In vivo Anti-inflammatory Activities of Marrubium vulgare L. and Marrubium deserti de Noé Species Growing in Algeria

Marrubium vulgare L. and Marrubium deserti de Noé have been widely used by the local population for wound healing and disinfection. The arial parts of both species were reported to relieve pain and inflammation. However, insufficient data in the literature supports the traditional use of these species. For this, the present study investigated the in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of methanolic extracts prepared from Marrubium vulgare L. and Marrubium deserti leaves in order to confirm their traditional use. The total phenolic and flavonoids content were also measured by Folin– Ciocalteu’s and aluminium chloride methods, respectively. And the anti-inflammatory activity was tested using several in vivo models including: xylene ear edema test, paw edema induced by carrageenan assay and anti-pleuritic test. The results showed that methanol extracts prepared from both species contain many secondary metabolites known for their interesting biological activities. Crude extracts had high levels of polyphenols (195 ± 0.06 mg GAE/g extract; 184 ± 0.78 mg GAE/mg of extract) and flavonoids (93.12 ± 0.17 mg QE/g extract; 28.48 ± 0.40 μg QE/mg of extract) for Marrubium vulgare and Marrubium deserti, respectively. The assessment of anti-inflammatory activity showed that the oral administration of MeOHE at a dose of 200 mg/kg to rats treated with carrageenan causes a significant decrease (87.3 ± 0.25%; 86.4%) of inflammation compared with standard diclofenac (positive control) which showed 85.52 ± 0.47% of protection. In the xylene ear edema test and antipleuretic assay, MeOHE showed significant antiinflammatory activity. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the species Marrubium vulgare and Marrubium deserti have potent in vivo anti-inflammatory effects and could constitute an important source of therapeutic agents. However, further biological investigations are required in order to elucidate their mechanisms of action.

Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Essential Oil of Marrubium deserti

The essential oil from aerial part of Marrubium deserti De Noé (Lamiaceae), obtained by hydrodistillation was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity. The antioxidant activity was determined using three in vitro assays: scavenging effect on DPPH, the ABTS test and the phosphomolybdenum method. Thirty-seven compounds were identified in the oil, with germacrene D as the major component (45.7%). This oil was characterized by an important hydrocarbon fraction (78.1%) and by the predominance of sesquiterpenes (67.4%). M. deserti essential oil had no activity on the tested microorganisms ( Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Echerichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus). However the oil presented an antioxidant activity.