Agarwood oil is a highly prized type of oil due to its unique aroma. The oil is extracted from the fragrant resin found in the agarwood tree (trunk). The unique aroma and quality of agarwood resin and oil are contributed by the presence of certain chemical compounds. In this work, analysis and comparison of the chemical compounds of agarwood oil from A. malaccensis, A. sub-integra and a mixture of both were conducted. The essential oils were diluted in hexane (5%) prior to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis performed using Agilent GCMS 7890A coupled with MSD quadrupole detector 5975 C. Separation of analytes by gas chromatography was carried out using a Hewlett Packard HP-5MS silica capillary column (30 m X 0.25 mm X 0.25 mm). A total of 107 compounds were identified from the three samples of agarwood oils. Fifty-five (55) components were identified in A. malaccensis sample which contributes to the largest portion of the total compounds. About 20% of the compounds identified were aromatic and sesquiterpenes which have been revealed to be the main active compounds of agarwood oils which also give the aroma and pleasant odour of agarwood. Different compositions or profile of chemical components were found in agarwood oils from the two different species. Two compounds were commonly identified in all three samples namely 3-phenyl-2-butanone and alpha-cubebene. Further studies are needed to refine the results which later can be used to assist detection and authentication of agarwood as well as its scientific-based grading. ABSTRAK: Minyak gaharu merupakan sejenis minyak beraroma unik yang mendapat permintaan tinggi dan mahal. Minyak ini diekstrak daripada resin beraroma yang terbentuk di dalam batang pokok gaharu. Keunikan aroma dan kualiti resin dan minyak gaharu ini bergantung kepada kehadiran bahan kimia tertentu. Penyelidikan ini menjurus kepada analisis dan perbandingan bahan-bahan kimia yang terdapat dalam minyak gaharu daripada spesis A. malaccensis, A. sub-integra dan campuran kedua-duanya. Minyak gaharu dilarutkan di dalam 5% heksana sebelum dianalisis menggunakan kromatografi gas Agilent GCMS 7890A berserta spektormetri jisim (MSD quadrupole detector 5975 C). Kolum kapilari silika Hewlet Packard HP-5MS (30 m X 0.25 mm X 0.25 mm) digunakan untuk pemisahan bahan-bahan kimia tersebut. Sejumlah 107 kompaun dikenalpasti dalam ketiga-tiga sampel minyak gaharu tersebut dengan 55 kompaun didapati di dalam sample A. malaccensis. Ini merupakan bahagian terbesar daripada keseluruhan kompaun. Sebanyak 20 % daripada keseluruhan kompaun yang dikenalpasti adalah daripada kumpulan seskuiterpena dan bersifat aromatik, juga merupakan kumpulan yang bertanggungjawab memberi aroma yang unik kepada minyak gaharu. Setiap spesis didapati mempunyai komposisi atau profil bahan kimia yang tersendiri. Dua kompaun iaitu 3-phenyl-2-butanone dan alpha-cubebene ditemui dalam ketiga-tiga sample yang dianalisis. Kajian lanjut adalah perlu untuk memurnikan dapatan hasil penyelidikan yang berpotensi bagi membantu pengenalpastian gaharu berserta pembangunan penggredan gaharu yang lebih saintifik.
Background:Agarwood is a priceless non-timber forest product from Aquilaria species belonging to the Thymelaeaceae family. As a result of a defence mechanism to fend off pathogens, Aquilaria species develop agarwood or resin which can be used for incense, perfumery, and traditional medicines. Evidences from ethnopharmacological practices showed that Aquilaria spp. have been traditionally used in the Ayurvedic practice and Chinese medicine to treat various diseases particularly the inflammatory-associated diseases. There have been no reports on traditional use of agarwood towards cancer treatment. However, this is most probably due to the fact that cancer nomenclature is used in modern medicine to describe the diseases associated with unregulated cell growth in which inflammation and body pain are involved.Objective:The aim of this current study was therefore to investigate the potential anticancer properties of agarwood essential oil obtained from distillation of agarwood (resin) towards MCF-7 breast cancer cells.Materials and Methods:The essential oil was subjected to screening assays namely cell viability, cell attachment and sulforhodamine B (SRB)-based cytotoxicity assay to determine the IC50 value.Results:The agarwood essential oil caused reduction of the cell number in both the cell viability and attachment assay suggesting a cumulative effect of the cell killing, inhibition of the cell attachment and or causing cells to detach. The agarwood essential oil showed IC50 value of 900 μg/ml towards the cancer cells.Conclusion:The agarwood essential oil exhibited anticancer activity which supports the traditional use against the inflammatory-associated diseases. This warrants further investigation towards the development of alternative remedy towards cancer.
