Investigation reveals essential oils from Litsea species demonstrate significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, indicating their potential for food preservation.
In this study, the chemical composition of four species of genus Litsea , namely, Litsea lanuginosa , Litsea monopetala , Litsea glutinosa and two chemotypes of Litsea umbrosa was investigated. The major compounds identified in the studied EOs of Litsea species were tetradectetraenoic acid ethyl ester, furanodiene and E ‐(β) caryophyllene and so forth. The EOs exhibited good radical scavenging activity against DPPH with IC 50 values. All the tested EOs showed activity in the metal chelating and reducing power assay. Nitric oxide and superoxide radical scavenging were also analysed and found to be significant. Anti‐inflammatory activity was investigated in vitro and found best in the first chemotype of L. umbrosa with an IC 50 value of 12.99 ± 0.140 µg/mL compared to standard diclofenac sodium (1.93 ± 0.033 µg/mL). Antibacterial activity was investigated against four pathogenic bacteria, namely, Salmonella typhimurium , Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus megaterium . All the EOs showed inhibition against the tested bacterial strains. Herbicidal activity was investigated for the first time for this species against Raphnus sativus seeds, where 100% inhibition was shown by L. monopetala EO. The results obtained for the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the studied EOs strongly suggest their inclusion in the development of bio‐preservation strategies for food preservation and as a potential source for therapeutic agents.
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Joshi et al. (2025) studied this question.
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