Abstract
The aim of the study was to characterize the chemical composition and biological properties of the essential oil from the plant Lippia citriodora grown in Greece. The essential oil volatiles were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry GC-MS indicating citral as the major component. Τhe antimicrobial properties were assayed using the disk diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory and non-inhibitory concentration values were determined. Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Aspergillus niger were sensitive to Lippia citriodora oil, but not Escherichia coli, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas fragi. Adversely, all microbes tested were sensitive to citral. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays were used to assess direct antioxidant activity, which proved to be weak for both agents, while comet assay was utilized to study the cytoprotective effects against H2O2-induced oxidative damage in Jurkat cells. Interestingly, the oil showed a more profound cytoprotective effect compared to citral. The antiproliferative activity was evaluated in a panel of cancer cell lines using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) and 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-S-(phenylamino) carbonyl-2-tetrazolium hydroxide (XTT) assays and both agents demonstrated potent antiproliferative activity with citral being more cytotoxic than the oil. Taken together, the essential oil of Lippia citriodora and its major component, citral, exert diverse biological properties worthy of further investigation.
Highlights
Nowadays, public interest for natural products has increased; research has focused on exploring their activities as therapeutic agents for a broad range of pathological conditions including various types of cancer
We report here the (i) antimicrobial; (ii) antioxidant; (iii) cytoprotective, and (iv) antiproliferative properties associated with the essential oil fraction derived from the leaves and stems of the plant
Citral is the major component of the essential oil of Lippia citriodora and exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against all microbes tested in contrast to the oil fraction which was inactive against the gram negative bacteria
Summary
Public interest for natural products has increased; research has focused on exploring their activities as therapeutic agents for a broad range of pathological conditions including various types of cancer. Based on the promising biological properties that many compounds possess and their few side-effects, dietary natural products have attained a significant interest in being used as protective and therapeutic. There is an ever-increasing trend in identifying novel natural compounds with biological significance for their exploitation both in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Commonly known as lemon verbena, belongs to the Lippia genus, which contains around 200 species It was originally cultivated in South and Central America and was brought to Europe in the 17th century [5]. Antispasmodic, diuretic, and sedative properties have been described; the literature is sparse regarding the biological activities of the essential oil extracted from the plant
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