Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 28;14(1):25791. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74972-7.

Optimizing the extraction of essential oil yield from Pistacia lentiscus 
oleo-gum resin by superheated steam extraction using response surface 
methodology.

Ayub MA(1), Iram I(2), Waseem R(2), Ayub I(3), Hussain A(4), Abid MA(2), Iqbal 
SZ(5).

Author information:
(1)Department of Chemistry, University of Sahiwal, Sahiwal, 57000, Pakistan. 
adnanayub@uosahiwal.edu.pk.
(2)Department of Chemistry, University of Sahiwal, Sahiwal, 57000, Pakistan.
(3)Department of Zoology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 
38000, Pakistan.
(4)Institute of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara, Punjab, 56300, Pakistan.
(5)Food Safety and Food Toxicology Lab, Department of Applied Chemistry, 
Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.

Pistacia lentiscus L. is an aromatic plant containing a significant percentage 
of essential oil (EO) used in fragrance, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and the 
food industry. The purpose of this work is focused on the optimization of 
Pistacia lentiscus L. oleo gum resin EO yield extracted by superheated steam 
extraction (SHSE) by response surface methodology, including extraction 
parameters of particle size (0. 5 - 1 mm), temperature (140-180 °C) and time 
(90-150 min). The optimum conditions for Pistacia lentiscus L. EO extracted by 
SHSE were found to be (particle size: 0.75 mm, time: 120 min and temperature: 
160 ℃) which produced the highest EO yield of 5.7%. A regression model was 
developed, demonstrating a robust quadratic correlation with an R2 value of 
0.9991, making it suitable for predictions. Furthermore, the yield of Pistacia 
lentiscus L. EO extracted by SHSE was compared with the conventional steam and 
hydro distillation techniques. The study revealed that SHSE yielded higher 
quantities of EO than other extraction methods. GC-MS analyzed the chemical 
composition of Pistacia lentiscus L. EO. The predominant compound of Pistacia 
lentiscus L. EO was determined to be α-pinene, while the other identified 
compounds include trans-verbenol, verbenol, cis-verbenone, camphene, β-myrcene, 
d-limonene, cymene, α-myrtenol, α-campholenal, α-copaene, and α-thujene, whose 
content differed according to different extraction techniques. Overall, 
superheated steam extraction is an efficient technique for extracting Pistacia 
lentiscus L. essential oil that enhances EO yield, requiring less time for 
extraction.

© 2024. The Author(s).

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-74972-7
PMCID: PMC11519484
PMID: 39468086 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests.


2. Int J Microbiol. 2024 Oct 16;2024:8832448. doi: 10.1155/2024/8832448. 
eCollection 2024.

Myrtenol's Effectiveness against Hospital-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant 
Staphylococcus aureus: Targeting Antibiofilm and Antivirulence Properties.

Makled AF(1), Labeeb AZ(1), Badr EAE(2), Abdelmaksoud AM(3), Elfiky SR(4), Amer 
AK(1), Sleem AS(1).

Author information:
(1)Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, 
Menoufa University, Shebin Al Kom, Egypt.
(2)Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of 
Medicine, Menoufa University, Shebin Al Kom, Egypt.
(3)Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufa University, 
Shebin Al Kom, Egypt.
(4)Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufa University, 
Shebin Al Kom, Egypt.

The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) several 
years ago highlighted the challenge of multidrug-resistant infections, 
emphasizing the critical need for innovative treatment approaches. Myrtenol, 
known for its antibacterial and antibiofilm properties, holds promise as a 
potential treatment option. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 
myrtenol against MRSA. The collected MRSA isolates were assessed for 
antimicrobial susceptibility following the Clinical and Laboratory Standards 
Institute (CLSI) guidelines 2023. Biofilm formation by MRSA was evaluated using 
the tissue culture plate (TCP) technique. The minimal inhibitory concentration 
(MIC), minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC), and minimal biofilm inhibitory 
concentration (MBIC) of myrtenol against MRSA were determined both individually 
and in combination with antibiotics. Real-time PCR was employed to investigate 
the impact of myrtenol on the expression of virulence genes (sarA, agrA, and 
icaD) across the isolates. In this study, MRSA was identified in 90 out of 400 
cases (22.5%) of hospital-acquired pathogens. Among the collected MRSA isolates, 
53 out of 90 (59%) were found to produce biofilms. The MIC of myrtenol was 
comparable to the MBC across all tested isolates, they were almost the same. 
Combinations of myrtenol with most tested antibiotics exhibited synergistic 
effects exceeding 60%. Among the 53 biofilm-producing isolates, 45 isolates 
(85%) expressed the sarA gene, 49% expressed the agrA gene, and all 
biofilm-producing MRSA isolates (100%) expressed the icaD gene. A notable 
reduction in the relative quantity (RQ) values of virulence gene expression was 
observed after treatment with the MBIC of myrtenol across all tested isolates. 
Myrtenol demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity against MRSA, notably 
reducing the expression of key virulence genes linked to biofilm formation. This 
suggests its potential as a therapeutic agent for treating biofilm-associated 
MRSA infections.

