The anti-angiogenic activity of Artemisia herba-alba's essential oil and its relation with the harvest period

Abstract

Artemisia herba-alba is widely used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes, bronchitis, diarrhoea, hypertension and neuralgias. The aim of this study is to investigate the essential oil extracted from the aerial part of this plant and at two different harvest periods (May and December 2012) to evaluate a possible cytotoxic and anti-angiogenic activity. At first the Artemisia herba-alba essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Then the HUVECs (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) were treated with various concentrations of essential oil (10, 20, 40 and 80 µl). We have noted a chemical variation of the essential oils extracted from the aerial parts of Artemisia Herba-alba in relation to seasonal changes. The essential oils extracted from the plants collected in May (seeds stage) and those of December (floral stage) showed a dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effect on cell viability. The essential oil of the floral stage showed more cytotoxic effect on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) than those of the seeds stage which displayed potent anti-angiogenic activity; it did not cause cytotoxicity of HUVECs but disrupted endothelial tube formation. The variation on the essential oils chemical composition due to the harvest period has different effects on HUVEC. The essential oil from the seeds showed an anti-angiogenic activity without a cytotoxic effect which is very important feature in the research of anti-angiogenic agents.