Effect of Drought Stress on Essential Oil Composition of Thymus vulgaris L. (Chemotype 1, 8-cineole) from wild populations of Eastern Iberian Peninsula

[EN] 1,8-cineole defines a typical chemotype of Thymus vulgaris L. in Iberian Peninsula. This compound has a wide range of potentially useful bioactive properties. In order to study the influence of drought stress in the essential oil (EO) composition of this chemotype, sixty plants from six wild populations of Eastern Iberian Peninsula were distilled and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The harvest dates (May and August) were selected in such a way that the typical summer drought in Mediterranean climates was the critical factor affecting EO composition. Despite the high intrapopulational variability, significant increases of 1,8-cineole were found after the drought period (21.8%-43.2%, in May, up to 42.6%-68.5% in August). On the other hand, individuals from one of the populations showed different profiles rich in linalool and camphor or sesquiterpenoid compounds, such as a-cadinol.Llorens Molina, JA.; Vacas González, S. (2016). Effect of Drought Stress on Essential Oil Composition of Thymus vulgaris L. (Chemotype 1, 8-cineole) from wild populations of Eastern Iberian Peninsula. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 29(2):145-155. doi:10.1080/10412905.2016.1211561S14515529

PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF HELYCHRISUM PLICATUM EXTRACTS ON ANTIOXIDANT DEFENCE STATUS IN CCL4-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN RATS

This paper reports a study in which antioxidative and hepatoprotective activity of H. plicatum extracts in in vitro and in vivo conditions were tested. Phytochemical screening (HPLC) of H. plicatum from Macedonia revealed the presence of apigenin and naringenin as free aglycones and glycosides of apigenin, naringenin, quercetin and kaempferol in the flowers as well as quercetin and luteolin glycosides and free luteolin in stems and leaves. The antioxidative effect was investigated using three methods: evaluation of the free radical scavenging capacity (DPPH method), inhibition of hydroxyl radical production and protection of beta-carotene-linoleic acid system. The hepatoprotective activity was investigated using CCl4-induced liver damage model on rats. The extracts under investigation showed radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 6 to 11 mg/ml. The extracts were capable to react with OH radical with inhibition of its production ranged between 33-58%. The high preventive activity against the bleaching of beta-carotene (15-49% of initial value after 120 minutes) was also observed. The antioxidative activity of the extracts was compared with that of luteolin, quercetin, BHA, BHT and sylimarin. In in vivo studies, the biochemical parameters in groups treated with H. plicatum extracts at a dose of 25 mg/kg showed significantly different value than that of the CCl4-treated group. The liver biopsy of all experimental rat groups treated with H. plicatum extracts showed significant restoration of normal histomorphological pattern of liver cells. Results of this study suggest that H. plicatum represents a natural source with antioxidant and hepatoprotective potential

INFLUENCE OF URTICA DIOICA SEED EXTRACTS ON ACUTE EXPERIMENTAL HEPATOTOXICITY IN VIVO: ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIHEPATOTOXIC EFFECT

Urtica dioica is an annual herb that belongs to the family Urticaceae. It is known in traditional therapy as acute diuretic, natriuretic and hypotensive. Different parts of this plant have also been used in the treatment of hypertension, stimulation of proliferation of human lymphocytes, immunostimulation on neutrophilis, beneficial effect on the prostate tissue and antirheumatic effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate a possible prophylactic effect of Urtica dioica seed extracts pre-treatment on prevention of oxidative stress generated by CCl4 in rats. A dose of 25 mg/kg of Urtica dioica extracts was administered i.p. to the test groups of female Wistar rats. The positive control group received CCl4 and the negative control group received normal saline. In this investigation the level of lipid peroxidation and serum liver enzyme activities were measured. Histopathological examinations were also carried out. The CCl4 treatment of rats increased the lipid peroxidation and liver enzymes, and also decreased the antioxidant enzyme levels (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and the levels of glutathione). Pre-treatment of the experimental animals with Urtica dioica extracts for 7 days decreased the elevated lipid peroxidation and liver enzyme levels and also increased the reduced antioxidant enzyme levels. Histopahtological studies provided supportive evidence for the biochemical analysis. The present study has shown that Urtica dioica pre-treatment diminishes oxidative stress in the liver generated by applying CCl4. This finding suggests that Urtica dioica has a cell protection effect against oxidative stress in rats

Spouted bed drying of Bauhinia forficata link extract: the effects of feed atomizer position and operating conditions on equipment performance and product properties

In this paper the effects of feed atomizer position and operating conditions on equipment performance (accumulation rate, product recovery, elutriation and thermal efficiency) and product properties (moisture content, size distribution, flavonoid degradation and flow properties) during spouted bed drying of Bauhinia forficata Link extract are evaluated. The parameters studied were the position of the atomizer system (top spray or bottom spray), the inlet temperature of the spouting gas (80 and 150oC) and the feed mass flow rate of concentrated extract relative to the evaporation capacity of the dryer, Ws/Wmax (15 to 100%). Higher accumulation rate values were obtained with the atomizer placed at the bottom of the bed. In this configuration, the accumulation rate increases with the increase in the Ws/Wmax ratio. The best drying performance was obtained for the top spray configuration