Abaco bush medicine: chemical composition of the essential oils of four aromatic medicinal plants from Abaco Island, Bahamas

• Published in: Journal of herbs, spices & medicinal plants spices & medicinal plants, 2007-02, Vol.12 (3), p.43-65
• Main Authors: Schmidt, J.M, Noletto, J.A, Vogler, B, Setzer, W.N
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amyris; Amyris elemifera; antimicrobial activity; antimicrobial properties; Bahamas; Biological and medical sciences; cell lines; chemical composition; chemical constituents of plants; composition; cytotoxic activity; cytotoxicity; essential oils; ethnobotany; Eugenia; Eugenia axillaris; General pharmacology; herbal medicines; Lantana; Lantana involucrata; leaf essential oil; leaves; Medical sciences; medicinal plants; medicinal properties; Morella cerifera; Myrica cerifera; neoplasms; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; traditional medicine
• ISSN: 1049-6475; 1540-3580
• DOI: 10.1300/J044v12n03_04

The leaf essential oils of four aromatic plants used in traditional "bush" medicine on Abaco Island, Bahamas, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The most abundant components of Amyris elemifera (Rutaceae) were limonene (45.0%), linalool (20.8%), (β-caryophyllene (5.6%), 3-hexadecanone (5.3%), caryophyllene oxide (3.9%), and (β-sesquiphellandrene (3.6%). Eugenia axillaris (Myrtaceae) leaf oil was largely composed of α-pinene (15.5%), dihydroagarofuran (9.2%), β-caryophyllene (8.8%), α-humulene (6.9%), 1,8-cineole (6.6%), and germacrene D (6.2%). The leaf essential oil of Lantana involucrate (Verbenaceae) was made up largely of germacrene D (21.1%), α-humulene (15.2%), and β-caryophyllene (13.7%). The most abundant components of Myrica cerifera (Myricaceae) were 1,8-cineole (30.7%), α-terpineol (14.2%), 4-terpineol (9.0%), and β-caryophyllene (6.4%). The antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger, and the in vitro cytotoxicity of the oils on MDA-MB-231, MCF7, Hs 578T, Hep G2, and PC-3 human tumor cells have also been examined. The reported biological activities of the major constituents of A. elemifera leaf oil are consistent with the ethnopharmacological uses of the plant in the Bahamas to reduce fever, treat symptoms of flu, treat sores, and wounds, and its use as a general tonic and bath. L. involucrate leaf oil shows slight antibacterial activity against B. cereus and Staph. aureus and is weakly cytotoxic against our panel of cell lines. The major components in the leaf oil and slight antimicrobial activity are consistent with the ethnobotanical use of L. involucrata to treat itching skin. Neither E. axillaris nor M. cerifera leaf essential oils are appreciably antimicrobial or cytotoxic. In addition, none of the major components from these essential oils show notable activity in our antimicrobial or cytotoxicity assays.