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Formulating a nanoemulsion (NE) of essential oil (EO) could enhance its efficiency while requiring lower concentrations. Eucalyptus cladocalyx F. Muell EO was rich in monoterpenes hydrocarbons. NE was prepared and the effect of surfactant (Tween 20, 40 and 80) and shearing time were investigated. The results showed that the best NE was formed using Tween 80 after 25 min of emulsification. Small droplet size (40 nm), low polydispersity index PDI (0.49), and stable zeta potential highlighted the excellent NE stability which was tested under storage conditions for 4 months. The results showed that the antioxidant and anticancer activities of NE were enhanced compared to free EO. Furthermore, NE and EO exhibited high anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting nitric oxide (NO), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factors alpha (TNF-α) production in liposaccharides (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. In conclusion, a stable Eucalyptus cladocalyx-NE was produced, with improved biological activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work was to investigate the chemical composition of Aloysia citriodora essential oil and its biological activities as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory potentials depending on the collection region. The highest essential oil yields were in Gabes and Kairouan at the Arid bioclimatic zone. Sixty volatile compounds were identified by GC-FID-MS. The major compounds were limonene and spathulenol in Gabes at the Middle Arid. However, (E)-citral (known as geranial) was the major compound of Belli and Kairouan belonging to the Upper Semi-Arid and Upper Arid areas, respectively. The essential oil extracted from the inferior sub-humid bioclimatic zone (Boussalem) had spathulenol and caryophyllene oxide as predominant components. Inversely to DPPH and ABTS, the antioxidant activities using reducing power assay of A. citriodora essential oils significantly increased from the inferior sub-humid (Boussalem) to the Upper Arid (Kairouan) bioclimatic areas. Independently of region, A. citriodora essential oil exhibited an interesting antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the antibacterial, antifungal and allelopathic activities of Pistacia lentiscus essential oils (EOs) isolated at the vegetative, flowering and fructification stages. The chemical composition of EOs varied according to both the phenological stages and the used mix plant parts. The main chemical class was sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with the predominance of germacrene D, δ-cadinene and β-caryophyllene. The antibacterial activity was evaluated against five collection strains. At the vegetative stage, P. lentiscus EO was the most effective against Listeria monocytogenes and Echerchia coli as compared to the other stages. P. lentiscus EO also exhibited significant antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic strain Botrytis cinerea. Microscopic observation showed that EO induced swelling and crumbling of B. cinerea conidia. Moreover, P. lentiscus EO at the vegetative stage possessed significant allelopathic activity by inhibiting low concentration the germination and radical elongation of Raphanus sativus and radical elongation of Lepidium sativum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to investigate the variation regarding the chemical composition and biological activities of needles essential oils (EOs) of P. halepensis. Chemical profiles demonstrated a significant (P < 0.05) variability among the different EOs. The main identified compounds were caryophyllene (48.77 ± 2.26), phenyl isovalerate (22.22 ± 2.26), β-myrcene (15.55 ± 5.65) and α-pinene (14.52 ± 2.26). Further, it was shown that EO from Tabouba (Tab) displayed the highest DPPH scavenging (IC50 = 73.03 mg/mL), anti-inflammatory (IC50 = 23.29 µg/mL) and α-glucosidase inhibition activities (IC50 = 254.45 µg/mL). While Elmahres (Elm) exhibited the most potent ABTS radical's inhibition (IC50 = 197.87 mg/mL). For the cytotoxic capacities, Kettana (Ket) was the most efficient against breast cancer MCF-7 cell line with IC50 value better than doxorubicin used as positive control. Obtained results suggest that EO of P. halepensis could be used as a source of bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limonium genus is traditionally used in North Africa for disease treatment and in cosmetic. This study investigates for the first time the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and enzyme inhibitory activities of two Tunisian endemic plants, L. boitardii and L. cercinense. Analysis of phenolic compounds was carried out by using RP-HPLC. