Essential Oils of Three Balkan Abies Species: Chemical Profiles, Antimicrobial Activity and Toxicity toward Artemia salina and Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

This study focused on the essential oils (EOs) isolated from needles with twigs of three indigenous Balkan Abies species (A. alba, A. × borisii‐regis and A. cephalonica) regarding their chemical composition, antimicrobial activity and toxicity toward crustaceans and insects. Even though distinct phytochemical profiles of dominant volatiles were revealed for each species, β‐pinene and α‐pinene represented the first two major volatiles in all three EOs. Antimicrobial activity of EOs has shown inhibitory effect against all 17 studied strains (ATCC and respiratory isolates) in the range of 0.62–20.00 mg/mL (MICs). Further, all three EOs exhibited strong toxicity (LC50<100 μg/mL) in Artemia salina lethality bioassay, but with significant differences that depended on the EO type. Additionally, tested EOs have shown a certain level of toxicity against Drosophila melanogaster, mostly at the highest tested concentration (3 %) which caused significant prolongation of developmental time, larvicidal effect and pupal mortality. In the three biological assays performed, there was no observed inhibitory effect or weakest activity for A. alba EO. Further, A. cephalonica EO has shown the highest levels of antimicrobial activity and toxicity toward A. salina, while in relation to the insecticidal potential, A. cephalonica and A. × borisii‐regis EOs exhibited similar level of toxicity against D. melanogaster.

Toxicity Evaluation of Anti‐cholinesterasic Amphibian Extracts by MTT and an Optimized Artemia salina Test

“…performed the brine shrimp toxicity assay using about 30 ml of sample on Petri dishes, while Enneb et al. employed 100 ml of testing solutions [29,30] . The present study indicated that the modification of the original conditions of the brine shrimp bioassay, with the application of an experimental design and statistical techniques aiming to reduce the amount of biological sample needed for the test, was satisfactory.…”

“…Recently, Mitić et al performed the brine shrimp toxicity assay using about 30 ml of sample on Petri dishes, while Enneb et al employed 100 ml of testing solutions. [29,30] The present study indicated that the modification of the original conditions of the brine shrimp bioassay, with the application of an experimental design and statistical techniques aiming to reduce the amount of biological sample needed for the test, was satisfactory. The improvements to the test herein described allowed us to overcome the disadvantages presented in the original method, reducing the number of crustaceans used, the time, and the amount of sample to test.…”

“…[27,28] However, due to the quantity of biological sample usually needed to perform the test and the lack of a standardized microassay, its implementation has a great limitation. [29,30] Therefore, in the present work, we evaluate the cytotoxicity of amphibian skin extracts with reported anticholinesterase activity, belonging to the Hylidae, Microhylidae and Leptodactylidae families, against brine shrimp and cell lines. Simultaneously, we propose a modification of the original conditions of the A. salina bioassay with the application of an experimental design and statistical techniques, aiming to reduce the amount of biological sample needed for the test.…”

“…A. salina is a crustacean, sensitive to a wide range of chemicals with biological activity, which makes it a useful tool for the initial determination of cytotoxicity, allowing the calculation of median lethal doses (LD 50 ) [27,28] . However, due to the quantity of biological sample usually needed to perform the test and the lack of a standardized microassay, its implementation has a great limitation [29,30] . Therefore, in the present work, we evaluate the cytotoxicity of amphibian skin extracts with reported anticholinesterase activity, belonging to the Hylidae, Microhylidae and Leptodactylidae families, against brine shrimp and cell lines.…”

Biological Activities of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A.Murray bis) Parl. and Thuja plicata Donn ex D.Don Essential Oils: Toxicity, Genotoxicity, Antigenotoxicity, and Antimicrobial Activity

“…Fast screening of the biological activities of EOs facilitates quick access to knowledge, setting guidelines for more in-depth analyses. For this purpose, an array of bioassays can be employed [13] using very reliable model organisms, such as the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Drosophilidae) [14][15][16][17][18] and the crustacean species brine shrimp Artemia salina L. (Artemiidae) [19][20][21]. Both are eukaryotic model organisms with short life cycles and are very affordable for laboratory husbandry, allowing the rapid acquisition of experimental results [13,22,23].…”