Antibacterial Activity and Anxiolytic Effect in Adult Zebrafish of Genus Lippia L. Species

Abstract

Species belonging to the genus Lippia are used worldwide as foods, beverages, and seasonings. Studies have demonstrated that these species have antioxidant, sedative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activities. This work aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity and anxiolytic effect by different pathways of essential oils and ethanolic extracts of three species of Lippia (Lippia alba, Lippia sidoides, and Lippia gracilis). The ethanolic extracts were characterized by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn and their phenolics were quantified. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by determining the minimal inhibitory concentration and modulation of antibiotic activity, and toxic and anxiolytic effects were evaluated in the zebrafish model. The extracts showed compositions with a low ratio and shared compounds. L. alba and L. gracilis showed higher amounts of phenols and flavonoids, respectively. All extracts and essential oils presented antibacterial activity, especially those obtained from L. sidoides. On the other hand, L. alba extract presented the most significant antibiotic-enhancing effect. The samples were not toxic after 96 h of exposure, but showed an anxiolytic effect through modulation of the GABAA receptor, while L. alba extract acted via modulation of the 5-HT receptor. This new pharmacological evidence opens horizons for therapeutic approaches targeting anxiolytic and antibacterial therapies and food conservation using these species and their constituents.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of the Cnidoscolus quercifolis: A Review

“…In the extracts of the seeds and the pressed cake, several phenolic compounds were observed, including syringic acid (1), ellagic acid (2), catechin (3), quercetin (4), vanillin ( 5), eugenol (6), vanillic acid (7), and, especially, gallic acid (8) [46]. Alves et al [48] investigated the chemical composition of essential oils from various parts of C. quercifolius (leaves, flowers and bark) obtained by hydrodistillation and, using GC-MS, identified 31 compounds in the leaves (9-11, 39-66), 30 compounds in the flowers (10,12,13,42,43,44,46,49,52,54,55,58,60,(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74)(75)(76)(77)(78)(79)(80)(81)(82)(83), and 18 compounds in the stem bark (15,41,64,(84)(85)(86)(87)(88)(89)(90)(91)(92)(93)(94)(95)…”

“…(E)-β-farnesene 55 Leaves, flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] Methyl-β-(E)-ionol 56 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] (E)-β-Ionene 57 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] Biciclogermacrene 58 Leaves, flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] β-Bisabolene 59 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] α-Cadinene 60 Leaves, flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] (E)-nerolidol 61 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] Curcumenol 62 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] Vetivenic acid 63 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] Cryptomeridiol 64 Leaves, stem bark GC-MS Essential oil [48] β-Vetivone 65 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] Isophytol 66 Leaves GC-MS Essential oil [48] α-Pinene 67 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] Sabinene 68 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] Myrcene 69 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] Dehydroxy-trans-Linalool oxide 70 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] Meta-mentha 1-( 7),8-diene 71 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] δ-2-Carene 72 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] α-Phellandrene 73 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] o-Cresol methyl ether 74 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] iso-sylvestrene 75 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil [48] δ-3-Carene 76 Flowers GC-MS Essential oil…”

“…It is important to mention that different can be applied to investigate the toxicity of natural products. Recently, our research group has been working with models using zebrafish [75], as an alternative with high reproducibility and good efficacy in the analyses.…”

Zebrafish models for the evaluation of essential oils (EOs): A comprehensive review

“…Using a novel tank assay, the anxiolytic activity of EOs derived from Lippia alba and Aloysia triphylla was evaluated (Junior et al, 2018). Moreover, the anxiolytic activity of EOs in a zebrafish model was also evaluated using an open-field test and electroencephalogram power spectrum (Ly et al, 2023;Nguyen et al, 2022;Nonato et al, 2023;Szaszkiewicz et al, 2021).…”