Composition and cytotoxic activity of essential oils from Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich, Xylopia parviflora (A. Rich) Benth.) and Monodora myristica (Gaertn) growing in Chad and Cameroon

Abstract

BackgroundCancer has become a global public health problem and the search for new control measures is urgent. Investigation of plant products such as essential oils from Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora might lead to new anticancer therapy. In this study, we have investigated the antineoplastic activity of essential oils from fruits of these plants growing in Chad and Cameroon.MethodsThe essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora collected in Chad and Cameroon were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS and investigated for their antiproliferative activity against the breast cancer cell line (MCF7).ResultsOverall, monoterpenes were mostly found in the six essential oils. Oils from X. aethiopica and X. parviflora from Chad and Cameroon mainly contain β-pinene at 24.6%, 28.2%, 35.7% and 32.9% respectively. Monodora myristica oils from both origins contain mainly α-phellandrene at 52.7% and 67.1% respectively. The plant origin did not significantly influence the chemical composition of oils. The six essential oils exerted cytotoxic activity against cancer (MCF-7) and normal cell lines (ARPE-19), with more pronounced effect on neoplastic cells in the majority of cases. The highest selectivity was obtained with the essential oils of X. parviflora from Chad and Cameroon (5.87 and 5.54) which were more cytotoxic against MCF-7 than against normal cell line (ARPE-19) with IC50 values of 0.155 μL/mL and 0.166 μL/mL respectively.ConclusionsEssential oils from fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora have shown acceptable antineoplastic potency, and might be investigated further in this regard.

Antimicrobial Activity of Syzygium aromaticum and Zanthoxylum xanthoxyloides Essential Oils Against Phytophthora megakarya

“…; Bakarnga‐Via et al. ), yield of plant extraction could differ according to the season of the harvest and the geographical origin.…”

“…), cytotoxic (Bakarnga‐Via et al. ) and antimicrobial (Magina et al. ; Sirirat and Kittipot ; Xing et al.…”

In vitro antioxidant and anti-lipoperoxidative activities of bark extracts of Xylopia aethiopica against ion-mediated toxicity on liver homogenates

“…The fruits are reported to have high nutritive values. It is used as spice all over central and western Africa and as a component of herbal medicines for the treatment of several diseases such as skin infections, cough, bronchitis, dysentery, female sterility, fever and cancer [10]. It has been demonstrated that X. aethiopica fruit methanolic extracts exert cytotoxic activity on pancreatic cancer cells Mia PaCa-2, on leukemia cells CCRF-CEM cells and on cervical cancer C-33A cell lines [11].…”

Terpenes from Forests and Human Health

“…However, Kusuhara et al (65) reported that mice kept in a setting enriched with α-pinene showed reduction in melanoma sizes, while in vitro treatment of melanoma cells with α-pinene had no inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, suggesting that the in vivo result may not be due to a direct effect of α-pinene. Investigation of β-pinene also revealed its cytotoxic activity against cancer and normal cell lines with a more pronounced effect on neoplastic cells in the majority of cases, showing acceptable chemotherapeutic potency (66,67).…”