Copyright © 2024 Amal F. Makled et al.

DOI: 10.1155/2024/8832448
PMCID: PMC11498983
PMID: 39445102

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts 
of interest.


3. Front Vet Sci. 2024 Oct 3;11:1415232. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1415232. 
eCollection 2024.

Optimal fermentation of Shuanghuanglian and its effects on production 
performance of laying hens.

Xu Y(#)(1), Yi S(#)(2), Xu X(1), Zhang M(1), Cui Y(3), Lan W(3), Li F(1), Kong 
X(1)(2)(3).

Author information:
(1)College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.
(2)Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and 
Metabolic Process, National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and 
Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical 
Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, China.
(3)School of Biology and Food Engineering, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 
China.
(#)Contributed equally

BACKGROUND: Shuanghuanglian is a Chinese medicine composed of Honeysuckle 
Flower, Baical Skullcap Root, and Fructus Forsythiae. It has various effects, 
including anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and immunomodulatory 
effects. The fermented product of Shuanghuanglian can be used as an antibiotic 
alternative, as it has similar efficacy, which may improve the immunity, feed 
intake and utilization efficiency of laying hens, thus improving their 
production performance. The aim of this study was to optimize the fermentation 
conditions for Shuanghuanglian using single factor and response surface 
methodology, evaluate the chemical and microbial composition of the 
Shuanghuanglian fermentation liquor (SFL), and explore the effects of SFL on the 
production performance of laying hens.
METHODS: A total of 288 Xinyang black-feather laying hens (50 week-old) were 
randomly allocated to four treatments with nine replicates, each replicate 
containing eight hens, for a total of 37 days trial (including a 7-day 
adaptation period). The treatments included a control group (0% SFL in drinking 
water) and drinking water supplemented with 0.3, 0.5, or 0.7% SFL.
RESULTS: The fermentation optimization conditions for Shuanghuanglian were 
selected as a solid-to-liquid ratio at 1:7, 3% inoculation quantity, 
fermentation temperature at 28°C for 5 days, initial pH of 7, 60 mesh (sieved), 
and rotation speed of 150 r/min. Various bioactive compounds, such as myrtenol, 
2-hexyn-1-ol, arsenous acid tris(trimethylsilyl) ester, 3(10)-caren-4-ol, and 
oxime-, methoxy-phenyl, were detected in SFL. The most abundant bacterial phyla 
in SFL were Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, with Acinetobacter being the most 
abundant genus. The most abundant fungal phyla were Phragmoplastophyta and 
Magnoliophyta. The 0.5 and 0.7% SFL supplementation in water increased egg 
weight and laying rate, while decreasing the feed-to-egg ratio of laying hens 
compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7% SFL 
supplementation in water increased (p < 0.05) the Haugh unit, but there were no 
significant differences (p > 0.05) in albumen height, egg shape index, egg 
thickness, and yolk color of the eggs.
CONCLUSION: Supplementation of SFL under optimized conditions had a positive 
impact on the production performance of laying hens, especially when the 
supplementation amount reached 0.5%. This study provides a theoretical basis for 
the application of Shuanghuanglian in the commercial egg industry.

Copyright © 2024 Xu, Yi, Xu, Zhang, Cui, Lan, Li and Kong.

DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1415232
PMCID: PMC11483451
PMID: 39421831

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that the research was 
conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could 
be construed as potential conflicts of interest. The author(s) declared that 
they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. 
This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.


4. Chem Biol Drug Des. 2024 Sep;104(3):e14633. doi: 10.1111/cbdd.14633.

Myrtenol-Loaded Fatty Acid Nanocarriers Protect Rat Brains Against 
Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects.

