Melissa officinalis L. decoctions as functional beverages: a bioactive approach and chemical characterization

Abstract

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is a member of the Lamiaceae family with a long story of human consumption. It has been consumed for decades, directly in food and as a decoction or an infusion for its medicinal purposes. In this manuscript, a detailed chemical characterization of the decoction of this plant is described, encompassing antimicrobial, antioxidant and antitumor activities. Rosmarinic acid and lithospermic acid A were the most abundant phenolic compounds. Quinic acid, fructose, glucose and γ-tocopherol were the most abundant within their groups of molecules. M. officinalis decoctions were active against a wide range of microorganisms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium, and Penicillium funiculosum being the most sensitive bacteria and fungi, respectively. The growth inhibition of different human tumor cell lines (mainly MCF-7 and HepG2) was also observed, as also high free radical scavenging activity and reducing power. This manuscript highlights some beneficial effects of these functional beverages.

Phytochemical profiling of anti‐inflammatory Lavandula extracts via RP–HPLC–DAD–QTOF–MS and –MS/MS: Assessment of their qualitative and quantitative differences

“…Monomeric forms were found free (4, 37, and 5′) and conjugated to sugars (3, 8, 10, 11, 13, 19, 2′, 7′, 8′) as well as to organic acids (6, 3′, and 9′). Their fragmentation pattern agreed with the results found by . In brief, depending on their basic constituents, the MS/MS spectra were characterized by the neutral loss of CO 2 (from the carboxyl group), CH 3 (15.02 u) (methylated derivatives), sugars (hexoxyl and pentosyl), caffeoyl (162.03 u) and feruloyl (176.05 u) moieties.…”

Melissa officinalisL. ethanolic extract inhibits the growth of a lung cancer cell line by interfering with the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis

“…The high levels of this compound in M. officinalis have already been mentioned in the literature. 26,27 Effect of Melissa officinalis on the viability of NCI-H460 cells…”

Hibiscus sabdariffa L. as a source of nutrients, bioactive compounds and colouring agents

“…For the antifungal activity, the procedure previously described by Carocho et al (2015) was followed by using these microfungi: Aspergillus ochraceus (ATCC 12066), Aspergillus versicolor (ATCC 11730), Aspergillus niger (ATCC 6275), Aspergillus fumigatus (ATCC 1022), Trichoderma viride (IAM-Culture Collection, Center for Cellular and Molecular Research, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan), Penicillium funiculosum (ATCC 36839), P. ochrochloron (ATCC 9112) and P. verrucosum var. cyclopium (food isolate).…”

“…The antibacterial activity was performed following a methodology previously described by Carocho et al (2015). Enterobacter cloacae (ATCC 35030), Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 13311), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC (American type culture collection) 35210), were the tested Gram-negative bacteria, while Listeria monocytogenes (NCTC (National collection of type cultures) 7973), Micrococcus flavus (ATCC 10240), Bacillus cereus (clinical isolate) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) were the tested Gram-positive bacteria.…”