[Retrospective surveys on intoxications with essential oils]. / Enquêtes sur la survenue d'intoxications après l'utilisation d'huiles essentielles, comparaison avec les données du CAP d'Angers (2017­2018).

OBJECTIVES: Non-conventional medicines are not devoid of toxicity and it is relevant to establish an inventory of the general public's knowledge of essential oils. The objective is to identify the profile of the victims of a poisoning, the ways of administration and the symptoms as well as the incriminated essential oils. METHODS: Two surveys, for the general public and health professional, were distributed (January-March 2019). In addition, data from the Angers poison control center for the period 2017-2018 were analyzed and compared with the data from our study. RESULTS: Our surveys gathered 623 and 59 answers. The data of the poison control center of Angers counted 741 intoxications. The precautions for use and contra-indications of essential oils are not well known since 5% of the respondents identified them correctly. Our data show that using a mixture increases the risk of intoxication (P<0.02). The most cited essential oils in case of intoxication are Eucalyptus, Tea tree and Lavender. The symptoms mainly concern a cutaneous application (75%) and remain of short duration and without gravity. Concerning the intoxications referenced to the poison control center in Angers, the same essential oils are involved, the oral route is mostly used (70%) and the symptoms listed for 74% of intoxications concern oropharyngeal, ocular, abdominal and skin pain. CONCLUSION: The delivery of essential oils is not harmless and the data obtained both through our surveys and the processing of data from the poison control center of Angers show that they must be used with caution.

Cytotoxic activity of some lichen extracts on murine and human cancer cell lines.

Eight lichens were extracted successively with n-hexane, diethyl ether and methanol using a Soxhlet process. The cytotoxic activity of the 24 lichen extracts was evaluated in vitro using two murine (the L1210: lymphocytic leukaemia, and the 3LL: Lewis lung carcinoma) and four human (the K-562: chronic myelogenous leukaemia, the U251: glioblastoma, the DU145: prostate carcinoma, and the MCF7: breast adenocarcinoma) cancer cell lines and non-cancerous cells, the Vero cell line (African green monkey kidney cell line). The MTT assay revealed significant cytotoxicity (IC50 < or = 20 microg/ml) on one of the tested cancer cell lines for at least one extract of each lichen species. Some extracts of Cladonia convoluta, Cladonia rangiformis, Parmelia caperata, Platismatia glauca and Ramalina cuspidata demonstrated interesting activities particularly on human cancer cell lines as good selectivity indices were recorded (SI > 3).

In vitro antiviral activity of thirty-six plants from La Réunion Island.

Methanol extracts of 36 medicinal plants from La Réunion Island were evaluated against two viruses: Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and poliovirus type 2 (PV). Five of them showed an effect against HSV-1 and five against PV, Senecio ambavilla being inhibitor for both viruses.

Antiviral and cytotoxic activities of some Indonesian plants.

Ten methanolic extracts from eight Indonesian medicinal plants were phytochemically screened and evaluated for antiviral (HSV-1 and Poliovirus) and cytotoxic activities on murine and human cancer lines (3LL, L1210, K562, U251, DU145, MCF-7). Besides Melastoma malabathricum (Melastomataceae), the Indonesian Loranthaceae species among which Elytranthe tubaeflora, E. maingayi, E. globosa and Scurrula ferruginea exhibited attractive antiviral and cytotoxic activities. Piper aduncum (Piperaceae) was found active on Poliovirus. S. ferruginea was selected for further studies because of its activity on the U251 glioblastoma cells.