Chemical Characteristics,Antimicrobial, and Cytotoxic Activities of the Essential Oil of Egyptian Cinnamomum glanduliferum Bark

The essential oil isolated from the bark of Cinnamomum glanduliferum (Wall ) Meissn grown in Egypt was screened for its composition as well as its biological activity for the first time. The chemical composition was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was assessed using agar‐well diffusion method toward representatives for each of Gram‐positive bacteria, Gram‐negative bacteria, and fungi. The cytotoxic activity was checked using three human cancer cell lines. Twenty seven compounds were identified, representing 99.07% of the total detected components. The major constituents were eucalyptol (65.87%), terpinen‐4‐ol (7.57%), α‐terpineol (7.39%). The essential oil possessed strong antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli, with an activity index of one and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) equaling to 0.49 μg/ml. The essential oil possessed good antimicrobial activities against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Geotrichum candidum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Helicobacter pylori, Aspergillus fumigatus (MIC: 7.81, 1.95, 7.81, 0.98, 31.25, and 32.5 μg/ml, respectively). A considerable activity was reported against S. aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC; 32.5 and 31.25 μg/ml, respectively). The extracted oil was cytotoxic to colon (HCT‐116), liver (HepG2), and breast (MCF‐7) carcinoma cell lines with IC₅₀ of 9.1, 42.4, and 57.3 μg/ml, respectively. These results revealed that Egyptian Cinnamomum glanduliferum bark oil exerts antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities mainly due to eucalyptol and other major compounds.     

Actividad antifúngica de los enjuagues bucales frente a Candida albicans y Rhodotorula mucilaginosa: un estudio in vitro

BackgroundCandida albicans and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa are yeasts of clinical importance in the oral cavity. In immunocompromised patients they can cause some pathologies that must be controlled with antimicrobials.AimsTo evaluate and compare the antimicrobial efficacy of commercially available mouthrinses against strains of C. albicans and R. mucilaginosa.MethodsThe six mouthwashes studied in vitro were formulated (alone or in combination) with chlorhexidine (CHX) 0.12%, CHX 0.1%, CHX 0.05%, cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) 0.075%, CPC 0.05%, and essential oils. Ten C. albicans and R. mucilaginosa isolates each were studied. The agar diffusion method (Mueller Hinton II), with incubation at 32 °C was used to evaluate the antifungal activity.ResultsThe results of this study indicate that mouthwashes with CHX 0.1%, CHX 0.12%, CHX 0.05% + CPC 0.05%, CHX 0.12% + CPC 0.05% and CPC 0.075% have an antifungal effect against C. albicans and R. mucilaginosa. CHX 0.1% led to the broadest inhibition zone for C. albicans and R. mucilaginosa (25.65 ± 2.39 mm and 40.05 ± 3.31 mm). Essential oils did not show any antifungal activity. Statistical analysis showed no statistical difference between mouth rinses CHX 0.1%, CHX 0.12% and CHX 0.12% + CPC 0.05% (p = 0.0001) against C. albicans and R. mucilaginosa.ConclusionsMouthwashes with CHX showed higher antifungal activity against C. albicans and R. mucilaginosa than other mouthwashes studied.     

桉树脑和柠檬烯对莱茵衣藻光合特性的影响

为了揭示蓝藻挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）中两种主要萜烯类化合物桉树脑和柠檬烯对其他藻类的化感作用,研究了此两种化合物对莱茵衣藻细胞生长、光合素吸收光谱和光合性能的影响。结果表明,莱茵衣藻在1.6和4 mmol/L桉树脑以及0.4和0.8 mmol/L柠檬烯处理24h后,细胞生长受到明显抑制,与对照相比,细胞密度分别降低了16.7%、50.6%、29.1%和44.4%。同时,1.6和4 mmol/L柠檬烯处理会诱导藻细胞全部死亡。此外,莱茵衣藻光合色素在413、433、457和663 nm处的吸收峰均明显降低,光合色素的各成分发生明显降解,叶黄素甚至在0.8 mmol/L柠檬烯处理下完全降解消失。在桉树脑和柠檬烯处理后,莱茵衣藻从O点到P点的荧光强度均低于对照,并且随处理浓度升高而降低。同时,荧光诱导动力学参数中,φP_o、Ψ_o、φE_o、RC/CS_MS、ABS/CS_M、TR_o/CS_M、ET_o/CS_M和PI_ABS均明显降低,而DI_o/CS_M则明显升高,这表明桉树脑和柠檬烯可抑制莱茵衣藻PSⅡ量子产生和电子传递,并使吸收的光能以热的形式进行耗散。由此可见,桉树脑和柠檬烯可能通过引起其他藻细胞光合色素降解、降低光合性能而发挥化感作用。