Lamiaceae (Labiatae) are an important group of medicinal plants, which have been used for treating heart disease in traditional medicine for centuries. These mainly aromatic plants are used as ...essential oils, extracts or isolated components (polyphenols, phenolic compounds, terpenes, iridoids etc.). Some Labiatae species (more than 30, such as cornmint, lavender, patchouli, rosemary etc.) are famous for their use in essential oil production worldwide. In this review, cardioprotective effects of Lamiaceae and their active secondary metabolites, as well as mechanism of action against cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, angina pectoris, hyperlipidemia, thromboembolism, coronary heart disease, heart failure, venous insufficiency, arrhythmia) will be discussed. Use of Labiatae as food or food additives (such as spices) may prevent risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. This approach is also described as a part of the article. Studies on developing new, effective and safe natural products from Lamiaceae (rich source of flavonoids and other active compounds) are promising and may offer prevention and treatment for patients with coronary disease and other related diseases.
The chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from 10 commonly consumed herbs: Citrus aurantium, C. limon, Lavandula angustifolia, Matricaria chamomilla, Mentha piperita, M. ...spicata, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris and Salvia officinalis have been determined. The antibacterial activity of these oils and their main components; i.e. camphor, carvacrol, 1,8-cineole, linalool, linalyl acetate, limonene, menthol, a-pinene, b-pinene, and thymol were assayed against the human pathogenic bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Micrococcus flavus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enteritidis, S. epidermidis, S. typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus. The highest and broadest activity was shown by O. vulgare oil. Carvacrol had the highest antibacterial activity among the tested components.
The dominant compounds in Satureja horvatii oil were p-cymene (33.14%), thymol (26.11%) and thymol methyl ether (15.08%). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) varied from 0.03 to 0.57mg/mL for ...bacteria, and from 0.56 to 2.23mg/mL for yeast strains, while minimum bactericidal/yeast-cidal concentration (MBC/MYC) varied from 0.07 to 1.15mg/mL and 1.11 to 5.57mg/mL for bacteria and yeasts, respectively. The antiradical potential of the essential oil was evaluated using hydroxyl radical (•OH) generated in Fenton reaction. The meat preserving potential of essential oil from Satureja horvatii was investigated against L. monocytogenes. Essential oil successfully inhibited development of L. monocytogenes in pork meat. Sensorial evaluation on flavor and color of meat was performed. The color and flavor of meat treated with essential oil improved after 4days of storage. S. horvatii essential oil can act as a potent inhibitor of food spoiling microorganisms, in meat products and also can be a useful source of natural antioxidants.
•S. horvatii was a rich source of p-cymene, thymol and thymol methyl ether.•Essential oil possessed dose dependent antimicrobial activity.•Antiradical properties were recorded.•Pork meat was preserved by essential oil, by inhibiting development of L. monocytogenes.
River and mountain regions in Eastern and South-Eastern Serbia are geographically interesting and, historically they represent an important resource of plants used as food, spices and as remedies for ...treating many diseases. Different cultures have lived in these regions for ages. They have used wild plants and the methods of their preparation and application, which has remained throughout the history and now is passed on from generation to generation. The aim of the study is a survey of herbal drug uses for the specific ailment categories and their comparison between the two research regions.
Semi-structured anonymous ethnobotanical interviews were conducted. The interviews took place in the River Timok region and Mountain Svrljig region as they make two of the most interesting centers of plant biodiversity. Volunteers in the Timok region were 64 median age and in the Svrljig region - 73 median age. People were interviewed about the local names of plants, the preparation process and about which disease the plants were used for.
