Phytochemical analysis and biological potential of Argentinian plant essential oils and extracts

Abstract

Our aim is to characterize the chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potentials of the essential oils (EOs) and ethanolic extracts (EEs) of five northwest native plants in Argentina. The EOs and EEs were obtained from Lippia turbinata, Clinopodium gilliesii, Lippia integrifolia, Zuccagnia punctata, and Senecio subulatus var. salsus. EOs and EEs phytochemical composition were determined by GC-MS analysis and spectrophotometric methods. Antibacterial activity was assessed against Gram-negative and -positive pathogenic bacteria. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assay and anti-inflammatory potential was determined by cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibition assay. EOs and EEs of all assayed plant species showed weak antibacterial effect. The EEs had stronger scavenging activity than the EOs. The best results were achieved for Z. punctata EE followed by L. turbinata and C. gilliesii EEs. The EOs exhibited greater inhibitory activity towards the COX-2 than EEs. C. gilliesii and L. integrifolia EOs showed the highest COX-2 inhibitory activity. These results would indicate that antioxidant activity is concentrated in the non-volatile fraction of the plants whether the anti-inflammatory activity is in the volatile one. This work contributes to knowledge of biological properties of plants from our region and could help to discover compounds with potential therapeutic uses.