Helichrysum italicum: From Extraction, Distillation, and Encapsulation Techniques to Beneficial Health Effects

Abstract

Helichrysum italicum (family Asteraceae), due to its various beneficial health effects, represents an important plant in the traditional medicine of Mediterranean countries. Currently, there is a renewed interest in this medicinal plant, especially in investigations involving the isolation and identification of its bioactive compounds from extracts and essential oils, as well as in experimental validation of their pharmacological activities. In this paper, we review the current knowledge on the beneficial health effects of Helichrysum italicum extracts, essential oils, and their major bioactive polyphenolic compounds, ranging from antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic activities to their antiviral, antimicrobial, insecticidal, and antiparasitic effects. This review also provides an overview of the most promising extraction and distillation techniques for obtaining high-quality extracts and essential oils from Helichrysum italicum, as well as methods for determining their antioxidative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic activities. Finally, new ideas for in silico studies of molecular mechanisms of bioactive polyphenols from Helichrysum italicum, together with novel suggestions for their improved bioavailability through diverse encapsulation techniques, are introduced.

Keywords: Helichrysum italicum; biological effects; distillation methods; encapsulation methods; extraction methods; polyphenolic compounds.

Figure 1

Helichrysum italicum in full blossom (photo taken by Dr. Veronika Furlan).

Figure 2

Pipeline process from Helichrysum italicum collection to the identification of bioactive compounds.

Figure 3

Major bioactive compounds from Helichrysum italicum extracts.

Figure 4

Major bioactive compounds from Helichrysum italicum essential oils.

Figure 5

Quantum-mechanical models of (a) reactants and (b) transition state structure of the most studied compound from the Helichrysum italicum extracts–arzanol with vinyl carbamate epoxide obtained with Hartree-Fock method and flexible 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. Carbon atoms are depicted in grey, oxygen in red, nitrogen in blue and hydrogen atoms in white.