Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton Essential Oil: An Interesting Source of Bioactive Specialized Metabolites as Inhibitors of Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase
Marta Pavarino, Arianna Marengo, Cecilia Cagliero, Carlo Bicchi, Patrizia Rubiolo, Barbara Sgorbini
Abstract
Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton (Zingiberaceae family) is a plant traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. In this work, the essential oil of E. cardamomum was found to inhibit the enzymes AChE (62.6% of inhibition, IC50 24.9 μg/mL) and BChE (55.8% of inhibition, IC50 25.9 μg/mL) by performing an in vitro colorimetric assay using the Ellman method. A bio-guided fractionation approach was used to isolate fractions/pure compounds that were tested individually to evaluate their activity. The resulting oxygenated fraction was found to be active against both AChE (percentage inhibition 42.8%) and BChE (percentage inhibition 63.7%), while the hydrocarbon fraction was inactive. The activity was attributed to a pool of oxygenated terpenes (α-terpinyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, linalool, linalyl acetate, and α-terpineol) that synergistically contributed to the overall activity of the essential oil.