Abstract
Melissa officinalis (MO) is a medicinal plant well-known for its multiple pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer and beneficial effects on skin recovery. In this context, the present study was aimed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo safety profile of an MO aqueous extract by assessing cell viability on normal (HaCaT—human keratinocytes) and tumor (A375—human melanoma) cells and its impact on physiological skin parameters by a non-invasive method. In addition, the antioxidant activity and the antiangiogenic potential of the extract were verified. A selective cytotoxic effect was noted in A375 cells, while no toxicity was noticed in healthy cells. The MO aqueous extract safety profile after topical application was investigated on SKH-1 mice, and an enhanced skin hydration and decreased erythema and transepidermal water loss levels were observed. The in ovo CAM assay, performed to investigate the potential modulating effect on the angiogenesis process and the blood vessels impact, indicated that at concentrations of 100 and 500 µg/mL, MO aqueous extract induced a reduction of thin capillaries. No signs of vascular toxicity were recorded at concentrations as high as 1000 μg/mL. The aqueous extract of MO leaves can be considered a promising candidate for skin disorders with impaired physiological skin parameters.
Highlights
The medicinal aromatic plant Melissa officinalis L., known as lemon balm, common balm or sweet balm, has a long tradition in different regions around the world in various ethno-medical treatments as a sedative, for memory improvement, as an antiviral, antispasmodic and antibacterial substance and as a carminative [1,2,3,4,5,6,7].Melissa officinalis L. is an aromatic and perennial herb, with honey-producing capacity, which belongs to the Lamiaceae family [8]
The compounds with antioxidant properties reacted with the DPPH radical throughout the recording time of the analysis, and it can be said that at the end of reaction, an equilibrium was reached only for the aqueous extracts of Melissa officinalis (MO) leaves at 5 mg/mL, 3 mg/mL and 0.5 mg/mL
The present study reports knowledge about the aqueous extract of Melissa officinalis leaves in terms of chemical composition, antioxidant capacity (DPPH) and several biological effects noticed in vitro on human melanoma cells, in ovo on angiogenesis and in vivo at skin level
Summary
The medicinal aromatic plant Melissa officinalis L., known as lemon balm, common balm or sweet balm, has a long tradition in different regions around the world in various ethno-medical treatments as a sedative, for memory improvement, as an antiviral, antispasmodic and antibacterial substance and as a carminative [1,2,3,4,5,6,7].Melissa officinalis L. is an aromatic and perennial herb, with honey-producing capacity, which belongs to the Lamiaceae family [8]. The medicinal aromatic plant Melissa officinalis L., known as lemon balm, common balm or sweet balm, has a long tradition in different regions around the world in various ethno-medical treatments as a sedative, for memory improvement, as an antiviral, antispasmodic and antibacterial substance and as a carminative [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Many research studies have shown that MO extract possesses promising antitumor potential in various human cancer cell lines [11,12,13,14,15,16]. The products for skin integrity maintenance that exhibit potential antitumor activity might be considered promising alternatives for the therapy of skin pathologies. Plant extracts rich in bioactive compounds are highly investigated in order to find alternatives to conventional chemical treatments. Different species of Lamiaceae family were assessed in this regard, due to their confirmed phytotherapeutic potential [24]
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