Volume 65, March 2015, Pages 56–61
Ridolfia segetum (L.) Moris (Apiaceae) from Portugal: A source of safe antioxidant and anti-inflammatory essential oil
Highlights
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- Ridolfia segetum oil demonstrated good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
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- This essential oil has no cytotoxicity in several mammalian cells.
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- R. segetum oil can be used in new phytopharmaceuticals and food preservatives.
Abstract
Ridolfia segetum
(L.) Moris essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed
by GC and GC–MS. The antioxidant properties were evaluated through the
TBARS assay, and the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity was assessed through inhibition of NO production triggered by the Toll-like
receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in mouse
macrophages. Assessment of cell viability was made through a
colorimetric assay using MTT on macrophages, keratinocytes, and
hepatocytes.
The main compounds are α-phellandrene
(53.0–63.3%), terpinolene (11.9–8.6%), ß-phellandrene (5.5–6.0%), and
dillapiol (1.9–8.0%). The oil demonstrated high antioxidant capacity in
the concentrations tested (0.05–0.20 μL/mL) and significantly inhibited
NO production without cytotoxicity in concentrations up to 1.25 μL/mL.
The
plants showed a high essential oil yield, which confers an industrial
potential interest. Also, the high content of α-phellandrene
(53.0–63.3%) makes it an important natural source of this compound.
These
results provide evidence of the therapeutic effects of this oil, and
suggest that the anti-inflammatory activity in doses without
cytotoxicity on mammalian cells, combined with its antioxidant potential
and pleasant smell, could be of great value in the development of new
phytopharmaceuticals.
Keywords
- Ridolfia segetum;
- Essential oil;
- α-Phellandrene;
- Antioxidant activity;
- Anti-inflammatory activity;
- Cytotoxicity
- Corresponding
author at: Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Faculdade de Farmácia da
Universidade de Coimbra, Pólo das Ciências da Saúde, Azinhaga de Santa
Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal. Tel.:
+351 239488400; fax: +351 239488503.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
