Antifungal activity of the essential oils from Cupressus arizonica var. arizonica and var. glabra

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe composition and the evaluation of the antifungal activity and the mechanisms of action of the essential oils (EO) of Cupressus arizonica leaves of two varieties, glabra and arizonica, were studied. EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation and the chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Both var. arizonica and var. glabra EOs, displayed high contents of ␣-pinene (29.76% and 26.53%, respectively) and umbellulone (11.86% and 15.05%, respectively). The antifungal activity of the EOs of both varieties against pathogenic yeasts of the genus Candida was investigated and showed that very low concentrations of var. glabra EO, such as 5.10 −2 l/ml, were sufficient to inhibit growth of most of the species, while, all species, except Candida albicans (MIC = 5 × 10 −2 l/ml), were inhibited for growth with only 10 −2 l/ml when the EO of var. arizonica was used.The cytotoxicity of the EOs was assessed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (used as a yeast experimental model) wild type and mutants affected in oxidative stress response and DNA repair pathways. Oxidative stress imposed by the EOs was determined by flow cytometry and the genotoxicity was assessed by yeast comet assay. A higher loss of yeast viability was observed with incubation of the EO from var. arizonica (5 × 10 −2 l/ml, 60% viability loss) compared to var. glabra (5 × 10 −2 l/ml, 30% viability loss). DNA damage was observed as long comet tails when cells were exposed to the EO of var. arizonica and of var. glabra, (17 and 13 m, respectively), compared to the negative control (5 m). Intracellular oxidation increased in cells treated with the EOs, the var. arizonica being more active in the oxidant activity. The results obtained with the wild type yeast strain suggest that the EOs cause toxicity via an oxidative mechanism. To investigate the mechanism of oxidation, mutants affected in the oxidative stress response (yap1) and base excision repair DNA pathway (apn1) were investigated. The results show that the yap1 and apn1 yeast mutant strains are more sensitive to EOs than the wild type. For mutants affected in nucleotide excision repair (rad4), a pathway not involved in the repair of oxidative DNA damage, the results were similar to those obtained with the wild type.

Essential Oils of Melaleuca, Citrus, Cupressus, and Litsea for the Management of Infections Caused by Candida Species: A Systematic Review

“…The genus Cupressus is native to the northern hemisphere and includes more than ten species and variants [ 41 ]. Plants of this genus are cultivated in a temperate climate, which is attractive for ornamental purposes and wood extraction, and are distributed in commercial plantations all over the world [ 42 ]. A wide spectrum of biological activities has been attributed to substances present in its aerial parts, including in the EO [ 43 ].…”

“…A wide spectrum of biological activities has been attributed to substances present in its aerial parts, including in the EO [ 43 ]. In folk medicine, cypress EO acts as an antispasmodic for coughing, as a diuretic, and in the improvement of affections of the venous and renal circulation, in addition to acting on inflammatory processes and against infectious microorganisms [ 10 , 41 , 42 , 44 ].…”

“…Cupressus EO is usually extracted from aerial parts and leaves, and the chemical composition varies according to the species and study. The main component is α-pinene, found in C. arizonica (26.53–29.76%) [ 42 ], C. lusitanica (13.8–35.7%) [ 44 ], C. macrocarpa (63.2%) [ 21 ], and in C. sempervirens (4.6–49.7%) [ 8 , 10 , 11 ]. Other constituents, such as δ-3-carene, terpinen-4-ol, limonene, sabinene, umbellulone, α-thujene, and cedrol, appear in smaller proportions and vary according to species [ 8 , 21 ] ( Supplementary Materials ).…”

“…As in all essential oils in general, the factors that influence the different proportions of constituents include the location/region of cultivation, the part of the plant collected, the period of plant development in the EO extraction, and varieties of the species [ 6 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 42 , 44 ].…”

Unique secondary metabolites of a Streptomyces strain isolated from extreme salty wetland show antioxidant and antibacterial activities

“…Around 20 000 cells were analysed by flow cytometry in an Epics®XLTM cytometer (Beckman Coulter, Indianapolis, IN) supplied with a laser (argon ion) emitting a 488‐nm beam at 15 mW. Green fluorescence was picked up through a band pass of 225 nm, a long dichroic pass of 550 nm and a 488‐nm blocking filter and data were analysed with the Flowing Software 2.5.1 (Khouaja et al, ).…”