Antifungal and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Bupleurum rigidum subsp. paniculatum (Brot.) H.Wolff Essential Oil

Abstract

Fungal infections remain a major health concern with aromatic plants and their metabolites standing out as promising antifungal agents. The present study aims to assess, for the first time, the antifungal and anti-inflammatory potential of Bupleurum subsp. paniculatum (Brot.) H.Wolff essential oil from Portugal. The oil obtained by hydrodistillation and characterized by GC-MS, showed high amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons, namely α-pinene (29.0–36.0%), β–pinene (26.1–30.7%) and limonene (10.5–13.5%). The antifungal potential was assessed, according to CLSI guidelines, against several clinical and collection strains. The essential oil showed a broad fungicidal effect being more potent against Cryptococcus neoformans and dermatophytes. Moreover, a significant germ tube inhibition was observed in Candida albicans as well as a disruption of mature biofilms, thus pointing out an effect of the oil against relevant virulent factors. Furthermore, fungal ultrastructural modifications were detected through transmission electron microscopy, highlighting the nefarious effect of the oil. Of relevance, the oil also evidenced anti-inflammatory activity through nitric oxide inhibition in macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide. In addition, the essential oil’s bioactive concentrations did not present toxicity towards macrophages. Overall, the present study confirmed the bioactive potential of B. rigidum subsp. paniculatum essential oil, thus paving the way for the development of effective drugs presenting concomitantly antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties.

Chemical constituents and antimicrobial ability of essential oil from the fruits of Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim.

“…According to the published data, fungal strains Candida albicans are not susceptible to the action of the essential oils. The significant germ tube inhibition in C. albicans was caused by the action of essential oil from aromatic plant Bupleurum (Zuzarte et al, 2021). The effect of essential oil from the aerial parts Artemisia judaica against C. albicans achieved 80% inhibition of filamentation (Abu-Darwish et al, 2016).…”

“…The volatile oils obtained from different parts of plants are composed of a complex mixture of the secondary metabolites (Chouhan et al, 2017) and can be used in various applications such as pharmaceuticals (Khan et al, 2018). In particular, the essential oils obtained from different plants showed a broad fungicidal effect; of these, the antifungal potential of aromatic plant Bupleurum rigidum essential oil was reported (Zuzarte et al, 2021). The confirmed biological activities of the essential oil from traditional medicinal plants Artemisia judaica (Abu-Darwish et al, 2016) and Schisandra chinensis (Lee et al, 2021) were the most prominence in significant antiinflammatory effects.…”

Effects of Natural Borneol on Germ Tube Formation and Preformed Biofilm Activity in Candida albicans

“…paniculatum (Brot.) H.Wolff, 32 Pelargonium capitatum and Cymbopogon martini, 33 Bursera morelensis Ramirez, 34 desert wormwood , 35 and Lavandula angustifolia. 36…”

“…paniculatum (Brot.) H.Wolff, 32 Pelargonium capitatum and Cymbopogon martini, 33 Bursera morelensis Ramirez, 34 desert wormwood, 35 and Lavandula angustifolia. Our study also found that borneol inhibited between 33.7% and 58.2% of the preformed biofilm activity at concentrations between 0.25 and 4 mg/mL.…”

Essential Oils in Respiratory Mycosis: A Review

“…These effects may explain the potential of Aristolochia delavayi essential oil, with high amounts of (E)-dec-2-enal [84], and Bupleurum rigidum subsp. paniculatum and Thapsia villosa rich in α-pinene [87,111]. Geraniol also showed promising effects with a study pointing out a MIC of 76 µg/mL [120]; nevertheless in other studies, the MICs were quite distinct [MIC 80 = 128 µg/mL [122] and MIC = 0.32 µL/mL [113]].…”