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Essential Oil Characterisation and Biological Activity of Extracts of Medical...
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Essential Oil Characterisation and Biological Activity of Extracts of Medical Plants from Europe

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 10643

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Valerija Dunkić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
Interests: aromatic plants; medicinal plants; essential oils; hydrolates; chromatographic techniques; biological activities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dario Kremer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pharmaceutical Botanical Garden Fran Kušan, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: endemic plants; medicinal plants; morphology; micromorphology; biological activities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to its geological and geographical position, Europe is rich in plant diversity. The use of herbs in folk medicine has been known since ancient times, which is why many plants are called medicinal plants. Many plants have essential oils as secondary metabolites, the content of which is a result of the interaction between the plants and their environment. According to their chemical composition, these volatiles are classified into different chemogroups. Specific chemogroups are characteristic of certain plant species, resulting in different plant odors. In addition, some components of these chemogroups are responsible for various biological activities such as antibacterial, antioxidant, antiphytoviral, antifungal and antiproliferative. These components thereby determine the use of these plants in medicine.

The theme of this Special Issue is European plant diversity based on the production of secondary metabolites. This is particularly important in these challenging times when we are turning more to the natural environment and the use of natural products as medicine for the soul and body.

Prof. Dr. Valerija Dunkić
Dr. Dario Kremer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • European plants
  • Volatile compounds
  • Essential oils
  • Chemotypes
  • Chromatographic techniques
  • Biological role