Karimi Afshar S(1)(2), Rostamzadeh F(2), Bigdeli MR(1)(3), Mortazavi Moghadam 
F(4).

Author information:
(1)Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, 
Tehran, Iran.
(2)Physiology Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University 
of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
(3)Institute for Cognitive and Brain Science, Shahid Beheshti University, 
Tehran, Iran.
(4)Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in 
Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

This research investigated the preventive effects of myrtenol (MYR), fatty acid 
nanocarriers (FANC), and myrtenol-loaded FANC (MYR + FANC) on neurological 
disturbance, stroke volume, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide 
dismutase (SOD), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the brain with 
ischemia-reperfusion injuries induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) 
in rats. Seventy two Wistar male rats were divided into six main groups. The 
groups were sham, ischemia-reperfusion group (MACO), MACO-MYR (50 mg/kg), 
MACO-FANC (50 and 100 mg/kg), and MACO-MYR + FANC (50 mg/kg). Stroke volume, 
neurological deficit scores, and the brain levels of MDA, SOD, and TNF-α were 
examined with TTC staining, observation, and ELISA, respectively. Pretreatment 
with MYR, FANC (100 mg/kg), and MYR + FANC reduced the neurological deficit 
score and cerebral infarction volume. MYR, FANC (100 mg/kg), and MYR + FANC 
pretreatment increased and decreased brain SOD and MDA levels compared to MACO 
group, respectively. The TNF-α level decreased in the MYR + FANC group compared 
to MCAO and MCAO-MYR groups in the brain. The use of FANC (100 mg/kg), MYR, and 
MYR + FANC has protective effects against oxidative stress and 
ischemia-reperfusion injury. FANC probably improve the bioavailability of MYR, 
as MYR+ FANC had more therapeutic effects on the reduction of 
ischemia-reperfusion injuries, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.14633
PMID: 39317688 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


5. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024 Aug 23. doi: 
10.1007/s00210-024-03375-2. Online ahead of print.

Myrtenol ameliorates inflammatory, oxidative, apoptotic, and hyperplasic effects 
of urethane-induced atypical adenomatous hyperplasia in the rat lung.

Amiresmaili S(1), Rajizadeh MA(2), Jafari E(3), Bejeshk MA(1)(4), Salimi F(5), 
Moslemizadeh A(6), Najafipour H(7)(8).

Author information:
(1)Department of Physiology, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran.
(2)Physiology Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University 
of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
(3)Department of Pathology, Pathology and Stem Cell Research Center, Afzalipour 
Faculty of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
(4)Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Institute of Basic and Clinical 
Physiology Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
(5)Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, and Endocrinology and 
Metabolism Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
(6)Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical 
Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(7)Physiology Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University 
of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. najafipourh@yahoo.co.uk.
(8)Cardiovascular Research Center, Institute of Basic and Clinical Physiology 
Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. 
najafipourh@yahoo.co.uk.

Lung atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) is a forerunner of pulmonary 
adenocarcinoma. The drugs being utilized in the remediation of this type of 
hyperplasia have some adverse impacts. The present research focused on the 
potential anti-hyperplasia effect of myrtenol, an herbal terpenoid, on 
urethane-induced lung AAH in rats. Rats were injected with urethane (1.5 g/kg) 
thrice at 48 h intervals, and 20 weeks later, the animals were treated with 
50 mg/kg myrtenol intraperitoneally once a day for 1 week. The ELISA method was 
used to measure inflammatory cytokines and oxidative parameters in the lung 
tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). The expression of NFκB and 
apoptotic/antiapoptotic factors (P53/Bcl-2) was evaluated by western blot and 
immunohistochemistry, respectively. H&E staining was performed for 
histopathological investigation. Histopathology confirmed the anti-hyperplasia 
effect of myrtenol, which was evidenced by the reduction of bronchoalveolar wall 
thickness and inflammation score. It also decreased hyperplasia progression by 
reducing Bcl-2, IL-10, p53, and Ki67. Compared with the urethane group, myrtenol 
normalized the activity of the oxidative stress markers malondialdehyde (MDA), 
total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and superoxide 
dismutase (SOD). Moreover, it showed an anti-inflammatory effect by decreasing 
lung and BALF IL-1β levels and NFκB expression. Myrtenol may have a promising 
effect on lung cancer treatment by counteracting lung hyperplasia via modulation 
of inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis.

© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, 
part of Springer Nature.

DOI: 10.1007/s00210-024-03375-2
PMID: 39177787