A new chemotype of Lantana rhodesiensis Moldenke essential oil from Côte d’Ivoire: Chemical composition and biological activities

Abstract

Lantana rhodesiensis Moldenke is a plant native to subtropical and tropical regions, which is widely used in traditional medicine. The composition of essential oils hydrodistillated from leaves, fruits and stems of plants growing in two different localities of Côte d’Ivoire, Kapélé and Nyanbélégé, were analysed over four months. Essential oil composition was determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the main constituents of leaf essential oils were β-caryophyllene (20.3–27.1%), α-copaene (9.5–11.9%), δ-cadinene (7.3–9.9%) and α-humulene (7.5–9.6%). Thymol was also found in two samples from Kapélé (7.7 and 13.4%) and in one sample from Nyanbélégé (17.4%). Fruit essential oil was characterised by a predominance of β-caryophyllene (22.8–25.2%), α-copaene (8.7–11.7%), α-humulene (8.0–9.9%) and δ-cadinene (7.3–10.6%). In addition, stem oil was dominated by β-caryophyllene (14.3–22.4%), followed by α-copaene (7.4–14.7%), δ-cadinene (10.6–12.6%), α-humulene (5.0–8.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (5.2–8.0%). Statistical analysis showed that leaf and fruit essential oils exhibited very similar compositions, but differed from those of the stem. Essential oils of the leaves showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Samples with a high thymol concentration exhibited high antioxidant activities, while those containing low quantities of thymol displayed elevated anti-inflammatory properties.