Cancer 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. The essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora collected in Chad and Cameroon were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS and investigated for their antiproliferative activity against the breast cancer cell line (MCF7). Overall, 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. Essential oils from fruits of Monodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Xylopia parviflora have shown acceptable antineoplastic potency, and might be investigated further in this regard.

Essential oil, sent by nature, is a complex mixture of volatile secondary metabolites. Its composition varies along with many parameters that can lead to misunderstanding of its wonderful pharmacological property. In fact, from post-harvest treatment to the compound’s identification through extraction approaches, the original chemotype of essential oils can be misdescribed. The pharmacological potentials of these oils are well known in the traditional system since time immemorial. Nowadays, some chemotypes of these oils had shown the effect against WHO’s top 10 killer diseases. But the misuses of these essential oils are in part due to the lack of robust and easy analysis strategy that can allow the quality of the essential oils.

The essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus grown in Ngaoundere- Cameroon was extracted by hydrodistillation with a yield of 0.4 % (w/w). The chemical analysis, carried out by gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry revealed that the extract is rich in geranial (32.2 %), myrcene (27.0 %) and neral (25.7 %), also the chemical composition of the fractions was determined. The antifungal activity was evaluated by incorporation technique. We have observed that citral, considered as a reference compared to fractions, is very active against P. angolensis with a Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 400 ppm. Also, oil fractions 10 and 11 which are very rich in neral and geranial presented comparable efficacy with MIC of 500 ppm slightly more potent than the crude extract which presented an identical MIC to that of a reference fungicide (600 ppm). On the other hand, until 5000 ppm, no MIC was obtained with fraction 4 of this same extract. From the results achieved, the antifungal activity of the essential oil of C. citratus may be mainly due to the presence of neral and geranial. This essential oil could constitute an alternative to synthetic fungicides mostly used for Citrus fruit crops, due to high neral and geranial contents.

Plants from the Myrtaceae family are known to contain considerable quantities of volatile compounds, ranging from oxygenated monoterpenes to hydrogenated sesquiterpenes, and others, which exhibit antimicrobial activity. One such plant includes Syzygium aromaticum, which has been extensively used to treat a number of disorders, including bacterial and fungal infections. Thus, the scientific validation of the essential oil (EO) of Syzygium aromaticum vis-à-vis Candida and Cryptococcus species is valuable. To this end, the present study sought to investigate the antifungal activity of EO from S. aromaticum (clove) leaves and flower buds against Candida and Cryptococcus species. The antioxidant activity of S. aromaticum’s essential oils was also elucidated. The EO was extracted from fresh leaves and floral buds of S. aromaticum using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The as-prepared essential oils were further evaluated for antifungal activity against Candida and Cryptococcus species using a microdilution method. The phytochemical analysis of the EOs was assessed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antioxidant activities of the EOs were evaluated using standard methods. As a result, the GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of volatile compounds, such as eugenol (87.08%), β-caryophyllene (6.40%) and acetyleugenol (4.45%) as the major constituents of EO from the flower buds, and eugenol (90.54%) and β-caryophyllene (8.42%) as the major components of the leaf’s EO. The eugenol-rich essential oils exhibited significant antifungal effects against Candida species (common MIC value: 200 ppm) and Cryptococcus neoformans (MIC value: 50 ppm), as well as antioxidant activity. Overall, essential oils of S. aromaticum demonstrated antioxidant and antifungal effects, thus validating the ethnopharmacological use of this plant in the treatment of fungal infections. However, antifungal mechanisms of action, in-depth toxicity and in vivo experiments, and pharmacokinetics are warranted to support the use of this plant in ethnomedicine.