The Scots pine or Baltic pine, Pinus sylvestris, is a resinous tree of the Pinaceae family. It is a common tree found in many European forests, from the south of the Iberian Peninsula to Turkey, via Scotland. It is also present in North Asia and in the mountainous region of the Middle East. It has an exceptional longevity of 200 to 700 years. Its essential oil is obtained by distillation of the needles.
Scots pine essential oil is commonly used for its expectorant and mucolytic effects already described by Hippocrates, respiratory decongestant, energizing, toning as well as for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It is recommended to relieve sciatic pain, muscle pain, lumbago, arthritis, cramps and rheumatism.
The bornyl acetate it contains has analgesic activity. The pinenes it contains have a thermogenic effect very appreciated during joint and muscular disorders. These terpenes can also enhance the percutaneous absorption of drugs due to their lipophilic nature.
In vitro pre-treatment of human keratinocytes with α-pinene protects them from UVA damage. This will also reduce the production of free radicals, lipid peroxidation and breaks in the DNA strands of these cells (KARTHIKEYAN & al., 2018).
The DPPH and FRAP tests made it possible to highlight the significant antioxidant effect of α-pinene. Indeed, it increases the cellular production of GSH in vitro, also acting on lipid peroxidation (BOUZENNA & al., 2017 ; SALEHI & al., 2019).
The antioxidant effect of pine essential oil was also examined in a 2013 study, showing an 82% inhibition percentage of free radicals after 30 minutes of application (KAČÁNIOVÁ & al., 2013).
α-pinene protects cells in vitro from oxidative damage caused by H2O2 by preventing the formation of free radicals, lipid peroxidation and in particular by increasing SOD (SALEHI & al., 2019).
The α-pinene contained in pine essential oil decreases the production of Nf-KB, TNF-α and IL-6 in keratinocytes subjected to UVA rays (KARTHIKEYAN & al., 2018 ; SALEHI & al., 2019).
The antibacterial effect of several essential oils against different strains of Clostridium has been tested. Among these essential oils, pine oil was the most effective against Clostridium hystoliticum and Clostridium ramosum in the disc diffusion (KAČÁNIOVÁ & al., 2013).
Among several essential oils tested, pine essential oil showed the best efficacy as well as synergy with itraconazole against strains of Cryptococcus neoformans susceptible to azoles. This effect is explained by the inhibition by α and β-pinene of the phospholipase and esterase activities of C. neoformans (SCALAS & al., 2018 ; MANDRAS & al., 2021).
Scots pine essential oil is also effective against rarer species of Candida such as Candida krusei, C. parapsilose, C. valida, including against certain strains resistant to fluconazole or voriconazole (MANDRAS & al., 2021).
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