Antioxidant activity, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity evaluation of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) ethanolic extract: Its potential role in neuroprotection

The antioxidant and antibacterial activities of ethanolic extract and phenolic compounds extract of Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and Oregano (Oreganum vulgare) plants were studied; the phenolic content and the relationship between these compounds and the above activities were also investigated. The results showed that the Lemon balm had the highest phenolic content (56.5% mg g) and the phenolic content of Oregano was twice lower than Lemon balm. Lemon balm has the highest antioxidant activity which causes lipid peroxidation inhibition activity of linoleic acid (90.5%), this activity was more than ?-tocopherole antioxidant activity (79.3 %). It was found that the main source of antioxidant activity of these plants was belonging to phenolic compounds and the results proved the strong relationship between antioxidant activity and phenolic content. The ethanolic extract of Lemon balm was exhibited strong antibacterial activity ,the inhibition included all bacterial isolates , with highest inhibition zone against Bacillus cereus ( 26 mm), while Oregano did not exhibit clear antibacterial activity, Aeromonas hydrophila was the most resistant isolate . It was obvious from the results of effect of phenolic compounds on bacteria that no relationship between antibacterial activity and phenolic content and the inhibition may be due to other compounds.

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LED light sources improved the essential oil components and antioxidant activity of two genotypes of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.)

Botanical Studies ◽

10.1186/s40529-021-00316-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tayebeh Ahmadi ◽

Leila Shabani ◽

Mohammad R. Sabzalian

Keyword(s):

Antioxidant Activity ◽

Essential Oil ◽

Light Sources ◽

Oil Composition ◽

Melissa Officinalis ◽

Greenhouse Condition ◽

Lemon Balm ◽

Led Light ◽

Oil Components ◽

Led Lights

Abstract Background Nowadays, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a new lighting technology, have been emerged as an alternative source of light for plants due to their wavelength specificity, the narrow width of their bands, small size, solid structure, long lifetime, and low heat generation. Here we investigated the effect of different LED light sources on the essential oil components and antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis. Two genotypes of lemon balm (Ilam and Isfahan) were subjected to four artificial light treatments, including white, red, blue, red + blue LEDs, and greenhouse light as natural lighting. Results The LED lights significantly increased shoot fresh and dry weights and leaf number in the two genotypes as compared to greenhouse condition. The results showed that the content and composition of essential oil in the two genotypes were variable under different light treatments and the total amount of compounds in the Ilam genotype was higher than the other genotype. The results of analysis of the essential oil by GC/MS indicated that the highest amount of monoterpenes in the genotypes was related to citronellal under red + blue LED lamps (15.3 and 17.2% in Ilam and Isfahan genotypes, respectively) but blue, white, and greenhouse condition had the most effect on sesquiterpenes content in both genotypes. The results showed that the observed variation between the two genotypes in the essentials oil composition was related to the relative percentage of the constituents and not to the appearance or lack of a specific component. Red + blue lighting also provided the highest radical scavenging activity in both genotypes (80.77 and 82.09% for Ilam and Isfahan genotypes, respectively). Based on principal component analyses (PCA), three main groups were identified regarding genotypes and all light treatments. Conclusions Overall, results indicated that the essentials oil composition of two genotypes of lemon balm was affected both qualitatively and quantitatively by different LED light sources; hence, LED lights might be used to improve monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and antioxidant activity in the selected genotypes.

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LED Light Sources Improved the Essential Oil Components and Antioxidant Activity of Two Genotypes of Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis L.)

10.21203/rs.3.rs-254821/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tayebeh Ahmadi ◽

Leila Shabani ◽

Mohammad R. Sabzalian

Keyword(s):

Antioxidant Activity ◽

Essential Oil ◽

Light Sources ◽

Oil Composition ◽

Melissa Officinalis ◽

Greenhouse Condition ◽

Lemon Balm ◽

Led Light ◽

Oil Components ◽

Led Lights

Abstract Here we investigated the effect of different LED light sources on the essential oil components and antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis. Two genotypes of lemon balm (Ilam and Isfahan) were subjected to four artificial light treatments including white, red, blue, red + blue LEDs and greenhouse light as natural lighting. The LED lights significantly increased shoot fresh and dry weights and Leaf number in the two genotypes as compared to greenhouse condition. The results showed that the content and composition of essential oil in two genotypes was variable under different light treatments and the total amount of compounds in Ilam genotype was higher than the other genotype. The results of analysis of the essential oil by GC/MS indicated that the highest amount of monoterpenes in the genotypes was related to citronellal under red + blue LED lamps (15.3 and 17.2% in Ilam and Isfahan genotypes, respectively) but blue, white, and greenhouse condition had the most effect on sesquiterpenes content in both genotypes. Furthermore, the observed variation between the two genotypes in the essentials oil composition was related to the relative percentage of the constituents and not to the appearance or lack of a specific component. Red + blue lighting also caused the highest radical scavenging activity % in both genotypes (80.77 and 82.09% for Ilam and Isfahan genotypes, respectively). Based on principal component analyses (PCA), three main groups were identified regarding genotypes and all light treatments. Overall, results indicated that the essentials oil composition of two genotypes of lemon balm was affected both qualitatively and quantitatively by different LED light sources; hence, LED lights might be used to improve monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and antioxidant activity in the selected genotypes.

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Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant assay of Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm)

BIO Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/bioconf/20214002004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 02004

Author(s):

Lidia-Ioana Virchea ◽

Felicia Gabriela Gligor ◽

Adina Frum ◽

Monica Mironescu ◽

Nina I. Myachikova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antioxidant Activity ◽

Phenolic Acids ◽

Volatile Oil ◽

Antioxidant Compounds ◽

Phytochemical Analysis ◽

Melissa Officinalis ◽

Lemon Balm ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Aerial Parts ◽

Popular Language

Melissa officinalis L. called in popular language lemon balm is a medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. The plant contains a variety of bioactive compounds among which volatile oils, flavonoids and phenolic acids. These are responsible for a lot of beneficial effects in disease relief. Lemon balm has antioxidant, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, anxiolytic, spasmolytic and other effects. Important for its antioxidant activity are flavonoids and phenolic acids which are well known for their ability to scavenge the free radicals. Due to this effect, lemon balm protects against the development of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dermatological disorders. In this study we extracted and determined the content of the volatile oil and flavonoids from Melissa officinalis L. and we investigated the antioxidant activity of an extract obtained from dried aerial parts of lemon balm. The results showed that the volatile oil content was low (0.17 mL/100 g vegetal material). The total flavonoid content was 0.965 g rutoside/100 g of vegetal product and the antioxidant activity was 90.40 %. From this study, we concluded that Melissa officinalis L. is a potential source of antioxidant compounds with a lot of other benefits for human health.

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