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. J Food Sci. 2024 Oct 3. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.17394. Online ahead of print.

Fractionation of Boswellia serrata oleogum resin essential oil by short-path 
molecular vacuum distillation: Unveiling potent biological activities and 
chemical composition.

Ayub MA(1), Ijaz M(1), Hanif MA(2), Hussain A(3), Bahadur A(4).

Author information:
(1)Department of Chemistry, University of Sahiwal, Sahiwal, Pakistan.
(2)Nano and Biomaterials Lab, Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture 
Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
(3)Institute of Chemistry, University of Okara, Okara, Punjab, Pakistan.
(4)Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Technology, Wenzhou-Kean 
University, Wenzhou, China.

Boswellia serrata produces oleo gum resin, a rich source of essential oil (EO). 
EOs, produced as secondary metabolites by medicinal plants, are employed for 
medicinal and therapeutic purposes. The present study aimed to investigate the 
yield, chemical composition, antioxidant (AO), antimicrobial, and hemolytic 
activity of B. serrata EO and its fractions and sub-fractions (SFs). The EO was 
extracted using the superheated steam extraction (SHSE) method at 140°C. 
Short-path molecular vacuum distillation was used to separate the EO into 
fractions and SFs. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed 
α-pinene, α-thujene, trans verbenol, and linalool as major components of EO. The 
AO potential was evaluated using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay, % 
inhibition in a linoleic acid assay, H2O2 scavenging assay, and total AO content 
(TAOC) using a ferric reducing AO power assay. F2b SF exhibited the highest 
scavenging activity, with percentages of 95.77%, 96.20%, and 83.54%, 
respectively, whereas EO revealed the highest TAOC value of 115.94%. 
Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion, resazurin microtiter 
plate, and microdilution broth assays. F1c SF showed maximum antibacterial 
potential (high inhibition zone 17.65-38.28 mm and low minimum inhibitory 
concentration [MIC] 2.20-84.44 µg/mL). The EO showed the highest antifungal 
activity (high inhibition zone 12.58-25.81 mm and low MIC 35.18-225.17 µg/mL). 
Cytotoxicity was assessed by hemolytic assay, with the F1c SF showing the 
highest activity at 10.89%. It is concluded that SHSE is an effective technique 
for B. serrata EO extraction, and this EO can be utilized for various medicinal 
purposes.

© 2024 Institute of Food Technologists.

DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.17394
PMID: 39363235


3. Mol Biol Evol. 2024 Oct 4;41(10):msae196. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msae196.

Functional Characterization Supports Multiple Evolutionary Origins of Pheromone 
Receptors in Bark Beetles.

Biswas T(1)(2), Sims C(1)(2), Yuvaraj JK(1), Roberts RE(1), Löfstedt C(1)(2), 
Andersson MN(1)(2).

Author information:
(1)Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
(2)Department of Biology, Max Planck Center Next Generation Insect Chemical 
Ecology (nGICE), Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Chemical communication using pheromones is thought to have contributed to the 
diversification and speciation of insects. The species-specific pheromones are 
detected by specialized pheromone receptors (PRs). Whereas the evolution and 
function of PRs have been extensively studied in Lepidoptera, only a few PRs 
have been identified in beetles, which limits our understanding of their 
evolutionary histories and physiological functions. To shed light on these 
questions, we aimed to functionally characterize potential PRs in the spruce 
bark beetle Ips typographus ("Ityp") and explore their evolutionary origins and 
molecular interactions with ligands. Males of this species release an 
aggregation pheromone comprising 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol and (4S)-cis-verbenol, 
which attracts both sexes to attacked trees. Using two systems for functional 
characterization, we show that the highly expressed odorant receptor (OR) 
ItypOR41 responds specifically to (4S)-cis-verbenol, with structurally similar 
compounds eliciting minor responses. We next targeted the closely related 
ItypOR40 and ItypOR45. Whereas ItypOR40 was unresponsive, ItypOR45 showed an 
overlapping response profile with ItypOR41, but a broader tuning. Our 
phylogenetic analysis shows that these ORs are present in a different OR clade 
as compared to all other known beetle PRs, suggesting multiple evolutionary 
origins of PRs in bark beetles. Next, using computational analyses and 
experimental validation, we reveal two amino acid residues (Gln179 and Trp310) 
that are important for ligand binding and pheromone specificity of ItypOR41 for 
(4S)-cis-verbenol, possibly via hydrogen bonding to Gln179. Collectively, our 
results shed new light on the origins, specificity, and ligand binding 
mechanisms of PRs in beetles.

© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society 
for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae196
PMCID: PMC11451568
PMID: 39288326 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Conflict of Interest The authors declare that 
the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial 
relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


4. J Agric Food Chem. 2024 Aug 28;72(34):18890-18897. doi: 
10.1021/acs.jafc.4c05387. Epub 2024 Aug 14.

Efficient Biosynthesis of (+)-α-Pinene and de Novo Synthesis of (+)-cis-Verbenol 
in Escherichia coli.

Zhou Y(1), Li T(1), He X(1), Wang X(1), Wang F(1), Li X(1).

Author information:
(1)Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of 
Forest Resources, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for the Chemistry and Utilization 
of Agro-Forest Biomass, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry 
University, Nanjing 210037, PR China.

Bark beetles, major pests that bore into forest stems, cause significant 
economic damage to forests globally. (+)-α-Pinene is the precursor to 
(+)-cis-verbenol, a crucial component of the aggregation pheromones produced by 
bark beetles. This paper describes the de novo synthesis of (+)-cis-verbenol in 
Escherichia coli. Initially, the truncation position of (+)-α-pinene synthase 
(PtPS30 from Pinus taeda) and monoterpene precursor (geranyl diphosphate/neryl 
diphosphate) synthases were evaluated. Neryl diphosphate synthase from Solanum 
lycopersicum (SlNPPS1) and truncated (+)-α-pinene synthase (PtPS30-39) were 
selected as promising candidates. Subsequently, the titer of (+)-α-pinene was 
significantly increased 8.9-fold by using the fusion tag CM29, which enhanced 
the solubility of PtPS30-39. In addition, by optimizing expression elements 
(ribosomal binding sites, linkers, and up elements) and overexpressing 
CM29*PtPS30-39, a yield of 134.12 mg/L (+)-α-pinene was achieved. Finally, the 
first de novo synthesis of enantiopure (+)-cis-verbenol was achieved by 
introducing a cytochrome P450 mutant from Pseudomonas putida 
(P450camF89W,Y98F,L246A), resulting in a yield of 11.13 mg/L. This study lays 
the groundwork for developing verbenol-based trapping technology for controlling 
bark beetles.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c05387
PMID: 39140858 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


5. Molecules. 2024 Jul 28;29(15):3552. doi: 10.3390/molecules29153552.

Chemical Composition and Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Cytotoxic Activities of 
Essential Oils from Leaves and Stems of Aeschynomene indica L.

Feng L(1), Xu F(1), Qiu S(1), Sun C(1), Lai P(1)(2).

Author information:
(1)Sdu-Anu Joint Science College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China.
(2)Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China.

The objective of this study was to analyze the chemical composition and evaluate 
the biological capabilities of the essential oils (EOs) extracted from leaves 
and stems of wild Aeschynomene indica L. plants by the hydrodistillation method. 
By using GC-FID/MS, fifty-six and fifty-five compounds, representing 95.1 and 
97.6% of the essential oils in the leaves and stems, respectively, were 
characterized. The predominant constituents of A. indica EOs were 
(E)-caryophyllene, linalool, viridiflorol, phytol, hexadecanoic acid, 
trans-verbenol, and α-guaiene. The antibacterial and synergistic activities of 
the EOs were assessed by microdilution and checkerboard assays. The results 
revealed a potent inhibition and bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus 
aureus and Bacillus subtilis with MICs of 0.312-0.625 mg/mL. When combined with 
traditional antibiotics, the essential oils of A. indica possessed excellent 
synergistic effects against all tested bacteria. Additionally, the EOs of A. 
indica leaves showed higher antioxidant activity (IC50 = 0.11 ± 0.01 µg/mL) 
compared to the stem oil (IC50 = 0.19 ± 0.01 µg/mL) using the ABTS radical 
scavenging assay. The in vitro cytotoxicity of EOs against human cancer cell 
lines HepG2, MCF-7, A-549, and HCT-116 was examined, and MTT assays showed that 
the EOs possessed a significant cytotoxic potential against MCF-7 breast cancer 
cells, with IC50 values of 10.04 ± 1.82 and 15.89 ± 1.66 μg/mL, and a moderate 
cytotoxic activity against other tested cells. In conclusion, the A. indica EOs 
could be considered a potential source of pharmacologically active compounds.

DOI: 10.3390/molecules29153552
PMCID: PMC11313771
PMID: 39124959 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.