Chamaemelum nobile L.: Chemistry and evaluation of tyrosinase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity

The aging of the world population has led to an increase in the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, which represents a still open challenge in the field of scientific research. In this regard, plants have become an important source of bioactive principles able to act on multiple targets [ 1 ]. Chamaemelum nobile L. is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae family, known as Roman chamomile, less studied in scientific literature than the more common Matricaria chamomilla , although it is also widely used in Traditional Medicines due to its antioxidant, mild sedative and antispasmodic properties [ 2 ]. In the present work, with the aim of evaluating the potential CNS activity of C. nobile L., different green extracts of C. nobile were tested for the antioxidant activity, and tyrosinase and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitory activity. Moreover, 15 compounds (coumarins, glucoside derivatives, flavonoids and sesquiterpenes lactones) were isolated from C. nobile and tested for tyrosinase and AchE inhibitory activity. The results showed that the highest activities were obtained for the 60% and 50% EtOH:H2O extracts. Tested compounds presented interesting tyrosinase inhibitory activity (IC 50 values: 32.09-412.02 μM) and, among the sesquiterpene derivatives, 11,13-dihydro-8-tigloylhydroxyisonobilin, here reported for the first time, exhibited the highest activity. A kinetic study on this compound indicated an uncompetitive inhibition. All compounds showed AchE inhibition in a range of IC 50 values of 224.78-387.99 μM. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany