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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multifactorial ailment that severely affects the viability of dopaminergic neurons leading to progressive loss of motor control. The current regimen for PD treatment includes synthetic drugs that lack efficacy and cause serious side effects. Consequently, recent drug development studies are focusing on alternative medicines from plant sources. Artemisia pallens Wall. ex DC, commonly known as davana, is an annual aromatic herb cultivated in southern India. Given the diverse traditional and scientifically documented therapeutic effects of A. pallens , the pharmacological potential of the isolates of the plant, namely bicyclogermacrene (D1), cis -davanone (D3), and cis -hydroxy davanone (D5), was tested for anti-Parkinson's activity in Caenorhabditis elegans model. The tested compounds alleviated α -synuclein (α -syn) aggregation and maximum decline was observed in 25 μM D1 supplemented worms. Additionally, D1 modulated dopamine regulated nonanol-1 repulsion and locomotory behaviour of C. elegans validating its future use as a dopamine-enhancing agent. The genetic regulation mediating the above effects validated through the qPCR study showed that D1 supplementation displayed its anti-Parkinson's effect through upregulation of the antioxidant defence system genes (superoxide dismutase (sod)-1 , sod-2, and sod-4) and PD associated pdr-1 gene that maintains the mitochondrial proteostasis. The molecular docking studies of C. elegans PDR-1 with D1 further confirmed its contribution in D1 induced abridgment of Parkinson disease linked pathologies in C. elegans disease model. Hence, this article proposes D1 as an effective regimen for curtailing the Parkinson disease linked pathologies through mechanism of maintaining cellular redox state and proteostasis. • Sesquiterpenoids from Artemisia pallens decreased α -synuclein levels in C. elegans. • Bicyclogermacrene(D1) was most effective, modulating the dopamine-dependent behaviour. • D1 upregulated sod-1, sod-2, sod-4 and pdr- 1 mRNA expression. • D1 also showed good binding affinity of −6.51 kcal mol-1 with C. elegans PDR-1. • D1's anti-Parkinson's effects are through cellular redox state and proteostasis regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the effects of herb drying, salt concentration, pH, and sampling approach on essential oil yield and composition in Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr. Fresh samples yielded higher essential oil (EO) (1.25%) than shade-dried ones. Increasing NaCl concentration correlated with higher EO yields, while a basic pH favoured superior yields. Gas Chromatography identified Eugenol and β-myrcene as primary constituents. Eugenol content peaked at 10% NaCl (56.429%) and was lowest at pH 4 (42.850%). β-myrcene content was highest at pH 4 (31.476%). Hydro distillation with systematic sampling evaluated the effects of 14 fractions in different time frames. Phenylpropanoids (mainly eugenol) and acyclic monoterpene (mainly β-myrcene) dominated all fractions, with cyclic monoterpene (mainly limonene) enriched in the first four fractions. Fractions 10 to 14 showed significant increases in eugenol compared to the control. These findings provide insights for meeting market demands, enhancing the commercial potential of P. dioica EO.

Cymbopogon distans (Nees ex Steud.) Will. Watson (Poaceae) is a promising aromatic plant distributed in the Himalayas. In this study, five acyclic monoterpenoids, namely geranyl acetate (RS1), neral (RS2), geranial (RS3), citral (RS4) and geraniol (RS5) were isolated from the essential oil of C. distans . The isolated compounds were tested for in-vitro neuroinflammation inhibitory potential in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells. RS1-RS4 exhibited significant neuroinflammation inhibition without any cytotoxic effect at the dose of 10 μM. RS4, the most active anti-neuroinflammatory compound (TNF-α 31.48 ± 1.00%; IL-6 24.02 ± 0.63%; IL-1β 42.15 ± 1.76%) was also able to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in a dose-dependent manner. The results showed that RS4 (an isomeric mixture of neral and geranial) has the potential to inhibit neuroinflammation and AChE, which are the biomarkers of neurodegenerative disorders.

Ravenia spectabilis Engl. belongs to the family Rutaceae is known to possess several biologically active phytomolecules. This study was planned to investigate the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the leaf essential oil of R. spectabilis . The hydrodistillation of fresh leaves of R. spectabilis gave 0.19 ± 0.02% essential oil. The resulting essential oil was analysed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Altogether, thirty-one constituents forming 97.6 ± 1.72% of the total oil composition were identified. Major components of the oil were sabinene (60.8 ± 0.36%), α -pinene (5.4 ± 0.30%), myrcene (4.8 ± 0.25%), δ -3-carene (4.7 ± 0.62%) and β -pinene (4.3 ± 0.17%). The in-vitro antimicrobial potential of the oil was examined against eight human pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The essential oil showed significant activity against Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus epidermidis , methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis , Candida albicans , and Candida kefyr . This is the first report on R. spectabilis leaf essential oil composition and its antimicrobial activity. The essential oil could be a promising natural source of sabinene and antimicrobial for developing new phytotherapeutics.