Antioxidant, antimicrobial and toxicological properties of Schinus molle L. essential oils

Abstract

a b s t r a c tEthnopharmacological relevance: Schinus molle L. has been used in folk medicine as antibacterial, antiviral, topical antiseptic, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoural as well as antispasmodic and analgesic; however, there are few studies of pharmacological and toxicological properties of Schinus molle essential oils. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Schinus molle leaf and fruit essential oils, correlated with their chemical composition and evaluate their acute toxicity. Materials and methods: The chemical composition of Schinus molle leaf and fruit essential oils were evaluated by GC-FID and GC-MS. Antioxidant properties were determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical and β-carotene/linoleic acid methods. Antimicrobial properties were evaluated by the agar disc diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration assay. Toxicity in Artemia salina and acute toxicity with behavioural screening in mice were evaluated. Results: The dominant compounds found in leaf and fruit essential oils (EOs) were monoterpene hydrocarbons, namely α-phellandrene, β-phellandrene, β-myrcene, limonene and α-pinene. EOs showed low scavenging antioxidant activity by the DPPH free radical method and a higher activity by the β-carotene/linoleic acid method. Antimicrobial activity of EOs was observed for Gramþ, GramÀ pathogenic bacteria and food spoilage fungi. EOs showed totoxicity for Artemia salina and lower toxicity in Swiss mice. Conclusions: The result showed that EOs of leaves and fruits of Schinus molle demonstrated antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, suggesting their potential use in food or pharmaceutical industries.

Antimicrobial activity and chemical constituents of essential oils and oleoresins extracted from eight pepper species

“…Components of the essential oil and the oleoresin of S. terebinthifolius are not the same, which was expected as the extraction methods used can lead to different kind of extracts. Both results are in agreement with MARTINS et al (2014).…”

“…SOUTO et al (2012) reported the insecticidal activity of the essential oil of Piper aduncum, Piper marginatum, Piper divaricatum and Piper callosum against the ant Solenopsis saevissima and detected various compounds by Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) that were previously known as having insecticidal activity. MARTINS et al (2014), studied the essential oil of Schinus molle essential oils (the leaf and the fruits) and reported that both oils have low antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity against Gram + and Gram -bacteria and spoilage fungi with low toxicity in vivo in mice (2000mg kg -1 ). KAPOOR et al (2009) demonstrated the antioxidant and scavenging activity of Piper nigurm essential oil and oleoresins, which have important applications in food chemistry.…”

Natural antioxidants isolated from Schinus areira leaves by ultrasound-assisted extraction

“…We previously demonstrated that S. areira essential oils isolated from leaves and fruits have antibacterial activity (Celaya, Alabrudzinska, Molina, Viturro, & Moreno, 2014). Essential oils of a related specie, Schinus molle, also exhibited antioxidant and antimicrobial properties (Martins et al, 2014). In this study, we optimized the extraction of nonvolatile antioxidant compounds from S. areira leaves by ultrasound-assisted extraction, in order to determine the potential of these plants as sources of natural antioxidants.…”

Guidelines for Formulating Anti-Pollution Products

“…It provides cellular protection against oxidative stresses that is induced by the fine suspended dust particles by controlling antioxidant enzyme activity. It is also shown to be associated with a modulation of epigenetic biomarkers that are linked to a stronger skin barrier and reduces skin permeability that is induced by environmental stress and increased skin hydration [40].…”