Chemical Study and Comparison of the Biological Activities of the Essential Oils of IHelichrysum petiolare/I, IH. cymosum/I, and IH. odoratissimum/I

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 19
• Main Authors: Adewinogo, Selena O, Sharma, Rajan, Africa, Charlene W. J, Marnewick, Jeanine L, Hussein, Ahmed A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Analysis; Chemical properties; Essences and essential oils; Health aspects; South Africa
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants11192606

Helichrysum species are prominent South African medicinal plants. From the essential oils (EOs) of three Helichrysum species, H. petiolare, H. odoratissimum, and H. cymosum, sixty-three constituent components were identified, with hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes as major components. The compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In H. petiolare EO, the major components were faurinone (20.66%) and (E)-β-ocimene (17.21%). Faurinone was isolated from this EO for the first time. In H. odoratissimum, 1,8-cineole (17.44%) and α-pinene, and γ-curcumene (15.76%) were the major components whereas, in H. cymosum, α-pinene (29.82%) and (E)-caryophyllene (19.20%) were the major components. In the antibacterial activity study, the EOs were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The EOs were found to possess low antibacterial, anti-tyrosinase, and photoprotection activities and moderate antioxidant capacities, thus establishing these Helichrysum EOs as valuable antioxidant agents.