In vitro biological activities of the essential oil from the ‘resurrection plant’ Myrothamnus moschatus (Baillon) Niedenzu endemic to Madagascar

Abstract

The essential oil of the ‘resurrection plant’ Myrothamnus moschatus (Baillon) Niedenzu endemic to Madagascar, where it is used in traditional medicine, was investigated for the first time for some biological activities. GC-FID and GC-MS analyses revealed trans-pinocarveol (35.6%), pinocarvone (20.0%), β-selinene (8.5%) and perillyl acetate (6.0%) as the major essential oil constituents. The oil strongly inhibited MDA-MB 231 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cells, with an IC₅₀ of 15 µg mL⁻¹, and the growth of Candida albicans, with an inhibition diameter of 18 mm, while its antioxidant activity, measured by DPPH and ABTS assay, proved to be negligible.

Keywords:

• Myrothamnus moschatus
• essential oil
• antioxidant
• antiproliferative
• antimicrobial

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Institut Malgache de Recherches Appliquées in Antananarivo, Madagascar, for its precious support during this study. They would also like to thank Sheila Beatty for her editing of the English usage in this manuscript.