Chemical composition and cytotoxic activity of Cedrelopsis grevei H. Baillon essential oil on human cancer cells

In this study, a detailed chemical characterization of Cedrelopsis grevei H. Baillon (Ptaeroxylaceae family) bark essential oil was perfomed. The GC analysis revealed a peculiar composition in terms of sesquiterpenes. The major components were found to be ishwarane, β-elemene, α-copaene, calamenene, β-selinene, γ-muurolene, α-muurolene and β-pinene. In addition to semi-quantification data, essential oil quantification was performed by means of the experimental and predicted relative response factors (RRF), using methyl octanoate as the internal standard. In vitro biological activity of C. grevei essential oil and its main isolated compounds (including ishwarane, β-elemene and α-copaene) was assayed for cytotoxic activity on human colon cancer cells CaCo-2 and human lung carcinoma cells A549 by means of the MTT assay. Furthermore, by combining the three main compounds, it was possible to evaluate the potential synergic effects. The results showed that the C. grevei essential oil exhibited interesting cytotoxic