The interest in medicinal plant research and in the aroma-therapeutic effects of essential oils in humanshas increased in recent years, especially for the treatment of pathologies of relevant social impact such as Alzheimer’sdisease. The present study was taken up to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) andbutyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activity of the peel essential oils from three Citrus species, C. aurantifolia Swingle,C. aurantium L., and C. bergamia Risso & Poit. Essential oils were analyzed by GC and GC-MS and they contain mainlylimonene, α-pinene, β-pinene, γ -terpinene, and linalyl acetate. C. aurantifolia oil showed the highest radical scavengingactivity on ABTS assay (IC50 value of 19.6 μg/mL), while C. bergamia exhibited a good antioxidant activity evaluated bythe β-carotene bleaching test (IC50 = 42.6 μg/mL after 60 min of incubation). C. aurantifolia inhibited more selectivelyAChE. Obtained data suggest a potential use of Citrus oils as a valuable new flavor with functional properties for food ornutraceutical products with particular relevance to supplements for the elderly
Comparative study on the antioxidant capacity and cholinesterase inhibitory activity of Citrus aurantifolia Swingle, C. aurantium L. and C. bergamia Risso & Poit. peel essential oils
TUNDIS, ROSA;LOIZZO, Monica Rosa;Bonesi M;
2012-01-01
Abstract
The interest in medicinal plant research and in the aroma-therapeutic effects of essential oils in humanshas increased in recent years, especially for the treatment of pathologies of relevant social impact such as Alzheimer’sdisease. The present study was taken up to evaluate the antioxidant capacity and the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) andbutyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activity of the peel essential oils from three Citrus species, C. aurantifolia Swingle,C. aurantium L., and C. bergamia Risso & Poit. Essential oils were analyzed by GC and GC-MS and they contain mainlylimonene, α-pinene, β-pinene, γ -terpinene, and linalyl acetate. C. aurantifolia oil showed the highest radical scavengingactivity on ABTS assay (IC50 value of 19.6 μg/mL), while C. bergamia exhibited a good antioxidant activity evaluated bythe β-carotene bleaching test (IC50 = 42.6 μg/mL after 60 min of incubation). C. aurantifolia inhibited more selectivelyAChE. Obtained data suggest a potential use of Citrus oils as a valuable new flavor with functional properties for food ornutraceutical products with particular relevance to supplements for the elderlyI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
