Foeniculum vulgare Essential Oils: Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities

The essential oils from Foeniculum vulgare commercial aerial parts and fruits were isolated by hydrodistillation, with different distillation times (30 min, I h, 2 h and 3 h), and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The antioxidant ability was estimated using four distinct methods. Antibacterial activity was determined by the agar diffusion method. Remarkable differences, and worrying from the quality and safety point of view, were detected in the essential oils. trans-Anethole (31-36%), alpha-pinene (14-20%) and limonene (11-13%) were the main components of the essentials oil isolated from F. vulgare dried aerial parts, whereas methyl chavicol (= estragole) (79-88%) was dominant in the fruit oils. With the DPPH method the plant oils showed better antioxidant activity than the fruits oils. With the TBARS method and at higher concentrations, fennel essential oils showed a pro-oxidant activity. None of the oils showed a hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity >50%, but they showed an ability to inhibit 5-lipoxygenase. The essential oils showed a very low antimicrobial activity. In general, the essential oils isolated during 2 h were as effective, from the biological activity point of view, as those isolated during 3 h.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antioxidant, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic activities of Mentha spp. essential oils

Since ancient times, plants have been used to preserve food, or for their health properties. Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile compounds that are obtained from botanical material, specifically from aromatic plants. Lamiaceae is one of the most important families in the production of essential oils, as it has both antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The essential oils of Mentha (the Lamiaceae family) have been extensively studied for their biological actions. In this review, we report the antioxidant, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic properties of Mentha spp. essential oils. The first objective is to provide comprehensive information about the use of essential oils in the treatment of fungal infections, or as antioxidants and integrative anticancer therapy. The second is to explore the evidence supporting its effectiveness in treating diseases without causing any serious adverse reactions

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF THREE ESSENTIAL OILS FROM PORTUGUESE FLORA

The present work reports on the evaluation of chemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oils of three aromatic herbs, growing wild in the south of Portugal, used in traditional food preparations: Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha spicata and Rosmarinus officinalis. The principal components of essential oils were anethole (41.2%) for F. vulgare, carvone (41.1%) for M. spicata and myrcene (23.7%) for R. officinalis. Essential oils showed antioxidant activity either by DPPH radical scavenging method and system β- carotene/acid linoleic method. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils was observed against pathogenic bacteria and yeasts and food spoilage fungi. F.vulgare essential oil showed bacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum with MICs of 0.25-0.75mg/mL. M. spicata oil was active against E.coli, S.aureus, C.albicans, A. niger and F. oxysporum with MICs ranging between 0.25 and 0.75mg/mL. R. officinalis essential oil showed activity against E.coli and C.albicans with MICs of 0.5-1.0mg/mL. Having in account the important antioxidant and antimicrobial properties observed in present work, we consider that these essential oils might be useful on pharmaceutical and food industry as natural antibiotic and food preservativ

Infusion of Essentail Oils in Agarose Gels to Create Antimicrobial Surfaces

The current use of antibiotics is very excessive in multiple settings, from treating patients to being present in cleaning products. This overuse of antibiotics is resulting in multiple consequences, ranging from having a negative impact on human health to breeding antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms. Antimicrobial surfaces are useful today to aid in sterilization, especially in the medical setting. This would help prevent the spread of infection of microorganisms in these settings. In our research, agarose acts as the antimicrobial surface and essential oils would act as the solution incorporated into the surface that has the antimicrobial properties. Agarose is a polysaccharide that derives from red algae. It forms long chains and has charged groups linked to it, like sulfate. These residues are responsible for many of agarose’s properties, such as electroendosmosis, which allows it to undergo gel electrophoresis. Thirty-three essential oils tested against bacteria to see if they had any antimicrobial properties. Many of them have historical uses that include as a medicine to treat infections. To create the agarose plates, agarose powder and the solvent heat up to dissolve. The solution went into the plates and multiple essential oils underwent testing for antimicrobial properties by the dispersion of the oils in the plates. Bacteria inoculated the plates and they grew. The results show that of the thirty-three oils tested, oregano, clove, ginger, lemongrass, and frankincense have antimicrobial properties. Of these oils, oregano, clove, and lemongrass have similar results to others in the same field. Ginger and frankincense oils did not have as much research conducted on their antimicrobial properties to determine, so these experiments helped bring new information about these oils to light. Essential oils can help bring natural products to medicine where natural products are rarely used. Future research on this topic can help us determine more essential oils that can be used and more ways these oils can work in a medical setting

