The aim of this study was to optimize the extraction of p-menthadienol isomers and aristolone from the essential oil of Elyonurus hensii by hydrodistillation. The study of the seasonal variation in the chemical composition has shown that the plant material has been subject to a natural selection regarding the biosynthesis of the p-menthadienol isomers: during periods of water stress, the extracts are rich in cis and trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol and poor in cis and trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol. Regarding the modeling, eight experiments were carried out by considering three easily interpretable factors (the extraction duration, the residual water content and the state of the division of the plant material). The average yield was 1.33% for the aerial part and 0.74% for the roots. The residual water content is the most important factor, which significantly influences the average yield of the essential oil and the content of the major constituents. Regarding the aerial part, a low residual water content of the plant material varies the essential oil yield (from 0.40% to 2.11%) and the content of cis and transp-mentha-2.8-dien-1-ol (from 15.87% to 23.24%). At the root level, the samples that have a very low residual water content provide extracts richer in aristolone. The combined effects of the extraction duration, the state of division, and the residual water content influence greatly the extraction of aristolone (from 36.68% to 54.55%).

Elionurus hensii is usually used by peasant populations as a théiforme drink to relieve aches. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antalgic activity (AA) and antiproliferative activity (ATA) of essential oil of Elionurus hensii (VEH). Essential oils from the aerial parts and roots was extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. AA was examined by using test cramps. This method consists in inducing cramps in the mouse by intraperitoneal injection of 0.6% acetic acid solution and to determine any inhibition of these cramps by the compounds contained in the VEH. Cytotoxicity of the essential oil was evaluated in order to assess their ATA on cancer cells MCF-7 using resazurin test. The study was carried out by considering 6 samples of VEH whose contents of major compounds vary. The major constituents are pmenthadienol isomers and limonene for samples from the aerial part, aristolone and limonene for samples from the roots. The most significant AA (inhibition percentage = 56.41%) was observed with a VEH containing p-menthadienol isomers (40.25%) and limonene (15.85%). The VEH containing limonene (20.21%) and aristolone (15.16%) also inhibit cramps with a percent inhibition of 48%. The pure aristolone extract of the essential oil inhibits to 36%. These first results confirm the traditional use of Elionurus hensii by peasant populations. The results of the resazurin test showed that the ATA is dose-dependent. VEH from roots, exhibited better anti-proliferative activity compared to the VEH from the aerial part. However, this activity is low.

No abstract

Curcuma mangga Val. and Zijp is one of the many underutilized species of the genus Curcuma despite their proven interest as spice to color and enhance the taste of food, on the one hand, and as medicinal plants through essential oils extracted from different parts of the plant, on the other hand. Modeling the extraction in order to optimize the yield of essential oil is a pre requisite for the development of this species used as a spice in Congo-Brazzaville. The experimental results of the extraction of essential oil from the leaves analyzed, according to the phenomenological approach, validate both the kinetic model of the pseudo first order, when the washing step is neglected compared to the diffusion step and that of Peleg corresponding to a desorption in two steps (washing/diffusion). The main constituents of the oil adopt different desorption routes depending on their nature and their quantitative importance in the oil. Simple kinetics have been observed for sesquiterpenes present in relatively large amounts and complex for the monoterpenes in much smaller quantities.

This research aims to determine the chemical profile of the essential oil of Curcuma mangga (C. mangga). Samples of the essential oils, obtained by steam distillation of the harvested plant material (leaves and rhizomes) at four sites and during three years, were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The physicochemical characteristics of the volatile extracts, such as the relative density, the acid index, the ester index and the rotary power, were determined according to AFNOR standards. Analysis of the chemical composition shows that the essential oil of the leaves contains mainly ar-curcumene (14.42 to 32.08%), ᾳ-zingiberene (3.5 to 16, 79%), β-sesquiphellandrene (5.48 to 14.07%), 1,8-cineole (traces-23.46%) and, to a lesser extent, βbisabolene (3.25 to 9.11%). The rhizomes are rich in ᾳ-zingiberene (11.56 to 33.28%), in βsesquiphellandrene (14.24 to 20.85%), in curzerenone (traces-12.65%) and in camphor (0.61 to 16.44%). It appears that the chemical profiles with predominant of ar-curcumene for the leaves and predominant of ᾳzingiberene and β-sesquiphellandrene for the rhizomes, are different from those identified in other countries.