% (v/v); Gram-negative strains such as Escherichia coli (two strains), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (two strains) and Klebsiella pneumoniae, with MIC and MLC values between 2% and 8% (v/v); and finally Candida species, having MIC and MLC between 0.12 and 4% (v/v).Antitrichomonas activity of the oil was also undertaken, showing IC₅₀, IC₉₀ and MLC values of 0.008%, 0.016% and 0.03% (v/v), respectively, after 48h of incubation. The essential oil resultedin being completely ineffective against tested viruses, ssRNA+ (HIV-1, YFV, BVDV, Sb-1, CV-B4), ssRNA- (hRSVA2, VSV), dsRNA (Reo-1), and dsDNA (HSV-1, VV) viruses with EC₅₀ values over 100 µg/mL. This is the first, yet comprehensive, scientific report about the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of the essential oil in L. domatiophorus.

Chemical Composition of Vietnamese Essential Oils of Cinnamomum rigidifolium, Dasymaschalon longiusculum, Fissistigma maclurei and Goniothalamus albiflorus

Cinnamomum rigidifolium, Dasymaschalon longiusculum, Fissistigma maclurei and Goniothalamus albiflorus were collected from different landscapes in Vietnam and hydro distilled to produce essential oils with yields from 0.15 – 0.35%. The oils were analyzed by GC-MS-FID and rechecked by measurements on two different instrumentation configurations. The main components of the studied essential oils were for Cinnamomum rigidifolium linalool (19.4%), α-pinene (13.8%), verbenone (9.9%) and cis-verbenol (8.9%), total identified 90.5%; for Dasymaschalon longiusculum spathulenol (21.4%), caryophyllene oxide (17.6%), α-pinene (5.5%) and β-pinene (5.2%), total identified 70.1%; for Fissistigma maclurei spathulenol (17.8%), guaia-6,10(14)-diene-4β-ol (10.3%), (E)-β-caryophyllene (7.3%) and caryophyllene oxide (7.0%), total identified 75.3% and for Goniothalamus albiflorus 1,8-cineole (13.2%), α-pinene (10.6%), ledol (7.5%) and caryophyllene oxide (7.3%), total identified 78.0%.

Chemical Composition of the Leaf Oil of Actephila excelsa from Vietnam

Fresh leaves of Actephila excelsa (Dazl.) Muell. from Vietnam were steam distilled to produce an oil in a yield of 0.15% (v/w). The essential oil was analyzed by a combination of capillary gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main constituents of the oil were the sesquiterpenes γ-elemene (25.7%) and β-caryophyllene (11.2%). Other significant compounds were methyl salicylate (5.8%), benzyl benzoate (5.2%), ( E, E)-farnesylacetone (4.9%), anisole (4.7%), sabinene (4.1%) and menthone (4.0%). This is the first report on the volatile constituents of this plant.