Seasonality study of essential oil from leaves of Cymbopogon densiflorus and nanoemulsion development with antioxidant activity

Abstract

The development of formulations that maintain the biological and physical chemistry properties of essential oils is an important choice when they are used as an active ingredient. This study aimed to characterize the essential oil from leaves of Cymbopogon densiflorus and evaluate the antioxidant activity of the oil, and to produce a nanoemulsion formulation containing it. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation, and seasonality was analysed every 2 months by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, showing that more than 90% of the composition was maintained for the whole period and that the major compounds were trans‐p‐menta‐2,8‐dien‐1‐ol, cis‐p‐menta‐2,8‐dien‐1‐ol, trans‐p‐menta‐1(7),8‐dien‐2‐ol, cis‐piperitol, and cis‐p‐menta‐1(7),8‐dien‐2‐ol. Stable nanoemulsions were prepared by phase inversion method encapsulating the essential oil. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulphonic acid (ABTS) methods. In the first test, free and nanoemulsified essential oil showed half‐maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values equivalent to 14.689 and 3.692 mg mL−1, respectively. In the second test, these values were 0.567 and 0.43 mg mL−1. The development of nanoemulsion‐based essential oil from leaves of C. densiflorus was viable, and the formulated oil was able to reproduce the antioxidant activity at a concentration four times lower than that of the pure essential oil.

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

“…The use of a second surfactant molecule can facilitate the formation and stabilization of MEs and NEs. The use of hydrophilic and a lipophilic surfactants can lead to an additive effect of the two surfactants [104][105][106]. Therefore, the use of a mixed-emulsified system can enhance the formation of small droplets [56].…”

“…Although the stability of these systems is a fundamental aspect, the lack of such information in a remarkable number of publications has to be highlighted. In addition, when such information are present, they are reported only for short periods, such as 30 or 60 days [74,106,111], that cannot be considered sufficient to predict their behaviour over time ( Figure 4A). In this respect, some authors used predictive studies about the thermodynamic stability of MEs and NEs.…”

Effect of the addition of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) extracts on the rheological, textural, and antioxidant activity of fermented milks

“…These features indicate that the ABTS method has a higher sensitivity than the DPPH assay . The FRAP assay is considered a useful indicator for the antioxidant status in counteracting oxidative damage as a result of reactive oxygen species …”

“…The antioxidant activities of the fermented milk samples useful indicator for the antioxidant status in counteracting oxidative damage as a result of reactive oxygen species. 46 The current study evaluated the antioxidant potential of fermented milk samples by conducting three different assays. fermented milk itself has a high antioxidant capacity, which is related to the presence of different bioactive peptides from milk proteins generated by proteolysis.…”

Essential oil of Alchornea laxiflora (benth): phytochemical, antimicrobial and toxicity evaluations

“…A myriad of biological activities has been attributed to essential oils extracted from the flowers, leaves, stems, and roots of aromatic plants. Specifically leaf-derived essential have been studied for antibacterial [4,5], antioxidant [6,7], antifungal [8], anti-diabetic [9], anti-cancer [10,11] ; anti-parasitic [12,13], anti-aging [14], anti-inflammatory [15] and hepatoprotective [16,17] effects. The components and functional groups of the essential oils contribute to their bio-activities.…”