Essential oil composition and cytotoxic activity in two species of the plant genus Vismia (Hypericaceae) from the Venezuelan Andes

Abstract

Abstract. Introduction: The Vismia genus belongs to the Hypericaceae family and comprises around 57 species of which 17 have been located in Venezuela. Previous investigations have been carried out in extracts as well as pure isolated compounds, revealing antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-HIV, among other, biological activities. Objective: This investigation aims to determine the cytotoxic activity of essential oils from leaves of Vismia baccifera Triana & Planch (VBJ and VBV) and Vismia macrophylla Kunth (VM) collected in three different locations of the Venezuelan Andean region. Methods: Essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and their cytotoxic activity was analyzed following the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Human tumor cell lines from SKBr3, MCF-7 and PANC-1, two breast carcinomas and one pancreatic adenocarcinoma of ductal type, were tested with the oil samples and human dermis fibroblasts were used as non-tumor cells. Results: β-caryophyllene and trans-caryophyllene were present as major components in VBJ and VBV, respectively, while γ-bisabolene was the main component in the VM sample. Anticancer activity was observed on V. baccifera essential oil against SKBr3, MCF-7 and PANC-1. The selectivity index showed that VBV is highly selective against the SKBr3 cell line and has no activity against non-tumor cells. Conclusions: These results are considered a contribution to natural products research and may provide supportive data for future studies on cancer.

Chemical Composition and Antibacterial activity of Essential Oils from Fruits of Vismia baccifera and Vismia macrophylla Collected at different Locations in Venezuelan Andes

“…Every inoculum was spread over plates containing Mueller-Hinton agar and a paper filter disc (6 mm) saturated with 10 μL of essential oil. The plates were left for 30 min at room temperature and then incubated at 37ºC for 24h" [26].…”

“…The inhibitory zone around the disc was measured and expressed in mm. A positive control was also assayed to check the sensitivity of the tested organisms using the following antibiotics: Linezolid ® (10 μg), Vancomycin ® (30 μg), Tobramycin ® (30 μg), Aztreonam ® (10 μg), Cefepime ® (75 μg), Ceftazidime ® (30 μg), Fluconazole ® (100 μg) and Voriconazole ® (400 μg/mL)" [26]. A negative control was also included in the test using a filter paper disc saturated with dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) to discard any activity of this solvent against the microorganisms assayed.…”

“…The present investigation aims to determine the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from the fruits of V. baccifera and V. macrophylla collected at different locations in the Venezuelan Andes. Voucher specimens were deposited under the following codes: VM-JR39, VBH-JR25, VBJ-JR47, VBM-JR54 and VBV-JR51" [26].…”

“…Afrovismia, which includes the African species" [5]. "In Venezuela 17 species of Vismia have been located being Vismia baccifera Triana & Planch and Vismia macrophylla Kunth the most common and well-distributed around the country" [6][7][8][9].…”

“…"Previous investigations have reported 161 compounds isolated from different Vismia species, being monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, triterpenoids, prenylated anthrones, lignans, sterols, flavonoids, flavonols, anthraones, anthraquinones, bianthraquinones, benzophenones, steroids and xanthones, among the most common isolated and characterized components" (Fig. 2) [4,8,11].…”