Dittrichia viscosa L. leaves lipid extract: An unexploited source of essential fatty acids and tocopherols with antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties

Dittrichia viscosa L. is considered underexploited species rich on bioactive compounds. Previous investigations focused on phytochemical constituents and their bioactivities have been frequently carried out but the data on fatty acid composition of D. viscosa leaves lipid extract (LLE) and on their antifungal and anti-inflammatory activities are scant. In this study, the fatty acids profile and tocopherols composition of D. viscosa LLE were assessed by using gas chromatography (GC-FID), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The antifungal activity was determined by measuring the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) of Candida spp. and Malassezia spp. strains and the anti-inflammatory effect by measuring the elastase inhibitory activity. The linoleic and linolenic acids were the most abundant essential fatty acids while α-tocopherol and δ-tocopherol were the most dominant tocopherols. LLE showed excellent antifungal activity against yeasts with low azole susceptibilities (i.e., Malassezia spp. and Candida krusei) and a good anti-inflammatory effect reaching a 72.9% of inhibition of elastase activity using 10 mg of LLE. The results show that lipid extract of D. viscosa leaves could be considered as an exceptional source of essential fatty acids (i.e., linoleic and the linolenic acids) and tocopherols (α-tocopherol and δ-tocopherol) and suggests the important value of this extract as new source to control Candida and Malassezia infections as well as inflammatory diseases.