Antioxidant potential of essential oil from Lavandula angustifolia in in vitro and ex vivo cultured liver cells.

Lavender is a commonly used herb in traditional medicine in Asia and Europe. It has been reported to be an effective medical plant in treating inflammation, depression and stress, thanks to its sedative and anxiolytic action, thrombotic, and antimicrobial properties. In the present study we investigated the protective effects of essential oil from Lavandula angustifolia (LO) against hydrogen peroxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide -induced DNA damage. Also the effects of LO on the levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants (SOD-superoxide dismutase, GPx-glutathione peroxidase, GSH-glutathione) were evaluated in in vitro (human hepatoma cell line HepG2) and in ex vivo (freshly isolated rat hepatocytes) systems. The results showed that the oxidant-induced DNA lesions were significantly reduced in both systems pre-treated with the Lavandula angustifolia. The observed DNA-protective activity could be explained by both elevation of GPx activity in cells pre-treated with LO and antioxidant activity of LO.