Plants of the Genus Lavandula From Farm to Pharmacy

Natural Product Communications

The global essential oil market has been steadily increasing in size over the past few years, and is estimated to reach ca. $7.5 billion USD per annum by 2018. Lavenders ( Lavandula; Lamiaceae) contribute significantly to this market, yielding ca. 1500 tons of essential oils which are primarily used in cosmetics, personal care products, and medicines. Recent literature indicates that these oils may also have applications in food preservation and pest control, among others. The medicinal and pharmaceutical properties of lavenders are chiefly due their essential oils, in particular the major essential oil constituents linalool and linalyl acetate, although certain activities have been attributed to the phenolic compounds. In addition, there is evidence that the major and minor essential oil constituents act synergistically to provide various biological effects. A substantial amount of current research focuses on evaluating the biological activities of lavender essential oils for poten...

The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition and antimicrobial properties of essential oils (EOs) isolated from lavender (L. angustifolia Miller) and lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) harvested in 2011 in western Romania. The essential oils, isolated by steam distillation from inflorescences arrived at full flowering stage, were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil of L. angustifolia Miller analyzed contained as main components caryophyllene (24.1%), beta-phellandrene (16%) and eucalyptol (15.6%), while the essential oil of Lavandula x intermedia contains camphor (32.7%) and eucalyptol (26.9%). The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the Kirby-Bauer method. Antimicrobial tests showed antimicrobial activity against Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Salmonella typhimurium, while Streptococcus pyogenes is not sensitive to the action of the two essential oils. The study revealed that essential oils isolated and analyzed from lavender (L. angustifolia Miller) and lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) display significant bactericidal effects against microorganisms such as Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli even in the absence of active principles like linalool and linalyl acetate, considered responsible for the antibacterial and antifungal properties of essential oils obtained from different species of Lavandula. The results suggest once again that the antimicrobial activity of EOs is a resultant of the antibacterial properties of the major and minor components in their chemical composition.

Essential oils distilled from members of the genus Lavandula have been used both cosmetically and therapeutically for centuries with the most commonly used species being L. angustifolia, L. latifolia, L. stoechas and L. x intermedia. Although there is considerable anecdotal information about the biological activity of these oils much of this has not been substantiated by scientific or clinical evidence. Among the claims made for lavender oil are that is it antibacterial, antifungal, carminative (smooth muscle relaxing), sedative, antidepressive and effective for burns and insect bites. In this review we detail the current state of knowledge about the effect of lavender oils on psychological and physiological parameters and its use as an antimicrobial agent. Although the data are still inconclusive and often controversial, there does seem to be both scientific and clinical data that support the traditional uses of lavender. However, methodological and oil identification problems have severely hampered the evaluation of the therapeutic significance of much of the research on Lavandula spp. These issues need to be resolved before we have a true picture of the biological activities of lavender essential oil.

Molecules

The chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) from dried and fresh flowers of Lavandula angustifolia L. (lavender), named LA 2019 and LA 2020, respectively, grown in central Italy was analyzed and compared by GC and GC-MS. For both samples, 61 compounds were identified, corresponding to 97.9% and 98.1% of the total essential oils. Explorative data analysis, performed to compare the statistical composition of the samples, resulted in a high level of global similarity (around 93%). The compositions of both samples were characterized by 10 major compounds, with a predominance of Linalool (35.3–36.0%), Borneol (15.6–19.4%) and 1,8-Cineole (11.0–9.0%). The in vitro antibacterial activity assay by disk diffusion tests against Bacillus subtilis PY79 and Escherichia coli DH5α showed inhibition of growth in both indicator strains. In addition, plate counts revealed a bactericidal effect on E. coli, which was particularly noticeable when using oil from the fresh lavender flowers at the hig...

Phytotherapy Research, 2002

Essential oils distilled from members of the genus Lavandula have been used both cosmetically and therapeutically for centuries with the most commonly used species being L. angustifolia, L. latifolia, L. stoechas and L. x intermedia. Although there is considerable anecdotal information about the biological activity of these oils much of this has not been substantiated by scientific or clinical evidence. Among the claims made for lavender oil are that is it antibacterial, antifungal, carminative (smooth muscle relaxing), sedative, antidepressive and effective for burns and insect bites. In this review we detail the current state of knowledge about the effect of lavender oils on psychological and physiological parameters and its use as an antimicrobial agent. Although the data are still inconclusive and often controversial, there does seem to be both scientific and clinical data that support the traditional uses of lavender. However, methodological and oil identification problems have severely hampered the evaluation of the therapeutic significance of much of the research on Lavandula spp. These issues need to be resolved before we have a true picture of the biological activities of lavender essential oil.

