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Climate plays an important role in crop production, and it is the main factor limiting the success of crop production in specific area. Medicinal plants are characterized by its contents of biologi...

Eugenia samanensis Alain is an endangered species of Myrtaceae unique to the Samana Peninsula, Dominican Republic. We investigated its foliar essential oil (EO) composition from dried leaves, extracted via hydrodistillation, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for identification and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for quantification. E. samanensis leaves produced an average of 1.6 ± 0.1% (w/w) EO and 23 compounds were identified, representing 98.4% of the EO composition. The EO composition consisted of 84.4% phenylpropenes, 8.9% oxygenated monoterpenes, 4.0% oxygenated sesquiterpenes, 0.4 % monoterpenes, 0.4% sesquiterpenes, and 0.25% other. The EO was richest in the phenylpropene, methyleugenol. The abundance of phenylpropenes in the EO of E. samanensis may be unique to Eugenia, suggesting the need for further research to elucidate the biological function of these compounds, to review the taxonomic status of this species, and to perform further studies to explai...

The chemical compositions of essential oils and hydrolates from fresh and dried aerial parts of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) were compared. Both the essential oil and hydrolate from fresh basil were assigned to the methyleugenol-eugenol chemotype (44.9-51.26 % and 12.5-26 %, respectively), while the essential oil and hydrolate from dried material to the methyleugenol chemotype (33.4-45.8 %). In essential oils from fresh (F) and dried (D) material, about 97 % of the chemical compounds were identified, the main ones being methyleugenol (F 44.9 %, D 45.8 %), linalool (F 10.3 %, D 9.7 %), and eugenol (F 12.5 %, D 8.5 %). The main class of compounds in essential oils F and D comprises oxygen derivatives of monoterpene hydrocarbons (76.9 % and 75.3 %, respectively). In hydrolates from fresh (HF) and dried (HD) aerial parts of basil, 98.7 %, and 93.7 % of the chemical compounds were identified, respectively. Also here, the main compounds were methyleugenol (HF 51.0 %, HD 33.4 %), eugenol (HF 26.0 %, HD 5....

In this study, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, total phenolic content, and essential oil composition of Echinophora tenuifolia L. subsp. sibthorpiana were investigated. The antioxidant activity of investigated essential oil was assessed by ABTS and DPPH assays. DPPH radical scavenging activity expressed by IC50 was 2.84 g/L, whereas the TEAC value determined by ABTS assay was 0.032 g TEAC/kg plant. Total phenol content of essential oil determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method was calculated as 1.32 g GAE/kg plant. The essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation (Clevenger apparatus) was investigated by GC-MS technique and 78 compounds were identified. The main components of essential oils were found to be δ-3-carene (17.93%), p-cymene (8.99%), methyleugenol (16.41%), and α-phellandrene (9.33%). The antimicrobial activity of investigated essential oil was tested using a broth dilution method against 13 bacterial and 2 fungal microorganisms. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration of essentia...

International audience; The chemical composition of essential oils of sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata (L.) Scop.) leaves from two geographic areas (Lithuania and France) were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Comparatively slight differences were observed in the chemical composition of essential oils from both selected origins. The yield of essential oil varied from 0.4 +/- 0.02% in Lithuanian to 0.5 +/- 0.01% in French origin. In total twenty and twenty-six components were identified in the hydrodistilled oils of Lithuanian and French origin, respectively. The essential oils of both origins were found to be rich in E-anethole (48.1 +/- 1.4% and 50.7 +/- 1.1%), methyleugenol (14.3 +/- 0.5% and 13.1 +/- 0.4%), E-nerolidol (10.2 +/- 0.8% and 12.0 +/- 0.3%) and germacrene-D (5.0 +/- 0.1% and 4.3 +/- 0.3%).

The effects of microwave delivered power and radiation time in microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MHD) on the yield and composition of the essential oil obtained from dry fruits of Pimenta dioica were studied. The optimum conditions for MHD were microwave delivered power 1000 W for microwave radiation time 3 min and then microwave delivered power 300 W for microwave radiation time 1 h at a 1:20 ratio of spice to water. In order to compare with classical hydrodistillation (HD), the HD extraction was also performed. The obtained oils were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-four components were identified in the HD oil and twenty-two components in the MHD oil. Among the identified volatile compounds from P. dioica, the main components from both oils were found to be similar, but their contents were significantly different including methyleugenol (43.01% in the HD oil, 44.10% in the MHD oil), eugenol (28.84 %, 30.91 %), caryophyllene (6.64 %, 5.10 %) and α-pinene (6.34 %, 5.55 %). In addition two minor compo...

1. Methyleugenol (MEG) has been used as a flavouring agent in food, as a fragrance in cosmetic products, and as an insect attractant. MEG was carcinogenic in both rats and mice following gavage administration. In this study we investigated plasma toxicokinetics of MEG in F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice of both sexes following single gavage (37, 75, or 150 mg/kg) and intravenous (IV) (37 mg/kg) administration.2. Following IV administration, MEG was rapidly distributed and cleared from the systemic circulation in both species and sexes. Absorption of MEG was rapid following gavage administration with secondary peaks in the plasma MEG concentration-versus-time profiles. Cmax and AUCT increased and the clearance decreased greater than proportional to the dose in rats and mice of both sexes. In general, rats had higher internal exposure to MEG than mice.3. The results for AUCT and clearance suggest that perhaps the metabolism of MEG is saturated at higher doses tested in this study. Absolute bioavailability followin...

