Microemulsions enhance the shelf‐life and processability of Smyrnium olusatrum L. essential oil

Abstract

Smyrnium olusatrum L. is a horticultural crop cultivated during the Roman age for culinary and curative uses. The essential oil extracted from this plant (AEO) is rich in bioactive constituents such as isofuranodiene and germacrone. Several previous studies revealed that AEO and its isolated components possess interesting therapeutic features, such as antiproliferative, neuritogenic, hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, AEO has stability problems because of the high concentration of its main components. This issue makes AEO very difficult to handle and use. Thus, AEO was formulated as microemulsions known for their thermodynamic stability and easiness of preparation. AEO was hydrodistilled from inflorescences of S. olusatrum and its composition determined by different chromatographic methods. The microemulsions were developed using a central composite design and their activity tested using the MTT assay. The present study demonstrated the possibility to formulate stable AEO microemulsions where the crystallization of isofuranodiene is avoided, and the AEO biological activity is maintained. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Overview of Micro- and Nanoemulsions as Vehicles for Essential Oils: Formulation, Preparation and Stability

“…Interestingly, the best combination was Tween 20/PEG-400 at the ratio 4:1 since it gave the largest ME region [102]. Cespi et al encapsulated Smyrnium olusatrum EO into a ME composed of 13% of Tween 80 and a co-surfactants mixture of glycerol/ethanol al the ratio 6:1 [103].…”

“…In some cases, the addition of different oils is needed to overcome instability issues related to the physico-chemical properties of EOs. Cespi et al selected ethyl oleate, a fatty acid ester used for the preparation of parenteral emulsions and MEs, as solvent to prevent the re-crystallization of isofuranodiene, the most abundant compound in Smyrnium olosatrum EO, during the ME storage [103,127]. Ethyl oleate was also used in the formulation of Pimpinella anisum EO ME.…”

Pimpinella anisum Essential Oil Nanoemulsion Toxicity against Tribolium castaneum? Shedding Light on Its Interactions with Aspartate Aminotransferase and Alanine Aminotransferase by Molecular Docking

“…These shortcomings greatly impair the potential use of these products for pest management purposes. On this basis, their chemical and physical properties can be modified and improved by a nanotechnology approach through the development of suitable formulations [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Chemical composition and antibacterial effect of Smyrnium olusatrum L. Fruit Essential Oil

“…Recently the Isofuranodiene isolated from EO of S. olusatrum showed a potential activity as mosquitos larvicidal agent against Culex quinquefasciatus 12 , antifungal agent [13][14][15] , acaricides agent (neuritogenic activity in vitro) 9 , recently F. Maggiet al and R. Petrelli et al demonstrated respectively that isofuranodiene isolated from S. olusatrum have an inhibitor of DHFR (DiHydro Folate Reductase) from Escherichia coli, and an inhibitor effect against Trypanosoma bruceiand 3,16 . Also, the Essential Oil (EO) of S. olusatrum has been reported to possess good antiproliferative activity against different cell lines 2,3,17,18 , antioxidant activity, and α-amylase inhibition 1,17 . One study found that isofuranodiene showed hepatoprotective effects in induced liver injury in rats 9 .…”