Antitumour properties of the leaf essential oil of Xylopia frutescens Aubl. (Annonaceae)

The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition and anticancer effect of the leaf essen- tial oil of Xylopia frutescens in experimental models. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analysed by GC/FID and GC/MS. In vitro cytotoxic activity of the essential oil was determined on cultured tumour cells. In vivo antitumour activity was assessed in Sarcoma 180-bearing mice. The major com- pounds identified were ( E )-caryophyllene (31.48%), bicyclogermacrene (15.13%), germacrene D (9.66%), d -cadinene (5.44%), viridiflorene (5.09%) and a -copaene (4.35%). In vitro study of the essential oil dis- played cytotoxicity on tumour cell lines and showed IC 50 values ranging from 24.6 to 40.0 l g/ml for the NCI-H358M and PC-3M cell lines, respectively. In the in vivo antitumour study, tumour growth inhi- bition rates were 31.0–37.5%. In summary, the essential oil was dominated by sesquiterpene constituents and has some interesting anticancer activit