Phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity and wound healing properties of Artemisia absinthium essential oil

Objective: To evaluate chemical compositions, antioxidant and wound healing properties of Algerian Artemisia absinthium essential oil.Methods: The chemical composition of the essential oil from Artemisia absinthium was analyzed by a combination of GC-FID and GC/MS. The antioxidant capacities including the total antioxidant capacity, DPPH· and ABTS+· scavenging capacities were measured. The wound healing potential was assessed by the excision wound model of rats. The wounds were treated daily with an ointment prepared with two concentrations(5% and 10%) of Artemisia absinthium essential oil. The percentage of wound contraction was determined and wound healing was also evaluated by histological examination of the healed skin. Results: The main component of Artemisia absinthium essential oil was camphor(48%) followed by chamazulene(10%) that was responsible for the dark blue color of the oil. Artemisia absinthium essential oil exhibited moderate antioxidant activity compared with BHT and Trolox. All preparations showed significant effects on wound contraction and the ointment prepared with 10% of essential oil was effective as the reference drug Cicatryl.Conclusions: The essential oil of Artemisia absinthium shows moderate antioxidant activity. The 10% ointment enhances skin wound re-epithelialization and speeds up the healing process. The essential oil of Artemisia absinthium may be used as an alternative drug for wound healing.

Anticancer activity of Salvia officinalis essential oil and its principal constituents against hormone-dependent tumour cells

Objective: To investigate the in vitro antiproliferative action of essential oil from Salvia officinalis L.(S. officinalis) grown in Sicily(Italy), and its main components on hormone-dependent cancer cell lines. Methods: S. officinalis essential oil was prepared by hydrodistillation. The actions of the S. officinalis essential oil and its three principal components(毩-thujone, 1,8-cineole and camphor) were evaluated in LNCaP cells(prostate carcinoma), MCF7 cells(breast carcinoma) and He La cells(cervical carcinoma) at various dosages and diverse time points. Cell viability and proliferation were estimated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Results: S. officinalis essential oil at doses of 100 μg/m L and 200 μg/m L induced a significant reduction of cell viability in MCF7, LNCa P and He La cell lines after a 48-hour incubation. The same cell lines also showed decreased cell viability when they were treated with a mixture of three major components of the essential oil, at doses of 100 μg/mL and 200 μg/mL, after a 48-hour incubation. Conclusions: These preliminary results could shed light on the formulation of new therapeutic agents with antiproliferative activity. Thus supplementary investigations are fundamental to examine the molecular mechanisms of the anticancer effects of this species of Salvia in cancer cells and to achieve confirmation of its in vivo anticancer activity.