Chemical Composition, In vitro Evaluation of Antioxidant Properties and Cytotoxic Activity of the Essential Oil from Calamintha incana (Sm.) Helder (Lamiaceae) doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v5i8.2
Main Article Content
Abstract
Calamintha incana (Sm.) Helder (Lamiaceae) is an aromatic herb used in folk medicine in Jordan and neighboring countries. This study aimed to isolate and characterize the chemical composition of essential oils extracted from the aerial parts of C. incana and to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity, and cytotoxic potential. The essential oils from the aerial parts of C. incana (CIEO) were extracted by hydrodistillation, and GC/MS were performed for the chemical analysis of the oil. Total phenol and flavonoid contents were assessed using the colorimetric assay. The antioxidant activity of the oil was assessed using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and reducing power ability. The cytotoxic activity of CIEO against MCF-7, T47D, Caco-2 cancer cell lines, and normal fibroblast cell line (MRC-5) was investigated by 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results demonstrated that the main constituents of CIEO were benzenamine-4-methyl-3-nitro-(34.11%), and (2S,4R)-p-mentha-6,8-diene 2-hydroperoxide (31.48%). The phenolic content of CIEO was higher than the flavonoid content. With respect to the DPPH radical scavenging activity, the IC50 was 15.38 mg/mL, while for the reducing power ability the EC50 was 9.79 mg/mL). Moreover, CIEO was cytotoxic against cancerous and non-cancerous cells at 200 μg/mL. In conclusion, the essential oil extract of C. incana is characterized by its non-terpenoid aromatic compounds. Phenols were more abundant than flavonoids, and CIEO had a good antioxidant capacity and non-selective cytotoxic activity. Therefore, additional investigations are required to understand the mechanism of the cytotoxicity of this plant.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Bhattacharya S. Medicinal plants and natural products in amelioration of arsenic toxicity: a short review. Pharm Biol. 2017; 55(1):349-54.
Shakya AK. Medicinal plants: Future source of new drugs. Int J Herb Med. 2016; 4(4):59-64.
Assaf AM, Haddadin RN, Aldouri NA, Alabbassi R, Mashallah S, Mohammad M, Bustanji Y. Anti-cancer, antiinflammatory and anti-microbial activities of plant extracts used against hematological tumors in traditional medicine of Jordan. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013; 145(3):728-736.
Lingan K. A review on major constituents of various essential oils and its application. Transl Med. 2018;
(201):1025-2161.5. Oran SA. The status of medicinal plants in Jordan. J Agric Sci Technol A. 2014; 4(6A):461-467.
Afifi FU and Abu-Irmaileh B. Herbal medicine in Jordan with special emphasis on less commonly used medicinal
herbs. J Ethnopharmacol. 2000; 72(1-2):101-110.
Božović M and Ragno R. Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi and its main essential oil constituent pulegone: Biological
activities and chemistry. Molecules 2017; 22(2):290.
Oran SA and Al-Eisawi DM. Check-list of medicinal plants in Jordan. Dirasat. 1998; 25(2):84-112.
Mimica-Dukić N, Couladis M, Tzakou O, Jančić R, Slavkovska V. Essential Oil of Calamintha sylvatica Bromf. and Calamintha vardarensis Šilic. J Essent Oil Res. 2004; 16(3):219-222.
Popović-Djordjević J, Cengiz M, Ozer MS, Sarikurkcu C. Calamintha incana: Essential oil composition and
biological activity. Ind Crops Prod. 2019; 128(1):162-166.
Elyemni M, Louaste B, Nechad I, Elkamli T, Bouia A, Taleb M, Chaouch M, Eloutassi N. Extraction of essential
oils of Rosmarinus officinalis L. by two different methods: Hydrodistillation and microwave assisted hydrodistillation. Sci World J. 2019; 2019(3):1-6.
