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Essential oils from Côa Valley Lamiaceae species: cytotoxicity on glioblastoma cells

Publication . Marques, Mário Pedro; Delgado, Jéssica; Zuzarte, Mónica; Varela, Carla; Dias, Maria Inês; Barros, Lillian; Magalhães, Mariana; Cabral, Célia

Lavandula pedunculata (Mill.) Cav., Mentha cervina L. and Thymus mastichina (L) L. subsp. mastichina are widely used and fairly representative species of the flora and traditional uses of the Côa Valley, a Portuguese UNESCO World Heritage Site. L. pedunculata and T. mastichina are used by local populations to preserve olives, as a condiment in traditional cuisine and to aromatize bonfires on Saint John's Eve, while M. cervina is mainly used as a spice for river fish dishes. However, despite their popularity among the population and prevalence in the territory of Côa Valley, these aromatic plants are still undervalued and scientific literature on their potential as anti-cancer agents is scarce. Therefore, in this work we aim to study the therapeutic potential of the essential oils (EO) obtained from these three species, by assessing their chemical composition, secretory structures morphology and cytotoxic effect against glioblastoma cell lines

2022Conference object

Open access

Côa Valley’s medicinal plants as potential cosmetic ingredients: cytotoxic and antioxidant assessment

Publication . Marques, Mário Pedro; Landim, Euclides; Varela, Carla; Marques, Joana; Costa, Ricardo M.F. da; Carvalho, Luís A.E. Batista de; Carvalho, Aida; Oliveira, Paulo J.; Cabral, Célia

Where is located and what is the importance of river Côa Valley? • The river Côa Valley is part of the Guarda District, in the Northeast of Portugal. The Valley comprises an Archeological Park, which is considered “the most important open-air Paleolithic rock art site” in the world, being classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. What are the natural resources’ relevance of this region? • The flora of the Archeologic Park in river Côa Valley comprises approximately 500 to 600 different plant species, some Portuguese and/or Iberian endemic species, according to a botanical survey recently carried out by us. Even though, so far, little is known about the natural endogenous resources of this territory, namely concerning medicinal plants. What is the aim of this investigation? • The main aim is to assess the cytotoxicity in skin fibroblasts (NHDF cell line) and the antioxidant activity through cell-free methods, of hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from selected plant species (Figure 1). These extracts are meant to be incorporated into scientific-validated plantbased cosmetic formulations, hence creating an exclusive cosmetic brand for Côa Valley.

2023Conference object

Open access