Composition and Bioactivities of an (E)-β-Farnesene Chemotype of Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla) Essential Oil from Nepal

Abstract

The essential oil of Matricaria chamomilla, collected from Nepal, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography -mass spectrometry. The major components in Nepalese chamomile oil were (E)-β-farnesene (42.2%), α-bisabolol oxide A (22.3%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (8.3%), cisbicycloether (5.0%), α-bisabolol oxide B (4.5%), and α-bisabolone oxide A (4.0%). A cluster analysis based on the chemical compositions of 48 samples of chamomile oil reported in the literature has revealed seven chemotypes, and the oil from Nepal represents the (E)-β-farnesene chemotype. The chamomile oil was screened for antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger, and toxicity toward MCF-7 breast tumor cells, Artemia salina, Chaoborus plumicornis, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster.

Biological Activity of Matricaria chamomilla Essential Oils of Various Chemotypes

“…In this respect, this result was predictable as P. aeruginosa is protected against terpenoids and other chemicals by its outer membrane and specific efflux mechanisms [23]. Compared to other essential oils, the overall antimicrobial activity was mediocre, but our findings go along with those of Satyal et al [14]. While our findings corroborate previous findings concerning the antibacterial effects of pure α-bisabolol [24], there is also evidence for a negative effect of α-bisabolol oxides A and B on antimicrobial activity as shown by samples A and F.…”

“…In ▶ Table 2, the results of the antimicrobial activity screening are given. As demonstrated before, chamomile essential oil exerts antibacterial effects [4,20], particularly against gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus as well as anticandidal activity [14] against Candida albicans. However, gram-negative bacteria, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were less susceptible.…”

“…The latter had also notably high concentrations of azulenes (21.8 %) and spiroethers (16.9 %), not only compared to the other samples ( < 10 %) but also other samples from Hungary [15]. As both α-bisabolol [8,16] and chamazulene [17][18][19] proved to possess anti-inflammatory and highly antioxidant properties [14,17,20], this combination is highly preferable for pharmaceutical and cosmetic use. All of the commercially available samples were found to have a remarkably high content of trans-β-farnesene (18.7-38.5 %) compared to sample E from the wild collection in Hungary (3.3 %) and sample F from North India (7.2 %).…”

“…As some of these chemotypes form locally distinct populations, they could also be termed "chemodem" [31]; however, this term is rarely used in literature. Moreover, some authors suggested spiroether [14,32] and trans-βfarnesene [14] chemotypes; however, Satyal et al [14] analysed the essential oil of the aerial parts. Interestingly, the European Pharmacopoeia differentiates between only two chemotypes, one rich in α-bisabolol (10-65 %) and one dominated by bisabolol oxides (29-81 %) [1].…”

“…Within the species M. chamomilla, a chemical polymorphism regarding essential oil composition was first shown by Schilcher [9] and has been substantiated by several studies [10][11][12][13][14].…”