Phytochemical analysis, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of Myrtus communis essential oil from Morocco
Résumé
Background: Myrtus communis L. is an aromatic evergreen plant common in Morocco. In addition to its culinary uses, it has been used medicinally as a disinfectant, an antiseptic or as a hypoglycemic agent. However, its cytotoxic activity has not been well investigated so far. The current study describes the chemical composition, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of Myrtus communis L essential oil obtained from different regions of Morocco.
Methods: Myrtus communis essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation, and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated in murine mastocytoma P815 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells, using the MTT assay. In addition, DNA fragmentation was assessed by gel electrophoresis. The antioxidant effect was determined by measuring bleaching of β-carotene with the linoleic acid and the DPPH radical scavenging methods.
Results: GC-MS analysis showed high amounts of methyl eugenol (18.7%), α-terpineol (15.5%) and geranyl acetate (11.64%) in essential oil from the Benslimane region. In contrast, essential oil from Ouazzane was particularly rich in 1,8-cineole (36.3%). The cytotoxicity results showed that MCF-7 cells were more sensitive than P815 cells to the essential oils from Ouazzane and Benslimane regions with IC50 values of 4 and 6.25 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, this cytotoxicity was partly associated with DNA fragmentation, which is one of the characteristics of apoptosis. The tested essential oils did not show strong antioxidant activity.
Conclusions: Myrtus communis L. essential oil exhibits a weak antioxidant effect, but induced remarkable cytotoxic activity by a mechanism related to apoptosis, suggesting a possible application of the bioactive compounds as natural anticancer compounds.
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