Evaluating the Effects of Microwave-Assisted Hydrodistillation on Antifungal and Radical Scavenging Activities of Oliveria decumbens and Chaerophyllum macropodum Essential Oils

Oliveria decumbens, a Long-Neglected Plant with Promising Phytochemical and Biological Properties

Oliveria decumbens is a folkloric medicinal plant belonging to the Apiaceae family, traditionally utilized to treat various diseases like gastrointestinal disorders, fever, and wounds. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the plant's phytochemical composition and biological properties, with potential implications for various industries and avenues of further research. The data presented here has been compiled through searches utilizing the keyword "Oliveria" across scientific databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and SciFinder. Carvacrol and thymol have been identified as the primary volatile constituents, though the complete profile of the plant extract remains to be fully elucidated. Notably, Oliveria decumbens essential oil exhibits significant antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Additionally, the plant extract demonstrates promising antiprotozoal, antiviral, hepatoprotective, and immunostimulant effects, although these findings are primarily derived from preliminary studies. While in vitro and in vivo investigations have validated some traditional uses of O. decumbens, further pre-clinical testing is warranted to ascertain both efficacy and safety profiles. Moreover, the identification of specific components within the plant extract is crucial for a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of action underlying its therapeutic properties within the realm of phytomedicine.

Phytochemistry of Oliveria decumbens Vent. (Apiaceae) and its therapeutic potential: A systematic review

Oliveria decumbens Vent., an annual herb resistant to harsh environmental conditions, is an aromatic medicinal plant of the Apiaceae family. O. decumbens has numerous pharmacological, food and feed, and cosmetic applications. This species is endemic to Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Published literature, available until 30 November 2022 on the morphology, phytochemistry, and bioactivity of O. decumbens, has been reviewed, and appraised for the potential therapeutic potential of this species, utilizing the databases, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Dictionary of Natural Products. The search term used was O. decumbens. Some manuscripts were issued on the chemical components of O. decumbens essential oil (EO) and various extracts. The EO of O. decumbens was evaluated for its chemical composition and medicinal potential against various diseases. Thymol and carvacrol constituted the primary oxygenated monoterpenes detected in substantial amounts within the EO. Additionally, diverse metabolites of O. decumbens were examined for their bactericidal, antioxidant, larvicidal, and immunomodulatory effects. This review article discusses morphology, phenology, and geographical distribution of O. decumbens and presents a critical appraisal of its phytochemistry and therapeutic potential as documented in the published literature.

The Essential Oil from Oliveria decumbens Vent. (Apiaceae) as Inhibitor of Breast Cancer Cell (MCF-7) Growth

Oliveria decumbens Vent. is an aromatic and medicinal plant traditionally used in Iran for the treatment of infections, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer, and inflammation. This research was aimed at investigating the pharmacological potential of O. decumbens essential oil (OEO) and its main compounds, focusing on OEO's cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. OEO was obtained by hydro-distillation, and the chemical constituents were identified using GC-MS. Thymol, carvacrol, γ-terpinene, and p-cymene were the main OEO constituents. When MCF-7 cells were treated with OEO, the expressions of genes related to apoptosis (BIM and Bcl-2), tumor suppression (PTEN), and cell growth inhibition (AURKA), were evaluated using real-time PCR. Moreover, molecular docking was used for studying in silico the interaction of OEO principal compounds with PTEN and AURKA. The expression of AURKA was significantly reduced since the OEO treatment enhanced the expression of PTEN. Through in silico molecular docking, it was revealed that thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene, and γ-terpinene can activate PTEN and thus inhibit AURKA. Additionally, the DNA fragmentation assay, acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double-staining assay, and real-time PCR highlighted the fact that the OEO treatment could activate apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation. Therefore, OEO is a viable candidate to be employed in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically as a possible agent for cancer therapy.

Phytochemical and biological activities of some Iranian medicinal plants

CONTEXT

Due to adverse effects of synthetic compounds, there is a growing interest in utilization of plant-derived natural products in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Iranian endemic medicinal plants widely used in traditional practice have attracted much attention as antibacterial and antioxidant agents.

OBJECTIVE

This review attempts to compile the accessible scientific research pertained to phytochemical compounds, antibacterial and antioxidant effects of essential oils obtained from some of the most widely used and distributed medicinal plants in Iran.

METHODS

This review has been compiled using references via reliable databases (Google Scholar, SID and Science Direct) from 2010 to 2020. This literature review was limited to references published in English and Persian languages.

RESULTS

Based on studies heretofore carried out, essential oils isolated from mentioned medicinal plants exhibited strong antioxidant activity which is attributed to their main phytochemical compounds; thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene and γ-terpinene. In addition, the antibacterial activities of essential oils of most plant species from Apiaceae and Asteraceae families were more susceptible against Gram-positive bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus than Gram-negative bacteria; however, essential oils of other studied plant species manifested similar behaviours against both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria.

