Chemical Composition and in vitro Biological Activities of the Essential Oil of Vepris macrophylla (Baker) I.Verd. Endemic to Madagascar |
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Authors: | Filippo Maggi Richard Fortuné Randriana Philippe Rasoanaivo Marcello Nicoletti Luana Quassinti Massimo Bramucci Giulio Lupidi Dezemona Petrelli Luca A. Vitali Fabrizio Papa Sauro Vittori |
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Affiliation: | 1. School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, IT‐62032 Camerino;2. Département de Génie Chimique, Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar;3. Institut Malgache de Recherches Appliquées, Antananarivo, Madagascar;4. Department of Environmental Biology, La Sapienza University, IT‐Rome;5. School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, University of Camerino, IT‐62032 Camerino |
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Abstract: | Vepris macrophylla is an evergreen tree occurring in sub‐humid forest of Madagascar and traditionally used in the Island to treat several complaints as well as to prepare aromatic teas and alcoholic drinks. In the present work, the essential oil distilled from the leaves was analyzed for the first time by gas chromatography (GC‐FID) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The major compounds were citral (56.3%), i.e., mixture of neral (23.1%) and geranial (33.2%), citronellol (14.5%), and myrcene (8.3%). The essential oil exhibited antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and C. albicans as determined by vapor‐diffusion assay, supporting the traditional use of the plant for preparing steam bath for the treatment of infectious diseases. The essential oil was evaluated for cytotoxic activity on human tumor cell lines by MTT (=3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide) assay, showing inhibitory effects comparable to those of cisplatin, notably on MDA‐MB 231 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and HCT116 (human colon carcinoma) cell lines. Finally, the essential oil was also subjected to screening for its antioxidant activity and the free radical scavenging capacity. |
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Keywords: | Vepris macrophylla Essential oils Cytotoxic activity Antioxidant activity Radical‐scavenging activity |
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