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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the chemical compositions of the leaf essential oils of Magnolia villosa (Miq.) H. Keng. and M. maingayi King. growing in Malaysia. The leaf essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and fully characterized by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Analysis of M. villosa and M. maingayi leaf essential oils resulted in 96.4% and 98.7% of the total essential oil, respectively. The main components of M. villosa leaf essential oil were β-caryophyllene (32.8%) and α-humulene (8.8%), while in M. maingayi leaf essential oil gave β-elemene (27.4%), β-caryophyllene (16.4%), and (E)-nerolidol (14.4%). Anticholinesterase inhibitory activity was also evaluated using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory assays. M. villosa leaf essential oil revealed a moderate inhibitory effect on AChE (percentage inhibition, I%: 62.5%) and BChE (I%: 74.8%) at a concentration of 1,000 μg/mL. In conclusion, the leaf essential oils of M. villosa and M. maingayi were characterized and showed promising anticholinesterase inhibitory activity, suggesting their potential as natural sources of therapeutic agents for managing cholinergic dysfunction-related diseases.