Antiproliferative and Antibacterial Activities of Four Commer-cial Essential Oil Samples from Boswellia carteri, B. serrata, and two chemotypes of Canarium luzonicum

Abstract

The chemical compositions of four commercial essential oils were investigated using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in this study. The prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and LNCaP were used to test the antiproliferative activities of the four essential oils using crystal violet staining. p-Cymene (14.2%), limonene (11.6%), and elemol (10.8%) were identified as the main compounds in Elemi-A. Limonene (36.4%), terpinolene (11.2%), and alpha-phellandrene (10.3%) were the major constituents in Elemi-B. alpha-Pinene (22.9%) and alpha-thujone (14.5%) were the main compounds of Frankincense-A. alpha-Thujone (35.4%) was the main compound in Frankincense-B. Three essential oil samples (Elemi-A, Elemi-B, and Frankincense-A) had minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values under 2 mg/mL against Bacillus subtilis and displayed noteworthy antibacterial activity. Additionally, Elemi-A had MIC values under 2 mg/mL against B. cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, Elemi-B had MIC values under 2 mg/mL against P. aeuroginosa. Elemi-B and Frankincense-B had dose-dependent and significant antiproliferative effects with IC50 values of 266.7 mu g/mL and 230 mu g/mL, respectively, against PC3 cells. The IC50 values of Elemi-A and Frankincense-A in the PC3 cells were 821.6 and 537.7 mu g/mL, respectively. Only Elemi-B displayed a dose-dependent antiproliferative effect in the LNCaP cells with an IC50 value of 235.4 mu g/mL. The present study determined the chemical composition of the essential oil of Elemi of French origin for the first time. Additionally, the antiproliferative activities of four essential oils against PC3 and LNCaP cells were first reported. Elemi-B, with the lowest IC50 values in the LNCaP and PC3 cells, had promising anticancer potential.