Chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of the essential oil from the leaves of Acanthopanax leucorrhizus (Oliv.) Harms

The leaf essential oil of Acanthopanax leucorrhizus, a widely used medicinal plant, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by using combination of capillary GC–FID, GC–MS and RI. Fifty-nine components, representing 93.1% of the total oil, were identified in the essential oil and the main components of the oil were β-pinene (7.3%), linalool (6.5%), p-cymene (6.3%), β-elemene (3.8%), γ-terpinene (3.7%), spathulenol (3.2%) and cis-sabinene hydrate (3.1%). Furthermore, the in vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the essential oil were examined. The test results showed that the essential oil exhibited a broad spectrum of anti-microbial activity against all microorganisms tested. Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive to the oil than gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. The oil possessed moderate cytotoxicity on human tumor cells with lower IC50 values of 25.65 μg/ml (Hep G2), 28.71 μg/ml (Hela), 30.15 μg/ml (Bel-7402) and 37.55 μg/ml (A-549). The moderate antioxidant activity of the oil was also evaluated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical method.

► 59 components were identified by using combination of capillary GC–FID, GC–MS and RI.
► The main components were β-pinene, linalool, p-cymene, β-elemene, γ-terpinene and spathulenol.
► The oil showed significant antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms tested.
► The oil possessed moderate cytotoxicity against human HepG2, Hela, Bel-7402 and A-549 tumor cells.
► The oil exhibited moderate antioxidant activity.