Essential Oils of Laurus nobilis L.: From Chemical Analysis to In Silico Investigation of Anti-Inflammatory Activity by Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase (sEH) Inhibition
Francesca Fantasma, Vadym Samukha, Michela Aliberti, Ester Colarusso, Maria Giovanna Chini, Gabriella Saviano, Vincenzo De Felice, Gianluigi Lauro, Agostino Casapullo, Giuseppe Bifulco, Maria Iorizzi
Abstract
L. leaves collected from seven different altitudinal locations in the Molise region and adjacent regions (Abruzzo and Campania) was investigated. EOs from the leaves were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS, and 78 compounds were identified. The major oil components were 1,8-cineol (43.52-31.31%), methyl-eugenol (14.96-4.07%), α-terpinyl acetate (13.00-8.51%), linalool (11.72-1.08%), sabinene (10.57-4.85%), α-pinene (7.41-3.61%), eugenol (4.12-1.97%), and terpinen-4-ol (2.33-1.25%). Chemometric techniques have been applied to compare the chemical composition. To shed light on the nutraceutical properties of the main hydrophobic secondary metabolites (≥1.0%) of laurel EOs, we assessed the in vitro antioxidant activities based on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) radical scavenging activity and the reducing antioxidant power by using a ferric reducing power (FRAP) assay. Furthermore, we highlighted the anti-inflammatory effects of seven EOs able to interfere with the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), a key enzyme in the arachidonic acid cascade, in concentrations ranging from 16.5 ± 4.3 to 8062.3 ± 580.9 mg/mL. Thanks to in silico studies, we investigated and rationalized the observed anti-inflammatory properties, ascribing the inhibitory activity toward the disclosed target to the most abundant volatile phytochemicals (≥1.0%) of seven EOs.