Lippia alba

The enantiomeric differentiation of linalool is useful in the quality control of essential oils and oleoresins, as it was found to provide an important indication of the authenticity of many herbs and spices. The enantiomeric composition of linalool has been determined in many essential oils, including basil, bergamot, rosemary, lavandin, lavender, balm, coriander, mace. Pelargonium, rose, Cymbopogon, lemon, mandarin, Osman-thus, davana, jasmine, Lippia alba and orange, as well as in many fruit... 

Linalool is a major component in essential oils such as those of coriander, palmarosa, mace, petitigrain, Lippia alba and sweet orange flowers. (3i )(—)-Linalool is a main component in the oils of Ocimum species, including sweet basil, and in the oils of neroli, linaloe, bergamot, lavender and others. Linalool enantiomers in... 

Siani AC,Tappin MRR, Ramos MFS, Mazzei JI, Ramos MCKV, de Aquino Neto FR, Frighetto N, Linalool from Lippia alba Study of the reproducibility of the essential oil profile and the enantiomeric purity, JAgrFood Chem 50 3518—3521, 2002. 

EOs from different Lippia alba chemotypes showed behavioural effects. Greater effects were presented by chemotype 2 (with citral and limonene), while chemotype 1, containing citral, myrcene and limonene, decreased only the number of rearings in the open-field test [396]. The EO of lemon was found to modulate the behavioural and neuronal responses related to nociception, pain and anxiety [397, 398]. Thus, there is widespread and increasing interest in complementary and alternative medicines using EOs [399]. 

The species most often cited in the publications consulted were Lippia alba (Mill) N.E.Br. (cited in 7 of these) and Passiflora edulis Sims. (4). 

Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Br. - cidreira, erva-cidreira, melissa, carmelitana A calming effect, to relax, tranquilizer Leaves (decoction) Afro-Brazilians [3,41] Xukuru Indians [37] Caboclos [52,56,59] Ouilombolas [48] Alkaloids [219] saponins [220] sterols, flavonoids [221] essential oils [222,223] prenylated naphtoquinones [224] iridoids [225] terpenoids [226,227] phenolic acids [228] ... 

One other plant much cited (7 citations) by the cultures, in addition to being widely utilized in popular Brazilian medicine, is Lippia alba (Mill) N.E.Br. as to its sedative properties [296,297]. Some studies reported that this plant also has a myorelaxing effect [296] and its essential oils may present both a possible anxiolytic [298] and anticonvulsant effect [299]. 

The genus Passiflora includes approximately 500 species and, as per the last two plants cited Melissa officinalis and Lippia alba), is a genus well known [178]. In the specific case of Passiflora edulis Sims., some studies have shown its anxiolytic effect when assessed through the EPM [300]. A comparative study involving two species of this genus by Dahwan et al [301] showed that, although the methanolic extract of P. edulis Sims, presented an anxiolytic effect, this effect is less potent if compared to that observed with Passiflora incarnata L. 

Some of the plants listed as anxiolytic by the three cultures are also listed as hypnotic, amongst these, Lippia alba (Mill) N.E.Br., the species of the Citrus and of the Erythrina genus. This is owing to the fact that, often, the hypnotic and anxiolytic effects are similar, in that one and the same substance may present both effects, depending on the dose utilized. On the other hand, some plants listed in Table 1 did not have an anxiolytic effect confirmed by the survey in literature, and others have apparently not been studied up to the present time. 

These species belong to 17 taxonomic families, the most important being Fabaceae (6 species cited) and Rutaceae (3) 57% of these belong to the Brazilian flora. The species with greater frequency of citation in the publications consulted were Lactuca sativa L., Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. and Citrus aurantium L. (3 citations each). 

Essential oils also present sedative activity, as do those from Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. and Matricaria chamomilla L. [255,257]. Citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oils from Lippia alba produced a potentiation of pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice which was more intense in the presence of citral [370]. 

Elder, H. V. Molina, L. Perez, A. Cardell, D. Cosmetologic uses of essential oil of Lippia alba (Miller) N.E. Brown (Lipia). in 15th Joumees Internationales Huiles Essentielles. 1996, pp 712-714. 

Gazola, R., D. Machado, C. Ruggiero, G. Singi, and M. Macedo Alexandre. 2004. Lippia alba, Melissa officinalis and Cymbopogon citratus. Effects of the aqueous extracts on the isolated hearts of rats. Pharmacol. Res. 50(5) 477-480. 