161 Respondents from 10 Timok and 10 Svrljig municipality villages were interviewed and 2199 use-reports were recorded. The results of the ethnobotanical research showed 195 plant taxa from the Timok and Svrljig regions. In the Timok region, the recorded species were classified into 47 families and in the Svrljig region they were classified into 64 families. Out of 195 taxa used for medicinal purposes, only 52 species are also included in the European Pharmacopoeia 9.0. The most commonly used plants in Timok region were Hypericum spp., Matricaria chamomilla, Mentha x piperita, Urtica dioica, Juglans regia, while the residents of Svrljig region most frequently used Satureja montana, Sambucus nigra, Polygonum aviculare, Marrubium vulgare and Teucrium chamaedrys. Different statistical analyzes showed that Vlachs used more medical specimens per person than Serbs in the Timok region. The study demonstrated that female informants treated more body organs with medical species per person than male informants. There was a significant difference between the male and female respondents of the Svrljig region in terms of organ systems for which they used certain plant species.
The ethnopharmacological study showed a great importance of medicinal plants in the daily life of local communities. According to the analysis, it can be concluded that the village population of the Timok and Svrljig regions use medicinal plants to treat digestive tract problems rather than seeking professional medical attention in health facilities. The aerial part and rhizome of Elymus repens are used for digestive problems in both the Timok and Svrljig regions, and the use of this plant in for the treatment of digestive tract problems is not mentioned in the similar studies conducted in the Balkan region. Also, it can be observed that the population of the two different regions mainly use different herbal drugs to treat the same systems. The reason for that is the availability of certain plants that grow in the two different areas - river and mountain area.
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•Importance of medicinal plants.•Preparation form.•Insight into the most common diseases.
The essential oil of Thymus algeriensis was analyzed as a potential preservative in soft cheese. We developed a novel method to test the preserving properties of essential oil in soft cheese. ...Contamination incidence of Penicillium aurantiogriseum was absent after 30 d of storage at 4°C with 25 µL of essential oil added. The antimicrobial activity was tested against 8 bacteria and 8 fungi. Thymus algeriensis oil showed inhibitory activity against tested bacteria at 0.03 to 0.09 mg/mL, and bactericidal activity was achieved at 0.05 to 0.15 mg/mL. For antifungal activity, minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged between 0.01 and 0.04 mg/mL and minimum fungicidal concentrations between 0.01 and 0.04 mg/mL. Furthermore, the oil was also screened for antiradical activity using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay. The results showed that the oil was active and achieved half-maximal inhibitory activity at 0.132 mg/mL. We used gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry to investigate the volatile compounds from the oil. Carvacrol was identified as the main compound in the oil, represented by 80.9% of the total constituents, followed by p-cymene (7.7%).
Plant-based natural products have been used as a source for therapeutics since the dawn of civilization. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of the world's population ...relies on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. Numerous natural extracts, widely known in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda medicine and other practices, have led to the modern discovery and development of new drugs. Plants continuously interact with their environment, producing new compounds and ever-changing combinations of existing ones. Interestingly, some of the compounds have shown lower therapeutic activity in comparison to the extract they were isolated from. These findings suggest that the higher therapeutic activity of the source extract was due to the synergistic effect of several compounds. In other words, the total therapeutic potential of the extract cannot be explained only by the sum of its parts alone. In traditional medicine, most herbal remedies are based on a mixture of plants, and it is the interaction between different constituents that amplifies their therapeutic potential. Considering the significant influence traditional medicine has on human healthcare, knowing and studying the synergistic effect of compounds is paramount in designing smart therapeutic agents.
The essential oil (EO) composition of
plants is highly variable. Recent studies suggest that there is an even difference in the EO composition from different plant organs within the same plant. This ...study aims to examine the chemical profile of EOs and the micromorphological characteristics of different organs of three
species. The relationship between the number of glandular trichomes and EOs profile and relative yield is also investigated. Individuals from five populations were visualized using a scanning electron microscope, while EOs of leaves, calyces, corollas, and whole aerial parts were isolated using simultaneous distillation and extraction and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Three types of glandular trichomes were detected. Peltate trichomes were present on all plant organs of studied species, while two types of capitate trichomes show different organ and species preferences. The EOs profiles differed across the plant parts, but showed a species specific composition. Univariate and multivariate statistics were used to show a correlation between the peltate trichomes and EO yield, and chemophenetic significance of EO profiles.
