Phytochemical composition, and cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antibacterial activity of the essential oil and methanol extract of Semenovia suffruticosa .

Objective: In this study, our aim was to extract, and identify and quantify the chemical composition of essential oils of Semenovia suffruticosa grown in Kerman, Iran. Moreover, cytotoxic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and methanol extract of aerial parts of S. suffruticosa were reported.

Materials and Methods: GC and GC/MS analysis were used for identifying and quantifying the essential oil components. Antioxidant and antibacterial activity were tested by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and agar disc diffusion methods, respectively and MTT assay was used to determine the anti-proliferative potential of the oil against breast (MCF-7), colon (HT-29), neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), embryonal carcinoma (NCCIT) cancer cell relative to human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) as a normal cell. Apoptosis induction was monitored by flow cytometry using PE annexin V apoptosis detection kit and cell cycle arrest was by with propidium iodide.

Results: Z-β-ocimene (25.1%), linalool (17.8%) and β-bisabolol (13.3%) were recognized as major components of the essential oil. Our study demonstrated apoptosis-inducing potential of essential oil on normal and cancer cells. However, methanol extract exerted cytotoxicity against a number of cancer cells and arrested cancer cells in G2/M phase; nevertheless, it did not exert strong cytotoxicity against normal cells. Furthermore, DPPH and disc diffusion results showed that while essential oil has considerable antiradical activity, methanol extract did not exert promising antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.

Conclusion: Methanol extract of S. suffruticosa shows tumor-cell-specific cytotoxic properties and the essential oil demonstrated a strong antioxidant activity.