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 34246 KiB  
Article
Volatile Organic Compound Composition and Glandular Trichome Characteristics of In Vitro Propagated Clinopodium pulegium (Rochel) Bräuchler: Effect of Carbon Source
by Dragana Stojičić, Svetlana Tošić, Gordana Stojanović, Bojan Zlatković, Snežana Jovanović, Snežana Budimir and Branka Uzelac
Plants 2022, 11(2), 198; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11020198 - 13 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1665
Abstract
Clinopodium pulegium (Rochel) Bräuchler (Lamiaceae) is an endangered species endemic to the Southern Carpathians. It is characterized by the production of high amounts of essential oils, which emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have an essential role in biotic and abiotic stress responses [...] Read more.
Clinopodium pulegium (Rochel) Bräuchler (Lamiaceae) is an endangered species endemic to the Southern Carpathians. It is characterized by the production of high amounts of essential oils, which emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have an essential role in biotic and abiotic stress responses and in plant–plant and plant–insect interactions. The present study was initiated to phytochemically examine the influence of different carbon sources in the nutrition medium on VOC emissions of micropropagated C. pulegium plants, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of headspace VOCs. The volatile profiles were subjected to multivariate analysis with respect to the presence, concentration and type of carbon source in the nutrient medium. In addition, the effect of different carbohydrates on the density and size of the leaf glandular trichomes, the main structures involved in the emission of VOCs, was determined. A total of 19 VOCs, primarily belonging to mono- and sesquiterpenes previously described in plants, were tentatively identified. Six VOCs were produced at levels higher than 2% of the total VOC emission, dominated by pulegone, ß-pinene and menthone. Inclusion of the carbohydrates in the culture media affected the production of the main leaf trichome-associated volatile allelochemicals although the qualitative composition of the volatiles changed only slightly. Multivariate analysis showed that the concentration, rather than the carbohydrate type, influenced the VOC profile. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oil Characterisation and Biological Activity of Extracts of Medical Plants from Europe)
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22 pages, 2973 KiB  
Article
Free Volatile Compounds of Veronica austriaca ssp. jacquinii (Baumg.) Eb. Fisch. and Their Biological Activity
by Marija Nazlić, Željana Fredotović, Elma Vuko, Nenad Vuletić, Ivica Ljubenkov, Dario Kremer, Renata Jurišić Grubešić, Edith Stabentheiner, Marko Randić and Valerija Dunkić
Plants 2021, 10(11), 2529; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112529 - 20 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2292
Abstract
The composition of free volatile compounds of essential oils (EO) and hydrosols (Hy) from four different localities of the species Veronica austriaca ssp. jacquinii (Baumg.) Eb. Fisch. were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. In the EOs, the most abundant compounds [...] Read more.
The composition of free volatile compounds of essential oils (EO) and hydrosols (Hy) from four different localities of the species Veronica austriaca ssp. jacquinii (Baumg.) Eb. Fisch. were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. In the EOs, the most abundant compounds identified were hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (23.34–52.56%), hexadecanoic acid (palmitic acid, 26.71–58.91%) and octadecanol acetate (0–6.24%). The hydrosols were characterized by high abundance of methyl eugenol (23.35–57.93%), trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (5.24–7.69%) and thymol (3.48–9.45%). Glandular trichomes were analyzed using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), as they are the sites of synthesis of free volatile compounds. We have detected glandular trichomes, consisting of a one stalk cell and two elliptically shaped head cells, and non-glandular (unbranched, bi-cellular to multicellular) trichomes on stems, leaves and the sepals. Data for volatile compounds from EOs and hydrosols were analyzed using Principal Component Analyses (PCA) to demonstrate variations in the composition of the volatile compounds identified. Isolated samples of EO and hydrosols were analyzed for their antioxidant activity using two methods, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). The essential oils showed higher antioxidant activity than the hydrosols in ORAC method, but lower activity by the DPPH method. The isolates were also tested for their antiproliferative activity on different types of cancer cells and also on two lines of healthy cells, and the results showed that the extracts were not toxic to the cell lines tested. Total polyphenols, total tannins, total flavonoids and total phenolic acids were also analyzed and determined spectrophotometrically. The free volatile compounds of Veronica austriaca ssp. jacquinii can be considered as a safe natural product. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oil Characterisation and Biological Activity of Extracts of Medical Plants from Europe)
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14 pages, 1594 KiB  
Article
Untargeted Metabolomics of Rind Essential Oils Allowed to Differentiate Two Closely Related Clementine Varieties
by María del Carmen González-Mas, José L. Rambla, Aurelio Gómez-Cadenas, María Amparo Blázquez, María Pilar López-Gresa and Antonio Granell
Plants 2021, 10(9), 1789; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10091789 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2007
Abstract
Chemical characterization of clementine varieties (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.) essential oils (EO) can lead to variety identification and valorization of their potential use in food and aroma industries. The goal of this study was the chemometric discrimination between two very closely [...] Read more.
Chemical characterization of clementine varieties (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.) essential oils (EO) can lead to variety identification and valorization of their potential use in food and aroma industries. The goal of this study was the chemometric discrimination between two very closely related and morphologically identical clementine varieties, Clemenules (NL) and Clemenpons (PO), based on their rind EO, to identify the differential volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and to determine their antioxidant capacity. EO rind volatile profile was determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in Citrus fruit at different ripening stages grown two independent years in two different locations. Untargeted metabolomics and multivariate data analysis showed an evolution of EO volatile profiles markedly parallel in both varieties. Although EO qualitative composition was identical in both varieties, PLS-DA allowed the identification of characteristic VOCs, quantitatively discriminating them along all the ripening process. PO showed higher accumulation of several mono- and sesquiterpene compounds such as trans-carveol, while NL showed higher levels of aldehyde and alcohol non-terpenoids like dodecanal. Both varieties evinced identical EO antioxidant activities, indicating a similar value for food preservation. Hence, untargeted metabolomics approach based on rind EO volatiles was revealed as a powerful technique able to differentiate between morphologically undistinguishable Citrus varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oil Characterisation and Biological Activity of Extracts of Medical Plants from Europe)
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15 pages, 488 KiB  
Article
Chemical Composition and New Biological Activities of Essential Oil and Hydrosol of Hypericum perforatum L. ssp. veronense (Schrank) H. Lindb
by Elma Vuko, Valerija Dunkić, Mirko Ruščić, Marija Nazlić, Nela Mandić, Barbara Soldo, Matilda Šprung and Željana Fredotović
Plants 2021, 10(5), 1014; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10051014 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3720
Abstract
The chemical profile, antiproliferative, antioxidant and antiphytoviral activities of the species Hypericum perforatum ssp. veronense (Schrank) H. Lindb. (Clusiaceae) were investigated. Free volatiles were isolated and the chemical composition was determined in the lipophilic fraction (essential oil) and for the first time in [...] Read more.
The chemical profile, antiproliferative, antioxidant and antiphytoviral activities of the species Hypericum perforatum ssp. veronense (Schrank) H. Lindb. (Clusiaceae) were investigated. Free volatiles were isolated and the chemical composition was determined in the lipophilic fraction (essential oil) and for the first time in the water fraction (hydrosol). The aim is to provide phytochemical data for H. perforatum ssp. veronense useful for distinguishing ssp. veronense from ssp. angustifolium, as there are taxonomic disagreements between them and the composition of the secretory products may be helpful in this respect. In the essential oil, the most abundant compounds identified were α-pinene and n-nonane, while in the hydrosol, myrtenol, carvacrol and α-pinene were the most abundant. Overall, the class of monoterpenes and oxygenated monoterpenes dominated in the EO and hydrosol samples. The essential oil showed high antioxidant activity, in contrast to the antiproliferative activity, where the hydrosol showed exceptional activity against three cancer cell lines: Hela (cervical cancer cell line), HCT116 (human colon cancer cell line) and U2OS (human osteosarcoma cell line). Both the essential oil and hydrosol showed antiphytoviral activity against tobacco mosaic virus infection on the local host plants. This is the first report dealing with biological activities of hydrosol of H. perforatum ssp. veronense, and the obtained results suggest that this traditional medicinal plant is a valuable source of volatiles with promising antiproliferative, antioxidant and antiphytoviral activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oil Characterisation and Biological Activity of Extracts of Medical Plants from Europe)
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