Essential Oils of Two Vietnamese Plants Piper betle f. densum (Piperaceae) and Disepalum plagioneurum (Annonaceae): Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial, and Cytotoxic Activities

Abstract

The chemical compositions were determined by the leaf essential oils of 2 Vietnamese plants, Piper betle f. densum and Disepalum plagioneurum. The main chemical classes in the P densum leaf essential oil were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (30.1%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (60.1%), with γ-elemene (12.7%), valeranone (9.3%), and ishwarone (6.0%) being the principal compounds. Disepalum plagioneurum leaf essential oil was dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons (23.9%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (59.8%). Bicyclogermacrene (26.8%), ( E)-caryophyllene (12.7%), ( E)- β-ocimene (8.4%), and ( Z)- β-ocimene (6.0%) were the major compounds of this essential oil. With the same MIC of 64 µg/mL, the leaf essential oils of P betle f. densum and D plagioneurum strongly controlled the growth of the Gram (+) bacterium Clostridium sporogenes NCTC 12935 and the fungus Aspergillus niger ATCC 1015, respectively. It was also found that D plagioneurum leaf essential oil was cytotoxic to cancer cell lines MCF7 and HeLa with IC50 values of 63.2 and 41.4 µg/mL, respectively.