INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES ISSN: 22775005 Review Article Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review on Laurus Nobilis Ramling Patrakar*, Meera Mansuriya and Priyanka Patil Shree Santkrupa College of Pharmacy, Ghogaon (karad),Maharashtra, India. _________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Laurus nobilis is traded as sweet bay leaf, and true, Roman, or Turkish laurel. It is small evergreen tree of lauraceae family. Chemically it has found to contain sesquiterpene lactones such as 10- epigazaniolide, Gazaniolide, spirafolide, costunolide, Reynosin, santamarine, flavonoid glycosides, essential oil. It has been reported to possess wound healing, neuroprotective, antioxidant, antiulcerogenic, anticonvulsant, antimutagenic, antiviral, anticholinergic, antibacterial, antifungal activities. This review highlighted some Phytochemical and Pharmacological aspect of Laurus nobilis which will be useful to the researcher for further study. Keywords: Cultivation and collection, Laurus nobilis, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Taxonomy. INTRODUCTION diuretic9. Recently it is used in treating Laurus nobilis is traded as sweet bay leaf, diabetes and preventing migraine10. and true, Roman, or Turkish laurel. It is small evergreen tree of lauraceae family. Taxonomical classification It is hardy multibranched tree with smooth Kingdom: Plantae bark that grows to about 10 m high1,2. It Division: Magnolids has alternate, narrowly oblong-lanceolate Order: Laurales leaves. The flowers are small and four Family: Lauraceae lobed; the male has 8—12 stamens and Genus: Laurus female 2—4 staminodes. The fruit is 10— Species: Laurus nobilis 15 mm, ovoid, and black when ripe3. These are aromatic and fragrant plants Cultivation and collection yielding fixed and volatile oil as well as Sweet bay is propagated by seeds or camphor, it is native of south Europe4. preferably by cuttings. From a well ripened Laurus nobilis is a plant of industrial wood, cuttings of about 7.5 to 10 cm importance, used in foods, drugs, and length are put in sharp sand either under cosmetics. The dried leaves and essential bell-glasses or in glass cases. The rooted oils are used extensively in the food cuttings are placed in small pots industry for seasoning of meat products, containing fairly rich sandy loam with good soups and fishes. Its antimicrobial and drainage, and then can be put in a hot insecticidal activities are other factor for bed, with gentle bottom heat where they which bay is used in the food industry as a will make a good strong growth. L. nobilis food preservative. The fruits contain both stem cuttings produce roots better in July/ fixed and volatile oils, which are mainly August, under Mediterranean conditions, used in soap making5. Traditionally it is than in other seasons, although the used in rheumatism and dermatitis6, optimal rooting period can be extended by gastrointestinal problems, such as bottom heating from May until September. epigastric bloating, impaired digestion, After that, they may be planted in nursery eructation, and flatulence, The aqueous beds with rich sandy soil and good extract is used in Turkish folk medicine as drainage. In one growing season, the an anti-hemorrhoidal, anti-rheumatic, plants may attain a height of 1 to 1.5 m. At diuretic, as an antidote in snakebites and the end of the growing season and long for the treatment of stomachache7,8 before the cold season the young plants together with their stakes are kept in well Vol. 1 (2) Apr – Jun 2012 www.ijpcsonline.com 595 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES ISSN: 22775005 lit and ventilated sheds and temperature is Glycosides kept just above Laurus nobilis leaves yielded four non- freezing. These plants are kept in close polar flavonoids kaempferol-3-O-α-L- rows and watered once or twice a week. (3",4"-di-E-p-coumaroyl)- rhamnoside, The plants are taken out during the spring kaempferol-3-O-α-L-(2",4"-di-E-p- season and either potted or plunged in coumaroyl)-rhamnoside, kaempferol-3-O- nursery. The rich peaty soil with plenty of α-L-(2"-4"-pcoumaroyl)- rhamnoside and a water and congenial moist atmosphere new product kaempferol-3-O-α-L-(2",4"-di- near the sea coast are favorable Z-p-coumaroyl)-rhamnoside [20] .Five new conditions for fast and luxriant growth1. megastigmane glucosides named The leaves of L. nobilis are plucked and laurosides A−E and a new phenolic dried under shade for use as a flavouring glucoside were isolated from the material in a variety of culinary methanolic extract of L. nobilis L. leaves21. preparations, especially in French cuisine. Kaempferol- 3-rhamnopyranoside, and The leaves contain an essential oil of kaempferol-3, 7- di-rhamnopyranoside aromatic, spicy odour and flavour which were isolated from