Melissa officinalis L. decoctions as functional beverages: a bioactive approach and chemical characterization
2015
Authors:
Carocho, MarcioBarros, Lillian
Calhelha, Ricardo C.
Ćirić, Ana
Soković, Marina
Santos-Buelga, Celestino
Morales, Patricia
Ferreira, Isabel C. F. R.
Document Type:
Article (Published version)
,
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract:
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is a member of the Lamiaceae family
with a long story of human consumption. It has been consumed for
decades, directly in food and as a decoction or an infusion for its
medicinal purposes. In this manuscript, a detailed chemical
characterization of the decoction of this plant is described,
encompassing antimicrobial, antioxidant and antitumor activities.
Rosmarinic acid and lithospermic acid A were the most abundant phenolic
compounds. Quinic acid, fructose, glucose and gamma-tocopherol were the
most abundant within their groups of molecules. M. officinalis
decoctions were active against a wide range of microorganisms,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium, and Penicillium
funiculosum being the most sensitive bacteria and fungi, respectively.
The growth inhibition of different human tumor cell lines (mainly MCF-7
and HepG2) was also observed, as also high free radical scavenging
activity and reducing power. This manuscript highlights some beneficial
effects of these functional beverages.
Source:
Food & Function, 2015, 6, 7, 2240-2248Funding / projects:
- Characterization and application of fungal metabolites and assessment of new biofungicides potential (RS-MESTD-Basic Research (BR or ON)-173032)
- PRODER project no. 46577-Plant Lact.
- Pest-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011
DOI: 10.1039/c5fo00309a
ISSN: 2042-650X