Chemical composition and in vitro biological activities of the essential oil of Vepris macrophylla (Baker) I. Verd. endemic to Madagascar

Vepris macrophylla is an evergreen tree occurring in sub-humid forest of Madagascar and traditionally used in the Island to treat several complaints as well as to make aromatic teas and alcoholic drinks. In the present work, the essential oil distilled from the leaves was analyzed for the first time by gaschromatography (GC-FID) and gaschromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major compounds were citral (56.3%), i.e. mixture of neral (23.1%) and geranial (33.2%), citronellol (14.5%) and myrcene (8.3%). The essential oil showed antimicrobial activity on S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans as determined by vapour diffusion assay, supporting the traditional use of the plant for preparing steam bath for the treatment of infectious diseases. The essential oil was assayed for cytotoxic effects on human tumor cell lines by MTT assay, showing inhibitory effects comparable to those of cisplatin, notably on MDA-MB 231 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and HCT116 (human colon carcinoma) cell lines. Finally, the essential oil was also subjected to screening its antioxidant activity and the free radical scavenging capacity as the reducing antioxidant power of the oil was determined.