DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v26i1.281

Keywords: Alphonsea elliptica; Annonaceae; essential oil; cytotoxicity; lipoxygenase; β-caryophyllene

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oil from the leaves of Alphonsea elliptica (Annonaceae) growing in Malaysia was investigated for the first time. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and fully characterized by gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 45 components (98.4%) were successfully identified in the essential oil, which were characterized by high proportions of β-caryophyllene (20.2%), β-elemene (8.6%), α-humulene (8.5%), germacrene D (7.2%), and bicyclogermacrene (6.0%). The cytotoxicity of the essential oil was evaluated using an MTT assay. The essential oil exhibited cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines, which are HepG2, MCF7, and A549, with the IC50 values 75.2, 65.8, and 68.5 μg/mL, respectively. The tested essential oil showed moderate in vitro lipoxygenase activity with an IC50 value 64.8 μg/mL. The present study highlights the potential of using essential oil as an alternative for developing chemopreventive or cosmetic agents for the pharmaceutical industry.