Investigation of antioxidant and anti-glycation properties of essential oils from fruits and branchlets of Juniperus oblonga

Abstract

Plants represent the best and most extensively studied source of natural antioxidants. The present study investigated the antioxidant and anti-glycation properties of different concentrations of essential oils obtained from fruits and branchlets of Juniperus oblonga M. Bieb., Cupressaceae, using different assays. The essential oils were obtained by steam distillation of the branchlets of male tree (BMT), branchlets of female tree (BFT) and fruits of J. oblonga. Compositional analysis of oils was performed using a gas chromatography-mass method. Antioxidant activity was assessed using linoleic acid peroxidation, peroxyl radical mediated hemolysis of red blood cells (RBC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation assays. Anti-glycation properties of oils were evaluated using hemoglobin and insulin glycation assays. Seventeen, eighteen and fi fteen compounds were identifi ed in the BMT, BFT and fruit oil, which represented 82.51, 55.69 and 96.89% of the total oils, respectively. α-Pinene was the major component of all three oils. All three oils possessed antioxidant effects against LDL oxidation, linoleic acid peroxidation and peroxyl radical mediated RBC hemolysis. Anti-glycation activities against hemoglobin and insulin glycation were also observed from all tested oils. Overall, there was no unique pattern of dose-dependence for the antioxidant properties of oils in different employed systems. The fi ndings of this study suggest that essential oils from fruits and branchlets of J. oblonga possess antioxidant and anti-glycation properties. Therefore, these oils might be of therapeutic effi cacy against diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Comparative Study on the Antioxidant and Anti-Toxoplasma Activities of Vanillin and Its Resorcinarene Derivative

“…Cultural knowledge about medicinal plants handling represent a vital role in the discovery of novel natural products with chemotherapeutic properties [10,11,12,13,14,15]. The use of medicinal herbs in developed countries kept its popularity due to historical and cultural reasons even with the access to modern medicine for most of the population [16].…”

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil ofThymus vulgarisL. Grown in Iran

“…Thyme and its oil have also a long reputation in the Iranian folk [6][7][8] . Essential oils are regarded as important herbal products with biological and pharmacological activities [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . Composition of an essential oil is influenced by a variety of factors related to geographical, climatic, cultivation and seasonal variations.…”

In vitro α-amylase and hemoglobin glycation inhibitory potential of Nigella sativa essential oil, and molecular docking studies of its principal components

“…On the other hand, different studies assessed on the essential oil of Juniperus oblonga and Juniperus sabina branches were able to inhibit hemoglobin glycation in dose dependent manner but using high concentrations (200, 400, and 600 μg/ml) (Emami et al, 2012).…”