Alpha and Beta Pinene in Medicinal Plants of Albanian Origin: A Study and Identification

JONA KERI1*, LINDITA VRUSHI3 ,GRISELDA ZACAJ2, INA XHANGOLI1 ,LORENA MEMUSHAJ1

1 Department of Pharmacy; Faculty of Medical Sciences; Aldent University, Tiranë, Albania.
2 Department of Medical Laboratory and Imaging Techniques, Faculty of Technical Medical Sciences, Aldent University, Tiranë, Albania
3 Esencial Herbalist and Producer,3401 Elbasan-Librazhd Road, Km. 2, Elbasan, Albania

* Corresponding author; jona.keri@ual.edu.al

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Abstract

The category of monoterpenes includes the well-known compounds alpha and beta pinenes, which are present in the essential oils of many plants. Several pharmacological activities have been identified, such as modification of antibiotic resistance, anticoagulant, anticancer, antibacterial, antimalarial, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and analgesic properties.The existence of alpha and beta pinene in the plant extract of several Albanian species, including Salvia Rosmarines, Hypericum Perforatum, Cistus Incanus, and Teucrium polium, has been investigated in an Albanian study using modern essential oil extraction techniques such as Supercritical Fluids with CO2, where CO2 is the solvent used. While using GC-FID, accurate profiling of these analyzed plants was performed, evidencing the presence of alpha and beta pinenes in varying amounts. Significant amounts of these monoterpenes have been identified in Hypericum Perforatum (19.75% alpha and 3.93% beta-pinene) and Teucrium Polium (6.46% alpha and 18.75% beta-pinene), Salvia Rosmarines (10, 41% alpha-pinene and 3.41% beta-pinene) and Citrus Incanus (respectively with the highest amount of 21.56% alpha-pinene and less than 0% beta-pinene). These plants are widely known for their antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, and antibacterial properties. and antifungal, properties which are also attributed to the presence of these monoterpenes. After, the essential oil was subjected to several chemical analyses, including heavy metal testing and microbial analysis, which were found to conform to the standards set by the WHO for plants. The recommendations that can be considered, after the investigations, are medicinal plants that are usable by consumers in their natural state, after collection they should always be provided with the necessary labelling and an accompanying sheet of profile and physicochemical analysis.

Keywords: alpha and beta-pinene, SC- CO2 extraction, GC-FID profile, heavy metals.