Abstract
BackgroundSardinia is a Mediterranean area endemic for malaria up to the last century. During a screening study to evaluate the anti-plasmodial activity of some aromatic plants traditionally used in Sardinia, Myrtus communis (myrtle, Myrtaceae), Satureja thymbra (savory, Lamiaceae), and Thymus herba-barona (caraway thyme, Lamiaceae) were collected in three vegetative periods: before, during and after flowering.MethodsThe essential oils were obtained by steam distillation, fractionated by silica gel column chromatography and analysed by GC-FID-MS. Total oil and three main fractions were tested on D10 and W2 strains of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. Larvicidal and adulticidal activities were tested on Anopheles gambiae susceptible strains.ResultsThe essential oil of savory, rich in thymol, was the most effective against P. falciparum with an inhibitory activity independent from the time of collection (IC50 17–26 μg/ml on D10 and 9–11 μg/ml on W2). Upon fractionation, fraction 1 was enriched in mono-sesquiterpenoid hydrocarbons; fraction 2 in thymol (73-83%); and fraction 3 contained thymol, carvacrol and terpinen-4-ol, with a different composition depending on the time of collection. Thymol-enriched fractions were the most active on both strains (IC50 20–22 μg/ml on D10 and 8–10 μg/ml on W2) and thymol was confirmed as mainly responsible for this activity (IC50 19.7± 3.0 and 10.6 ± 2.0 μg/ml on D10 and W2, respectively). The essential oil of S. thymbra L. showed also larvicidal and adulticidal activities. The larvicidal activity, expressed as LC50, was 0.15 ± 0.002; 0.21 ± 0.13; and 0.15 ± 0.09 μg/ml (mean ± sd) depending on the time of collection: before, during and after flowering, respectively.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence for the use of essential oils for treating malaria and fighting the vector at both the larval and adult stages. These findings open the possibility for further investigation aimed at the isolation of natural products with anti-parasitic properties.
Highlights
Sardinia is a Mediterranean area endemic for malaria up to the last century
The Essential oil (EO) of M. communis was rich in α-pinene, limonene and 1,8-cineole (Table 2), the EO of T. herba-barona was rich in linalool and carvacrol (Table 3), the EO of S. thymbra was rich in thymol and γ-terpinene (Table 4)
Three main fractions (1–3) were obtained from each S. thymbra EO (Table 5): fraction A1, B1 and C1 are characterized by a mixture of monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons accounting respectively for the 47%, 48% and 20% of the total oil; in fractions A2, B2, C2 thymol and carvacrol are the main components accounting for about 80% of the composition of these fractions representing 8%, 24% and 33% of the total oil, respectively; in fractions A3, B3, and C3 which represent only 7% of the total oil, thymol content is lower with respect to the corresponding fraction 2
Summary
Sardinia is a Mediterranean area endemic for malaria up to the last century. During a screening study to evaluate the anti-plasmodial activity of some aromatic plants traditionally used in Sardinia, Myrtus communis (myrtle, Myrtaceae), Satureja thymbra (savory, Lamiaceae), and Thymus herba-barona (caraway thyme, Lamiaceae) were collected in three vegetative periods: before, during and after flowering. Sardinia is a region of Italy endemic for malaria until the first half of the past century. The infection was counteracted through the use of autochthonous plants as febrifuge or mosquito control agents This Mediterranean island is rich in aromatic plants used for their content in EOs. Plants in the Sardinian flora include Myrtus communis (myrtle, Myrtaceae), Satureja thymbra (savory, Lamiaceae), and Thymus herba-barona (caraway thyme, Lamiaceae) [4]
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