Medicines 2015, 2(4), 340-349; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines2040340
Chemotaxonomic Characterization and in-Vitro Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of the Leaf Essential Oil of Curcuma longa Grown in Southern Nigeria
1
Department of Chemistry, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State 520101, Nigeria
2
Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
3
Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200284, Nigeria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Lutfun Nahar, Norazah Basar and Satyajit D. Sarker
Received: 11 November 2015 / Revised: 4 December 2015 / Accepted: 14 December 2015 / Published: 21 December 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils: Chemistry and Bioactivity)
Abstract
Curcuma longa (turmeric) has been used in Chinese traditional medicine and Ayurvedic medicine for many years. Methods: The leaf essential oil of C. longa from southern Nigeria was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil was screened for in vitro antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities. The major components in C. longa leaf oil were ar-turmerone (63.4%), α-turmerone (13.7%), and β-turmerone (12.6%). A cluster analysis has revealed this to be a new essential oil chemotype of C. longa. The leaf oil showed notable antibacterial activity to Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, antifungal activity to Aspergillus niger, and cytotoxic activity to Hs 578T (breast tumor) and PC-3 (prostate tumor) cells. The ar-turmerone-rich leaf essential oil of C. longa from Nigeria has shown potent biological activity and therapeutic promise. View Full-TextKeywords:
Curcuma longa; essential oil composition; ar-turmerone; α-turmerone; β-turmerone; antimicrobial; cytotoxic
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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MDPI and ACS Style
Essien, E.E.; Newby, J.S.; Walker, T.M.; Setzer, W.N.; Ekundayo, O. Chemotaxonomic Characterization and in-Vitro Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of the Leaf Essential Oil of Curcuma longa Grown in Southern Nigeria. Medicines 2015, 2, 340-349.
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