OBJECTIVE To analyze the total phenolic content, DNA protecting and radical scavenging activity of ethanolic leaf extracts of three Lamiaceae plants, i.e. Anisomelos malabarica (A. malabarica), Leucas aspera (L. aspera) and Ocimum basilicum (O. basilicum). METHODS The total polyphenols and flavonoids were analyzed in the ethanolic leaf extracts of the lamiaceae plants. To determine the DNA pr...

Many Lamiaceae species are consumed in the Lebanese cuisine as food or condiment and are largely used in the traditional medicine of Lebanon to treat various diseases, including microbial infections. In this article we report the traditional medicinal uses of eleven Lamiaceae species: Coridothymus capitatus L., Lavandula stoechas L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Mentha spicata L. subsp. conden...

Mentha piperita L. (peppermint) possesses antimicrobial properties, but little is known of its ability to modulate macrophages. Macrophages are essential in bacterial infection control due to their antimicrobial functions and ability to link the innate and adaptive immune responses. We evaluated the effects of the peppermint leaf hydroalcoholic extract (LHAE) on cultured murine peritoneal macro...

Olfactory learning in insects has been used extensively for studies on the neurobiology, genetics, and molecular biology of learning and memory. We show here that the ability of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae to acquire olfactory memories is regulated by the circadian system. We investigated the effect of training and testing at different circadian phases on performance in an odor-discriminat...

The antibacterial effect of thyme, peppermint, sage, black pepper and garlic hydrosols, widely used in food products as drinks and food additives, were tested for their inhibitory effects against Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella enteritidis. Single and combined hydrosols of previous common herbs were used to evaluate in vitro the antibacterial activity against these pathogenic bacteria. The obt...

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is a plant native to Europe and has been widely used as a carminative and gastric stimulant worldwide. This plant also has been used in cosmetic formulations as a fragrance component and skin conditioning agent. This study investigated the effect of peppermint oil on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice. The animals were randomized into 4 groups based on different topical ap...

The monoterpene ketone l-menthone is specifically converted to l-menthol and l-menthyl acetate and to d-neomenthol and d-neomenthyl-beta-d-glucoside in mature peppermint (Mentha piperita L. cv. Black Mitcham) leaves. The selectivity of product formation results from compartmentation of the menthol dehydrogenase with the acetyl transferase and that of the neomenthol dehydrogenase with the glucos...

Biocompatible oil-in-water (o/w) micro-emulsions can be prospective drug delivery vehicles for their capability to solubilize lipophilic (oil soluble) drugs in the dispersed oil. Plant oils are considered suitable for such a purpose. In this study, we have attempted to examine the dispersion of corn, cottonseed, clove, orange and peppermint oils, as well as isopropyl myristate (IPM) in water co...