Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from six lamiaceae folk medicinal plants

Agastache Species (Lamiaceae) as a Valuable Source of Volatile Compounds: GC-MS Profiling and Investigation of In Vitro Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activities

Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the study of medicinal and aromatic plants, due to their therapeutic properties that correlate with the presence of different active compounds. Agastache species (sp.) are aromatic plants that belong to the Lamiaceae family, originating from North America and East Asia. The present study aimed to evaluate the composition of essential oils (EOs) obtained from different Romanian cultivated Agastache sp. and to investigate their antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) screening revealed that menthone was the dominant constituent of A. foeniculum (31.58%), A. rugosa (39.60%) and A. rugosa 'After Eight' (39.76%) EOs, while estragole was the major constituent of A. foeniculum "Aromat de Buzău" (63.27%) and A. mexicana (41.66%) EOs. The investigation of the antiproliferative effect showed that A. rugosa and A. foeniculum "Aromat de Buzău" EOs had significant cytotoxic activity on MDA-MB-231 and HEPG2 tumour cell lines, with the most promising effect on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line for A. foeniculum "Aromat de Buzău" EO (IC50 = 203.70 ± 0.24 μg/mL). Regarding the antibacterial activity, A. rugosa EO was most active against E. coli (8.91 ± 3.27 μL/mL) and S. aureus (10.80 ± 0.00 μL/mL). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the cytotoxic effect of Agastache sp. EOs on MDA-MB-231, HCT116 and HEPG2 tumour cell lines. The results of our study provide new and promising information for the subsequent in vivo study of the pharmacological properties of Agastache sp. essential oils.

Enhanced Natural Strength: Lamiaceae Essential Oils and Nanotechnology in In Vitro and In Vivo Medical Research

The Lamiaceae is one of the most important families in the production of essential oils known to have a wide spectrum of biological activity. Recent research has highlighted the dermatological capabilities of various Lamiaceae essential oils, which appear to offer potential in free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory activity. Some have also been extensively studied for their tissue remodeling and wound-healing, anti-aging, anti-melanogenic, and anti-cancer properties. Certain Lamiaceae essential oils are promising as novel therapeutic alternatives for skin disorders. This potential has seen substantial efforts dedicated to the development of modern formulations based on nanotechnology, enabling the topical application of various Lamiaceae essential oils. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the utilization of various essential oils from the Lamiaceae family over the past decade. It offers an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the use of these oils as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, wound-healers, anti-aging agents, anti-melanogenic agents, and anticancer agents, both alone and in combination with nanoparticles. Additionally, the review explores their potential applicability in patents regarding skin diseases.

Agastache Species: A Comprehensive Review on Phytochemical Composition and Therapeutic Properties

The Agastache genus is part of the Lamiaceae family and is native to North America, while one species, Agastache rugosa (A. rugosa), is native to East Asia. A review on the phytochemistry and bioactivity of Agastache genus was last performed in 2014. Since then, a lot of progress has been made on the characterization of the phytochemical and pharmacological profiles of Agastache species. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present a summary of the findings on the phytochemistry and biological effects of several Agastache species, including both extracts and essential oil characterization. We performed a comprehensive search using PubMed and Scopus databases, following PRISMA criteria regarding the study selection process. The available data is focused mainly on the description of the chemical composition and bioactivity of A. rugosa, with fewer reports referring to Agastache mexicana (A. mexicana) and Agastache foeniculum (A. foeniculum). Agastache species are characterized by the dominance of flavonoids and phenolic acids, as well as volatile compounds, particularly phenylpropanoids and monoterpenes. Moreover, a series of pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anti-atherosclerotic, and cardioprotective properties, have been reported for species from the Agastache genus.

Phytochemistry and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Six Aromatic Medicinal Plants with Cosmetic Properties

In this work, the chemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oils (EOs) of six species-Laurus nobilis, Chamaemelum nobile, Citrus aurantium, Pistacia lentiscus, Cedrus atlantica, and Rosa damascena-have been studied. Phytochemical screening of these plants revealed the presence of primary metabolites, namely, lipids, proteins, reducing sugars, and polysaccharides, and also secondary metabolites such as tannins, flavonoids, and mucilages. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus. The yields are between 0.06 and 4.78% (mL/100 g). The analysis of the chemical composition carried out by GC-MS showed the presence of 30 to 35 compounds and represent between 99.97% and 100% of the total composition of EOs, with a variation in the chemical composition detected at the level of the majority compounds between these species. Indeed, in the EO of Laurus nobilis, 1,8-cineole (36.58%) is the major component. In Chamaemelum nobile EO, the most abundant compound is angelylangelate (41.79%). The EO of Citrus aurantium is rich in linalool (29.01%). The EO of Pistacia lentiscus is dominated by 3-methylpentylangelate (27.83%). The main compound of Cedrus atlantica is β-himachalene (40.19%), while the EO of Rosa damascenaa flowers is rich in n-nonadecane (44.89%). The analysis of the similarity between the EOs of the plants studied by ACH and ACP showed that the chemical composition of the EOs makes it possible to separate these plants into three groups: the first represented by Chamaemelum nobile, because it is rich in oxygenated monoterpenes, the second defined Cedrus atlantica and Rosa damascena, which are rich in sesquiterpenes, and the third gathers Pistacia lentiscus, Laurus nobilis and Citrus aurantium, which are composed of oxygenated sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes (these three species are very close). The study of the antioxidant activity showed that all the EOs tested have a high capacity for scavenging free radicals from DPPH. The EOs of Laurus nobilis and Pistacia lentiscus showed the highest activity, 76.84% and 71.53%, respectively, followed by Cedrus atlantica EO (62.38%) and Chamaemelum nobile (47.98%) then Citrus aurantium EO (14.70%). Antimicrobial activity EO was tested against eight bacterial strains and eight fungal strains; the results showed that EOs exhibit significant bactericidal and fungicidal activities against all the microorganisms tested, of which the MICs of the bacterial strains start with 5 mg/mL, while the MICs of the fungal strains are between 0.60 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL. Thus, these EOs rich in antimicrobial and antioxidant components can serve as a natural alternative; this confirms their use as additives in cosmetics.