Basil and eucalyptus as a source of essential oils with bioactive properties
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abstract
Aromatic and medicinal plants have been used worldwide for culinary purposes aiming to modify,
enhance or improve the flavour of foods. In addition, several aromatic plants are also recognized for
their empiric use in folk medicine due to their beneficial health effects1. The secondary metabolites
of aromatic plants could have diverse applications in industry, and several essential oils have a
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status attributed by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). Currently, these natural matrices have been characterized by having active antioxidant
components in their composition that have a direct impact on food quality and have potential
benefits on human health2. In addition, studies focusing on different aromatic plants have suggested
the use of their essential oils and some constituents as promising alternatives for obtaining natural
preservatives.
The present work reports a study on the bioactivity of essential oils obtained from two species of
aromatic plants: Ocimum basilicum L. (basil) and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (eucalyptus). The
essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus and volatile compounds
were analyzed by GC-MS equipped with DB-5MS fused-silica column. The antimicrobial activity
was determined by broth microdilution assay against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative
ATCC bacterial strains, and fungi. The bioactive potential was evaluated through several in vitro
assays, namely antioxidant activity using two different assays: DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-
picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity and reducing power; cytotoxic activity using three
tumour cell-lines: CaCo (colorectal adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) and NCIH460
(non-small cell lung carcinoma) and a non-tumor cell line of monkey kidney (VERO), by
applying the sulforhodamine B assay; anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using RAW 264.7
macrophage cells.
In general, the results revealed a auspicious antimicrobial potential of the essential oils against the
tested strains, as well as a very promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In addition,
it was also possible to verify the absence of toxicity of both extracts. Therefore, essential oils
extracted from the studied plants can be appealing alternatives to the currently used synthetic
additives, with potential application in the food and pharmaceutical industries for their relevant
bioactive properties.