Essential oil of the leaves of Ricinus communis L.: In vitro cytotoxicity and antimicrobial properties

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of the present study was to appraise the antimicrobial activity of Ricinus communis L. essential oil against different pathogenic microorganisms and the cytotoxic activity against HeLa cell lines.MethodsThe agar disk diffusion method was used to study the antibacterial activity of Ricinus communis L. essential oil against 12 bacterial and 4 fungi strains. The disc diameters of zone of inhibition (DD), the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and the concentration inhibiting 50% (IC50) were investigated to characterize the antimicrobial activities of this essential oil. The in vitro cytotoxicity of Ricinus communis L. essential oil was examined using a modified MTT assay; the viability and the IC50 were used to evaluate this test.ResultsThe essential oil from the leaves of Ricinus communis L. was analyzed by GC–MS and bioassays were carried out. Five constituents of the oil were identified by GC–MS. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was investigated in order to evaluate its efficacy against twelve bacteria and four fungi species, using disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration methods. The essential oil showed strong antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms tested with higher sensitivity for Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter cloacae. The cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of the essential oil on HeLa cell lines were examined by MTT assay. The cytotoxicity of the oil was quite strong with IC50 values less than 2.63 mg/ml for both cell lines.ConclusionThe present study showed the potential antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic properties of the essential oil of Ricinus communis L., indicating the possibilities of its potential use in the formula of natural remedies for the topical treatment of infections.

Solvent extraction effects on phytochemical constituents profiles, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and functional group analysis of Ecballium elaterium seeds and peels fruits

“…In this study, the Gram-negative isolates were less resistant to the plant extracts than the Gram-positive bacterial isolates. The higher resistance of Gram-negative bacteria could be accredited to the complexity of the double membrane including cell envelope, that be expressed by lipoprotein and lipopolysaccharide, and which plays the role of a barrier to the antibacterial substances, contrasted to the single membrane structure of Gram-positive bacteria (Zarai et al, 2012;Janakat et al, 2015). …”

The use of medicinal herbs in gynecological and pregnancy-related disorders by Jordanian women: a review of folkloric practice vs. evidence-based pharmacology

“…Anti-inflammatory (Lomash et al 2010;Srivastava et al 2014) with potential antimicrobial (Naz & Bano 2012) and anticarcinogenic properties of R. communis oil and potential use as natural remedy for topical treatment of infections (Zarai et al 2012). Castor oil polymer induces bone formation with high matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression (Saran et al 2014).…”

In Vitro Assessment of Cytotoxicity, Antioxidant, and Anti‐Inflammatory Activities of Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) Leaf Extracts

“…R. communis is well known for its biological activities, most important of which are hepatoprotective, laxative, antidiabetic, and antifertility activities [16]. Literature search revealed that essential oils from R. communis have been reported to have potential antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities [17–19]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of R. communis extracts against Human Caucasian skin fibroblast (BUD-8) cell line as well as its antioxidant activityusing 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals and anti-inflammation activity on the Raw 264.7 macrophages cell line.…”