CONCLUSIONS

As there is rich ethnobotanical knowledge behind Iranian endemic medicinal plants, further scientific research is required to prove their safety and efficacy. This review revealed that there are numerous valuable medicinal plants adoptable in food and pharmaceutical industries in the near future.

In vitro Evaluation of Selective Cytotoxic Activity of Chaerophyllum macropodum Boiss. on Cultured Human SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells

Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor in children. New treatment approaches are needed because of the harmful side effects and costs of the methods used in the treatment of neuroblastoma. Medicinal and aromatic plants are important for new treatment approaches due to their minimal side effects and economic advantages. Therefore, the present study was carried out to examine the cytotoxic effect of Chaerophyllum macropodum extract on human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) and fibroblast (HDFa) cell lines. 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase release (LDH) assays were used to determine the cytotoxic effect of C. macropodum. The extracts were analyzed for their phenolic content by HPLC-PDA. Major components were determined as 63.600% o-coumaric acid, 15.606% catechine hydrate, 8.713% rosmarinic acid, 4.376% clorogenic acid, and 3.972% salicylic acid. The obtained results from cytotoxicity testing revealed that C. macropodum exerted a significant cytotoxic effect on human neuroblastoma cells at all tested concentrations (p < 0.05). But it did not lead to any cytotoxic potential on human fibroblasts. As a result, the obtained data clearly revealed C. macropodum exerted a selective cytotoxic action on neuroblastoma cells for the first time.

Electrospinning of glutelin-hordein incorporated with Oliveria decumbens essential oil: Characterization of nanofibers

In this study, electrospinning of hordein and glutelin extracted from barley was carried out. Different ratios of the glutelin-hordein blends (25:75, 30:70, 35:65) were tested and the operation parameters including voltage, ejection flow rate and needle-to-collector distance were optimized. According to the scanning electron microscope images, the glutelin-hordein 25:75 blend generated at the voltage of 15 kV, the needle-to-collector distance of 150 mm and the ejection rate of 1 mL/h was selected for the fabrication of uniform nanofibers. The apparent viscosity at the ejection point was decreased with increasing the glutelin concentration from 25 to 35 %. Moreover, the Oliveria decumbens essential oil (ODEO) with different loading concentrations (2-4 % (v/v)) was incorporated into the protein blend. Fourier-transform infrared spectra demonstrated the occurrence of the interactions of proteins the ODEO. The encapsulation efficiency of ODEO in the nanofibers was 79.30 %. The presence of ODEO led to inhibition the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus in a synthetic medium. The optimal nanofibers showed high antioxidnat activity. The results herein showed the possibility of the production of electrospun nanofibers using barley proteins with promising (bio)functionalities for the active food packaging applications.

The Variability of Thymol and Carvacrol Contents Reveals the Level of Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oils from Different Accessions of Oliveria decumbens

Oliveria decumbens (Apiaceae) is an aromatic herb traditionally employed in the Persian medicine for the treatment of infectious and gastrointestinal disorders. In the present study, we analyzed the chemical composition of essential oils obtained from different Iranian populations and evaluated their efficacy on a panel of human pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli), probiotic (Bacillus subtilis), and phytopathogens (Clavibacter michiganensis, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens, Xanthomonas citri, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens). The gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry analysis put in evidence four main volatile constituents such as thymol (20.3–36.4%), carvacrol (18.8–33.1%), γ-terpinene (10.6–25.9%), and p-cymene (9.5–17.3%), though with significant variability from an essential oil to another. Notably, the oils from the populations sited in Nourabad Mamasani and Dehdasht showed the highest amount of the phenolic monoterpenes thymol (36.4 and 35.2%, respectively) and carvacrol (33.1 and 30.6%, respectively). The antibacterial activity of O. decumbens essential oils was assessed by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) methods, showing high activity for the samples from Nourabad Mamasani and Dehdasht populations exhibiting high level of the above phenolics. The obtained MIC and MBC values (mg/ml) were in the ranges 0.0625–2 mg/ml and 1–16 mg/ml, respectively. Noteworthy, in some cases, the antibacterial activity of O. decumbens essential oils was higher than that of chloramphenicol used as positive control. The average MBCs displayed by the O. decumbens samples showed that C. flaccumfaciens had the highest sensitivity to the essential oils. Based on these results, our work shed light on selected O. decumbens populations deserving proper breeding and cultivation strategies in order to warrantee production of bioactive essential oils to be used at pharmaceutical and agricultural level to combat several pathogens.