Essential oil from fruit of Xylopia langsdorffiana: antitumour activity and toxicity

AbstractContext: The genus Xylopia L. (Annonaceae) includes aromatic plants that have both nutritional and medicinal uses. Essential oils of Xylopia species have antitumour effects. However, the efficacy of the essential oil from the fruit of Xylopia langsdorffiana St. Hil & Tul. (EOX) has not been examined.Objective: EOX was evaluated to determine its chemical composition, antitumour activity and toxicity.Materials and methods: EOX was obtained from fresh fruits of X. langsdorffiana subjected to hydrodistillation, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to characterize the chemical composition of EOX. The toxicity of EOX was evaluated using haemolysis, acute toxicity and micronucleus assays. The in vitro antitumour activity of EOX was investigated using the sulforhodamine B assay. The sarcoma 180 murine tumour model was used to evaluate the in vivo antitumour activity and toxicity of EOX (50 and 100 mg/kg) after 7 d of treatment.Results: The major components of EOX were α-pinene (34.57%) and li...