In vitro biological activities of the essential oil from the 'resurrection plant' Myrothamnus moschatus (Baillon) Niedenzu endemic to Madagascar

The essential oil of the 'resurrection plant' Myrothamnus moschatus (Baillon) Niedenzu endemic to Madagascar, where it is used in traditional medicine, was investigated for the first time for some biological activities. GC-FID and GC-MS analyses revealed trans-pinocarveol (35.6%), pinocarvone (20.0%), beta-selinene (8.5%) and perillyl acetate (6.0%) as the major essential oil constituents. The oil strongly inhibited MDA-MB 231 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cells, with an IC50 of 15 mu g mL(-1), and the growth of Candida albicans, with an inhibition diameter of 18 mm, while its antioxidant activity, measured by DPPH and ABTS assay, proved to be negligible.