R. Amilia Destryana, D. Gary Young, Cole L. Woolley, Tzou-Chi Huang, Hung-Yi Wu, Wen-Ling Shih
Essential oils are formed by aromatic plants as secondary metabolites and are widely used in traditional medicine. In this research, the composition and biological activities of three commercial oils essential oils, Ocotea, Copaiba and Blue Cypress, were evaluated in cultured cells and in mice. GC/MS revealed different components within these oils. Ocotea and Copaiba did not have an antioxidant activity below 5 % (v/v), and Blue Cypress possessed a moderate anti-oxidant activity. Ocotea was the most potent inhibitor against pro-inflammatory mediators. In addition, Ocotea and a higher concentration of Blue Cypress suppressed LPS-induced PGE2 production. Single high-concentration administration of the oils showed acute toxicity in mice. Blood chemistry analysis showed the three essential oils to be quite safe under a lower sub-lethal dosage. Our findings suggested that essential oils can be useful as active medicines to inhibit over-activation of macrophages followed by stimulation by inflammatory mediators. © 2014 AOCS.
Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Pingtung 91201, 1, Shuefu Rd., Taiwan; Department of Research and Discovery, Young Living Essential Oils, Lehi, UT, United States; Austronesian Medicine and Agriculture Research Center, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan; Faculty of Agricultural Technology, University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia; Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
