Volatile Organic Compounds and Antioxidant, Cytotoxic Activities of Extracts from the Leaves of <i>Grewia bulot</i>

Abstract

This research aims to determine the volatile compounds present in Grewia bulot leaf extracts and evaluate their cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. The volatile constituents of the n-hexane and dichloromethane extracts were identified by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The main compounds identified in the former were neophytadiene (18.2%), methyl palmitate (14.4%), methyl linoleate (9.7%), β-sitosterol (4.5%), and methyl stearate (3.4%), while those in the latter were palmitic acid (9.8%), hexadecane (7.4%), octadecane (6.0%), neophytadiene (5.3%), and 2-tert-butoxyethanol (5.3%). The cytotoxicities of the extracts were examined against four human cancer cell lines (SK-LU-1, Hep-G2, MCF-7, and KB), while their antioxidant activities were assessed using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. The n-hexane and dichloromethane extracts displayed weak activity against these cancer cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 90.60 ± 3.49 to 98.27 ± 2.77 µg/mL. All extracts showed antioxidant activities, and the methanol extract exhibited the strongest at an SC50 value of 9.39 ± 0.90 µg/mL. This is the first report on the volatile constituents and bioactivities of G. bulot leaf extracts, suggesting their potential application as antioxidants.