Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of commercial rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis L.)

Rosemary is well known as a spice and widely used plant in ethnomedicine worldwide. In this paper, commercial essential oil of rosemary was tested for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity together with its effect on germination. Antimicrobial activity testing showed moderate effect to both G-positive and Gnegative bacteria. In order to determine its effect to the cell membrane, spectrophotometric analysis was performed. It was determined that rosemary affects the cell membrane of bacteria. Cytotoxic activity of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil had been evaluated. As a plant object, germinative bulbs of Allium cepa were used. Cytotoxic activity that corresponded to the concentration of essential oil was determined. It had been noticed that rosemary essential oil affected mitotic phase i.e. it significantly slowed down the mitosis. Also, investigation of rosemary essential oil's activity to germination was performed. It was determined that it had high effect to the germination. Concentration of 5 mg/ml completely inhibited the germination of Triticum vulgare

The influence of adding of flaxseed oil to sunflower oil on the content of tocopherols and carotenoids in blended edible oils

Blending vegetable oils of different composition and properties is one of the simplest methods for creating new specific products with the desired properties, which increases their commercial application and improves their nutritional quality. The effect of blending vegetable oils on tocopherols and carotenoids content was examined. Refined sunflower seed oil (S) and cold pressed flaxseed oil (F) were used in the experiment. These oils are blended in three different content of mass: sample 70S:30F (70% S and 30% F), sample 50S:50F (50% S and 50% F) and sample 30S:70F (30% S and 70% F). The results showed significant differences in the content of total tocopherols and total carotenoids between the two oils used for the preparation of three blended oils. Refined sunflower seed oil contains higher amounts of tocopherols and fewer amounts of carotenoids compared to cold pressed flaxseed oil in which the content of tocopherols is lower and the content of carotenoids is higher. In the obtained blends of edible vegetable oils, the content of total tocopherols ranged from 387.96 to 447.83 mg/kg while the determined total carotenoids content (as B-caroten) ranged from 3.11 to 5.63 mg/kg. By blending refined oil of sunflower seed and cold pressed oil of flax-seed, the balance of the parameters studied is contributed. The research in the work showed that the blending of vegetable oils provides the possibility of modulating their composition, and therefore of nutritive quality

Potential Phytopharmacy and Food Applications of Capsicum spp.: A Comprehensive Review

Capsicum genus (Solanaceae) is native to the Americas. Today, it is an important agricultural crop cultivated around the world, not only due to its economic importance, but also for the nutritional value of the fruits. Among their phytochemical constituents, capsaicinoids are characteristic and responsible of the pungency of sharp-tasting cultivars. Moreover, Capsicum and capsaicinoids (mainly, capsaicin) have been largely studied because of their health benefits. Thus, this study reviews the scientific knowledge about Capsicum spp. and their phytochemicals against cancer, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, pain, and metabolic syndrome, as well as their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. These bioactivities can be the basis of the formulation of functional ingredients and natural preservatives containing Capsicum extracts or isolated compounds

Frequency of isolation and antibiotic resistance patterns of bacterial isolates from wound infections

Six hundred and thirteen bacterial strains were isolated from wound swabs and the isolates were identified on the basis of growth on differential and selective media. In order to test the sensitivity of isolated strains to different antibiotics, the disc diffusion method, according to EUCAST protocol v 5.0 was used. The most common species isolated from wound swabs was Staphylococcus epidermidis (18.4%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis (16.8%, 12.7% and 10.4%, respectively). The maximum resistance of Gram-positive cocci was observed to penicillin and the lowest to linezolid. Gram-negative bacteria showed the highest resistance to tetracyclines, while the same strains demonstrated the highest sensitivity to polypeptide antibiotics. Comparison of the resistance patterns of Gramnegative and Gram-positive bacterial strains showed significant difference in the tetracycline efficiency

The influence of adding of flaxseed oil to sunflower oil on the content of tocopherols and carotenoids in blended edible oils

Blending vegetable oils of different composition and properties is one of the simplest methods for creating new specific products with the desired properties, which increases their commercial application and improves their nutritional quality. The effect of blending vegetable oils on tocopherols and carotenoids content was examined. Refined sunflower seed oil (S) and cold pressed flaxseed oil (F) were used in the experiment. These oils are blended in three different content of mass: sample 70S:30F (70% S and 30% F), sample 50S:50F (50% S and 50% F) and sample 30S:70F (30% S and 70% F). The results showed significant differences in the content of total tocopherols and total carotenoids between the two oils used for the preparation of three blended oils. Refined sunflower seed oil contains higher amounts of tocopherols and fewer amounts of carotenoids compared to cold pressed flaxseed oil in which the content of tocopherols is lower and the content of carotenoids is higher. In the obtained blends of edible vegetable oils, the content of total tocopherols ranged from 387.96 to 447.83 mg/kg while the determined total carotenoids content (as B-caroten) ranged from 3.11 to 5.63 mg/kg. By blending refined oil of sunflower seed and cold pressed oil of flax-seed, the balance of the parameters studied is contributed. The research in the work showed that the blending of vegetable oils provides the possibility of modulating their composition, and therefore of nutritive quality

<i>Pulicaria dysenterica</i> (L.) Bernh.—Rightfully Earned Name? Identification and Biological Activity of New 3-Methoxycuminyl Esters from <i>P. dysenterica</i> Essential Oil

