A review: Biological activity of myrtenal and some myrtenal-containing medicinal plant essential oils

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Myrtenal, a component of many plants' essential oils, is a bicyclic monoterpenoid. Numerous effects of myrtenal in experimental animals have been found-bronchodilatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-aggregative and antihemolytic (in vitro), and antibacterial. Its other activities have been studiedantioxidant, antitumor, antihyperglycemic, vasodilating, heart rate reducing and hypotensive. Myrtenal is relatively little studied in the field of neuroscience. AIM: The aim of this article is to summarize the available information on the established biological activity of the monoterpenoid myrtenal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scientific databases such as PubMed, ResearchGate, HMDB and others have been used to provide information on the published results of properties and activities of the test substance (myrtenal) over a period of 15 years (2003-2018). RESULTS: Our research confirmed the available data for its central nervous system (CNS) activity-anxiolytic and potentiating the effects of the hypnotic drugs, as well as the antioxidant properties. We have evaluated the neuromodulatory activity of M in brain tissue manifested in elevated levels of major neurotransmitters in healthy rodents and those with neurodegenerative changes accompanied by improvement in the animals' memory. CONCLUSION: Significant protective effects of myrtenal on neurodegenerative processes were established. Probably they are related to its complex mechanisms, including neuromodulatory and antioxidant properties.

Neuroprotective Mechanisms of Three Natural Antioxidants on a Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease: A Comparative Study

“…Our experimental data showed that the three tested substances decreased significantly the number of contralateral rotation in apomorphine test with the best effect being observed 3 weeks post lesion for EA and decreased the number of falls/min in rotarod test with best effect for Myrt, 3 weeks after lesion. This result confirmed the reported improvement in motor coordination effect of EA and decreased the contralateral rotation effect of LA in 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity on a rat model of hemi-parkinsonism [87,100]. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have so far been conducted with Myrt on PD models.…”

“…The ability of LA to restore DA levels was reported in 6-OHDA-and MPTP-induced models of PD [104]. In our previous studies with Sco-induced model of dementia, we have established that Myrt significantly increases DA levels in the brain [87]. The ability of the tested AOs to increase dopamine levels in the brain after the neurotoxin action (6-OHDA) provides additional strong in vivo proof-of-concept of their neuroprotective properties.…”

“…Our previous studies also established the significant preventive effect of EA and LA as well as of Myrt on experimental scopolamine (Sco) induced dementia from types of Alzheimer's disease in rodents. We have proved that neuroprotective, neuromodulatory, and improving learning and memory effects, accompanied by strong AO activity allow multi-target treatment of the neurodegenerative process [25,40,43,57,87].…”

“…The improving memory effect of EA probably is specific and was due to its active urolithins metabolites, which can easily penetrate the blood-brain barrier [107]. The recovering memory effect of LA in a mouse model of AD type dementia [40,43] is related to direct or indirect AO effect of LA [58,63,85] and to neuromodulatory activity of Myrt [26,40,87].…”

Monoterpenes and Their Derivatives—Recent Development in Biological and Medical Applications

“…Consequently, there is growing body of literature regarding new modifications to these fascinating natural compounds and the corresponding biological and medical applications. Despite the importance of this class of compounds, there are limited reviews on the biological and pharmacological properties of monoterpene derivatives [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Hence, we considered it appropriate to provide a review of selected monoterpene derivatives and their diverse therapeutic activities.…”