Quantitative determinations on commercial samples of Melissae folium and their antioxidant activity

Background and Aims: Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) is a perennial herb. Melissae folium and their preparations have been used for their sedative, spasmolytic and antibacterial actions. The study was aimed to investigate the qualities and also to compare the antioxidant activity potentials of the drug samples available in herbal markets and pharmacies in Turkey Methods: The percentages of the loss on drying and total ash were determined by gravimetric method and the percentage of total hydroxycinnamic derivatives was calculated by a spectrophotometric method according to European Pharmacopoeia. Drug samples were investigated for their potentials to scavenge the DPPH radical by using an in vitro method. Results: The percentages of the loss on drying were found to be between 8.51-16.53 %; whereas total ash amounts were determined between 9.41-11.33%. The percentage of total hydroxycinnamic derivatives was found in the range of 4.45-12.97 %. The extracts of the samples were found to have DPPH radical scavenging activity with EC50 values ranging from 10.60 to 19.10 μg/ml. Conclusion: In the assays for total ash and quantification of total hydroxy cinnamic derivatives all of the examined commercial samples were found to be compatible with standards in European Pharmacopoeia. Among the tested samples; a sample sold in pharmacy seems to have the best quality when its compared with the standards in European Pharmacopoeia.

___

  • • Aprotosoaie, A. C., Raileanu, E., Trifan, A., & Cioanca, O. (2013) The Polyphenolic content of common Lamiaceae Species availanle as Herbal Tea Products in Romanien Pharmacies, Revista medicochirurgicala a Societatii de Medici si Naturalisti din Iasi, 117(1), 233- 237.
  • • Arnow, L. E. (1937). Colorimetric Determination of the components of 3,4 dihydroxyphenyl alaninetyrosine mixtures. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 118, 531–537.
  • • Barros, L., Dueñas, M., Dias, M. I., Sousa, M. J., Santos-Buelga, C., & Ferreira, I. C. (2013). Phenolic profiles of cultivated, in vitro cultured and commercial samples of Melissa officinalis L. infusions. Food Chemistry, 36, 1–8.
  • • Benedec, D., Hanganu, D., Oniga, I., Tiperciuc, B., Olah, N-K., Raita, O., & Vlase, L. (2015). Assessment of rosmarinic acid content in six Lamiaceae species extracts and their antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 28(6), 2297–2303.
  • • Bisset, N. G. (ed) [Wichtl, M. (ed) German edition] (1994). Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. Medpharm Scientific Publishers Stuttgart, Germany, pp 329–332.
  • • Brand-Williams, W., Cuvelier, M. E., & Berset, C. (1995). Use of a Free Radical Method to Evaluate Antioxidant Activity. Lebensmittel- Wissenschaft und-Technologie, 28, 25–30.
  • • Carnat, A. P., Carnat, A., Fraisse, D., & Lamaison, J. L. (1998) The aromatic and polyphenolic composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L. subsp. officinalis) tea. Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae, 72, 301–305.
  • • Choi, C. W., Kim, S. C., Hwang, S. S., Choi, B. K., Ahn, H .J., Lee, M. Y., & Kim, S. K. (2002). Antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging capacity between Korean medicinal plants and flavonoids by assay-guided comparison. Plant Science, 163(6), 1161–1168.
  • • Council of Europe (2008). European Pharmacopoeia, 6. Edition, Strasbourg.
  • • Council of Europe (2014). European Pharmacopoeia, 8. Edition, Strasbourg.
  • • Franco, J.M., Pugine, S.M.P., Scatoline, A.M., & Melo M.P. (2018). Antioxidant capacity of Melissa officinalis L. on Biological Systems, Ecletica Quimica Journal, 43(3), 19-29.
  • • Karadağ A. (2019). Antioxidant Potential and Phenolic Composition of Some Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs in Turkey, European Journal of Science and Technology, 16, 631-637.
  • • Kittler. J., Krüger, H., Ulrich, D., Zeiger, B., Schütze, W., Böttcher, C., & Marthe, F. (2018). Content and composition of essential oil and content of rosmarinic acid in lemon balm and balm genotypes (Melissa officinalis). Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 65, 1517–1527.
  • • Krüger H, Schütze W, Lohwasser U, & Marthe F. (2010) Quality of Melissa - yesterday and today: hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives versus rosmarinic acid, comparative investigations of a Melissa collection (Melissa officinalis L.) (in German). Z Arznei- Gewurzpfla 15, 31–32.
  • • López V., Akerreta S. Casanova E., García-Mina J.M., Cavero R.Y., & Calvo MI. (2007) In Vitro Antioxidant and Anti-rhizopus Activities of Lamiaceae Herbal Extracts. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 62, 151-155.
  • • Pereira, R. P., Fachinetto, R., Prestes, A. S., Puntel, R. L., Santos da Silva G. N., Heinzmann, B. M., & Rocha, J. B. T. (2009). Antioxidant Effects of Different Extracts from Melissa officinalis, Matricaria recutita and Cymbopogon citratus. Neurochemical Research, 34, 973–983.
  • • Petersen, M. & Simmonds, M.S.J. (2003). Molecules of Interest Rosmarinic acid. Phytochemistry, 62, 121–125.
  • • Vladimir-Knežević, S., Blažeković, B., Štefan, M.B., Alegro, A., Kőszegi, T., & Petrik, J. (2011). Antioxidant activities and polyphenolic contents of three selected Micromeria species from Croatia. Molecules, 16, 1454–1470.
  • • Weitzel, C., & Petersen, M. (2011). Cloning and characterisation of rosmarinic acid synthase from Melissa officinalis L. Phytochemistry, 72, 572–578.