Stoechas Essential Oils Research Articles

Lavandula stoechas essential oil from Spain: Aromatic profile determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibitory bioactivities.

Lavandula stoechas essential oils (EOs), obtained from plants grown in the South East of Spain, were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) detection to determine their composition, in both relative (peak area) and absolute (using standard curves) concentrations. Fenchone (33–37%), camphor (16–24%) and eucalyptol (17–18%) were determined as the most abundant molecules among the principal compounds. This characterization was completed with the enantioselective gas chromatography, depicting limonene, fenchone or camphor as the main dextrorotatory components and camphene, linalool or E-β-caryophyllene as the main levorotatory components. These enantiomers provide proof of the natural origin of the EOs. Antioxidant activity was evaluated positively by several methods: activity against free radicals (ORAC, DPPH, ABTS), chelating and reducing power, probably due to linalool and thymol. Mild inhibitory activity on lipoxygenase (LOX) was observed indicating a possible anti-inflammatory activity, mainly due to thymol, fenchone and camphor. These properties support the potential use of L. stoechas EOs as natural cosmetic and natural pharmaceutical ingredients for several skin diseases.

Hepatoprotective and Renoprotective Effects of Lavender (Lavandula stoechas L.) Essential Oils Against Malathion-Induced Oxidative Stress in Young Male Mice.

We aimed in the present study to investigate the hepato- and nephroprotective effects of Lavandula stoechas essential oils (LSEO) against malathion-induced oxidative stress in young male mice as well as the possible mechanism implicated in such protection. Animals were divided into eight groups of 12 each: Control, malathion (200 mg/kg b.w.); Various doses of LSEO (10, 30, and 50 mg/kg b.w.), malathion+various doses of LSEO. Malathion and LSEO were daily per orally (p.o.) administered by intragastric gavage during 30 days. We initially found that malathion treatment induced body weight gain decrease as well as a clear nephro- and hepatotoxicity as assessed by significant relative liver and kidney weight increase and related hemodynamic parameters deregulation. Malathion exposure of mice also induced a considerable perturbation of metabolic parameters. On the other hand, we showed that malathion administration was accompanied by an oxidative stress status assessed by an increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels as well as a depletion of sulfhydril group content (-SH) and antioxidant enzyme activities such as catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total superoxide dismutase (SOD), Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, and Fe-SOD in the kidney and liver. More importantly, LSEO treatment abolished all malathion-induced body gain loss, liver and kidney relative weight increase, hemodynamic and metabolic disorders, as well as hepatic and renal oxidative stress. In conclusion, our data suggest that LSEO exerted potential hepato- and nephroprotective effects against malathion-induced oxidative stress in mice. The beneficial effect of LSEO might be related, in part, to its antioxidant properties.

Chemical composition of Rosmarinus officinalis and Lavandula stoechas essential oils and their insecticidal effects on Orgyia trigotephras (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

Ben Slimane Badreddine, Ezzine Olfa, Dhahri Samir, Chograni Hnia, Ben Jamaa Mohamed Lahbib High Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Borj-Cedria Technopole, 2050 Hamam-Lif, Tunisia National Research Institute of Rural Engeneering, Waters and Forestry, BP N°10, 2080 Tunis, Tunisia National Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, BP 676, 1080 Tunis, Tunisia Journal of Coastal Life Medicine 2015; 3(1): 64-69

Protective Effect of Lavandula stoechas and Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils against reproductive damage and oxidative stress in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

The authors aimed in the present study to assess the protective effect of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils (ROEO) and Lavandula stoechas essential oils (LSEO) against reproductive damage and oxidative stress in alloxan-induced diabetic male rats. Essential oil samples were obtained from the aerial parts of the plants by hydrodistillation and analyzed by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Rats were divided into four groups: healthy control (HC); diabetic control (DC); healthy+ROEO (H+ROEO), healthy+LSEO (H+LSEO), diabetic+ROEO (D+ROEO), and diabetic+LSEO (D+LSEO). The use of GC-MS allowed to the identification of 15 and 22 compounds in ROEO and LSEO, respectively. In addition, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test showed that ROEO and LSEO had an important antioxidant capacity. In vivo, we initially found that ROEO and LSEO treatment protected against the decrease in alloxan-induced body weight gain, relative reproductive organ weights, testosterone level, as well as sperm quality decline. On the other hand, we showed that alloxan administration was accompanied by an oxidative stress status assessed by an increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels, as well as a depletion of sulfhydril group content (-SH) and antioxidant enzyme activities as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in testis, epididymis, and sperm. More importantly, ROEO and LSEO treatment significantly protected against oxidative damage of the male reproductive organ systems in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. These findings suggested that ROEO and LSEO exerted a potential protective effect against alloxan-induced reproductive function damage and oxidative stress in male rat. The beneficial effect of ROEO and LSEO might be related, in part, to their antioxidant properties.