Koo I, Kim S, Shi B, Lorkiewicz P, Song M, McClain C, Zhang X. EIder: A compound identification tool for gas
chromatography mass spectrometry data. J Chromatogr. A. 2016; 1448(22):107-114.
Adams RP. Identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. (4th ed.). Illinois: Allured publishing corporation Carol Stream, IL; 2007; 804 p.
Van Den Dool H and Kratz PD. A generalization of the retention index system including linear temperature
programmed gas-liquid partition chromatography. J Chromatogr. A.1963; 11(1):463-471.
Bouyahya A, Dakka N, Talbaoui A, El Moussaoui N, Abrini J, Bakri Y. Phenolic contents and antiradical
capacity of vegetable oil from Pistacia lentiscus (L). J Mater Environ Sci. 2018; 9(5):1518-1524.
Polatoglu K, Sen A, Kandemir A, Gören N. Essential oil composition and DPPH scavenging activity of endemic
Tanacetum mucroniferum Hub--Mor. & Grierson from Turkey. J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 2012; 15(1):66-74.
Ekin S, Bayramoglu M, Goktasoglu A, Ozgokce F, Kiziltas H. Antioxidant activity of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Crataegus meyeri pojark leaves and contents of vitamin, trace element. J Chil Chem Soc. 2017; 62(4):3661-3667.
Bustanji Y, AlDouri N, Issa A, Mashallah S, Assaf A, Aburjai T, Mohammad M. Cytotoxic effect of Mercurialis
annua L. methanolic extract on six human solid cancer cell lines. Sci Res Essays 2012; 7(37):3218-3222.
Bahuguna A, Khan I, Bajpai VK, Kang SC. MTT assay to evaluate the cytotoxic potential of a drug. Banglad J
Pharmacol. 2017; 12(2):115-118.
Zouari N, Ayadi I, Fakhfakh N, Rebai A, Zouari S. Variation of chemical composition of essential oils in wild
populations of Thymus algeriensis Boiss. et Reut., a North African endemic Species. Lip Health Dis. 2012; 11(1):28.
Tümen G, Baser KHC, Kürkcüoglu M, Demircakmak B. Composition of the essential oil of Calamintha incana
(Sm.) Boiss. from Turkey. J Essent Oil Res. 1995; 7(6):679-680.
Morteza-Semnani K and Akbarzadeh M. The essential oil composition of Calamintha officinalis Moench from Iran. J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 2007; 10(6):494-498.
Marongiu B, Piras A, Porcedda S, Falconieri D, Maxia A, Gonçalves MJ, Cavaleiro C, Salgueiro L. Chemical
composition and biological assays of essential oils of Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi subsp. nepeta (Lamiaceae).
Nat Prod Res. 2010; 24(18):1734-1742.
Swallah MS, Sun H, Affoh R, Fu H, Yu H. Antioxidant potential overviews of secondary metabolites (polyphenols)
in fruits. Int J Food Sci. 2020; 2020:1-8.
Tungmunnithum D, Thongboonyou A, Pholboon A, Yangsabai A. Flavonoids and other phenolic compounds
from medicinal plants for pharmaceutical and medical aspects: An overview. Med. 2018; 5(3):93.
Khodja NK, Boulekbache L, Chegdani F, Dahmani K, Bennis F, Madani K. Chemical composition and antioxidant
activity of phenolic compounds and essential oils from Calamintha nepeta L. J Compl Integr Med. 2018; 15(4):1-12.
Formisano C, Oliviero F, Rigano D, Saab AM, Senatore F. Chemical composition of essential oils and in vitro
antioxidant properties of extracts and essential oils of Calamintha origanifolia and Micromeria myrtifolia, two
Lamiaceae from the Lebanon flora. Ind Crops Prod. 2014; 62(12):405-411.
Khan S, Khan T, Shah AJ. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antihypertensive effect of the crude extract and fractions of Calamintha vulgaris. Phytomed. 2018; 47(8):174-183.