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity (antiradical, reducing and total antioxidant activities), tyrosinase and α-glucosidase, collagenase inhibition activities were determined. Inhibiting of NO release in LPS-stimulated macrophages was assessed. L. cercinense exhibited strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In the tyrosinase and α-glucosidase inhibitor activity tests, the two species were highly active, especially L. cercinense. High total phenolic and flavonoid contents were recorded in L. cercinense and myricitrin, myricetin, myricetin 3-O-β-D-galatopyranoside, luteolin 7-O-glucoside and rutin were the main phenolics in both species. The results obtained render L. boitardii and L. cercinense as valuable new natural sources for cosmetic and pharmacological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six Tunisian medicinal plants were screened for their phenolic pools, antioxidant activities as well as for their anti-inflammatory and gastro-protective effects. A significant variability in phenolic composition and antioxidant capacities between species were observed. Myrtus communis L. exhibited the highest phenolic contents and composition as well as the best potential antioxidant capacities as rescued by the lowest IC50 and EC50 values. On other hand, the common species excepting Juniperus phoenicea L. showed a noteworthy to moderate anti-inflammatory activity inhibiting NO• release with an IC50 values ranging from 26 to 240 µg/mL. In turn, in vivo gastro-protective effect following HCl/EtOH induced ulcer models displayed that M. communis extract had an important inhibition of gastric lesions correlated to high healing and protection percentages. The visualized data were treated by PCA and Bi-plot analysis which highlighted a positive correlation among phenolic pools and antioxidant activities particularly in M. communis. Besides, statistic clustering allowed us to detect a strong contribution of phenol and flavonoid pools with anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcerogenic effects. Overall, the results obtained in this work indicated that the studied species, particularly Myrtus communis, represent a valuable source of natural agents beneficial for human health in particular for inflammation and gastric diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study targets to explore the bioactivties of the essential oils (EOs) ofCuminum cyminum and Carum carvi alone and three combinations and the impact of the emulsification process on their bioactivities. The mixture of EOs exhibited high reducing power and antiradical activity as well as antibacterial activity. Combination at a ratio of 0.7: 0.3 (cumin-EO: carvi-EO) is effective, ameliorating the antioxidant (reducing power of EC50 value of 11 mg/ml and radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 24 mg/ml) antibacterial power of the EOs (IZ of 42 and 47 mm against S. aureus and E. faecalis). The lowest droplet size and the highest stability of emulsion have an impact of 1.19 µm with enhanced antioxidant activity (reducing power of EC50 value of 12 mg/ml and radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 22 mg/ml). This study demonstrated that the combination and emulsification have positive effect on the EOs activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study characterized the phenolic, aroma compositions, and antioxidant capacities of fourArtemisia herba albaaccessions collected from north and center regions in Tunisia in order to select valuable origin with optimal bioactive compounds production. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents varied between accessions with maxima contents observed in center regions. Kaempherol, apigenin, naringenin,p-coumaric,trans-cinnamic, and caffeic acids were the most abundant compounds with percentage varying depending on the considered accession. Significant changes on essential oil yields (0.4–1.2%) were found between accessions and three different oil chemotypes were distinguished: camphor, fenchol/α-thujone, and α-thujone/camphor. Cluster analysis of volatile and phenolic compositions grouped the accessions on different groups. Antioxidant activities of extracts were found to be higher than essential oils for the four provenances. The results suggested that the center regions have high potential for selecting varieties rich on essential oil, antioxidant phenolic acids, and flavonoids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatiles of leaves, stalks and roots of Tunisian celery (Apium graveolensvar.dulce) were extracted either by hydrodistillation or by maceration in organic solvents. After concentration, essential oils and aroma extracts were studied by gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A high proportion of essential oils and aroma extracts consisted of phthalides with 74.6–76.6% in leaves, 56.8–74.1% in stalks and 57.7–79.7% in roots. The studied organs were particularly characterized by appreciable levels of terpene hydrocarbons (17.0–31.5%). Also, results showed that stalks were particularly rich in phenols with 8.7% of total volatiles. The main volatile constituents identified in the different extracts were (Z)-3-butylidenephthalide (27.8–38.4% in leaves, 30.5–38.9% in stalks, 30.5–52.0% in roots), 3-butyl-4,5-dihydrophthalide (34.2–41.0% in leaves, 24.1–27.8% in stalks, 12.3–13.2% in roots) and α-thujene (7.9–9.9% in leaves, 7.5–14.0% in stalks, 7.0–12.4% in roots). The three studied organs ofA.graveolens(leaves, stalks and roots) could be considered good sources of phthalides known for their anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and insecticidal properties. Nevertheless, the efficiency in the extraction of these bioactive compounds depends on both the organ and the method used. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]