in Temporary Immersion Bioreactors

The present work focuses on in vitro cultures of Ruta montana L. in temporary immersion Plantform^TM bioreactors. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of cultivation time (5 and 6 weeks) and different concentrations (0.1-1.0 mg/L) of plant growth and development regulators (NAA and BAP) on the increase in biomass and the accumulation of secondary metabolites. Consequently, the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antibiofilm potentials of methanol extracts obtained from the in vitro-cultured biomass of R. montana were evaluated. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis was performed to characterize furanocoumarins, furoquinoline alkaloids, phenolic acids, and catechins. The major secondary metabolites in R. montana cultures were coumarins (maximum total content of 1824.3 mg/100 g DM), and the dominant compounds among them were xanthotoxin and bergapten. The maximum content of alkaloids was 561.7 mg/100 g DM. Concerning the antioxidant activity, the extract obtained from the biomass grown on the 0.1/0.1 LS medium variant, with an IC₅₀ 0.90 ± 0.03 mg/mL, showed the best chelating ability among the extracts, while the 0.1/0.1 and 0.5/1.0 LS media variants showed the best antibacterial (MIC range 125-500 µg/mL) and antibiofilm activity against resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Ruta Essential Oils: Composition and Bioactivities

Ruta L. is a typical genus of the citrus family, Rutaceae Juss. and comprises ca. 40 different species, mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region. Ruta species have long been used in traditional medicines as an abortifacient and emmenagogue and for the treatment of lung diseases and microbial infections. The genus Ruta is rich in essential oils, which predominantly contain aliphatic ketones, e.g., 2-undecanone and 2-nonanone, but lack any significant amounts of terpenes. Three Ruta species, Ruta chalepensis L., Ruta graveolens L., and Ruta montana L., have been extensively studied for the composition of their essential oils and several bioactivities, revealing their potential medicinal and agrochemical applications. This review provides a systematic evaluation and critical appraisal of publications available in the literature on the composition and bioactivities of the essential oils obtained from Ruta species and includes a brief outlook of the potential applications of nanotechnology and chitosan-based products of Ruta essential oils.

Ruta Montana Evokes Antihypertensive Activity Through an Increase of Prostaglandins Release in L-NAME-Induced Hypertensive Rats

AIMS

The aim of the study was to experimentally investigate the antihypertensive effect of Ruta Montana.

BACKGROUND

Ruta montana L. is traditionally used in Moroccan herbal medicine to treat hypertension. This study aimed to experimentally evaluate the hypotensive and vasoactive properties of this plant.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of the aqueous extract of Ruta Montana on blood pressure parameters in LNAME-induced hypertensive rats and to determine the vasorelaxant activity of this aqueous extract.

METHODS

The antihypertensive effect of the aqueous extract obtained from Ruta montana aerial parts (RMAPAE) (200 mg/kg) was evaluated in normal and anesthetized hypertensive rats. Blood pressure parameters (systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean blood pressure (MBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) and heart rate were measured using a tail-cuff and a computer-assisted monitoring device. The acute and chronic effect of RMAPAE was recorded for 6 hours for the acute experiment and for 7 days for the sub-chronic test. In the other set, the vasorelaxant effect of RMAPAE on the contractile response was observed in the isolated thoracic aorta.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the RMAPAE extract significantly decreased SBP, MBP, DBP and heart rate in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats. Furthermore, RMAPAE was demonstrated to induce a dose-dependent relaxation in the aorta precontracted with Epinephrine or KCl. More interestingly, this vasorelaxant activity of RMAPAE seems to be probably mediated through the prostaglandins pathway.

CONCLUSION

The present study illustrates the beneficial action of Ruta montana on hypertension and supports its use as an antihypertensive agent.

Pectinata and Ruta Montana Essential Oils and Their Potential Use as Food Preservatives

In order to discover new natural resources with biological properties, the chemical composition, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, and the potential use as food preservative of essential oils of Moroccan Achillea odorata subsp. pectinata (AO_pEO) and Ruta montana (RMEO) were studied. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed the presence of 21 and 25 compounds in AO_pEO and RMEO, respectively. The results showed that the major compounds of AO_pEO are camphor (45.01%), bornyl acetate (15.07%), borneol (11.33%), β-eudesmol (4.74%), camphene (3.58%), and 1.8-cineole (eucalyptol) (2.96%), whereas 2-undecanone (63.97%), camphor (3.82%) and cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (3.66%) were the main components of RMEO. The antioxidant activities were evaluated by diphenylpicrylhydraziyl radical (DPPH) and reducing power assays. The antimicrobial activities of essential oils were tested against bacterial strains and food contaminant yeast using agar disc diffusion and microdilution methods. A significant antimicrobial activity of AO_pEO was observed against Bacillus subtilis, Proteus mirabilis and Candida albicans, compared to RMEO. The efficacy of AO_pEO was also evaluated in model food systems (cabbage and barley) artificially inoculated during storage. The results found that the adding of a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 4× MIC were potent in decreasing the Proteus mirabilis growth in food model systems. Our findings suggested that AO_pEO may be potentially used as an alternative food preservative.

in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

BACKGROUND

Ruta montana (L.) is known as a medicinal plant with many beneficial effects, including those that can be used in the treatment of diabetes. The objective of the study was to investigate the antidiabetic effect of this plant in diabetic rat.

METHODS

This study investigated the effects of an aerial part aqueous extract (APAE) of Ruta montana (L.) (RM) at a dose of 5 mg/kg on blood glucose levels in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Histopathological changes were also evaluated in liver and pancreas both in normal and STZ-induced rats. The effect of this aqueous extract on glucose tolerance was demonstrated in normal rats. Furthermore, the relative organ weight (ROW) of liver, kidney, pancreas, and brown adipose tissue were evaluated after 15 days of daily oral administration of the aqueous extract.

RESULTS

Both single and repeated oral doses of APAE (5 mg/kg) produced significant reductions in the blood glucose levels in normal and STZ-induced rats. Oral glucose tolerance test results showed that, after the administration of 3 g/kg of glucose, RM APAE (5 mg/kg) improved the increase in blood glucose levels in normal rats at the 30th min (p<0.01) and 90th min (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

RM APAE exhibits a potent hypoglycemic effect in normal rats and an antidiabetic effect in STZ-induced rats. This finding supports the use of this plant in traditional Moroccan medicine for diabetes management.

leaf essential oil and extracts: characterization of bioactive compounds and suppression of crown gall disease

The aims of this study were to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of the leaf essential oil and the leaf extracts of R. montana against Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, Verticillium dahliae, Aspergillus oryzae and Fusarium solani. The oil (1.000 µg/disk) and the extracts (1.500 µg/disk) revealed a remarkable antifungal effect against the tested plant pathogenic fungi with a radial growth inhibition percentage of 40.0-80.0 % and 5.0-58.0 %, respectively along with their respective MIC values ranging from 100 to 1100 µg/mL and 250 to 3000 µg/mL. The oil had a strong detrimental effect on spore germination of all the tested plant pathogens along with the concentration as well as time-dependent kinetic inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum. Also, the oil exhibited a potent in vivo antifungal effect against Botrytis cinerea on tomato plants. Experiments carried out in plant revealed that the essential oil was slightly effective in suppression of gall formation induced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens on bitter almond. The results of this study indicate that the oil and extracts of R. montana leaves could become natural alternatives to synthetic fungicides to control certain important plant microbial diseases. The GC-MS analysis determined that 28 compounds, which represented 89.03 % of total oil, were present in the oil containing mainly 1-butene, methylcyclopropane, 2-butene and caryophyllene oxide.