Encapsulation of Satureja montana essential oil in β-cyclodextrin

Inclusion complexes between the Satureja montana essential oil and β-cyclodextrin were prepared by co-precipitation method with the four oil to β-cyclodextrin ratios of 5:95, 10:90, 15:85 and 20:80 (w/w) in order to determine the effect of the ratio on the inclusion efficiency of β-cyclodextrin for encapsulating oil volatiles. The characterization of the complex involved the analysis of the initial essential oil, the surface and the total extracted oils. The retention of essential oil volatiles reached a maximum of 93.15 % at the oil to β-cyclodextrin ratio of 15:85. Though, the maximum inclusion efficiency of β-cyclodextrin was achieved at the ratio of 20:80. The qualitative and quantitative composition of the volatiles in the total oil extracts was similar to the starting oil which is confirmed the high inhibition zone as antifungal and high antioxidant properties after encapsulation to β-cyclodextrin. This justifies the use of β-cyclodextrin as complexion agent for S. montana essential oil in the food and pharmaceutical industries.     

Controlled release of antifungal volatiles of thyme essential oil from β-cyclodextrin capsules

Thyme essential oil (TO) is a good antimicrobial agent, however, its high volatility and reactivity limits its application as food preservative. β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) is able to encapsulate organic molecules, forming host–guest complexes with hydrophobic and volatile molecules such as TO constituents, controlling volatility and reactivity. In addition, controlled released of the β-CD trapped compounds could be possible by exposing the capsules to high relative humidity (RH). With this in mind, the controlled release of antifungal volatiles throughout exposure of TO:β-CD capsules to high relative humidity was studied. Thymol (TOL) was the major constituent of TO, detected by gas chromatography before and after encapsulation. Capsules of the 8:92 ratio (TO:β-CD) showed the highest TOL content. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions were detected between the oil constituent and β-CD by IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. During moisture sorption, the TO capsules showed a lower water uptake compared with free β-CD. Similar behavior was observed during water desorption. In all cases, a hysteresis process was observed when comparing sorption and desorption isotherms. At high RH, TOL is displaced and almost 76% is released to the headspace. The growth of Alternaria alternata was inhibited significantly by the addition and exposure to TO:β-CD as measured by both the agar dilution and the headspace method, respectively. Therefore, the encapsulation of antifungal volatile compounds as TO in β-CD, could be an alternative to control the release of natural antimicrobials that can be of interest to the agricultural area.     

Structures and bioactivities of seven flavonoids from Osmanthus fragrans ‘Jinqiu’ essential oil extraction residues

Osmanthus fragrans are well-known for their fragrance, but it is wasteful if to discard O. fragrans flower after extracting their essential oils. In this paper, we found that O. fragrans flower residues were rich in flavonoids. Six flavonoids and one phenylethanoid glycoside were isolated from the ethanol extract of O. fragrans flower residues, identified as quercetin (1), rutin (2), verbascoside (3), genistin (4), kaempferol (5), isorhamnetin (6) and naringin (7). In bioactivity study, kaempferol (IC₅₀ = 1.43 μg/mL) showed the best anti-inflammatory activity. Isorhamnetin, quercetin, kaempferol, verbascoside and rutin (the values of IC₅₀ were 18.30, 11.05, 16.88, 20.21 and 22.76 μg/mL, respectively) showed excellent DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Verbascoside performed relatively well at inhibiting the growth of both CT26 colonic carcinoma cells (IC₅₀ = 46.87 μg/mL) and HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells (IC₅₀ = 30.58 μg/mL). In addition, quercetin and kaempferol showed strong anti-proliferation activity against HepG2 cells.     

Supercritical CO2 extract and essential oil of aerial part of Ledum palustre L. – Chemical composition and anti-inflammatory activity

The anti-inflammatory activity of two extracts from the aerial parts of Ledum palustre has been reported. The volatile oil was obtained by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and the essential oil by hydrodistillation (HD). The oils were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to monitor their composition. Both extracts shared as main compound (41.0–43.4%) ledol (23.3–26.7%) and ascaridole (15.1–4.5%). The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by the subcutaneous carrageenan injection-induced hind paw oedema. The treated animals received essential oil (SFE and HD), the reference group received ketoprofen or piroxicam and the control group received NaCl 0.9%. A statistical analysis was performed by the Student t-test. The results show that L. palustre essential oil enhanced a significant inhibition of oedema (50–73%) for HD oil and (52–80%) for SFE oil. These results were similar to those obtained with piroxicam (70%) and ketoprofen (55%).     

