Altitude impact on the chemical profile and biological activities of Satureja thymbra L. essential oil

Abstract

Background: Several agricultural or environmental factors affect plants' chemical and pharmacological properties.Methods: In this study, the essential oil of Libyan Satureja thymbra was isolated from plants collected during two successive years at two different altitudes; Wasita (WEO) and Safsaf (SEO), 156 and 661 m above sea level, respectively. Results: GC/MS allowed the identification of 21 and 23 compounds, respectively. Thymol prevailed in WEO (26.69%), while carvacrol prevailed in SEO (14.30%). Antimicrobial activity was tested by agar-well diffusion method, and MIC/ MLC values were determined by broth dilution method. Values of MIC/MLC were 0.125/0.25 μg/ml for SEO against S. aureus, P. mirabilis and K. pneumonia and for WEO against B. subtilus. It was observed that plants growing at lower altitude in Wasita locality had better antifungal activity, while those growing at higher altitude at Safsaf locality had better antibacterial activity. Both essential oils had a better anthelmintic activity than the standard piperazine citrate against a tested earthworm. However, SEO oil had a significantly higher anthelmintic activity than WEO. Cytotoxicity of the oils tested using SRB assay on human breast cancer (MCF-7) and colon cancer cell lines (HCT-116) showed better activity for SEO, especially against HCT-116 with IC 50 2.45 ± 0.21 μg/ml. Conclusions: Thus, altitude is an important factor that should be considered as it affected the yield, composition and biology of the plant extracts.

Essential Oils from <i>Piper lhotzkyanum</i> Kunth Leaves from Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Chemical Composition and Stability in Different Storage Conditions

“…P. lhotzkyanum EO from this high altitude differed from samples collected from a low-altitude region 763 m in São Paulo -SP Brazil 8 , which showed bicyclogermacrene 21 and caryophyllene oxide 14 as major constituents. This difference in EO composition may be attributed to environmental such as more exposure to sunlight and genetic factors 9,10,44,45 . We also believe that an assessment of the impact of seasonality and circadian rhythm on EO of these species is necessary 11 .…”

Impact of Altitudinal Variation on the Phytochemical Profile, Anthelmintic and Antimicrobial Activity of Two Pinus Species

“…For that reason, it is doubtful to attribute the biological activity of essential oil to a particular constituent. Bioactivity could be due to the synergistic effects of all components [ 21 ].…”

“…The anthelmintic activity study was done using three different doses of each essential oil (1ml of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% v / v in 1% aqueous tween 80) against the earthworm Allolobophora caliginosa [ 1 , 21 ]. Briefly, an Anthelmintic test was applied on 24 worms.…”

Influence of altitudinal variation on the total phenolic and flavonoid content of Acacia and Ziziphus honey

“…[1,12] The plant growing sites' altitude is considered an important environmental factor that influences the composition and quantity of bioactive compounds in plants. [13] Moreover, some environmental abiotic and biotic factors, such as light, temperature, and radiation, are influenced by altitude. Cirak and Radusiene [14] reported that growing plant sites' altitude had stimulated secondary metabolism greatly as lower temperatures and higher UV-B radiation predominate at higher altitudes.…”

“…Despite the numerous studies on the altitude effects on plant content of bioactive constituents, [13,[16][17][18] to our knowledge, there is limited information on the altitudinal relationship of total phenols and flavonoids in honey. There has been less previous evidence for the direct effect of altitude on the honey content of polyphenols.…”