Chemical composition and acetylcholinesterase inhibition of the essential oil of Cyathocalyx pruniferus (Maingay ex Hook.f. & Thomson) J.Sinclair

Abstract

The chemical composition and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of the essential oil from the leaf of Cyathocalyx pruniferus growing in Pahang, Malaysia was investigated for the first time. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and fully characterized by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of thirty chemical components (95.53%) were successfully identified in the essential oil which was characterized by high proportions of α-pinene (25.40%), germacrene D (20.20%), β-caryophyllene (10.78%), and δ-cadinene (6.44%). Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity was evaluated against the Ellman method, and the essential oil showed good inhibition against acetylcholinesterase (I: 75.5%) assay. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the composition of the essential oil report concerning the genus Cyathocalyx.