ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OILS

KARINA ELIZABETH CONDOLO SUAREZ

UNIVERSITY OF ESPE-LATACUNGA ARMED FORCES

ABSTRAC

Essential oils are complex isolated mixtures of aromatic plants which may possess antioxidant
and anti-inflammatory activities of interest in the food and cosmetic industries as well as in the
field of human health (1). About 100 pure components of essential oils have been tested For its
antioxidant effectiveness. The main classes of compounds are monoterpene hydrocarbons,
oxygenated monoterpenes, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated sesquiterpenes, benzene
derivatives and non-isoprenoid components comprising alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, which are
the most common constituents of essential oils(2). This work will establish the antioxidant and
antimicrobial activity of essential oils, taking into consideration that "essential oils are liquid
mixtures of volatile compounds obtained from aromatic plants.(3) Many oils have antioxidant
properties, and the common use of these Oils is of natural antioxidants is a field of growing
interest, since some synthetic antioxidants like BHA and BHT are now suspected to be potentially
harmful to human health. The evaluation of the antioxidant behavior of essential oils is,
however, a crucial issue, many commonly used "tests" are inappropriate and give contradictory
results that may mislead future research. The chemistry has explained the antioxidant activity
of essential oils discussed together with an analysis of the potential in food protection.(4) As a
recent study regarding its antimicrobial property, essential oils obtained from two species of
mint, Mentha pulegium and Mentha spicata, showed antimicrobial properties against eight
strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The essential oils of these mint species at
high concentration (1/100 dilution) were extremely bactericidal, while lower concentrations
(1/1000) caused a dose-dependent decrease in bacterial growth rates. The main components of
p-mentane from the tested essential oils showed a varying degree of antimicrobial activity not
only between different bacterial strains but also between different strains of the same
bacterium. (5) Analytical methods to evaluate the antioxidant performance of essential oils Are
critically reviewed.

KEY WORDS: essential oils, antioxidants, antimicrobial, hydrocarbons, analytical methods