Chemical composition and antifungal effects of three species of Satureja (S. hortensis, S. spicigera, and S. khuzistanica) essential oils on the main pathogens of strawberry fruit

Due to an increasing risk of chemical contamination upon the application of synthetic fungicides to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables, essential oils are gaining increasing attentions. In this research, besides chemical analysis of the essential oils of three Satureja species (S. hortensis, S. spicigera, and S. khuzistanica) by GC-MS, their fungicidal and/or fungistatic effects on postharvest pathogens of strawberry were investigated. Essential oils were extracted by means of hydro-distillation and afterwards GC/MS analysis was performed to identify their components. Carvacrol, γ-terpinene and p-cymene were detected as the repeating main constituents of the spices, while thymol and carvacrol methyl ether were found as major components only in S. spicigera oil. In vitro results showed that at the maximum concentration, the essential oils did not possess fungicidal effects on Aspergillus niger but they exhibited fungicidal activities against Penicillium digitatum, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizopus stolonifer. However, S. khuzistanica was the strongest oil in fungicidal activity. S. hortensis oil was more effective than S. spicigera against B. cinerea whereas S. spicigera oil showed stronger fungicidal activity against R. stolonifer. In conclusion, essential oils isolated from three savory species could be suitable for applications in the food industry to control molds and improve the safety of fruits and vegetables. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Effect of Selected Essential Oils on Brown Recluse Spider Control

Loxosceles reclusa isconsidered a pest throughout its range in the US due mostly to the effects of its venomous bite (Sandidge and Hopwood, 2005). Management techniques include the use of pesticides to target this dangerous synanthropic organism. Essential oils, commonly used for various health benefits, have been previously used as a method of pest control (Koulet al, 2008). Studies have shown varying results when tested on different insects and pests (Regnault-Roger et al, 2011). Their effect on L. reclusa is still undetermined. Thus, we tested the potential of essential oils as an effective method of control for L. reclusa. Results from our experiment indicated that the selected essential oils had a varied effect with overall low mortality

Essential Oils

Over the years, natural products such as essential oils have been gaining more and more prominence due to their perceived health benefits. Plants rich in essential oils represent a viable source of biomolecules for use in the most varied human activities, such as agricultural, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications. Essential oils are natural volatile fractions extracted from aromatic plants that are formed by classes of substances such as fatty acid esters, mono and sesquiterpenes, phenylpropanoids, and aldehyde alcohols, and in some cases, aliphatic hydrocarbons, among others. In this context, this book includes twelve chapters that present new information on the extraction and application of essential oils in various industrial segments. It is divided into three sections that discuss the general concepts of essential oils and techniques for their extraction, topics in food science and technology, and essential oils and their pharmacological properties in various activities and applications

Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the essential oils from Thymbra capitata and Thymus Species grown in Portugal

The antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the essential oils from Thymbra capitata and Thymus species grown in Portugal were evaluated. Thymbra and Thymus essential oils were grouped into two clusters: Cluster I in which carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene, alpha-terpineol, and gamma-terpinene dominated and Cluster II in which thymol and carvacrol were absent and the main constituent was linalool. The ability for scavenging ABTS(center dot+) and peroxyl free radicals as well as for preventing the growth of THP-1 leukemia cells was better in essential oils with the highest contents of thymol and carvacrol. These results show the importance of these two terpene-phenolic compounds as antioxidants and cytotoxic agents against THP-1 cells.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) [Pest-OE/EQB/LA0023/2011