Veeck AP, Klein B, Ferreira LF, Becker AG, Heldwein CG, Heinzmann BM et al. Lipid stability during the frozen storage of fillets from silver catfish exposed in vivo to the essential oil of Lippia alba (Mill.) NE Brown. J Sci FoodAgric. 93(4) (2013) 955-960. 

Fig. 5. (A)Variation of the product of carvone content (%) and essential oil extraction yield, with distillation time and vegetal material maturity and moisture, for the carvone-rich Lippia alba chemotype. (B)Variation of the product of citral content (%) and essential oil extraction yield, with distillation time and vegetal material state, for the citral-rich Lippia alba chemotype.

Lippia alba (Mill) N.E. Br. (syn. L. involucrata L.) Lippia berlandieri Schau. 

Dellacassa, E., E. Soler, P. Menendez, and P. Moyna, 1990. Essentail oils from Lippia alba Mill. N.E. Brown and Aloysia chamaedrifolia Cham. (Verbenaceae) from Urugay. 3 107-108. 

Fischer, U., 1998. Variabilitat Guatemaltekischer Arzneip anzen der Gattung Lippia (Verbenaceae) Lippia alba, L. dulcis, L. graveolens. Dissertation, Veterinarmedizinischen Universitat, Wien, Austria. Fischer, U., Ch. Franz, R. Lopez, and E. Poll, 1996. Variability of the essential oils of Lippia graveolens HBK from Guatemala. In Essential Oils Basic and Applied Research, Ch. Franz, A. Mathe, and A.G. Buchbauer (eds.), pp. 266-269. Carol Stream, IL Allured Publishing. 

Fischer, U., R. Lopez, E. Poll, S. Vetter, J. Novak, and Ch. Franz, 2004. Two chemotypes within Lippia alba populations in Guatemala. FlavourFragt., 19 333-335. 

Lorenzo, D., D. Paz, P. Davies, R. Vila, S. Canigueral, and E. Dellacassa. 2001. Composition of a new essential oil type of Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Brown from Uruguay. 356-359. 

The common and large variability in the composition of natural EOs poses dif culties for the evaluation and the safe and effective use of aromatic medicinal plants. Genetic variations lead to the occurrence of chemotypes, as in the case of Lippia alba (P. Mill.) N.E. Br. ex Britt. Wilson (Verbenaceae). Analyses revealed three monoterpenic chemotypes characterized by the prevalence of myrcene (1 and citral (1 in the chemotype I, limonene (14) and citral (16) in the chemotype II, and limonene (14) and carvone (17) in the chemotype III (Matos 1996). This species is known in Brazil as cidreira the aromatic tea from its leaves is traditionally used as a tranquilizer, being one of the most widely known homemade remedies. Pharmacological assays showed anxiolytic (Vale et al. 1999) and anticonvulsant (Viana et al. 2000) effects of EO samples from all three chemotypes. Anticonvulsive and sedative effects in mice were also demonstrated for the three isolated principal constituents ofL. alba oils limonene (14), myrcene (15), and citral (16) (Vale et al. 2002). 

Matos, E. J. A. 1996. As ervas cidreiras do Nordeste do Brasil Estudo de tres qnimiotipos de Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Brown (Verhenaceae). Parte 11—Earmacoquimica. Revista Brasileira de Farmdcia 77 137-141. 

Vale, T. G., Eurtado, E. C., Santos Jr., J. G., and Viana, G. S. B. 2002. Central effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes from Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Brown. 

Citrus sinensis Cymbopogon cUratus Eucalyptus camaldulensis E. citriodom Lippia alba L origanoides Carum carvi Monardafistulosa Myristicafragrans Santalum album Thujopsis dolabrata Armona crass ora... 

Fischer, U., 1998. Variabilitiit Guatemaltekischer Arzneipflanzen der Gattung Lippia (Verbenaceae) Lippia alba, L. dulcis, L. graveolens. Dissertation, Veterinarmedizinischen Universitat, Wien. 

Viana, G.S.B., T.G. Vale, and F.J.A. Matos, 2000. Anticonvulsant activity of essential oils and active principles from chemotypes of Lippia alba (MiU.) N.E. Brown. Biol. Pharm. Bull, 23 1314—1317. 

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