Juglans Regia and J. nigra, Two Trees Important in Traditional Medicine: A Comparison of Leaf Essential Oil Compositions and Biological Activities

Abstract

The essential oils from the leaves of Juglans regia, collected from Kathmandu, Nepal, and Juglans nigra from Huntsville, Alabama, USA, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. A total of 69 compounds were identified in the J. regia oil, accounting for 99.0% of the eluting components of the oil while three different samples of J. nigra were analyzed identifying a total of 99.3%, 99.4% and 99.7% of the oils. The leaf essential oil of J. regia was dominated by the aromatic compounds eugenol (27.5%) and methyl salicylate (16.2%), and the sesquiterpenes germacrene D (21.4%) and ( E)-β-farnesene (8.2%). The essential oils from three different samples of J. nigra contained ( E)-caryophyllene (17.3%–20.4%) and germacrene D (7.1%–22.5%) with smaller amounts of juglone (1.0%–8.8%), α-hydrojuglone (1.0–9.5%), and δ-cadinene (3.8%–8.7%). J. regia leaf oil, devoid of juglone, showed allelopathic activity, while J. nigra leaf oil was less phytotoxic. The presence of eugenol and methyl salicylate in the leaves of J. regia are consistent with the traditional uses of this plant to treat toothache, rheumatism, and fungal infections.

Human Adenocarcinoma Cell Line Sensitivity to Essential Oil Phytocomplexes from Pistacia Species: a Multivariate Approach

“…In general, the biological activity of a phytocomplex is related to its chemical composition, with each single compound acting synergistically with the others. Thus, given the high heterogeneous compositions of essential oils, likely due to genetic diversity of the samples [ 40 ], it is difficult to define a unique mechanism of action and indeed, a molecule, or a cluster of molecules, could have an effect on one type of tumor and not on others [ 9 ], determining important differences even in essential oils from the same species [ 41 ].…”

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

“…The essential oil of M. chamomilla was analyzed by GC-MS using an Agilent 6890 GC, HP-5ms fused silica capillary column, and Agilent 5973 mass selective detector (MSD) as described previously [33]. Identification of the oil components was based on their retention indices (RI), determined by reference to a homologous series of n-alkanes, and by comparison of their mass spectral fragmentation patterns with those reported in the literature [34] and stored on the MS library [NIST database (G1036A, revision D.01.00)/ChemStation data system (G1701CA, version C.00.01.080)].…”

Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and in vitro Anti-Inflammatory Potentials of Essential Oils from Different Plant Parts of Moringa oleifera Lam

“…The results agree with reports from previous studies; for instance, Methyl Salicylate (MeSa) is an important topical analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent which acts as a counter-irritant. MeSa is the active ingredient in topical liniments and ointments used in the management of rheumatic/ arthritic conditions (Paudel et al, 2013), as a flavouring agent in foods, beverages and confectionaries (Anderson, 2003) and as an insecticidal agent (Bossou et al, 2013). Benzene, Isothiocyanato methyl (BITC), the major component of oil from Moringa root, has been established as a therapeutic agent for treating leukaemia and pancreatic cancers (Batra et al, 2010).…”