Mint essentials oils as anticholinesterase agents

OSTERTAG, LUANA; RODRIGUEZ, SILVANA; ANA PAULA MURRAY

Bahía Blanca

Congreso; LV Reunión Anual de la Asociación Argentina de Farmacología Experimental.; 2024

Asociación Argentina de Farmacología Experimental

The inhibition of the enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is relevant for the discovery of new alternatives in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. This study aims to investigate the inhibition of the activity of both enzymes and antioxidant activity by the essential oils of three aromatic species cultivated at the Southwest of Buenos Aires province: Mentha piperita (1), Mentha arvensis (2) and Minthostachys verticillata (3).The chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) obtained from the aerial parts by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by GC‐MS. The antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH method, and the inhibition of AChE and BChE was determined using the Ellman’s method to determine the inhibitions of AChE and BChE.Twelve compounds were identified in EO2 and EO3 and seven compounds in EO1, with the predominance of oxygenated monoterpenes. The major compounds for EO1 were trans – caryophyllene (34.61%), followed by isomenthone (30.50%) and isopulegol (27.86%). While EO2 were menthone (62.03%) and D-limonene (12.83%) and EO3 were trans-caryophyllene (26.92%), carvone (28.21%) and caryophyllene oxide (24.36%).The EOs showed moderate DPPH radical scavenging activity in the range of IC50 values of 0.69 mg/ml to 0.76 mg/ml). EO2 exhibited the highest inhibition of BChE compared to EO3 and EO1 were on the range of IC50 values 45.59 to 31.30 ɳg/ml, while EO3 was the most efficient against AChE (IC50 = 160.6 ɳg/ml).These results suggest that essential oils of Mentha species and/or their components could be potential candidates for further studies for the development of effective anti-Alzheimer agents.