Essential Oils from <i>Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon citratus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Peumus boldus</i> and <i>Foeniculum vulgare</i>: Inhibition of Phospholipase A2 and Cytotoxicity to Human Erythrocytes

Abstract

The essential oils from <i> Mentha piperita </i> , <i> Cymbopogon citratus </i> , <i> Rosmarinus officinalis </i> , <i> Peumus boldus </i> and <i> Foeniculum vulgare </i> were extracted by hydrodistillation and characterized and quantified by GC-MS and GC-DIC. The oils induced hemolysis with all the doses evaluated (0.6 to 1.8 μ L), and the diameters of the halos varied between 9 and 15 mm. Pre-incubation of <i> P. boldus </i> oil with <i> Bothrops jararacussu </i> venom resulted in potentiation of venom-induced hemolysis (30%) (proteases and phospholipases A 2 ). The essential oil from <i> M. piperita </i> (0.6 μ L) inhibited venom-induced hemolysis by 45%, whereas 0.6 μ L of <i> R. officinalis </i> oil increased the hemolysis by 20%. For the essential oil from <i> F. vulgare </i> , 100% inhibition of activity (0.6 and 1.2 μ L) was observed. The application of <i> C. citratus </i> oil induced hemolysis with all the volumes evaluated. Phospholipase activity induced by the venom was only inhibited (10%) with the 0.6 μ L volume of <i> R. officinalis </i> oil. The oils from <i> M. piperita </i> and <i> F. vulgare </i> (1.8 μ L) and <i> C. citratus </i> oil (0.6 μ L) potentiated the phospholipase activity. The results highlight the need for a broad characterization and regulation of the use of natural products, because they can have therapeutic or toxic actions.