COMPARATIVE ANTIBIOTIC, ANTIOXIDANT, AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF FOUR MONARDA SPECIES

reduced to 0 14mN/min At concentrations of 10 -4 g/ml and 10 -3 g/ ml M. fistulosa induced vasodilation, to a contractile force of -0 32 mN /min and -0 75mN/min, respectively (thus more relaxed than initial rest) indicating that M. fistulosa demonstrates dosedependent relaxation of epinephrine contracted renal arteries

Epinephrine (10 -5 g/ml) administered after relaxation with M. fistulosa produced contractions commensurate with untreated tissues, indicating that M. fistulosa does not injure the vascular rings and is acting at a different site or on an alternate pathway than that of epinephrine One possible site of action may be transient receptor potential channels altering internal Ca++ concentrations (and thus contractility), for which Ghosch et al. (2020) credited the monoterpene components of M. fistulosa essential oil .

None of the Monardas tested had anticancer activity All had some anti-inflammatory activity demonstrated by both immunocytochemistry and IL6 assay, with the late flowering, southern species M. citriodora having greatest anti-inflammatory action M. punctata did not flower in 2019 and 2020 Samples were not tested due to COVID interruption of research Follow-up testing will assess whether Monarda species could be used to treat existing inflammation

All Monardas tested exhibited some antibiotic activity in wet season, spring pre-flower plants They were particularly effective against Staphylococcal and Streptococcal pathogenic species but not against normal commensals Antibiosis rose slightly in early summer, dry season plants whereas late summer, dry season postflowering plants exhibited a large increase in antibiotic efficacy M. punctata had greatest effect against MRSA; and GC/MS results indicate the presence of constituents, which may act as synergists with thymol or carvacrol This will be further explored with LC/ MS coordinated with additional Kirby-Bauer testing for synergistic antibiosis

Wet season, in-flower, and early post-flower M. didyma exhibited little antioxidant activity, which increased slightly in end of season plants . Conversely, in-flower M. fistulosa and M. citriodora demonstrated significant antioxidant activity .

Finally, a pilot study of vasoactivity demonstrated that M. fistulosa essential oil was able to relax epinephrine-induced vasoconstriction (which causes high blood pressure such as is seen during a stress response) Further study may show a potential use of this essential oil in treatment of stress-induced hypertension

The authors are extremely grateful to The Herb Society of America for funding this research . Additional funding was obtained from the office of the Dean of the Getty College of Arts and Sciences, Ohio Northern University; thank you Dean Holly Baumgartner We would also like to thank Danielle O’Conke, Alyson Milks, and Emily Hall for their participation in conducting the described protocols

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