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.

BACKGROUND: Cancer 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. METHODS: The 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). RESULTS: Overall, monoterpenes were mostly found in the six essential oils. Oils from X. aethiopica and X. parviflora from Chad and Cameroon mainly contain ß-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. CONCLUSIONS: Essential oils from fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora have shown acceptable antineoplastic potency, and might be investigated further in this regard.

Effect of Solid-State Fermentation on the Essential Oil Yield of Curcuma longa Residues.

Abstract: The solid waste of Curcuma longa rhizomes generated after its cold juice process making is mostly unused and discarded even though they can contain essential oil. Conventional techniques such as hydrodistillation can be used to extract essential oil, but this generally results in low essential oil yield and inefficient extraction time. Solid-state fermentation as a pretreatment of distillation could improve the yield of essential oil. In this study, we evaluated the effect of solid state fermentation on the yield of extraction of Curcuma longa solid wastes essential oil. The solid-state fermentation was carried out naturally without any addition of inoculum and the extraction was performed by hydrodistillation. Under experimental conditions at room temperature ( 25 ∘ C ) with a moisture content of 44% and anaerobically in the dark, the treatment of 7 days of solid state fermentation followed by 2 h of hydrodistillation provided the highest yield of 1.21% as compared to non-fermented of 0.35% and of 0.96% relative to the raw plant material representing an increase of 71% and 21% respectively. A set of experiments was then carried out by a Doehlert matrix to optimize the yield of extraction. Two independent variables, namely the distillation time and the fermentation time, were studied. Under optimal experimental conditions of 10 days and 4 h, a yield of 1.96% was obtained validating the statistical model. The solid state fermentation applied before the hydrodistillation step has been successful and proves its potential to improve the efficiency of essential oil extraction.

Evaluation of Clausena anisata essential oil from Cameroon for controlling food spoilage fungi and its potential use as an antiradical agent.

Investigations were conducted to determine the chemical composition, antifungal and antiradical activities of the essential oil extracted from the fresh leaves of Clausena anisata (Willd.) Hook. F. ex Benth (from Cameroon) against Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. parasiticus and Fusarium moniliforme. The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation was analysed by GC and GC/MS. The disc diffusion method was used to evaluate the fungal growth inhibition at various concentrations of the oil while the antiradical activity of the essential oil was studied by the DPPH (diphenyl picryl hydrazyl) method. The main components obtained were E-ocimenone (15.1%), Z-ocimenone (11.5%), gamma-terpinene (11.4%) and germacrene D (10.9%). After 10 days of incubation on essential oil supplemented medium, the growth of A. flavus, A. niger, A. parasiticus and F. moniliforme were totally inhibited by 4, 5, 5 and 5 mg/mL of C. anisata essential oil, respectively. The antiradical activity of C. anisata essential oil (SC50 = 5.1 g/L) was less than that of butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT), which was used as the reference compound (SC50 = 0.007 g/L). Results obtained in the present study indicate the possibility of exploiting C. anisata essential oil to fight strains of A. flavus, A. niger, A. parasiticus and F. moniliforme responsible for biodeterioration of stored food products.