Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Leaf Essential Oil of Syzygium myrtifolium from Eastern India

The chemical composition, antioxidant, cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activities of leaf essential oil of Syzygium myrtifolium Walp. was evaluated in the present study. A total of 43 constituents representing 96.99 % of the total essential oil were identified by GC/MS analysis. The leaf essential oil was mainly characterized by sesquiterpene incorporate alcohols (34.99 %) with delta-cadinol (29.53 %), caryophyllene oxide (26.25 %) and cyclocolorenone (7.7 %) as the major constituents. The antioxidant activity of the leaf essential oil against DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) assays showed IC50 values of 215 +/- 4.61 and 116 +/- 2.37 mu g/mL respectively. In vitro cytotoxic effect of the essential oil evaluated against HCT-116 and Pa-1 cell lines by MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay showed IC50 values of 59.9 and 47.5 mu g/mL respectively. Further, the leaf essential oil at a concentration of 25 mu g/mL was found to exhibit potential anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages by inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production. The findings of the present study revealed that the leaf essential oil of S. myrtifolium is a rich source of bioactive constituents, which needs further investigation as leads for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drug discovery.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the chemical composition, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and anti-inflammatory activities of the leaf essential oil of Syzygium myrtifolium Walp. It showed that the essential oil is rich in bioactive constituents with potential for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drug discovery.