Agarwood plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat wide range of disorders aside from the main function of its fragrant wood in perfumery. In this present study, we are interested to maximize the yield of extract and investigate the cytotoxic/anti-cancer effects of uninfected branch extracts. Uninfected branch is readily available from agarwood plantation particularly during the early years before inoculation process that formed the fragrant wood (resin); and as such is seen as an economical raw material. Uninfected branch from Aquilaria subintegra was subjected to response surface methodology (RSM)-guided ethanolic extraction to achieve maximum yield while maintaining the biological activity. Cytotoxicity/anti-cancer assays including cell attachment assay, cell viability assay and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay were carried out on the extracts. Run 11 with 12 hours extraction time, 50 °C temperature, 100 rpm and 60 ml extraction volume gave the highest yield of 0.2130 ± 0.036 g/g agarwood branch extract (ABE). Experimental extract from run 16 showed the most promising cytotoxic effects against MCF-7 with IC50 of 8 µg/ml. The study showed that ABE possess potential cytotoxic/anti-cancer activities against MCF-7 cells and further research is warranted to identify the bioactive compounds and mechanism of action.
Apart from the highly sought agarwood resin primarily for perfumery industry, agarwood or gaharu (Aquilaria spp.) in general has been one of basic components in traditional medicine including Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other communities in the Asian region. While the resin is formed in infected trees, this present study reported the cytotoxicity and attachment inhibition effects of leaf and branch extracts from uninfected agarwood tree against breast cancer cells. Qualitative extraction screening process was first conducted to screen for suitable extraction solvents and parts of plant (leaf or branch). Then, the in vitro anti-cancer screening assays including cytotoxicity and attachment assays were conducted. Branch sample extracted using ethanol and distilled water resulted in higher yield and more potent cancer inhibiting effects as compared to other solvents. Crude extract obtained after drying process using ethanol as solvent yielded 9.47 % g/g (branch) and 13.2 % g/g (leaf); distilled water as solvent yielded 9.33 % g/g (branch) and 12.8 % g/g (leaf), respectively. However, branch extract exhibited more potent cancerinhibiting effects with IC50 of 23 µg/mL (ethanol) and 38 µg/mL (distilled water) as compared to leaf (no intersection points in the plot). To this end, it can be concluded that extracts from uninfected agarwood tree (Aquilaria subintegra) possesses cytotoxic and anti-attachment effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells with ethanolic branch extract being the most promising. The screening and selection of extraction solvent and plant type are crucial steps towards cost-effective extraction and further bioprocessing of bioactive compounds from agarwood tree.
This study aimed to investigate the chemical constituents from Alphonsea cylindrica as well as their cytotoxic and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities. The chemical compounds were isolated and purified by various chromatographic techniques and their structures were elucidated via modern spectroscopic techniques including NMR, MS, IR, UV and comparison with literature. A study on the barks of A. cylindrica has found eleven known compounds were identified as stigmasterol (1), isoursuline (2), cyathocaline (3), kinabaline (4), muniranine (5), isooncodine (6), iraqiine (7), Omethylmoschatoline (8), kareemine (9), atherospermidine (10) and N-methylouregidione (11). The cytotoxic effect of hexane, DCM and methanol of bark of A. cylindrica as well as the isolated compounds; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 were estimated on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and isoursuline possessed the most potent inhibitory activity with IC value of 33 µg/ml. Eight compounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11 displayed moderate inhibitory activity effect with IC < 100 μM against xanthine oxidase. As a conclusion, eleven compounds have been isolated from the bark of A. cylindrica King. Some of the compounds also showed potential against cytotoxicity and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities. The findings of this study can enhance the understanding of the chemotaxonomy aspect of the A. cylindrica as well as its potential in traditional and modern medicine.
Breast cancer continues to remain as the leading cause of cancer mortality among women worldwide. Agents for prevention and cure for breast cancer are contiuously being researched. In particular, agarwood essential oil from resin infiltrated heartwood has been reported to have substantial evidences of medicinal benefits. Nevertheless, there is very limited report on agarwood leaf essential oil (ALEO). Hence, this present study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical properties, chemical constituents and anticancer activity of ALEO. ALEO was observed to be of paleyellow colour with sweet smell. Other physicochemical properties include refractive index of 1.44, specific gravity of 0.886, saponification value of 131.88 mg KOH/g, acid value of 2.80 mg KOH/g and iodine value of 105.07 gI /100g. The profiling of chemical constituents using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) revealed 19 compounds. Hexadecanoic acid was the major compound (64.41%). The biomarkers of agarwood; azulene (0.619%) and guaiol (0.2997%) were also detected. ALEO was tested for anticancer activity against MCF-7 cancer cells using WST-8 assay.ALEO showed the IC value of 31% (v/v) against MCF-7 cells after 36 hours of treatment. In conclusion, this study provides information on ALEO physicochemical properties and chemical constituents that can be used as benchmark for quality assurance as well as proof that ALEO holds a potential as anticancer agent.
Incidence rates vary 10-fold globally for colorectal cancer (CRC). Asia has lower rates than Western countries, but as the Western life-style becomes more prevalent in economically developing Asian countries, rates are increasing. Clinical therapy has improved over the last few decades, and national screening programmes are a proven and effective means of reducing mortality; chemoprevention through diet and life-style choices may provide additional value. Diet has strong associations with the aetiology of CRC, considerable epidemiological evidence exist that fruits and vegetables are associated with reduced risk of CRC. There is also extensive experimental evidence that phytochemicals from fruit and vegetables can modulate pathways of carcinogenesis. In this chapter, we consider Malaysia specifically, with its rich ethnopharmacological heritage and megabiodiversity; Malaysian natural compounds may be a source of potentially chemo-protective with relevance to CRC.
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