Phytochemical Composition and Potential Bioactivities of the Essential Oil from the Peels of Paramignya trimera (Oliv.) Guillaum from Vietnam

Abstract

Paramignya trimera (Oliv.) Guillaum (Xao tam phan), found mostly in South Vietnam, is a herbal medicine traditionally used for liver protection ability and dermatologic diseases. Recent studies showed that different extracts, fractions and isolated compounds from P. trimera exhibited many interesting bioactivities such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities. However, research on the chemical profile and bioactivities of essential oil from the peels of this species has been limited. Therefore, this study aims to determine the chemical composition of this product and examine its anticancer and antibacterial activities. Phytochemical profile of the essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Indeed, twenty-four constituents were characterized; of which sesquiterpenes dominated the profile, with three major compounds: β-caryophyllene (19.09%), α-humulene (24.81%), and trans-muurola-4(14),5-diene (24.84%). P. trimera peel essential oil also contained potent inhibitory effects against six clinical multidrug-resistant bacterial strains including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This extract showed the strongest activity against two Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 256 µg/mL for both, followed by 2 strains of Staphylococcus aureus and 2 strains of Salmonella sp. with MIC values of 384, 480 and 512 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, P. trimera peel essential oil displayed strong cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner against liver HepG2 cancer cells, with the half maximal inhibitory concentration of 21 µg/mL. This preliminary result suggested the potential bioactivities of P. trimera peel essential oil and can be helpful for further investigation to develop an phytomedicine-based therapy for cancer and infectious diseases.