Essential oils from Artemisia judaica, Ruta graveolens and Salvia palaestina with antiradical, cytotoxic and AMPA receptor-modulatory activities

Essential oils (EOs) from the leaves of Artemisia judaica, Ruta graveolens, and Salvia palaestina were analyzed for their phytochemical composition and their antiradical, cytotoxic, and neuromodulatory activities. Using microwave-ultrasonic technology, EOs were extracted from S. palaestina, A. judaica, and R. graveolens, and their antiradical activity (via DPPH assay), cytotoxicity, and neuromodulatory effects (using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings) were evaluated. The main compounds that were explored by GC-MS analysis include piperitone and carvacrol in A. Judaica, 2-undecanone in R. graveolens, and carvacrol in S. palaestina. S. palaestina exhibited the greatest antiradical effect with a 50% inhibition concentration of 8.30 µg/mL. Cytotoxicity tests showed that these EOs express dose-dependent activity on HeLa, HepG3, and B16F1 cancer cells. Among them, S. palaestina and A. judaica were the most potent ones. Patch-clamp recordings showed that S. palaestina was the most potent in inhibiting action toward AMPA receptors, thereby reducing currents up to 6-fold and modulating receptor kinetics. A. Judaica and R. graveolens also inhibited the AMPA receptor activity, but to a lesser extent. These findings point to the important bioactive potential of these EOs, especially S. palaestina, which demonstrated high antiradical and AMPA receptor-modulatory activities and, thus, could be of interest for pharmaceutical and neuroprotective uses.