INTRODUCCIN

Essential oils derived from many plants are
known to possess antifungal insecticidal,
and antimicrobial activities. Among them
are the Origanum essential oils which are
widely used in the flavoring of food
products and alcoholic beverages.
Members of the genus Origanum are often
characterized by the existence of chemic al
differences, with respect to both essential
oil content and composition. As a result, the
total (crystallizable and noncrystallizable)
phenol content of their essential oils ranges
from traces up to 95%, even between plants
of the same species. (6)The preponderance
of carvacrol (noncrystallizable phenol) or
thymol (crystallizable phenol) in their
essential oils is responsible for their
commercial classification as oregano or
thyme oil, respectively. The variation in the
chemical composition of Origanum
essential oils is likely to have a bearing on
the level of their antimicrobial properties.
(4)In this paper we report on a comparative
study of the antimicrobial properties of
three representative Origanum essential
oils and their main chemical
constituentsEssential oils are liquid
mixtures of volatile compounds obtained
from aromatic plants, most commonly by
steam distillation. (3) They are what is called
the "essence" of a plant and often have
pleasantly scented fragrances. Aromatic
plants and essential oils have been used for
millennia for their health benefits. Some of
the beneficial properties, eg, antiseptics,
antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, have
been supported by recent scientific
research. Hundreds of compounds
(secondary metabolites) with relatively low
boiling points in essential oils have been
identified and the great chemical diversity
of their constituents influences the
oxidative stability of the oils. On the other
hand, several essential oils have been
attributed good antioxidant properties,
which can be exploited to protect other
materials, such as food, from rancidity. The
antioxidant properties also play a
fundamental role in some of the biological
activities of the oils, which is justified by the
implication of oxidative stress in the
pathology. (3) These attributes are due to
the inherent capacity of some of its
components, in Particularly the phenols, to
stop or delay the aerobic oxidation of
organic matter, although the process by
which the oil is obtained from the raw
material The material (distillation) limits the
content of phenolic compounds in the final
matrix because many of these compounds
Are non-volatile. However, there are
phenol-free essential oils that express
antioxidant behavior. As will be discussed in
the following sections, this is due to the
radical chemistry of some terpenoids and
other volatile components (eg components
containing garlic sulfur). The search for
natural antioxidants with the virtue of not
being toxic has led to A large number of
studies on the antioxidant potential of OE.
This is particularly relevant because it is
suspected that the most common synthetic
antioxidants (such as butylated
hydroxyanisole (BHA) or
butylhydroxytoluene (BHT)) are potentially
harmful to human health. On the other
hand, the reports on the antioxidant
properties of the OEs of different scientists
Fields of work or of different laboratories
are sometimes contradictory,
Different experimental contexts, which
makes any comparison between results
difficult. Some of the methods used to
assess OE's antioxidant performance are
due to limitations that, if not addressed
properly, may compromise the importance
of results. The objective of this review is not
to carry out an exhaustive study of the
literature, but to analyze the chemistry and
mechanisms that serve as a basis for the
antioxidant activity of OE, highlighting its
potential and usefulness, with special
attention to its application for Protection of
food. The methods used to evaluate their
antioxidant performance will be reviewed
critically, and the arguments for selecting
the most appropriate methods will be
discussed, based on the experience of our
groups.
ANTIOXIDANTS: DEFINITION AND
MECHANISMS
It is common in the study of natural
compounds to identify antioxidants as
"molecules capable of reacting with
radicals" (3) or provided with reducing
power to counteract the oxidative stress
caused by radicals. This approach is
observed by the chemistry of several tests
developed to analyze the antioxidant
activity of isolated natural or photochemical
extracts, which are based on the reaction of
the antioxidant potential with some
persistent colored root (eg DPPH or ABTS).
Some non-radical oxidizing species Such as
Fe 3+ ions (for example, FRAP assay). This
approach is not entirely correct. By
definition, antioxidants are compounds
capable of retarding or retarding the
oxidation of an oxidizable material, even
when used in very modest amounts (<1%,
commonly 1-1000 mg / L) as compared to
the amount of material they have to
protect. Focusing on processes of relevance
in biological systems or in food science, the
materials to be protected are most
commonly
It is known that essential oils have the
potential as natural agents for food
preservation; In fact, it has been repeatedly
shown to be effective against a wide range
of microorganisms. In addition to this
activity, many more recently essential oils
have been rated as natural antioxidants and
are proposed as potential substitutes for
synthetic antioxidants
In specific sectors of food preservation
where its use is not in contrast with its
aroma. Essential oils are, from the chemical
point of view, fairly complex mixtures
consisting of several tens of components,
and this complexity In specific sectors of
food preservation where its use is not in
contrast with its aroma. Essential oils are,
from the chemical point of view, fairly
complex mixtures consisting of several
dozen components, and this complexity
makes it difficult to explain the
aforementioned activities. If we exclude the
case of some phenolic components, whose
antimicrobial and antioxidant activity is well
known and widely documented. And some
other examples of pure compounds do not
know anything about the efficacy of most
components. Many reports on the activities
of essential oils, often refer to concepts
such as synergism, antagonism, additivity,
but are rarely experimentally supported,
being mostly purely speculative
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant Material: GC and GC-MS Analyses of
Essential Oils.
Aerial parts of (i) wild growing O. vulgare
ssp. Hirtum plants, collected from the island
of Euboea, and (ii) O. dictamnus plants,
cultivated on the island of Crete, were
airdried and grossly pulverized. Their
essential oils were isolated after
hydrodistillation for 2 h, using a Clevenger
apparatus. A commercially available
Origanum essential oil was also used(6). The
three essential oils were chromatographed
using a Shimadzu GC-14A gas
chromatograph equipped with a
Supelcowax 10 (Supelco) capillary column
(60 m0.25 mm i.d.). The carrier gas was
helium, and the linear gas velocity was 20.4
cm/s. The injector temperature was 240 C.
The column temperature was initially 70 C
and then gradually increased at a rate of 4
C/min up to 220 C.(6) For detection a
flame ionization detector (FID) was used set
at a temperature of 240 C. Gas
chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-
MS) analyses were conducted using a
Shimadzu GC-MS QP2000 system equipped
with a Supelcowax 10 capillary column (60
m0.25 mm i.d.) under the same GC
conditions. For GC-MS detection, an
electron impact (EI) quadropolar system
was used with ionization energy of 70 eV.
The essential oil components were
identified by comparing their relative
retention times (tR) and mass spectra (MS)
with those of authentic samples and
literature citations (Stenhagen et al., 1974;
Masada, 1976; Jennings and Shibamoto,
1980) as well as a computerized MS data
bank.(6)
FRAP Assay
The FRAP method is a simple, very rapid,
inexpensive and reproducible method,
which can be applied to the assay of
antioxidants in plasma or botanicals.(7)A
concentration dependent ferric reducing
capacity was found for all the essential oils
studied. Clove essential oil, at all the
concentrations analysed, showed the
highest ferric reducing capacity in terms of
Trolox concentrations, followed by oregano
essential oil. Sage and rosemary essential oil
had little ferric reducing capacity compared
with clove and oregano essential oil. With
further data analysis, a signifi cant linear
correlation (y = 0.001x + 0.006; R2 = 0.984)
between FRAP values and total phenolic
contents of the EOs analysed was observed,
except for the thyme essential oil.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the
antioxidant activity of rosemary and sage;
however, in this study rosemary and sage
essential oils showed the lowest values of
percentage inhibition of DPPH, TBARS and
FRAP. A possible explanation could be that
the antioxidant eff ect is due to several non-
volatile compounds, such as carnosol,
quercetine, rosmarinic acid and caff eic
acid, none of which was found in the
chemical composition of these essential
oils(3).

REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRAFICAS

1. Miguel MG. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of essential oils: a short

review. Molecules. 2010 Dec 15;15(12):9252-87. PubMed PMID: 21160452.
2. <ruberto2000.pdf>.
3. Amorati R, Foti MC, Valgimigli L. Antioxidant activity of essential oils. Journal of
agricultural and food chemistry. 2013 Nov 20;61(46):10835-47. PubMed PMID: 24156356.
4. Candan F, Unlu M, Tepe B, Daferera D, Polissiou M, Skmen A, et al. Antioxidant and
antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and methanol extracts of Achillea millefolium subsp.
millefolium Afan. (Asteraceae). Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2003;87(2-3):215-20.
5. <fulltext-18.pdf>.
6. <sivropoulou1996.pdf>.
7. .