Milka Maksimović

The impact of the locality altitudes and stages of development on the volatile constituents of Salvia officinalis L. from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract The essential oils from fresh plant material of Salvia officinalis L. (sage) were subjected to GC/MS analysis in order to determine the impact of the locality altitudes and seasonal variations on their volatile constituents. The sage plant material was collected from two different localities (altitudes 110 and 400 m) in central Herzegovina near Mostar and at four different stages of development: vegetative period (leaves and stalks, January 2003), prior to flowering (leaves and stalks, April 2003), in the course of flowering (flowering tops, leaves and stalks, May 2003) and after flowering (leaves and stalks, August 2003). The oil yields varied from 0.29% to 1.07%. The qualitative composition of the components appeared to be constant. However, there were notable differences in the amounts of several compounds depending on the stages of plant development. The main components were α-thujone (9.3–35.6%), camphor (6.9–29.1%) and viridiflorol (6.0–24.0%). Other important components were α-humulene (3.1–13.6%), manool (3.0–13.3%), 1,8-cineole (8.6–12.7%) and borneol (2.0–5.5%).

Total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., Alnus incana (L.) Moench and Alnus viridis (Chaix) DC. extracts

The objective of this study was to determine total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts from the leaves and barks of three Alnus species. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of extracts were determined spectrophotometrically using Folin–Ciocalteau and aluminium chloride methods, respectively. In addition, antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method. The antimicrobial activity was performed by disc diffusion assay against six reference bacterial strains including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and two fungal strains. Extract of Alnus viridis bark contained the highest amounts of total phenolics (780 mg CAT/g), while extract of A. viridis leaves had the highest amount of flavonoids (30.01 mg RUT/g). All extracts showed antioxidant activity higher than thymol, which was used as a positive probe. The largest diameters of inhibition zone (25 mm) were recorded with Bacillus subtilis 168 M and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538.

Influence of the Continental Climatic Conditions on the Essential‐Oil Composition of Salvia brachyodonVandas Transferred from Adriatic Coast

Essential‐oil profile of Salvia brachyodon Vandas, an endemic Dinaric species transferred from Adriatic Coast to the continental climatic conditions, was determined. Hydrodistilled oils obtained from the plant material collected in three‐year field trial were subjected to the detailed GC/MS analysis. Hundred and fifty volatile compounds were identified in four samples. Comparison of the chemical composition of the isolated essential oils showed that population collected one year after transfer preserved sesquiterpene character of its oil (74.3%), while all subsequent samples gave the oils of monoterpene type with 1,8‐cineole as the principal constituent (22.2–42.3%). The high degree of variation in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the volatile constituents revealed the strong influence of environmental conditions on the nature of plant chemical composition that has an important role in a plant adaptation.

Chemical composition and bioactivity of essential oil from Thymus species in Balkan Peninsula

Thymus L. is one of the most important and polymorphic genera of the Lamiaceae family, comprises ca. 250 species distributed across the Eurasian continent, North and East Africa, and southern Greenland, but the great majority of the indigenous species is found in the area that surrounds the Mediterranean region. Thymus species can potentially be used as the medicinal or aromatic herbs in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The essential oils of Thymus species are characterized by a high chemical variability due to different intrinsic (genetic variation) and extrinsic (ecological and environmental aspects) factors. Despite broad scientific interest in the biology, taxonomy, chemotypes, and related biological activity of secondary metabolites of Thymus species, there is a general lack of information regarding this genus from Balkan. The aim of the present review was to comprise the literature in order to document essential oil constituents that characterize different Thymus species from Balkan Peninsula. Essential oil composition of 45 Thymus taxa from ten countries was summarized. In addition, it discusses the reported biological activities of Thymus species, with particular focus on their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Cultivation of rare species, monitoring, and standardization of their essential oils, as well as direct studies on cellular and animal models are needed to assess whole spectrum of biological properties of essential oils of Thymus species.

Essential oil composition and antioxidant activity of four Asteraceae species from Bosnia

Abstract Hydrodistilled volatile oils from Achillea millefolium L., Arnica montana L., Artemisia absinthium L., and Artemisia annua L. were analyzed by GC/MS. One hundred sixty-seven compounds were identified in all samples, ranging from 74.3% to 96.4% of the total oil. A high percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes is the main characteristic of A. millefolium and A. absinthium oils with camphor (19.2%) and isoascaridol (21.9%) as the major constituents, respectively. In contrast, the main component of A. annua oil was oxygenated sesquiterpene selina-3,11-dien-6-α-ol (9.6%), while the chemical composition of A. montana oil was characterized by a high content of fatty acids with n-hexadecanoic acid (16.1%) as the main constituent. Antioxidant activity was tested using four different methods, DPPH, ABTS, Reducing power, and Phosphomolybdenum assay. The highest antioxidant activity had essential oil of A. montana using DPPH and Phosphomolibdenum assay, A. millefolium in ABTS method, while A. absinthium oil showed the best ability to reduce Fe ions.