Laurus nobilis aqueous can be isolated by ethanolic extract22. steam distillation. The oil is a valuable adjunct in the flavouring of all kinds of Anthocyanin food products, particularly meats, The major anthocyanins were sausages, canned soups, baked goods, characterized as cyanidin 3-O-glucoside confectionery, etc. The oil replaces the and cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside. Furthermore, dried leaves to great advantage because it two minor anthocyanins were detected can be dosed more exactly and therefore and identified as 3-O-glucoside and 3-O- gives more uniform results than the dried rutinoside23. leaves12. Essential oil PHYTOCHEMISTRY The main components of the oil were Terpenoids identified. 1,8-Cineole along with α-terpinyl Various sesquiterpene lactones were acetate, terpinene-4- ol, α-pinene, β- found to present in Laurus nobilis such as pinene, p-cymene, linalool acetate24 .It 10-epigazaniolide, Gazaniolide, also found to contain (E)-β-cymene, β- spirafolide, costunolide, Reynosin and longipinene, cadinene, α-terpinyl acetate, santamarine[13], 5a,9-dimethyl-3- α-bulnesene25, terpinene-4-ol (4.25%), methylene-3,3a,4,5,5a,6,7,8-octahydro-1- sabinene. The acyclic monoterpenes oxacyclopenta[c]azulen-2-one and 3β – linalool and myrcenol were present in chlorodehydrocostuslactone along with smaller amounts, while cumin aldehyde, other sesquiterpene lactones such as dimethylstyrene, eugenol, methyl eugenol, dehydrocostuslactone, artremorinand[14], and carvacrol were found 26. Lauroxepine, 11,13-dehydrosantonin[15], 5a,9-dimethyl-3-methylene- PHARMACOLOGY 3,3a,4,5,5a,6,7,8-octahydro-1- Wound healing activity oxacyclopenta[c]azulen-2-one and 3β- The aqueous extracts of Laurus nobilis chlorodehydrocostuslactone[14], deacetyl were evaluated for its wound healing laurenobiolide[16], 5αH,7αH-eudesman- activity in rats and compared with 4α,6α,11,12-tetraol and 1β,15-dihydroxy- aqueous extract of Allamanda. Excision 5αH,7αH-eudesma-3,11(13)-dien-12,6α- and incision wound models were used to olide[17], Trypanocidal terpenoid evaluate the wound healing activity. zaluzanin D[18]. Two steroisomeric wound healing were assessed by the rate monoterpine alcohol such as Cis and of wound closure, period of trans-thuj-2-en4-ol were obtained in the epithelialisation, tensile strength, weights essential oil of Laurus nobilis[19]. of the granulation tissue, hydroxyproline content and histopathology of the Vol. 1 (2) Apr – Jun 2012 www.ijpcsonline.com 596 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES ISSN: 22775005 granulation tissue. In Laurus nobilis extracts shown strong total antioxidant treated animals, the rate of wound activity in linoleic acid emulsion. contraction, weight of the granulation Concentrations of 20, 40, and 60 µg/ ml tissue and hydroxyproline content were showed 84.9, 95.7, 96.8, and 94.2, 97.7, moderately high (P < .05). The histological and 98.6% inhibition of lipid peroxidation study of the granulation tissue of the of linoleic acid emulsion, for water and Laurus nobilis treated animals showed ethanol extracts, respectively. On the larger number of inflammatory cells, and other hand, 60 µg/ ml of the standard lesser collagen when compared with the antioxidants butylated hydroxyianisole Allamanda cathartica treated group of (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), animals27 . and α-tocopherol exhibited 96.6, 99.1, and 76.9% inhibition of lipid peroxidation in Neuroprotective activity linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. In The effects of n-hexane fraction from addition, the both extracts were having Laurus nobilis leaves on dopamine effective reducing power, DPPH· free induced intracellular reactive oxygen radical scavenging, superoxide anion species (ROS) production and apoptosis radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells scavenging and metal chelating activities was investigated. Compared with at 20, 40, and 60 µg/ ml. The total amount apomorphine (APO, IC50=18.1 µM) as a of phenolic compounds in each extract positive control, IC50 value of hexane was determined as gallic acid fraction for DA-induced apoptosis was 3.0 equivalents29. µg/ml, and two major compounds from, costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone, Antiulcerogenic activity were 7.3 µM and 3.6 µM, respectively. Antiulcerogenic activity of Laurus nobilis Hexane fraction and these major seeds was tested on experimentally compounds significantly inhibited ROS ethanol induced gastric ulcer in rats. The generation in DA-induced SH-SY5Y cells. results indicated antiulcerogenic activity A rodent 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) for 20 and 40% aqueous extracts as well model of PD was employed to investigate as for the oily fraction of these seeds30. the potential neuroprotective