Innovative value chains from tree & shrub species grown in marginal lands as a source of biomass for bio-based industries

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Bioactivities and GC-MS characterization of Cupressus Sempervirens L. and Rosmarinus Officinalis L. essential oils

Publication . Xavier, Virginie; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Prieto Lage, Miguel A.; Amaral, Joana S.; Mandim, Filipa; Vaz, Josiana A.; Pires, Tânia C.S.; Mediavilla Ruiz, Irene; Esteban Pascual, Luis Saul; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Barros, Lillian

Bio-based products will play an increasingly important role in the transition towards a green and circular economy that will reduce fossil-based products consumption. 1 The European Project “BeonNat” aims at developing different bio-based products from underutilised shrubs and trees, which will be used as raw-materials for the bio-based industries. Within this scope, Cupressus sempervirens L. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. were selected for evaluation. In this work, the essential oil of C. sempervirens (common cypress) and R. officinalis (rosemary) cultivated in Spain, were characterized for their chemical composition and potential biological properties. The assessment of antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory properties of the essential oils were evaluated. The GC-MS analysis enabled the identification of 85% of total compounds in common cypress and 94% in rosemary. The major compounds were α-pinene, 3-carene, cedrol, limonene and terpinolene for C. sempervirens and α-pinene, 1,8-cineole, camphor, camphene and β-myrcene for R. officinalis essential oils. From a qualitative point of view, the obtained results are in good agreement with the data available from the literature, considering the genetics and environment variations that may occur. 2,3 Both samples showed antibacterial activity against a panel of bacteria selected according to their importance in public health, highlighting R. officinalis that revealed the strongest activity for Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Morganella morganii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Concerning the antioxidant activity, reducing power and cellular antioxidant assays were performed. The cypress essential oil presented an EC50 value of 1.518±0.004 mg/mL using reducing power assay and a % of oxidation inhibition of 73% with cellular antioxidant assay, while rosemary essential oil showed an EC50 value of 3.12±0.01 mg/mL using reducing power assay and 84 % of oxidation inhibition according to cellular antioxidant assay, evidencing that both samples revealed capacity to inhibit the oxidation process. The tested essential oils showed anti-inflammatory (IC50 value of 11±1 μg/mL and 20±1 μg/mL for C. sempervirens and R. officinalis, respectively) and cytotoxic activity, with best results being obtained for C. sempervirens essential oil on the inhibition of breast, MCF-7, (GI50 value of 62±6 μg/mL) and lung cancer, NCI-H460, (GI50 value of 14±1 μg/mL) cell lines. After screening the essential oils for their bioactivities, the results revealed that essential oils from common cypress and rosemary are a potential and natural source of bioactive substances to use in food, cosmetic and medicinal industry, encouraging the valorisation of underexplored resources.

2021Conference object

Open access

Assessment of the use of common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) foliage following the cascade principle: essential oil, absorbents and biochar

Publication . Mediavilla, Irene; Bados, Raquel; Barros, Lillian; Xavier, Virginie; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Amaral, Joana S.; Rizzo, Andrea Maria; Casini, David; Lombardi, Giacomo; Cámara, Miguel; Suárez, Ana; Ardid, Tomás

The main objective of the BeonNAT project is to create added-value bio-based products by growing underused tree and shrub species in marginal land. One of the species selected within the project is juniper (Juniperus communis L). Foliage biomass coming from a natural population in Spain was selected and a first sampling of wild biomass (1000 kg fresh plants with stem diameters below 50 mm) was performed. This biomass was distilled and, after it, different alternatives were defined in the project to obtain bioproducts from the distilled biomass following the cascade concept. Among them, absorbents for the pet industry and biochar have been selected in this work. Concerning the steam distillation, an essential oil yield of 0.44% (w/w d.b) was obtained and the characterisation of the essential oil compounds showed that it was close to meet the limits considered by the ISO 8897:2010. A fraction of the distilled biomass was used to produce pellets, whose quality as absorbents for the pet industry was promising. Finally, the rest of the distilled biomass was used to obtain biochar with a yield of 28.79 % (w/w d.b) and characteristics which indicated a good degree of carbonisation and stability.

2022Conference paper

Open access

Chemical and bioactive characterization of the essential oils obtained from three mediterranean plants

Publication . Xavier, Virginie; Finimundy, Tiane C.; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Amaral, Joana S.; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Vaz, Josiana A.; Pires, Tânia C.S.; Mediavilla, Irene; Esteban Pascual, Luis Saul; Ferreira, Isabel C.F.R.; Barros, Lillian

Cupressus sempervirens L., Juniperus communis L. and Cistus ladanifer L. are Mediterranean arboreal and shrub species that possess essential oils (EO) in their leaves and branches. This study aimed at characterizing the EOs obtained by steam distillation from the three species collected in different locations from Spain (Almazán, Andévalo, Barriomartín, Cerezal, Ermitas and Huéscar). For this purpose, volatiles composition was determined by GC-MS, and different bioactivities were evaluated. The highest content in terpenes was observed in C. sempervirens (Huéscar origin) followed by J. communis (Almazán origin), corresponding to 92% and 91.9% of total compounds, respectively. With exception of C. ladanifer from Cerezal that presented viridiflorol as the most abundant compound, all the three species presented in common the -pinene as the major compound. The EOs from C. ladanifer showed high antibacterial potential, presenting MIC values from 0.3 to 1.25 mg/mL. Concerning other bioactivities, C. ladanifer EO revealed an oxidation inhibition of 83%, while J. communis showed cytotoxicity in the MCF-7 cell line, and C. sempervirens and C. ladanifer EOs exhibited the highest potential on NCI-H460 cell lines. Nevertheless, some EOs revealed toxicity against non-tumoral cells but generally presented a GI50 value higher than that of the tumor cell lines.

2021Journal article

Open access