Effects of dipotassium trioxohydroxytetrafluorotriborate (K2[B3O3F4OH]) on genetic material and inhibition of cell division in human cell cultures

We have examined antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and genotoxic potential of a halogenated boroxine dipotassium trioxohydroxytetrafluorotriborate [K2(B3O3F4OH)]. The impact on cell growth was evaluated by alamarBlue assay in basal cell carcinoma culture. Cytostatic, cytotoxic, and genotoxic potential were evaluated in lymphocytes culture, applying cytokinesis-block micronucleus cytome assay and chromosome aberrations analysis. Tested concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/mL) were correlated with inhibition of cell growth in basal cell carcinoma culture and with the lymphocytes proliferation. Clastogenic activity has been confirmed, without evidences of aneugenic activity, in human lymphocytes.

Chemical composition of the essential oil of Stachys menthifolia Vis.

Stachys menthifolia Vis. (Lamiaceae) is an endemic species from the Balkan Peninsula spread throughout Albania, Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia. This article presents the first investigation of the essential oil composition of this species from Croatia. Aerial parts of the plant were collected from three different natural habitats in the region of Biokovo Mountain. The studied populations showed similarity in qualitative, but not in quantitative, composition of their essential oils. Hydrodistilled volatile oil obtained from the plant material of S. menthifolia was subjected to gas chromatographic analysis coupled to mass spectrometry. More than 100 compounds were identified in the three samples, representing 86.8–90.8% of the total oil. The terpene profile of S. menthifolia is characterized by a high content of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (48.4–58.9%) and diterpene hydrocarbons (3.5–25.2%), with 8-α-acetoxyelemol (6.9–21.3%), abietatriene (3.5–21.1%), and 4′-methoxyacetophenone (4.5–17.0%) as the main constituents.

Volatiles of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don from Croatia

Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don is a flowering plant of the family Asteraceae. It is rich in oil that is used for different medicinal purposes and in fragrance industry. Volatile profile of four populations of H. italicum, collected from natural habitat in Dalmatia (Croatia), was analysed by capillary GC–MS. Sample from BraČ Island had α-trans-bergamotene (10.2%) and β-acoradiene (10.1%) as the majors, whereas sample collected on Biokovo Mt. was rich in neryl acetate (8.1%). β-Acoradiene was also the main constituent of sample collected near Tijarica, whereas rosifoliol (8.5%) was the most abundant constituent in sample collected near Makarska. Presented results show the influence of environmental conditions on chemical differentiation of the volatiles of H. italicum from Croatia.

Comparison of Essential Oil Prof iles of Satureja montana L. and Endemic Satureja visianii Šilic

Abstract Satureja is a genus of the well-known medicinal plants of Lamiaceae family that comprises numerous species growing wild in the Mediterranean area. The essential oils of Satureja visianii Šilic and Satureja montana L., growing together at the same habitat under similar environmental conditions, were subjected to detailed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis in order to compare their chemical composition. S. visianii Šilic is a stenoendemic species with narrow geographical distribution limited to only one locality, Pelješac Peninsula in Croatia. More than one hundred twenty compounds were identified in both plant oils representing 90.4 % - 99.5 % of the total oil. The most abundant components in S. visianii essential oil were viridiflorol (17.9 %), borneol (12.6 %) and camphor (6.5 %), while S. montana oil was rich in phenolic compounds carvacrol (59.1 %) and thymol (20.1 %).

Volatile constituents, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity of Calamintha glandulosa (Req.) Bentham.

BACKGROUND Calamintha glandulosa (Req.) Bentham is an aromatic perennial plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae, mostly found on rocky pastures, dry meadows, and abandoned places of the Mediterranean area. Plants belonging to this genus are known as highly aromatic and to possess significant antimicrobial and antifungal properties. The aim of this study was to provide clear picture of the volatiles of this plant species, and, for the first time, to present C. glandulosa from Croatia in terms of its antioxidant activity. RESULTS The essential oil and headspace obtained from odorous parts of C. glandulosa were subjected to capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. More than 50 volatile compounds were identified in six samples obtained using different extraction techniques. The most abundant components in all the samples examined were oxygenated monoterpenes, with piperitone (19.9-59.5%) and piperitenone (7.1-42.6%) as the main representatives. The total phenolic content of extracts obtained by successive Soxhlet extraction was measured, and the scavenging potency of the samples, indicated as IC50 values, were examined using four different spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods. In all cases the essential oil showed the lowest antioxidant activity, while the aqueous extract showed the highest. This can be explained by the levels of the phenolic compounds in the samples examined. CONCLUSIONS A clear picture of aroma profile of C. glandulosa is presented, and the results obtained differ from those published previously. The high antioxidant potential of C. glandulosa from Croatia was established for the first time. Results from the present study suggest further analysis on this plant species in order to define its medicinal properties.