The essential oils from dried leaves of Lavandula bipinnata (Roth) Kuntze (Lamiaceae), obtained by soxhlet extraction was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and was evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity. The most common components usually found in lavender essential oils were present in the oil samples analysed, out of 43 peaks, 29 components, which constitute 72.38%, were identified in the essential oil. The major constituents were transcarveol (18.93%), pulegone (8.45%), camphor (7.09%) and menthol (5.89%). Other constituents present in fairly good amounts are pipertone (4.65%), caryophyllene oxide (3.68%), linalyl acetate (3.37%) and bicyclogermacrene (3.09%). The essential oil was screened for antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against bacteria and fungus. Results reveal that L. bipinnata essential oils are inhibitory against the tested bacteria and fungal strains.

Molecules, 2021

Lavandula angustifolia, one of the most popular medicinal plants, is the source of a bioactive essential oil characterized by a wide spectrum of biological activity, e.g., antiseptic, analgesic, and anticancer effects. In dermatology, the oil helps to relieve skin inflammation and exhibit wound healing potential. However, the mechanism of action of the lavender oil depends on its composition, which in turn is dependent on the origin and growing conditions. Our study aimed to compare the composition and proregenerative properties of the commercially-available narrow-leaved lavender oil produced in Provence, France, with the oil obtained from the narrow-leaved lavender cultivated locally in Poland. GC/MS analysis showed that self-manufactured essential oil had lower linalool content than commercial oil (23.2 vs. 40.2%), comparable linalyl acetate content (40.6 vs. 44%), while the proportion of lavandulyl acetate was significantly higher (23.2 vs. 5.5%). To determine the influence of l...

Hemijska Industrija, 2011

The essential oils from flowers of Lavandula officinalis L. (L. officinalis L.= L. angustifolia Mill.) were obtained by two hydrodistillation techniques: standard (technique I) and modified (technique II) Clevenger hydrodistillation. The yield, hydrodistillation kinetics, composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils were investigated. The higher yield of oil was obtained by hydrodistillation technique II. The new analytical hydrodistillation kinetics model of essential oil from Lavandulae flowers was defined. The essential oil composition was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). There were differences in chemical compositions of the oils obtained by different techniques. Antimicrobial activity of essential oil obtained by technique I and II against Salmonella enteritidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger was the same, while the activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was slightly different.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) is a perennial crop that belongs to the lamiaceae family. This study aimed to examine the essential oil compositions of two lavender cultivars grown in Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. The chemical composition of essential oils obtained by hydro-distillation from fresh leave and flowers of lavender samples were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The result showed that the major essential oil constituents obtained in flowering lavender were camphor 1,8-cineole, β-Pinene, beta-caryophyllene oxide, Isooctyl alcohol, endo-Borneol, and thujene. The major compound obtained in local lavender essential oils were 1,8-cineole, camphor, β-Pinene, endo-Borneol, alpha. Terpineol, beta-phellandrene, and 1,3-cyclopentadiene. The major compounds found in this study were reported in other research findings done on the same sample. Some compounds found in one cultivar didn't find in the other. For instance, thujene, trans-beta-ocimene, and verbenone were found in only flowering lavender whereas beta-phellandrene, trans-β-terpineol, alpha-bisabolol, and adamantane were found only in local lavender. This shows the slight difference between the two cultivars.

Natural Product Communications, 2012

The aims of our research include the phytochemical characterization of the essential oils extracted from different lavender species (Lavandula vera L., L. intermedia L., L. pyrenaica DC., and L. stoechas subsp. stoechas) that are important from therapeutic and economic aspects, as well as the optimization of the tube dilution method for microbiological investigation of the effect of essential oils on the selected Pseudomonas strain. The chemical and percentage compositions of the essential oils were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main component of the essential oils in the majority of lavender species was linalool, while L-fencone was identified in the largest amount in L. stoechas subsp. stoechas. Tube dilution is one of the most frequently used methods for microbiological investigation. Its advantages are that it is easy to perform and provides information about minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Because of the lipophilic character of essential oils, the tube dilution method should be optimized for the detection of antibacterial activity of these plant extracts, and, therefore, emulsions containing 0.2% polysorbate 80 were prepared from the samples. In each of the eight investigated essential oils an inhibitory effect was detected, and MBC values were in the range 12.5-50 µL/mL in seven cases.