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Algerian Phlomis bovei De Noé subsp. bovei

The chemical composition of essential oil obtained by steam distillation of dried aerial parts of Phlomis bovei De Noé subsp. bovei collected from Algeria, was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Seventy five constituents (corresponding to 86.37% of the total weight) were identified. The main components were: germacrene D, beta-caryophyllene, beta-bournonene, thymol and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated against six gram (+/-) bacteria and three pathogenic fungi, using the agar dilution technique. It was found that the oil exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against most of the tested microorganisms.     

Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Hypericum gaitii Haines – an endemic species of Eastern India

The present study reports the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the essential oil extracted from the leaves and tender branches of Hypericum gaitii Haines (Hypericaceae) – an endemic plant of Eastern India. On hydrodistillation, the fresh leaves and tender parts of H. gaitii yielded 0.43% (v/w) of pale yellowish essential oil. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of 40 compounds, which represent 96.9% of the total oil. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (79.3%) predominated followed by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (12.6%). Of these, α-pinene (69.5%), β-caryophyllene (10.5%), sabinene (5.6%), myrcene (3.0%) and geranyl acetate (2.0%) were the main constituents. Antioxidant activities of oil were evaluated by three different systems namely 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and reducing power assay. Essential oil exhibited moderate antioxidant activities compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid.     

Chemical composition and α-amylase inhibitory activity of the essential oil from Sabina chinensis cv. Kaizuca leaves

Sabina chinensis cv. Kaizuca (SCK) is a variant of S. chinensis L. The essential oil from its leaves exhibited α-amylase inhibitory activity in vitro and the IC₅₀ value was 187.08 ± 0.56 μg/mL. Nineteen compounds were identified from this essential oil by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The major compounds identified were bornyl acetate (42.6%), elemol (20.5%), β-myrcene (13.7%) and β-linalool (4.0%). In order to study the reason of the α-amylase inhibitory activity of this essential oil, the identified compounds were docked with α-amylase by molecular docking individually. Among these compounds, γ-eudesmol exhibited the lowest binding energy (?6.73 kcal/mol), followed by α-copaen-11-ol (?6.66 kcal/mol), cubedol (?6.39 kcal/mol) and α-acorenol (?6.12 kcal/mol). The results indicated that these compounds were the active ingredients responsible for the α-amylase inhibitory activity of essential oil from SCK.     

Chemical composition,in vitro antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory effects of the essential oil and methanolic extract of Elsholtzia densa Benth.

Elsholtzia densa Benth. is a traditional aromatic herb used in the pharmaceutical and flavouring industries. To analyse and compare the chemical composition, the oils and nonvolatile compounds in E. densa and Mosla chinensis Maxim. were extracted via hydrodistillation, solvent extraction or ultrasound-assisted extraction. Seventy-three volatile compounds in the volatile oil (0.35 ± 0.06%) obtained by E. densa via hydrodistillation were investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometer and compared based on different parameters. Also, the antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory effects of the five sub-fractions of the methanolic extract were studied and the ethyl acetate sub-fraction (EC₅₀ = 7.9 μg/mL) and petroleum ether sub-fraction (EC₅₀ = 0.0955 mg/mL) showed the strongest activity, respectively. This study has provided a scientific basis for scientific collection, effective development, use of E. densa Benth., and suggested that it can be used as a potential source of antioxidants in food and a potential candidate for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.     

Composition of essential oil of lemon thyme (Thymus × citriodorus) at different hydrodistillation times

Distillation time can both to optimise the production and to engineer the composition of essential oil in essential oil bearing plants. Purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of duration of hydrodistillation on composition of essential oil of Thymus × citriodorus, the natural source of commercially important geraniol and citral, a component with valuable biological properties. Essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation at different distillation times and analysed by GC/MS analytical methods. Increase in percentage of essential oil during all hydrodistillation time gradient was uneven. Elongation of hydrodistillation time decreased percentages of monoterpenes but increased percentages of sesquiterpenes in essential oil. Results showed that the hydrodistillation of essential oil from lemon thyme longer than 60 min is useless.     

Anthemis wiedemanniana essential oil prevents LPS-induced production of NO in RAW 264.7 macrophages and exerts antiproliferative and antibacterial activities in vitro

Anthemis wiedemanniana is known in folk medicine for the treatment of microbial infections, cancer and also urinary and pulmonary problems. In this study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from A. wiedemanniana was evaluated and its antibacterial activity was tested against 10 bacterial strains. The oil was also tested for its potentiality to inhibit nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 macrophages and for its cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines. A. wiedemanniana oil, rich of oxygenated monoterpenes (25.4%), showed a good antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and a good activity against the two Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris. Besides that, it exhibited a high inhibitory effect on the LPS-induced nitrite production and a strong cytotoxic activity, especially against amelanotic melanoma (C32) and large lung cell carcinoma (COR-L23) cell lines.     

