pulegone and caryophyllene-oxide

Micromeria persica Boiss. is medicinal and aromatic plant, belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs) from aerial parts of M. persica were extracted using hydro-distillation method and analysed using GC and GC-MS. Fifty-two compounds were identified in the EOs of aerial parts of M. persica. The main chemical compositions were n-hexadecanoic acid (14.9%), thymol (9.5%), linoleic acid (8.0%), carvacrol (5.6%), (E)-nerolidol (5.5%), linolenic acid (5.5%), α-cadinol (2.7%), linalool (2.7%), borneol (2.6%), caryophyllene oxide (2.3%) and pulegone (2.0%). Presence of borneol, thymol, carvacrol and pulegone suggests the potential of this plant as a flavouring source in the food industry, being used in perfumery and cosmetics industry, vitamin E synthesis and exhibit strong fungicidal, antibacterial and antimicrobial activities.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Camphanes; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Cymenes; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Iran; Lamiaceae; Monoterpenes; Oils, Volatile; Plant Components, Aerial; Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes; Sesquiterpenes; Terpenes; Thymol

Human noroviruses are the causative agents of non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. The rapid onset and resolution of disease symptoms suggest that innate immune responses are critical for controlling norovirus infection; however, no effective antivirals are yet available. The present study was conducted to examine the antiviral activities of Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briquet extract (STE) against noroviruses. Treatment of human norovirus replicon-bearing HG23 cells with STE at 5 and 10 mg/ml concentrations resulted in the reduction in the viral RNA levels by 77.2% and 85.9%, respectively. STE had no cytotoxic effects on HG23 cells. Treatment of RAW 264.7 cells infected with murine norovirus 1 (MNV-1), a surrogate virus of human noroviruses, with STE at 10 and 20 µg/ml concentrations resulted in the reduction of viral replication by 58.5% and 84.9%, respectively. STE treatment induced the expression of mRNAs for type I and type II interferons in HG23 cells and upregulated the transcription of interferon-β in infected RAW 264.7 cells via increased phosphorylation of interferon regulatory factor 3, a critical transcription regulator for type I interferon production. These results suggest that STE inhibits norovirus replication through the induction of antiviral interferon production during virus replication and may serve as a candidate antiviral substance for treatment against noroviruses.

Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Caliciviridae Infections; Cell Line; Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Interferon Regulatory Factor-3; Interferon Type I; Interferon-gamma; Interferons; Lamiaceae; Menthol; Mice; Monoterpenes; Norovirus; Norwalk virus; Phytochemicals; Plant Extracts; Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes; RAW 264.7 Cells; RNA, Viral; Sesquiterpenes; Virus Replication

In this paper, for the first time, an inorganic-organic hybrid material based on ZnO nanoparticles was anchored to a composite made from polythiophene and hexagonally ordered silica (ZnO/PT/SBA-15) for use in solid-phase fibre microextraction (SPME) of medicinal plants. A homemade SPME apparatus was used for the extraction of volatile components of Ziziphora tenuior L. A simplex method was used for optimisation of five different parameters affecting the efficiency of the extraction. The main constituents extracted by ZnO/PT/SBA-15 and PDMS fibres and hydrodistillation (HD) methods, respectively, included pulegone (51.25%, 53.64% and 56.68%), limonene (6.73%, 6.58% and 8.3%), caryophyllene oxide (5.33%, 4.31% and 4.53%) and 1,8-cineole (4.21%, 3.31% and 3.18%). In comparison with the HD method, the proposed technique could equally monitor almost all the components of the sample, in an easier way, in a shorter time and requiring a much lower amount of the sample.

Topics: Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; Cyclohexanols; Cyclohexenes; Eucalyptol; Lamiaceae; Limonene; Monoterpenes; Nanoparticles; Oils, Volatile; Plant Oils; Plants, Medicinal; Polycyclic Sesquiterpenes; Polymers; Sesquiterpenes; Silicon Dioxide; Solid Phase Microextraction; Terpenes; Thiophenes; Volatile Organic Compounds; Zinc Oxide