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•Populations of Satureja kitabelii differed based on the essential oil composition.•Three chemotypes could be denoted based on p-cymene, geraniol and linalool content.•First study of ...essential oils of different plant parts of a single individual.•Leaf essential oil was dominated by monoterpenes, flower oil by sesquiterpenes.
Satureja kitaibelii is an endemic aromatic herb used in ethnomedicine for treatment of bronchitis or cough, urinary and digestive disorders, but also as a stimulant, stomachic, carminative, expectorant, anti-catarrhal, astringent and aphrodisiac. Recent investigations also show potential anticancer activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the geographic origin and the plant organs (leaves and flowers) on the essential oil profile of S. kitaibelii. Forty-five individuals from three populations were studied, and their individual essential oils (EOs) were extracted using simultaneous distillation and extraction (SDE) and analysed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The essential oil composition is characterised by the domination of monoterpenes (52.5–84.9%), followed by sesquiterpenes (10.9–36.0%). Analyses showed that EO profile varied considerably from one location to another. The dominant component in population Djerdap was p-cymene (21.9%), while linalool (22.2%) and p-cymene (16.9%) dominated EO of individuals from population Poganovo. Also, in the latter population, two chemotypes were observed. Population Temšica EO profile was characterized by the presence of several co-dominant components with similar content (between 5 and 12%). Highest EO variability was observed in population Poganovo, while the lowest was in population Temšica. The essential oil profiles showed differentiation between populations in agreement with the spatial distribution. To better assess the contribution of each plant part in essential oil profile, individual parts (leaves, calyx, and corolla) and whole aerial parts of the plant were analysed from a random individual. Results showed differences between EO profiles of plant parts and whole plant (herba). Furthermore, the chemical composition of herba depends on the quantity of each plant part (leaves, calyces and corollas). Profile of essential oil also varied within the plant. Sesquiterpenes dominated the essential oil from flower parts, while monoterpenes dominated in the essential oil of leaves and aerial parts of the plant.
The cuticle is important in the interaction between the plant and its environment, especially in the dry areas. Four species of junipers from the section Sabina wild growing in the Balkans were ...selected to study leaf wax composition using GC/MS and GC‐FID and its surface morphology under SEM to understand the correlation between the distribution and/or habitat of these species and their cuticles. SEM micrographs showed continuous, smooth epicuticular layers with crusts in all species but with a species‐specific distribution of different 3D crystalloid types and different cuticle thickness. n‐C33 alkane was the most abundant compound, followed by n‐C29, n‐C31, and n‐C35, depending on the species and the site. The average chain length (N) was the lowest in J. phoenicea, but with the greatest dispersion around it. At the same time, the two most continental species (J. foetidissima and J. excelsa) show the N with the lowest dispersion around it. The statistical analyses confirmed the significance of climate on the evolution of the specific epicuticular wax composition in studied junipers.
The potential antifungal effects of Thymus vulgaris L., Thymus tosevii L., Mentha spicata L., and Mentha piperita L. (Labiatae) essential oils and their components against 17 micromycetal food ...poisoning, plant, animal and human pathogens are presented. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodestillation of dried plant material. Their composition was determined by GC-MS. Identification of individual constituents was made by comparison with analytical standards, and by computer matching mass spectral data with those of the Wiley/NBS Library of Mass Spectra. MIC's and MFC's of the oils and their components were determined by dilution assays. Thymol (48.9%) and p-cymene (19.0%) were the main components of T. vulgaris, while carvacrol (12.8%), a-terpinyl acetate (12.3%), cis-myrtanol (11.2%) and thymol (10.4%) were dominant in T. tosevii. Both Thymus species showed very strong antifungal activities. In M. piperita oil menthol (37.4%), menthyl acetate (17.4%) and menthone (12.7%) were the main components, whereas those of M. spicata oil were carvone (69.5%) and menthone (21.9%). Mentha sp. showed strong antifungal activities, however lower than Thymus sp. The commercial fungicide, bifonazole, used as a control, had much lower antifungal activity than the oils and components investigated. It is concluded that essential oils of Thymus and Mentha species possess great antifungal potential and could be used as natural preservatives and fungicides.
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