Motivated by the ethnopharmacological use of Pulicaria dysenterica, in the present study, the antimicrobial potential of the extracted essential oil was investigated against a panel of eighteen microorganism strains. Additionally, anti-acetylcholinesterase and antispasmodic (isolated rat distal colon) activities, general acute toxicity (Artemia salina model), and immunomodulatory properties (cytotoxicity on isolated mouse macrophages) were studied. Detailed analyses of the essential oil led to the identification of 3-methoxycuminyl 2-methylbutanoate (a new natural product) and 3-methoxycuminyl 3-methylbutanoate (a rare natural product). The obtained esters and intermediates in the synthesis of the starting alcohol (3-methoxycuminol) were subjected to a battery of 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments. The synthesized esters were additionally characterized by GC–MS, IR, and UV–Vis. The synthesized compounds (ten in total) were biologically tested in the same way as the extracted P. dysenterica essential oil. The obtained low acute toxicity and promising antimicrobial potential suggest that the P. dysenterica essential oil might partially explain the ethnopharmacological application of P. dysenterica plant material for the treatment of gastrointestinal infections

Toxic essential oils. Part III: Identification and biological activity of new allylmethoxyphenyl esters from a Chamomile species (Anthemis segetalis Ten.)

To determine the exact structure of previously tentatively identified minor essential-oil constituents of a Chamomile species (Antemis segetalis Ten. (Asteraceae)), we have synthesized a small combinatorial library of 54 regioisomeric allylmethoxyphenyl pentanoates and 2-pentenoates (49 completely new compounds). GC-MS in combination with 1D- and 2D-NMR analyses of the library compounds provided unambiguous data that led to a straightforward identification of the mentioned A. segetalis constituents as eugenyl angelate, 2-methylbutanoate and 3-methylbutanoate (0.21, 0.22, and 0.13 mg/100 g of fresh plant material, respectively). To assess the safety and potential beneficial pharmacological uses of these naturally occurring esters and several other library compounds (these were tested to provide relevant data for a SAR (structure-activity relationship) analysis), we have studied the effect of these compounds in several models of toxicity (acute toxicity against Artemia sauna, cytotoxicity against two cell lines (fibroblast and melanoma)), as well as their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and antibacterial activities. Anthemis segetalis constituents showed low to moderate activity in all tests. The obtained results suggest that the intake of these compounds in naturally available amounts, on their own, would probably not represent a risk to human health but the possible adverse interactions with the plant matrix should not be neglected

Biological activity of Pinus nigra terpenes-Evaluation of FtsZ inhibition by selected compounds as contribution to their antimicrobial activity

In the current work, in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activites of the needle terpenes of three taxa of Pinus nigra from Serbia (ssp. nigra, ssp. pallasiana, and var. banatica) were analyzed. The black pine essential oils showed generally weak antioxidative properties tested by two methods (DPPH and ABTS scavenging assays), where the highest activity was identified in P. nigra var. banatica (IC50=25.08 mg/mL and VitC=0.67 mg (vitamin C)/g when tested with the DPPH and ABTS reagents, respectively). In the antimicrobial assays, one fungal (Aspergilus niger) and two bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) showed sensitivity against essential oils of all three P. nigra taxa. The tested oils have been shown to possess inhibitory action in the range from 20.00 to 0.62 mg/mL, where var. banatica exhibited the highest and ssp. nigra the lowest antimicrobial action. In order to determine potential compounds that are responsible for alternative mode of action, molecular docking simulations inside FtsZ (a prokaryotic homolog of tubulin) were performed. Tested compounds were the most abundant terpenoid (germacrene D-4-ol) and its structurally similar terpene (germacrene D), both present in all three essential oils. It was determined that the oxygenated form of the molecule creates stable bonds with investigated enzyme FtsZ, and that this compound, through this mechanism of action participates in the antimicrobial activity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia [173029

Biological activity of Pinus nigra terpenes-Evaluation of FtsZ inhibition by selected compounds as contribution to their antimicrobial activity

In the current work, in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activites of the needle terpenes of three taxa of Pinus nigra from Serbia (ssp. nigra, ssp. pallasiana, and var. banatica) were analyzed. The black pine essential oils showed generally weak antioxidative properties tested by two methods (DPPH and ABTS scavenging assays), where the highest activity was identified in P. nigra var. banatica (IC50=25.08 mg/mL and VitC=0.67 mg (vitamin C)/g when tested with the DPPH and ABTS reagents, respectively). In the antimicrobial assays, one fungal (Aspergilus niger) and two bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) showed sensitivity against essential oils of all three P. nigra taxa. The tested oils have been shown to possess inhibitory action in the range from 20.00 to 0.62 mg/mL, where var. banatica exhibited the highest and ssp. nigra the lowest antimicrobial action. In order to determine potential compounds that are responsible for alternative mode of action, molecular docking simulations inside FtsZ (a prokaryotic homolog of tubulin) were performed. Tested compounds were the most abundant terpenoid (germacrene D-4-ol) and its structurally similar terpene (germacrene D), both present in all three essential oils. It was determined that the oxygenated form of the molecule creates stable bonds with investigated enzyme FtsZ, and that this compound, through this mechanism of action participates in the antimicrobial activity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia [173029