Comparison of composition and antifungal activity of Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Vant inflorescence essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation and supercritical carbon dioxide

Essential oil of Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Vant inflorescence was obtained by supercritical CO(2) extraction and hydrodistillation. The oil was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to characterize its components and was also tested for antifungal activity. A total of 61 compounds were identified in the hydrodistilled oil. The major components were 1,8-cineole (4.46%), borneol (3.58%), terpinol (10.18%), spathulenol (10.03%), caryophyllene oxide (6.51%), juniper camphor (8.74%), Camazulene (2.05%), and camphor (3.49%). By using supercritical CO(2) at 50 degrees C and 10 MPa, the concentrations of previous main components were lower than oil obtained by hydrodistillation, while miscellaneous compounds were higher. The essential oil extracted by these two methods exhibited antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternate, two common storage pathogens of fruits and vegetables. The inhibition of B. cinerea and A. alternate were 93.3 and 84.7% for oil extracted by hydrodistillation when exposed to a concentration of 1,000 mg L(-1), while values of 70.8 and 60.5% were observed from oil extracted by supercritical CO(2).     

A study on the essential oil of Ferulago campestris: How much does extraction method influence the oil composition?

The essential oil of different parts of Ferulago campestris (Bess.) collected in Sicily has been extracted by microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) and by classic hydrodistillation (HD). A comparative qualitative-quantitative study on the composition of the oils was carried out. A total of 100 compounds were identified in the oils obtained by MAHD, whereas 88 compounds characterized the HD oils. The most prominent components were, in all different parts of F. campestris and in both extraction methods, 2,4,5-trimethylbenzaldehyde and 2,4,6-trimethylbenzaldehyde isomers; the latter was not previously found. The attempt to evaluate where the oil components are located in all parts of the plant was carried out by means of a kinetic study. Then, electron microscopy observation on the different parts before and after MAHD and HD was performed.     

E,E-α-Farnesene rich essential oil of Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Wilde flower

Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Wilde (Fabaceae) commonly known as ‘Ashoka’ is a highly valued medicinal plant categorised ‘vulnerable’ by International Union for Conservation of Nature. The hydro-distilled essential oil from the flowers of S. asoca was investigated using gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Twenty-eight compounds representing 95.8% of the total oil were identified. The major constituents of the essential oil were E,E-α-farnesene (41.2%), hexadecanoic acid (15.3%), methyl salicylate (9.5%) and Z-lanceol (6.6%). The oil was found to be rich in sesquiterpene hydrocarbon-type constituents.     

Preparation of superhydrophobic materials for oil/water separation and oil absorption using PMHS–TEOS-derived xerogel and polystyrene

Fabrication of suerhydrophobic materials towards oil/water separation and oil absorption has been receiving great attention nowadays, due to the significant increase of industrial oily wastewater and frequent accident of oil spill. In most previous studies, the usage of expensive precursors restricted the wide applications of prepared superhydrophobic materials. In this work, superhydrophobic filter paper, fabric and polyester sponges were fabricated by dip-coating the mixed solution of polystyrene and xerogels, which were prepared with tetraethoxysilane and polymethylhydrosiloxane, based on previous work. The as-fabricated fabric can effectively separate oil and water mixtures and possesses excellent reusability; more significantly, the materials maintained its good hydrophobic and excellent oil/water separation capacity even after ten cycles. Interestingly enough, the stability was provided, as a result, the fabric still exhibited superhydrophobic after 100 abrasion times and showed high repellency towards many liquids with different pH values. Additionally, the coated polyester sponges can quickly absorb various oil and organic liquid, which will offer a practical application for the treatment of seawater or oily wastewater. By contrast, this experiment process is simple and avoided using costly fluoro-chemicals or complicated fabrication process.     

Cumin scented leaf essential oil of Cinnamomum chemungianum: compositions and their in vitro antioxidant, α-amylase, α-glucosidase and lipase inhibitory activities

As part of our work on prospecting of Cinnamomum of the Western Ghats, chemical compositions, antioxidant, α-amylase, α-glucosidase and lipase inhibitory activities of leaf essential oil (EO) of Cinnamomum chemungianum were evaluated. Chemical characterisation of the cumin scented leaf EO from five locations in the southern Western Ghats revealed that they were highly varied. EO from Kannikatti (CC²) exhibited good α-amylase inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ value of 5.97 μg/mL, whereas the EOs from Chemungi (CC¹) and Athirumala (CC⁵) showed better α-glucosidase inhibition with IC₅₀ of 56.65 and 62.12 μg/mL, respectively. The EOs from Chemungi, Kannikatti and Athirumala were found to inhibit lipase with IC₅₀ of 919.75, 923.17 and 838.46 μg/mL, respectively. The EO of C. chemungianum may be used in food products as it has cumin scent and mild inhibitory activities.     