Lavender (Lavandula stoechas L.) essential oils attenuate hyperglycemia and protect against oxidative stress in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

BackgroundThe present study described the phytochemical profile of Lavandula stoechas essential oils, collected in the area of Ain-Draham (North-West of Tunisia), as well as their protective effects against alloxan-induced diabetes and oxidative stress in rat.MethodsEssential oils samples were obtained from the aerial parts of the plant by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC–MS. Rats were divided into four groups: Healthy Control (HC); Diabetic Control (DC); Healthy + Essential Oils (H + EO) and Diabetic + Essential Oils (D + EO).Antidiabetic and antioxidant activities were evaluated after subacute intraperitoneally injection of Lavandula stoechas essential oils (50 mg/kg b.w., i.p.) to rats during 15 days.ResultsThe principal compounds detected are: D-Fenchone (29.28%), α-pinene (23.18%), Camphor (15.97%), Camphene (7.83%), Eucapur (3.29%), Limonene, (2.71%) Linalool, (2.01%) Endobornyl Acetate (1.03%). The essential oils also contained smaller percentages of Tricyclene, Cymene, Delta-Cadinene, Selina-3,7(11)-diene. Furthermore, we found that Lavandula stoechas essential oils significantly protected against the increase of blood glucose as well as the decrease of antioxidant enzyme activities induced by aloxan treatment. Subacute essential oils treatment induced a decrease of lipoperoxidation as well as an increase of antioxidant enzyme activities.ConclusionsThese findings suggested that lavandula stoechas essential oils protected against diabetes and oxidative stress induced by alloxan treatment. These effects are in partly due to its potent antioxidant properties.

Antifungal and anti-inflammatory potential of Lavandula stoechas and Thymus herba-barona essential oils

Lavandula L. and Thymus L. comprise several relevant species for the food, cosmetic, perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. Considering the traditional medicinal use of L. stoechas and T. herba-barona and the lack of scientific studies on their biological activities, the present study was designed to elucidate the composition and antifungal activity of their essential oils against fungi responsible for human infections as well as the anti-inflammatory potential and their cytotoxicity on a macrophage cell line. Moreover, the antifungal activity against fungi responsible for food contamination is also reported.Flowering parts of the plants were submitted to hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus and the oils were analysed by GC and GC–MS. The minimal inhibitory and minimal lethal concentrations of the oils against fungi strains were determined using a macrodilution broth method. For the anti-inflammatory activity, an in vitro model of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages was used and the inhibition of nitric oxide production quantified. Assessment of the oils cytotoxicity was performed using the MTT reduction assay.L. stoechas essential oil was rich in fenchone (37.0%) and camphor (27.3%) while T. herba-barona oil showed high amounts of two phenols, carvacrol (54.0%) and thymol (30.2%). The latter was the most active oil against the tested fungi but evidenced high cytotoxicity on macrophages. L. stoechas was active against dermatophyte strains and showed potential anti-inflammatory activity at concentrations without affecting cell viability.These results support the use of L. stoechas in the development of phytopharmaceuticals or food supplements/nutraceuticals for the management of dermatophytosis and/or inflammatory-related diseases. Regarding T. herba-barona, it can be used as a preservative in storage products, due to its ability to inhibit Aspergilllus growth.

Essential Oil Composition of Lavandula dentata, L. stoechas and L. multifida Cultivated in Tunisia

The chemical composition of the essential oils of dried aerial parts of Lavandula dentata L. stoechas and L. multifida were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. A total of 52 compounds were identified representing 89.62 ± 9.56, 99.94 ± 9.88 and 98.21 ± 10.23 in Lavandula dentata L. stoechas and L. multifida oil, respectively. Essential oil yield varied significantly (P < 0.05) among the three studied Lavandula species and there were (1.96 ± 0.22 %), (1.62 ± 0.15 %) and (1.04 ± 0.11 %) on dry weight basis in L. dentata, L. multifida and L. stoechas, respectively. Essential oil extracted from aerial parts of L. dentata was dominated by linalool (47.30 ± 5.34 %), linalyl acetate (28.65 ± 3.26 %), bicyclogermacrene (3.40 ± 0.41 %), camphor (2.32 ± 0.28 %) and δ-terpineol (1.47 ± 0.16 %). Linalyl acetate (64.30 ± 7.55 %), linalool (20.25 ± 3.21 %) and β-thujone (8.97 ± 0.99 %) were the predominant compounds in L. stoechas essential oil. L. multifida oil was characterized by the predominance of linalool (50.05 ± 6.52 %), camphene (10.06 ± 1.21 %), linalyl acetate (7.30 ± 0.65 %), α-thujene (3.83 ± 0.41 %), bornyl acetate (3.03 ± 0.41 %), β-caryophellene (2.13 ± 0.25 %), nerol (2.01 ± 0.22 %) and terpinolene (2.05 ± 0.23 %). This finding indicates that Lavender was rich in natural component which could be used as a source of natural antioxidants.

Activation of soil respiration and shift of the microbial population balance in soil as a response to Lavandula stoechas essential oil.

Lavandula stoechas, a native plant of Greece, is rich in essential oil and fenchone is its major constituent. We examined the effect of the essential oil and its main constituents on soil metabolism and microbial growth. Addition of the essential oil or fenchone to soil samples induced a remarkable increase in soil respiration. This was accompanied by an increase in the soil bacterial population of three orders of magnitude. This sizable population was not qualitatively similar to that of the control soil samples. One bacterial strain dominated soil samples treated with L. stoechas essential oil or fenchone. By use of the disk diffusion assay, we evaluated the capacity of three bacterial strains that we isolated from the soil samples, as well as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis (reference strains), to grow in the presence of the essential oil and three of its main constituents (fenchone, cineol, alpha-pinene). The substances tested did not inhibit the growth of the strain found to dominate the bacterial populations of treated soil samples; they severely inhibited B. subtilis. The other two isolated strains could also grow in liquid cultures in the presence of different quantities of essential oil or fenchone. Addition of fenchone at the end of the exponential phase increased the cell numbers of the strain that dominated the bacterial populations of treated soil samples, indicating use of the substrate added. On the basis of these results, we propose a scheme of successional stages during the decomposition process of the rich-in-essential-oil litter of aromatic plants that abound in the Mediterranean environment.