Essential oils from the leaves and flowers of Leucophyllum frutescens (Scrophulariaceae): phytochemical analysis and inhibitory effects against elastase and collagenase in vitro

Abstract

Leucophyllum frutescens (Scrophulariaceae) is a medicinal plant of Mexican traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to analyse the volatile components from the leaves and flowers by GC/MS and to assess their anti-aging activity for the first time. A total of 30 compounds were identified where 1-octen-3-ol (73.56%) and D-limonene (11.12%) represented the major ingredients in the leaves, while n-heneicosane (32.30%) and dehydroepingaione (15.15%) were the major components in the flowers. In vitro anti-aging activity was measured via assessing collagenase and elastase inhibition. Essential oils from the leaves and flowers showed potential collagenase inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ of 55.7 and 47.4 µg/mL. However, the oils from the leaves and flowers showed moderate anti-elastase activity with IC₅₀ of 60.8 and 97.7 µg/mL. Therefore, the oil of Leucophyllum frutescens could afford a promising natural anti-aging drug.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-aging
• collagenase
• elastase
• Leucophyllum frutescens
• Scrophulariaceae

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.