Chemical Composition and Antifungal, Anti-Inflammatory, Antiviral, and Larvicidal Activities of the Essential Oils of Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. from China and Myanmar

Abstract

Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. is a widely used traditional medicinal plant to treat fever, flu, stomachache, traumatic injury, and mosquito bite in tropical and subtropical Asia. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and larvicidal activities of its fruit essential oil. The essential oil sample from China (EOZC) was mainly composed of limonene (29.78%) and β-myrcene (26.65%), while the sample from Myanmar (EOZM) was dominated by Terpinen-4-ol (43.35%). Both essential oils showed antifungal activity, with 90% minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC90) values ranging from 26.3 to 499 μg/mL. By obviously inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) in RAW 264.7 cells, EOZC (IC50, 16 μg/mL) showed comparable anti-inflammatory activity to the positive control L-NMMA (IC50, 12.2 μg/mL). EOZM showed significant antiviral activity against the dengue virus with an IC50 value of 13 μg/mL. Additionally, both EOZC and EOZM demonstrated dose-dependent larvicidal activity against Aedes albopictus, with LC50 and LC90 values ranging from 45.8 to 144.0 μg/mL. Our results contribute a theoretical foundation for the further application of Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. as an antifungal and anti-inflammatory ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry and further indicate that it has the potential to be developed as a new source of natural and eco-friendly medicine for the prevention and treatment of dengue virus.