To highlight the importance of the spices in the Mediterranean diet, the aim of the paper was to study the essential oil compositions and to clarify the potential differences in the biological activities of the three cardamom species. In the study, we compared the phytochemical profiles and biological activities of essential oils from Elettaria cardamomum, Aframomum corrorima and Amomum subulatum. The oils were analyzed using the GC and GC/MS techniques and were mainly constituted of the oxygenated monoterpenes which represents 71.4%, 63.0%, and 51.0% of all compounds detected in E. cardamomum, A. corrorima and A. subulatum essential oils, respectively, 1,8-cineole was the main common compound between the tree tested volatile oil. The essential oils showed significant antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms tested especially the fungal strains. The Ethiopian cardamom was the most active essential oil with fungal growth inhibition zone ranging from 12.67 to 34.33 mm, MICs values ranging from 0.048 to 0.19 mg/mL, and MBCs values from 0.19 to 1.75 mg/mL. The three tested essential oils and their main component (1,8-cineole) significantly increased the production of elastase and protease production, and motility in P. aeruginosa PAO1 in a dose dependent manner. In fact, at 10 mg/mL concentration, the three essential oils showed more than 50% of inhibition of elastolytic and proteolytic activities in P. aeruginosa PAO1. The same oils inhibited also the violacein production in C. violaceum strain. It was also noticed that at high concentrations, the A. corrorima essential oil significantly inhibited the germination of radish. A thorough knowledge of the biological and safety profiles of essential oils can produce applications of economic importance.
The problem of antibiotic resistance among pathogens encourages searching for novel active molecules. The aim of the research was to assay the anti-quorum sensing (anti-QS) and antibiofilm potential of Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil and its main constituent, terpinen-4-ol, to prevent the infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains as an alternate to antibiotics. The tea tree oil (TTO) was evaluated for its potential in inhibiting QS-dependent phenomena such as violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum, swarming motility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, and biofilm formation in MRSA strains on glass. The results showed that terpinen-4-ol was able to inhibit MRSA strain biofilm formation on the glass strips by 73.70%. TTO inhibited the violacein production at a mean inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.048 mg/mL by 69.3%. At 100 µg/mL TTO and terpinen-4-ol exhibited inhibition in swarming motility of PAO1 by 33.33% and 25%, respectively. TTO revealed anti-QS and anti-biofilm activities at very low concentrations, but it could be further investigated for new molecules useful for the treatment of MRSA infections.
The chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Carum copticum essential oil and its methanolic extract were investigated. Thirteen compounds were identified representing 99.3% of the total oil composition. Oxygenated monoterpenes (53.0%) dominated the C. copticum essential oil with high contents of thymol (51.7 ± 1.51%), p-cymene (26.9 ± 1.11%), c-terpinene (16.7 ± 0.76%), and b-pinene (1.6 ± 0.15%). In the methanolic extract, the caffeic, gallic, chlorogenic, coumaric and ferulic acids, flavan-3-ols (catechin), flavone (hyperoside), and the flavonol quercetin were identified. Antimicrobial activity of essential oil and the organic extract was tested by disk diffusion and broth microdilution method. The essential oil was effective against the tested bacteria and yeast strains with the highest activity and the MICs and MBCs values were lower as compared to the methanolic extract. The essential oil showed anti-quorum sensing activity against Chromobacterium violaceum, and the IC 50 value for violacein inhibition was 0.23 mg/ml. Both the essential oil and the methanolic extract also showed antioxidant activities. The results obtained highlight the potential use of C. copticum as a possible source of antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds to be used both as food flavor and as a broad spectrum antibiotic.
Honey is traditionally used in burns, wound healing, ulcers, boils, and fistulas. Honey was tested to prevent tartrazine toxicity in male rats for 8 weeks. The 18 rats of the experiment were randomly divided into three 6‐rat groups. The negative control group (G1) fed diet with sulfanilic acid, the tartrazine positive group (G2) fed diet containing tartrazine and sulfanilic acid and the honey‐treated group (G3) fed diet as in G2 and cotreated with honey. Tartrazine decreased antioxidants, high‐density lipoproteins and proteins, and increased liver enzymes, kidney indices, lipid peroxidation, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low‐ and very‐low‐density lipoproteins. In addition, tartrazine‐treated group showed drastic damage of the tissues of stomach, liver, kidney, and testis. Honey treatment increased antioxidants and high‐density lipoproteins, and decreased lipid peroxidation, liver enzyme and kidney parameters. Honey treatment also improved stomach, liver, kidney, and testis tissues. In conclusion, honey protects male rats against tartrazine toxicity. Practical applications Honey was tested to prevent tartrazine toxicity in male rats in an experiment conducted for 8 weeks. Catalase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reduced, the low‐ and high‐density lipoproteins, lipid peroxidation, liver enzyme, and kidney parameters were measured to evaluate both the toxic effect of tartrazine in G2 and the protective potential of honey in G3.
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