Characterization of a new epoxy-hydroxycarvotanacetone derivative from the leaf essential oil of Laggera pterodonta from Côte d’Ivoire

The leaf essential oil of Laggera pterodonta (DC.) Sch. Bip. ex Oliv. (Asteraceae) collected in the Eastern Côte d’Ivoire was investigated using a combination of chromatographic (GC-RI, CC, pc-GC) and spectroscopic (GC-MS, ¹³C NMR) techniques. Eighty-three components accounting for 98.0% of the whole composition were identified with 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (43.3%), sabinene (14.1%), α-humulene (9.8%), (E)-β-caryophyllene (7.2%) and germacrene D (5.2%) as major compounds. This study led to the structural elucidation of a new natural compound, (3αH,4βH,6αH,1αMe)-1,6-epoxy-3-hydroxycarvotanacetone, angelic acid ester from the leaf oil by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.     

Reinvestigation of carvotanacetone after 100 years along with minor terpenoid constituents of Blumea malcolmii Hook. F. essential oil

Reinvestigation of essential oil constituents of Blumea malcolmii Hook. F. (Asteraceae) was carried out after 100 years using gas chromatography equipped with flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Eighteen constituents, representing 99.2% of the total oil, were identified. The major compound was identified by GC/MS and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) as carvotanacetone (92.1%). The minor compounds of essential oil have also been identified for the first time in B. malcolmii. The oil was found to be rich in oxygenated monoterpene-type constituents (95.0%).     

Application of response surface method for optimization of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction of water-soluble components of Rosa damascena Mill. essential oil

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was applied for the determination of Rose water constituents. The effective parameters such as volume of extraction and disperser solvents, temperature, and salt effect were inspected by a full factorial design to identify important parameters and their interactions. It showed that salt addition had no effect on the efficiency. Next, a central composite design was applied to obtain optimum point of the important parameters. The optimal condition was obtained as 37.0 μL for extractor, 0.42 mL for disperser and temperature for 48 °C. The main components that were extracted at the optimum point were benzeneethanol (24.87%), geraniol (23.07%), beta-citronellol (22.38%), nerol (8.48%), eugenol (5.98%) and linalool (5.62%).     

Chemical composition of the Brazilian native Cinnamomum stenophyllum (Meisn.) Vattimo-Gil essential oil by GC-qMS and GC × GC-TOFMS,and its cytotoxic activity

Cinnamomum stenophyllum (Meisn.) Vattimo-Gil (Lauraceae) is a native and vulnerable Brazilian species restricted to the Atlantic Forest. The leaf essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation was characterized for the first time by two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS). This analysis resulted in the tentatively identification of 80 compounds, showing the superior performance of this method in comparison to the seven compounds identified by GC–MS. The identified compounds included 8 ketones, 7 monoterpene hydrocarbons, 30 oxygenated monoterpenes, 4 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 23 oxygenated sesquiterpenes, showing that the C. stenophyllum oil contained mostly oxygenated mono and sesquiterpenes. The oil cytotoxicity was tested against two human cancer cell lines, colon adenocarcinoma (HCT-116) and breast cancer carcinoma (MCF-7), and the non-tumor retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) using the colorimetric MTT assay. Both cancer cell lines were sensible to leaf essential oil, with IC₅₀ < 20 μg/mL (HCT, IC₅₀ = 9.95 μg/mL and MCF-7, IC₅₀ = 16.65 μg/mL), while there was no cytotoxicity against the non-tumor cells at tested concentrations (IC₅₀ > 50 μg/mL), suggesting selectivity to cancer cells. The results showed that the C. stenophyllum leaf essential oil has a cytotoxic potential, presenting several compounds already known as biologically active against tumor cells.     

Geological and thermal characterization of Eskişehir region oil shales

In this study, geological consideration and thermal characterization of oil shale samples were studied. Geological considerations of oil shale samples were studied using Rock–Eval analysis and it was observed that the kerogen type of all oil shale samples were in the majority of Type-I and II. Thermal characteristics and kinetics analysis of oil shale samples were studied by non isothermal differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG/DTG). In air atmosphere, two different mechanisms causing loss of mass were observed known as loss of moisture, and decomposition of kerogen and bitumen. Kinetic parameters of the samples are determined using ASTM-I and II (DSC), Kissinger, and KAS (TG–DTG) kinetic models and the results are discussed.