BackgroundCancer has become a global public health problem and the search for new control measures is urgent. Investigation of plant products such as essential oils from Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora might lead to new anticancer therapy. In this study, we have investigated the antineoplastic activity of essential oils from fruits of these plants growing in Chad and Cameroon.MethodsThe essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora collected in Chad and Cameroon were analyzed by GCFID and GC-MS and investigated for their antiproliferative activity against the breast cancer cell line (MCF7).ResultsOverall, monoterpenes were mostly found in the six essential oils. Oils from X. aethiopica and X. parviflora from Chad and Cameroon mainly contain β-pinene at 24.6%, 28.2%, 35.7% and 32.9% respectively. Monodora myristica oils from both origins contain mainly α- phellandrene at 52.7% and 67.1% respectively. The plant origin did not significantly influence the chemical composition of oils. The six essential oils exerted cytotoxic activity against cancer (MCF-7) and normal cell lines (ARPE-19), with more pronounced effect on neoplastic cells in the majority of cases. The highest selectivity was obtained with the essential oils of X. parviflora from Chad and Cameroon (5.87 and 5.54) which were more cytotoxic against MCF-7 than against normal cell line (ARPE-19) with IC50 values of 0.155 μL/mL and 0.166 μL/mL respectively.ConclusionsEssential oils from fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora have shown acceptable antineoplastic potency, and might be investigated further in this regard.