The present study tested the cytoprotective effect of methyleugenol in an in vivo ischemia model (i.e. middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 1.5 h and subsequent reperfusion for 24 h) and further investigated its mechanism of action in in vitro cerebral ischemic models. When applied shortly after reperfusion, methyleugenol largely reduced cerebral ischemic injury. Methyleugenol decreased the caspase-3 activation and death of cultured cerebral cortical neurons caused by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) for 1 h and subsequent re-oxygenation for 24 h. Methyleugenol markedly reduced superoxide generation in the ischemic brain and decreased the intracellular oxidative stress caused by OGD/re-oxygenation. It was found that methyleugenol elevated the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Further, methyleugenol inhibited the production of nitric oxide and decreased the protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase. Methyleugenol down-regulated the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the ischemic brain as well as in immunostimulated mixed glial cells. The results indicate that methyleugenol could be useful for the treatment of ischemia/inflammation-related diseases.

The herb essential oil of Ocimum sanctum from Nigeria was investigated for mosquito larvicidal activity and its composition studied by gas chromatography and gas chromato-graphy-mass spectrometry for the first time. A good larvicidal action (LD50 85.11 ppm) against fourth instar Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which was far less than that of a positive control, endosulphan (LC50, 0.96 ppm) was observed for the oil. Seventeen components representing 88.4 % of total oil were fully identified. Oxygenated monoterpenes (51.1 %) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (27.5 %) formed the main chemical groups in the oil. The major constituents of the oil were methyleugenol (44.7 %) and isocaryophyllene (16.8 %), which categorise the oil into a different chemical variety.

Three allylbenzenes from Asiasarum heterotropoides, methyleugenol (1), elemicin (2) and gamma-asaron (3) showed suppressive effects on umu gene expression of the SOS response in the Salmonella typhimurium OY1001/1A2 umu test against the mutagen 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f ]quinoline (MeIQ). Gene expression was suppressed 70.0, 75.9 and 81.7% at a concentration of 0.4 mM, respectively. The ID50 values (50% inhibition dose) of these compounds were 0.125, 0.098 and 0.059 mM, respectively. On the other hand, compounds 1-3 showed weak suppressive effects of the SOS-inducing activity on activated MeIQ.

A methanol extract from Asiasarum heterotropoides showed a suppressive effect of the SOS-including activity on the mutagen 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ) in the Salmonella typhimurium TA1535/pSK1002 umu test. The methanol extract was re-extracted with chloroform, butanol, and water. The chloroform fraction showed a suppressive effect. Suppressive compounds in the chloroform fraction were isolated by silica gel column chromatography and identified as methyleugenol (1), elemicin (2), and gamma-asaron (3) by GC/MS, IR, and 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. These compounds suppressed the MeIQ-induced SOS response in the umu test. Gene expression was suppressed 52.2, 61.8, and 71.6% at a concentration of 0.1 mM, respectively. The ID50 values (50% inhibition dose) of these compounds were 0.080, 0.028, and 0.013 mM, respectively. On the other hand, Compounds 1-3 showed weak suppressive effect of the SOS-inducing activity on activated MeIQ. These results indicate that the inhibition of the SOS-inducing activity on MeIQ, which was caused by Compound 1-3 was due to the inhibition of metabolic activity by S9.

Methyleugenol 1a was oxidized to give 3,4-dimethoxyphenylacet-aldehyde by the oxidative system containing the RuCl3-NaIO4-phase transfer catalyst. The yield and spectroscopic properties were obtained from the stable acetaldoxim 3a. Furthermore, this oxidation system could be applied to other arylpropenes, thus, safrole, 4-methoxyallylbenzene, allylbenzene, and the corresponding arylacetaldehyde formed.

Essential oils from three Mongolian Artemisia species, A. adamsii Bess, A. santolinifolia Krasch, and A. glauca Pall. Ex. Willd, were analyzed by GC-MS. Seventy nine constituents were identified in the three oils. α-Thujone (13.10 – 67.12%) and β-thujone (11.35 – 58.77%), 1.8–cineole (14.32 – 21.37%) E-nerolidol (13.89%) were detected in A. adamsii and A. santolinifolia, as major components respectively, while methyl eugenol (46.77%). (Z)-β-ocimene (11.27%) and terpinolene (9.34%) formed major constituents of A. glauca.

The effect on rat bile composition of the essential oils from the fruits of three different chemotypes of Thapsia has been studied. For comparison, the major components of Thapsia essential oils, limonene, geranylacetate and methyleugenol, as well as menthol and peppermint oil, were also included in the investigation. Data obtained show that the tested drugs enhance bile secretion by increasing bile acid-independent flow (BAIF). Biotransformation products of the tested drugs were detected in bile samples.