Chemical Composition and Biological Prospects of Essential Oils and Extracts of Aphyllocladus spartioides Growing in Northwest Argentina

Abstract

Aphyllocladus spartioides Wedd. is a native and aromatic herb used in traditional medicine, however it is still poorly investigated. In this work, the volatile profile of A. spartioides growing in Hornillos-Northwest Argentina was determined by GC/MS/FID and the phenolic compounds of hydroethanolic and decoction extracts were analyzed by HPLC-DAD. The antibacterial potential, antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase inhibition activity were checked by in vitro assays. The volatile profile allowed the identification of 68 compounds, being α-pinene and cadinene the main ones. Eighteen phenolics were identified, isorhamnetin derivatives and different phenolic acid derivatives were found in higher amounts, mainly in the hydroethanolic extract. A concentration-dependent activity was noticed against DPPH , O2·-, ·NO and α-glucosidase, these activities being reported for the first time. Hydroethanolic extract was most active against DPPH , NO and α-glucosidase (IC = 79, 206 and 181 μg/ml). Decoction extract proved to be better against O2·- (IC = 20 μg/ml). Regarding the antibacterial activity, hydroethanolic extract was more active compared with decoction and essential oil. MICs of 0.3 - 0.6 mg/ml were obtained against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Micrococcus luteus. Results suggest that the extracts of A. spartioides from Northwest Argentina may be interesting to use as a source of natural antioxidants/antimicrobials for pharmaceutical incorporations or food supplementation.

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“…The results obtained are comparable with the data previously reported for polar extracts of Satureja parvifolia and Aphyllocladus spartioides growing in the same region. 14,15 The main phenolic compounds present in rica-rica extracts (cynaroside and isoferulic acid) are found in several medicinal plants and food matrices. These phytochemicals have demonstrated to have several beneficial effects on human health.…”

“…WE was prepared boiling 5 g of dried material in 100 mL of H 2 O for 10 minutes. 15 The resulting extracts were filtered through a Büchner funnel, frozen, and lyophilized. HE was prepared with 5 g of dried samples, and sonicated at 40°C with 100 mL of ethanol:water (70:30 v:v) for 20 minutes.…”

“…HE was prepared with 5 g of dried samples, and sonicated at 40°C with 100 mL of ethanol:water (70:30 v:v) for 20 minutes. 15 The obtained extract was evaporated under reduced pressure and kept at −20°C for further analysis. Extractions were carried out in triplicate.…”

“…EO composition was analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry and gas chromatography flame ionization detector using a previously described procedure. 15 The quantification of each compound was performed on the basis of their GC/FID peak areas without the use of response factor corrections. [16][17][18] Analysis of Phenolic Compounds WE and HE were redissolved in methanol and filtered through a 0.45 µm polytetrafluoroethylene membrane.…”

“…Gram-positive strains were more sensitive to rica-rica extracts than Gram-negative ones, mainly with HE; similar results were previously reported in other studies. 3,4,15,19 EO and extracts of rica-rica evidenced higher activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus ( Table 3).…”