Ailanthus altissima and Amorpha fruticosa – invasive arboreal alien plants as cheap sources of valuable essential oils

Chemical Composition, Larvicidal and Repellent Activities of Wild Plant Essential Oils against Aedes aegypti

Bio-degradable and eco-friendly essential oils (EOs) extracted from Mentha longifolia, Salsola imbricata, Erigeron bonariensis, E. canadensis, Ailanthus altissima, and Zanthoxylum armatum were investigated for their repellent and larvicidal potential against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, E. canadensis, A. altissima, and Z. armatum exhibited 99.0%, 96.8%, 40.2%, 41.7%, 29.1%, and 13.2% repellency against mosquitoes at a tested dose of 33.3 μg/cm², respectively. In time span bioassays, the EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, and E. canadensis showed more than 40% repellency for 60 min at a tested dose of 330 μg/cm². Larvicidal bioassays revealed that larvae of Ae. aegypti were the most susceptible to M. longifolia (LC₅₀, 39.3 mg/L), E. bonariensis (LC₅₀, 26.0 mg/L), E. canadensis (LC₅₀, 35.7 mg/L), and Z. armatum (LC₅₀, 35.9 mg/L) EOs upon 48 h exposure. The most abundant constituents in the EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, E. canadensis and A. altissima were piperitone oxide (45.5%), carvone (39.9%), matricaria ester (43.1%), (31.7%) and eugenol (24.4%), respectively. Our study demonstrates that EOs of M. longifolia, S. imbricata, E. bonariensis, and E. canadensis might be used to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes without harming humans or the environment.

Chemical Composition, Antipathogenic and Cytotoxic Activity of the Essential Oil Extracted from Amorpha fruticosa Fruits

The purpose of this paper was to characterize and investigate the antimicrobial potential of Amorpha fruticosa fruits essential oil (EO). The EO was extracted by hydrodistillation, analyzed by GC-MS, and then evaluated for its interaction with microbial and mammalian cells. The antimicrobial activity was assessed against bacterial and fungal strains, in a planktonic and adherent growth state, using qualitative and quantitative assays. The main components identified in A. fruticosa fruits EO were δ-cadinene, γ-muurolene, and α-muurolene. The Gram-positive strains proved to be more susceptible than Gram-negative bacteria and fungal strains. The EO exhibited good antibiofilm activity, inhibiting the microbial adherence to the inert (96-well plates and Foley catheter section) and cellular substrata. The flow cytometry analysis revealed as one of the possible mechanisms of antimicrobial action the alteration of cell membrane hydrophobicity. The cytotoxicity on the L929 cell line occurred at concentrations higher than 0.3 mg/mL. Taken together, our results demonstrate that A. fruticosa fruits EO contains active compounds with selective inhibitory effect on different microbial strains in planktonic and biofilm growth state, explained at least partially by the interference with microbial membranes due to their hydrophobic character.

Extraction and Quality Evaluation of Biodiesel from Six Familiar Non-Edible Plants Seeds

Biodiesel produced from non-edible plant sources is cost-effective, biodegradable, environment friendly, and compatible with petro-diesel, but new sources and extraction processes still need to be discovered. Here, we explored the fuel properties of seeds from six non-edible plant sources, including Sapindus mukorossi (Soapnut, SP), Vernicia fordii (Tung, TO), Ricinus communis (Castor, CA), Toona sinensis (Juss. TS), Ailanthus altissima (Heaven tree, AA), and Linum usitatissimum L. (Lin seed, LS) from China. The optimum extraction conditions were obtained by optimizing the most important variables (reaction temperature, ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil, catalyst, mixing intensity, and purity of reactants) that influence the transesterification reaction of the biodiesel. All six plants contained high seed oil content (SOC; % w/v) with the highest in the TO-54.4% followed by SP-51%, CA-48%, LS-45%, AA-38%, and TS-35%, respectively, and all expressed satisfactory physico-chemical properties as per international standards of ASTM D6751 and EN14214. Our data provide a scientific basis for growing these plants in unproductive agricultural lands as an alternative energy sources for biodiesel production either standalone or blended with petro-diesel.