Compositional Variation and Bioactivity of the Leaf Essential Oil of Montanoa guatemalensis from Monteverde, Costa Rica: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

Background: Montanoa guatemalensis is a small to medium-sized tree in the Asteraceae that grows in Central America from Mexico south through Costa Rica. There have been no previous investigations on the essential oil of this tree. Methods: The leaf essential oils of M. guatemalensis were obtained from different individual trees growing in Monteverde, Costa Rica, in two different years, and were analyzed by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry. Results: The leaf oils from 2008 were rich in sesquiterpenoids, dominated by α-selinene, β-selinene, and cyclocolorenone, with lesser amounts of the monoterpenes α-pinene and limonene. In contrast, the samples from 2009 showed no α- or β-selinene, but large concentrations of trans-muurola-4(14),5-diene, β-cadinene, and cyclocolorenone, along with greater concentrations of α-pinene and limonene. The leaf oils were screened for cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities and did show selective cytotoxic activity on MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cells. Conclusion: M. guatemalensis leaf oil, rich in cyclocolorenone, α-selinene, and β-selinene, showed selective in vitro cytotoxic activity to MDA-MB-231 cells. The plant may be a good source of cyclocolorenone.

Overall survival benefits of cancer drugs in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, 2015–2021

“…The WHO Technical Report Series (TRS) 15 19–21 and the WHO electronic EML database 26 were used to identify the applications for listing of targeted cancer drug indications. The WHO TRS documents were used to retrieve basic information and clinical benefit data documented in EML applications.…”

“…We identified applications for targeted cancer drug indications intended for inclusion in the WHO EML based on the final reports of meetings of the WHO expert committee in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021, as documented in the WHO Technical Report Series (TRS), Section 8.2. 15 19–21 Our study period corresponds to the recent increase in the number of targeted cancer medicines considered for listing in the WHO EML. In TRS Section 8.2, applications included not only targeted cancer drug indications, but also cytotoxic medicines, hormones and antihormones, and supportive cancer care medicines.…”

“… 14 In 2014, WHO commissioned the Union for International Cancer Control to undertake a comprehensive review of cancer drugs in the 18th EML published in 2013 and of new medicines proposed for inclusion by researchers and organisations. 15 16 ‘Meaningful improvements in overall survival (OS) compared with the existing standard of care’ was a criterion for the 2015 additions of new, highly priced targeted cancer drugs. 14 Different from traditional chemotherapy, target-specific proteins that control cancer cells’ growth and spread.…”

“…17 Targeted cancer drugs constitute the majority of newly approved cancer therapies 18 and since 2015, an increasing number of cancer drugs have been recommended for inclusion on the WHO EML. 15 19–21 Magnitude of benefit was one of the criteria considered since the 2015 cancer drug listings 22 and quantified in 2018 in two metrics: (1) a threshold for OS benefit of at least 4–6 months and (2) a score on the European Society for Medical Oncology-Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS) of A or B in the curative setting and of 4 or 5 in the non-curative setting. These criteria have been recommended for the 2019 and 2021 (21st and 22nd) WHO EMLs.…”

Hydrocarbons and Ethers of Extractive Substances of Siberian Larch Needles

“…Можно высказать предположение об образовании данного соединения путем циклизации и последующей ароматизации биогенетического предшественника всех дитерпеноидов -геранилгеранилпирофосфата [8]. В литературных источниках найдены данные об идентификации (выделении) геранил-п-цимена из эфирных масел листьев тропических пород (Calaminta pamphylia, Montanoa guatemalensis) [15,17] и листьев канадского бука [20]. Масс-спектр выделенного геранил-п-цимена из канадского бука [20] и масс-спектр идентифицированного углеводорода в хвое лиственницы тождественны.…”